Oakland Raiders' rookie Taiwan Jones recently sat down to answer some questions from The Oakland Tribune's Steve Corkran. It is a solid read, and Jones is not the typical rookie. As you probably know he came to Oakland from little know and lightly hailed Eastern Washington.
It is the path that took Jones to Eastern Washington that separates him from most rookies. Jones always had the crazy athletic talent that you see in highlights. Corkran:
Big-time colleges knew all about Jones during his standout career at Deer Valley High, but a subpar grade-point average made it impossible for Division I colleges to offer him a scholarship.
Jones struggles with his grades became a lot more understandable when he learned he was dyslexic just before his Senior year of high school. But Jones worked hard and didn't lose sight of his goal despite not getting into the colleges his ability should have opened the doors to. Jones:
It's been frustrating. My father was a big inspiration. He told me to give it my all, and they eventually would find me.
I for one am glad he stuck with it as I can't wait to see him take the field, and do as one of his assistant college coach, Chris Hansen, expects him to. Hansen:
Montana was the best-tackling team in our conference, and Taiwan is making them look stupid. He's going to make those guys [NFL] look stupid, too. When he gets into the secondary in the NFL, he's also going to make those guys miss.
There's more in the article, and it is all interesting. Check it out if you haven't.
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