ArkansasSports.com Articles
Beefing Up
Date: 2010-09-01T06:53:10.097
Author: Danny Meyer
Editor note: This year's Hogs and big.
Number of Views: 316
There are a lot of activities in which being big is a disadvantage.
Figure skating, limbo contestant, ice fisherman are a few. But there is a place where big is beautiful – the defensive line.
That’s why Razorback coaches were unhappy when D.D. Jones lost weight and ecstatic when he put it back on.
The sophomore defensive tackle is listed at 307 pounds, but dropped down to 270 after getting in shape in the offseason.
“Baby fat just had to shed off, I guess,” Jones said. “But I’ve got back up now and I’m feeling pretty good.”
The Razorback offensive line averages
“We want all our inside guys to be right around the 300-pound mark,” Arkansas defensive line coach Bobby Allen said. “If you’re sitting in there at 270, no matter how hard you try, you’re going to get knocked off the ball.”
Jones will need the extra weight. The Southeastern Conference and Big 12 have the highest average offensive line weights in the nation this year, according to Phil Steele’s College Football Preview.
Allen knows that Jones can play at that heavier weight. Last season, when Jones weighed around 300 pounds, he tied for third on the team with 2.5 sacks.
“You have to be big, because they have big guys in the SEC,” Jones said. “You do what you got to do to survive in there.”
The survival test will come early – Georgia, Arkansas’ SEC opener, has an average offensive line weight of 309 pounds.
Jones needs to be big, but gaining so much weight so quickly – 30 pounds in two months – has its side effects.
“His conditioning has to improve,“ Razorback defensive coordinator Willy Robinson said. “He has to continue to work to be an every down player for us. But he’s a guy who’s productive when he gets in there.”
Jones was listed as the starting defensive tackle when the Razorbacks’ depth chart was released Friday, but he said he has a bigger goal for the 2010 season.
“I want a chance to prove what’s inside of me,” Jones said. “I want to compete against every team and try to put every team in the dirt.”
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