Georgia’s young but promising outside linebackers are being helped by someone who was wreaking havoc for the Bulldogs not that long ago.
Jarvis Jones, an All-American outside linebacker during the 2011-12 seasons, is back at Georgia as a student assistant under first-year defensive coordinator Dan Lanning. Jones has been with the Bulldogs for much of this summer and will turn 30 years old midway through the 2019 season.
“We never really knew he was coming,” junior outside linebacker Walter Grant said in a recent news conference. “He was just here, and he’s been helping us ever since.”
Jones began his college career at Southern California before transferring to Athens and sitting out the 2010 season. He led the Southeastern Conference with 19.5 tackles for loss in 2011 and set a Georgia single-season sack record in 2012 with 14.5.
The Pittsburgh Steelers used the 17th overall pick in the 2013 draft to select Jones, who wound up compiling 129 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions in 50 career games. The Steelers chose not to use a fifth-year option on Jones, who landed with the Arizona Cardinals briefly in 2017 before being released.