Freshman defender after big moment: "I'm trying to be the best"

Ricardo Jones made his early impact with a red zone interception against App State.

Brooks Thomason - Correspondent - Saturday, September 14 2024

Freshman safety Ricardo Jones made a name for himself early into his Clemson career.

In the fourth quarter against Appalachian State, he grabbed a red zone interception that stopped a promising drive late into the game. In that moment close to the endzone, Jones credits the instincts that he learned and the coaching by the staff; he went through the motions and flashed back to the moment.

“I see the running back flare out. So I'm kind of get over the top, trying to take a good angle…I see the receiver kind of creeping out. So I tried to take a good angle, kind of cut the receiver off, beat him to the point. And that what I did, made the play. Shout out to my D line, making him throw a bad ball,” Jones said in his play breakdown.

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The four-star safety from Warner Robins, Georgia, caught the eye of several people with his instincts on the field. He was described as a player “who is always in the right place at the right time” with “a great mentality.”. For Jones, the mentality started young, with his mother teaching him.

“If you quit on something, you quit. You quit in life. It's like when we come to running. If I quit running, I'm quitting life. I'm quitting in the big game fourth quarter when we need that stop, so I try to never give up (on anything),” said Jones.

Jones' never-give-up mentality earned him a spot on the big stage in college. Going from recreational football to playing in Memorial Stadium is a dream for any player, and for Jones, it was a surreal moment to open up his home career.

“It's crazy. When I heard him say my name like 'Ricardo Jones with the interception,' it was crazy to hear all the fans there. Shout out to all the fans for packing it out. It was just crazy. All my teammates running on the field hyping me up like it's really surreal, a crazy moment,” Jones said.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had two simple sentences about the potential Jones has for the program and the future.

“The kid loves ball. You can’t break him,” Swinney said during August camp.

And Jones already has eyes forward on his next opportunity for the Tigers.

“I'm just in the film room, smiling the whole time,” Jones said of watching back the pick. “ I'll be watching the play. I'm just smiling, just happy, but at the same time. I want to look at the plays where I didn't do so good. I want that good coaching, constructive criticism, I want to get better at the end of the day. I caught a pick, yeah, that's good, but I want to get better, and I'm trying to be the best.”