Everyone has their own way of describing 6-foot-8, 370-pound freshman offensive lineman Caleb Jones.
Coach Tom Allen calls him a “big ol’ kid,” while offensive coordinator Mike DeBord posits that Jones may be the biggest person he’s ever been around. Jones’ teammates are equally in awe. Senior quarterback Richard Lagow says Jones is a mountain, and Jones’ O-line comrade, sophomore left tackle Coy Cronk, refers to his backup as a “huge human.”
No matter how members of the IU football team chose to describe the Hoosiers’ tallest and heaviest player, they all agree he’s outperformed expectations in his short time with the program. When Allen released his depth chart last Friday ahead of the season opener against No. 2 Ohio State, Jones was listed as the second left tackle, behind only Cronk.
To put a young player just one injury away from what some consider the most important position on the field is bold, but it’s a role that Jones’ coaches think he can fill if necessary.
“Got a lot of work to do, but that's what he's listed at, and that's what he is,” Allen said. “So we've been encouraged by his progress for sure.”
Allen said he initially considered redshirting Jones to give the Indianapolis native and Lawrence North graduate a chance to work on his footwork and physicality, but Jones has picked things up quickly. DeBord said the quick learning has been a trend among the young offensive linemen that IU brought in as part of its 2017 recruiting class.
Freshman Harry Crider also made his way onto Allen’s preseason two-deep, and is currently listed as the backup center behind sophomore Hunter Littlejohn. DeBord said IU’s freshman offensive linemen, which includes three-star recruit Tyler Knight, have worked well with O-line coach Darren Hiller.
“With all the football we’ve thrown at these guys, and being around linemen in my past, I know how hard it is to develop those guys,” DeBord said.
There’s no better player on the IU roster to mentor freshman linemen who may see playing time than Cronk. In his first season with IU in 2016, Cronk started all 13 games at left tackle, a school record for true freshman offensive linemen.
As Cronk’s primary backup, Jones has spent this summer learning from someone who was in his shoes just a year ago. And although team rules stipulate that freshmen can’t speak to media until they’ve played in a game, Cronk shared his opinion of what’s made Jones stand out in the early going.
“Once you see it once or twice, you realize he does have, like, really good footwork,” Cronk said. “If he keeps this attitude and mind-set up, I think he’ll definitely see playing time this year.”
Along IU’s offensive line, Cronk is still the youngest of the starters. The other four first-team linemen are all in at least their third years of college, but the full season at left tackle that Cronk has under his belt gives him plenty of experience with which to work.
Cronk seems on his way to becoming the latest in a line of IU linemen that have had illustrious college careers and gone on to the NFL, like Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney. But if Cronk is the next, then Jones might be the next next. The starter certainly sees the potential in his backup.
“He’s got to figure out different stuff that takes a little time, but I think he’s going to be a really special player one day,” Cronk said.
