In a difficult season for the UTEP Miners, one running back has been a bright spot for the team. He is Aaron Jones, a former local standout at Burges High School, now on his way to a very successful year after missing all but two games in 2015 due to an ankle injury.
He needs 122 yards against North Texas in the season finale Saturday to break Donald Buckram’s single season rushing record. Besides chasing that record, that there’s another area that Jones could focus after the season is done: the NFL Draft. Head coach Sean Kugler brought it up on Monday in his weekly press conference when asked about it.
“Kids do have the ability now to look for a draft grade without expiring their eligibility. And really, I would probably encourage Aaron to do that, to see where he stands. I’ll say this, if Aaron had a first round draft grade, I would be the first one to tell him to come out; because it’s an opportunity that you really can’t pass up.”
Kugler also did say that he would sit down with Jones and his family after the season to discuss his future. He also said that he wanted to see Aaron come back next season if that was his decision.
“I would love Aaron Jones to stay here. Not only is he a great player, he’s a leader, he’s one of the hardest workers that I’ve been around. The reason he’s had the success that he does, is because of his work ethic.”
The question is: Would Aaron Jones declare for the draft after the season is over? I believe that he should seriously look into it for a couple of reasons.
First, the production is there. Jones has run for 1,471 yards this year and 13 touchdowns in 2016. Despite, missing most of last year, Jones became the school’s all time leading rusher last week against Rice. Despite not getting help from the rest of his offense, he’s been the focal point for the Miners ground attack and I think that will serve him well at the next level.
Second, he’s shown himself to be a versatile player. With NFL offenses placing a greater emphasis on throwing the ball, Jones can be a reliable receiver out of the backfield. He impressed last week with a tremendous touchdown catch against Rice and NFL teams love a guy who can catch passes.
Finally, he’s showing people that he can stay healthy for a full season. One knock on Jones entering this season was his durability. On top of missing most of 2015, Jones has also missed games during his freshman and sophomore seasons with injuries. This year, he’s proven that he can stay healthy for a full season and with how short careers for a running back can be, that makes him even more valuable.
There are a couple of things that may work against Jones. It is a very deep class at running back with big names like Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, D’Onta Foreman, and Christian McCaffrey all expected to declare for the draft. Because of that, one might think Jones may get lost in the shuffle. On top of that, teams may still have questions about his durability even though he’s been healthy all of this year. He isn’t a big name outside of El Paso but that could all change if he gets invited to the combine.
If Jones ends up getting a draft grade anywhere in the middle rounds, it would be a good opportunity to go. Kugler loves Jones’s work ethic and that determination would serve him very well in his future NFL career.
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