Mike Jones

One of the consistent trends professional teams see when they analyze Hawkeye offensive linemen is that most are well-versed in playing a variety of positions on the front wall. This versatility is again evident in Iowa's 2007 graduating class, as Marshal Yanda and Jones have starting experience at all four of the guard and tackle positions. Jones was named first-team All-American by USA Today, Parade and CNN/SI as a senior at Oak Lawn Richards High School. He was a Super Prep Top-25, 2002 Tom Lemming Prep Football All-American and named by recruiting services as one of the top five prep offensive linemen in the country. He was rated the 47th-best player in the nation by Tom Lemming, adding first-team All-Conference and Sun Times All-Area honors as a junior and senior. Jones was a second- team All-State choice as a junior and a unanimous first-team All-State selection by IHSA, News Gazette, Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune as a senior. He graded out at 91 percent for blocking consistency as a senior after helping lead his team to a runner-up finish in the Illinois state championships as a junior. Rather than follow his brother, Jim, who was a starting offensive guard at Notre Dame and later played in the NFL with Baltimore, to Terre Haute, Mike enrolled at Iowa. Despite not seeing action in the first six games of the 2003 season, Jones put on a stellar performance as Iowa's starting left offensive guard during the second half of his first season with the team. He earned Freshman All-America accolades from Rivals.com and The Sporting News. As a sophomore, Jones garnered All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention. He started the team's first two games at right tackle and the final 10 contests at left guard. He was part of a front wall that helped the offense generate 3752 yards in 2004. In 2005, Jones was an invaluable starter, starting the season's first two games at left tackle before shifting to right tackle for the next two contests. He then moved to left guard for the rest of the season, paving the way for the Hawkeyes to average 432.4 yards per game in total offense. Jones earned All-American and All-Big Ten Conference first-team honors as a senior in 2006. The offense generated 4,983 yards, as the versatile lineman started 11 games at left guard and the Indiana contest at left tackle. He would finish his career with 43 consecutive starting assignments -- 36 at left guard, three at left tackle and four at right tackle.

positives

Has a developing frame with good chest thickness, broad shoulders and wide hips...Works better in close quarters than on the move, but has the functional quickness to get out and block on the short pulls...Shows decent balance and lateral slide working in-line and enough hip snap to redirect...Plays with good effort, showing active hands to gain placement, lock on and steer defenders away from the pocket...Alert athlete with the intelligence to call blocking assignments...More of a leader by example type, but others emulate his work ethic, especially in practices...Has enough short-area burst to gain advantage on the defender coming off the snap...Has the quick first step and leg drive to explode behind his initial block and gain movement coming off the guard slot...Uses his strength effectively to lock on and control, demonstrating the lateral movement to slide and mirror vs. the bull rush...Has the knee bend and hand placement to lock on and control...Has a good understanding for angle concepts when leading the charge on running plays, and does a solid job of using his hands to lock on during traps...His anchor and lateral slide lets him get back quick enough to neutralize the edge rush when playing at tackle...Does a good job with hand placement and keeping them inside the frame, using his upper body strength well to lock on and control when working in-line...Shows above average strength and explosion at the point of attack, coming out of his stance quickly to show sudden movements getting into the defender's chest...Has a very aggressive attitude, setting up with his legs wide and arms properly extended to seal and sustain...Does a solid job keeping his balance when working in the short area during pass protection...Does a good job of making reads and line calls...Has a keen understanding of the game, maintaining position while protecting the pocket and is always looking for secondary targets to attack...Has the kick slide needed to effectively retreat in pass protection.

compares to

BEN HAMILTON-Denver...Like Hamilton, Jones is not the bulkiest blocker you will find, but he has good short-area explosion and good hand placement to be an effective drive blocker. He is better working at the line than into the second level, but he has the functional quickness to get in front on pulls and traps. His versatility will be a bonus, as he spends his first year or so allowing his body to mature.

negatives

Dominant blocker at the line, but struggles some getting out in front when asked to block into the second level...Stays on his feet on the move, but his legs tend to die when having to run long distances...Strong player, but needs to add more bulk to his frame in order to compete vs. the larger defenders at the next level...Has decent hip snap and lateral agility, but needs to anchor with a wider base to prevent being pushed back into the pocket by a strong bull rush...Better working in-line at guard on pulls and traps, as he might not have the quick kick slide needed to retreat and combat edge rushers at tackle at the next level...Has above average upper body strength, but needs to increase his lower body power to prevent the more physical pass rushers from defeating his anchor... Has good knee bend, but for some reason he is a bit of a waist bender who sometimes loses balance working in space...Will sometimes get over-aggressive, causing the finesse pass rushers to beat him with a quick lateral move, as he does not always follow through with his hips properly.

No injuries reported.

Campus: 5.52 in the 40-yard dash

412-pound bench press

Bench pressed 225 pounds 26 times

520-pound squat

345-pound hang clean

4.73 20-yard shuttle

7.77 three-cone drill

30-inch vertical jump

8'3" broad jump

33-inch arm length

9 1/2-inch hands

Right-handed

Wears contacts

19/41 Wonderlic score. Combine: 5.46 in the 40-yard dash

1.79 10-yard dash

3.09 20-yard dash

4.88 20-yard shuttle

7.8 three-cone drill

25.5-inch vertical jump

8'2" broad jump

Bench pressed 225 pounds 28 times.

Attended H.L. Richards (Oak Lawn, Ill.) High School, playing football for head coach Gary Korhenen

Named first-team All-American by USA Today, Parade and CNN/SI as a senior

Super Prep Top-25, 2002 Tom Lemming Prep Football All-American and named by recruiting services as one of the top five prep offensive linemen in the country

Rated the 47th-best player in the nation by Tom Lemming, adding first-team All-Conference and Sun Times All-Area honors as a junior and senior

Second-team All-State choice as a junior and a unanimous first-team All-State selection by IHSA, News Gazette, Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune as a senior

Graded out at 91 percent for blocking consistency as a senior, leading his team to a runner-up finish in the Illinois state championships as a junior.

Health and Sports Studies major

Brother, Jim, was an offensive guard at Notre Dame (1997-2000) who was also on the practice squads for the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers

Son of Elizabeth Paplauskas and James Jones

Born 6/25/85

Resides in Chicago Ridge, Illinois.