by Chris Macaluso
Special to LSUsports.net
His nickname in high school was “Thunder Foot.” LSU senior punter Donnie Jones earned that title while playing at Baton Rouge’s Catholic High School because he regularly drove booming, thunderous kicks 40 to 50 yards, sending opposing return men scrambling and leaving opposing coaches scratching their heads.
Now, despite his ability to still drive high-flying punts 50 or more yards, Jones realizes it takes more than just a strong leg to master one of the most difficult and least heralded positions on the field.
“The most important thing is field position,” Jones said. “In the first game (against UL-Monroe) we had zero returns. We had a chance to drive the ball inside the 10-yard line three times and we did it twice. That’s what’s important to me.”
Jones’ change in his approach when he takes the field can be attributed to two main factors. The first is his maturity and leadership role on a relatively young Tiger team. The second comes as the result of a significant rule change in college football that should make life easier for all punters and those who cover punts.
The NCAA rules committee has done away with the “halo” rule for the 2003 season. In seasons past the “halo” gave punt returners at least a two-yard cushion between them and the cover men in which to field a punt. Failure to give the returner that “halo” resulted in a penalty. This season, returners are fair game, especially on punts with plenty of hang time.
Jones, along with several other punters and special teams players, believes the rule change will result in fewer return yards and many more fair catch signals.
“With the ‘halo’ rule gone what I’m trying to focus my attention on is net punting which is the number of yards you get per punt minus the return yards,” Jones said. “If we can lead the nation in net punting it will be really good for our team because it should result in better field position.”
If Jones accomplishes his goal it would be the crown atop an already outstanding career that has garnered him both regional and national attention.
He was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list before this season, marking the second consecutive year in which Jones has been recognized as one of the best 30 punters in the nation. The Ray Guy Award is given annually by the Greater Augusta Sports Council to the nation’s best collegiate punter.
“It’s a great honor to be a candidate for that award,” Jones said. “I worked at one of his (Guy’s) punting camps over the summer and it really helped a lot. For someone to think enough of me to nominate me for that award is tremendous but I’m trying not to focus on it too much.”
In addition, he was named the second-team All-SEC punter for 2002 by the league coaches, and he was recognized as the pre-season all-conference punter for this year’s campaign.
Jones has been the Tigers’ starting punter since his redshirt freshman season of 2000. Since then, he has not missed an opportunity to display his rare talent, punting in every LSU game the last three seasons except the 2002 Miami (Ohio) game. The Tigers punted just once during that contest, a 39-yard pooch attempt by former place kicker John Corbello.
Thanks to an outstanding effort in 2002, Jones has a chance to break every career punting record in school history by the time this season ends. He punted 64 times his junior season, averaging 44 yards per punt, driving 10 punts inside the 20 and forcing returners to call for 17 fair catches. But perhaps his greatest effort of the ’02 campaign was overshadowed by a teammate who was also recognized on a national level for his ability.
In game full of “miracles,” Jones crushed an 86-yard punt that traveled more than 70 yards in the air last season at Kentucky, leaving fans at the stadium and at home watching on television with their mouths agape. Jones’ career-best feat came long before Marcus Randall and Devery Henderson shocked college football with the “miracle” winning touchdown.
Jones has had one punt of at least 65 yards or more in each of his three seasons and while his talent shines consistently throughout the year, he really seems to step up to the challenge during LSU’s biggest games.
He helped the Tiger defense pin down an explosive Tennessee team during the 2001 SEC Championship game by averaging 45.2 yards on four punts including a championship-game record 58-yarder. The Tigers went on to defeat the second-ranked Vols, 31-20.
Jones also excelled during LSU’s 2002 Sugar Bowl victory over Illinois by driving three punts inside the 20-yard line including one that was downed at the six. In the ’03 Cotton Bowl against Texas, Jones averaged nearly 50 yards per punt on four kicks.
His ability to drive opposing returners back on their heels helped the Tigers’ special teams hold the opposition last season to an average of just 4.2 yards per return, which was best in the SEC.
Jones’ ability on the football field seems to be matched only by his ability in the classroom, where the finance major has earned Academic All-SEC honors in each of the past three seasons.
“You have to have some kind of balance between football and school,” Jones said. “If all you do is focus on football and don’t worry about school you’re not going to do well and the same is true in reverse. There has to be balance. Eventually I’d like to pursue a career in investment banking, maybe working on Wall Street. The school of business here at LSU has really prepared me for that.”
What the school of business hasn’t prepared Jones for is a career in the NFL, which Jones said he realizes is a possibility for someone with his ability.
“If the chance comes up for me to keep playing beyond college I’d like to continue to work at it,” Jones said. “But if you worry about that stuff too much you lose focus on what your task is here at LSU. I’m really just looking to do what’s best for the team. Maybe too much in the past I’ve worried about statistical average and myself. Right now I’m not worried about leading the nation in average. I want to do what it takes to help us win games.”