NC State fifth-year senior left tackle Tyler Jones will be a bit of an NFL Draft expert in April when it comes to defensive ends.
Jones has had to block Boston College senior Zach Allen with a little bit of senior Wyatt Ray, Clemson redshirt junior Clelin Ferrell and Syracuse junior Kendall Coleman the last three games. That quartet has collectively combined for 28.5 sacks this season.
“I have a lot of confidence in myself and I feel like I played pretty well,” Jones said.
The next defensive end possibly awaiting Jones is Florida State junior Brian Burns, who is tied for the ACC lead with nine sacks and he is fifth with 11.5 tackles for loss. The hits just keep on coming for the 6-foot-3, 306-pound Jones, who celebrated his 23rd birthday this past weekend.
“He’s pretty quick and a long guy,” Jones said. “He is pretty agile. They still have to go against me too. It’s not like I’m just going out there and looking at it like ‘Oh my, I have to block this guy.’ I try to look at every opponent the same way.”
The Wolfpack offensive line welcomes playing at Carter-Finley Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, after dealing with crowd noise at both Clemson and Syracuse. It does make a difference.
“You see what the defense feels like when they come here,” Jones said. “It’s loud and the crowd is going crazy and you can hear them calling their name or number or stuff like that.
“When you are on offense, they are quiet and not as loud and they cheer for you when you get big plays. That momentum and enthusiasm feeds you. When you are away from it, it’s a different feeling.”
NCSU knows this is a must-win game after losing at Clemson and at Syracuse to fall to 5-2 overall this season. A double-digit win season is still possible, but giving sixth-year senior quarterback Ryan Finley time in the pocket is crucial for that to occur.
“[Ten-plus wins] is a big goal of ours,” Jones said. “It is very attainable. We could have a really good season, but we have to stay with a 1-0 mentality.”
Jones wants the Wolfpack to show that “grind mentality” that the team has always had.
“We just have to go back to work and get back to what we were doing,” Jones said. “Our quarterback was hit way too many times last game. I feel like that shook him up a little bit, not being able to stand back there and deliver the balls that he delivers. We took a lot of pride in that and took that to heart.”
Jones is aware that Saturday is one of three remaining home games, with Senior Night taking place against Wake Forest on a Thursday night, rather than the East Carolina contest Dec. 1 that was added on.
“I’m trying not to think about it a lot because I’ll get emotional,” Jones said. “With the last home game ECU, but Senior Night is next week. It’s getting close. I’m taking one game at a time and enjoying myself while I am here.”
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