Former Ravens receiver and return specialist Jacoby Jones credits talent and leadership for the Ravens’ Super Bowl victory a decade ago, and he is now using that experience to coach up players at FCS Alabama State.
Jones, who played for the Houston Texans for five seasons before coming to Baltimore in 2012, was a key weapon in the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII journey. He caught 30 passes for 406 yards and one touchdown and had three return touchdowns on special teams during the regular season.
Jones was even more dangerous in the playoffs, catching the “Mile High Miracle” 70-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco against the Denver Broncos and bringing in a 56-yard touchdown pass against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. Jones also returned a kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown against the 49ers, the longest scoring play in Super Bowl history.
The talent of the 2012 Ravens cannot be understated. With such talented players on offense, Jones thought this team was going to be unstoppable when he first arrived in Baltimore. Jones rattled off the names on that offense, including Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Dennis Pitta, Ray Rice and Vonta Leach.
“I just ran a post [in practice] and Joe let it go and I went and got it,” Jones said on Glenn Clark Radio Nov. 16. “When I got up, I turned around and looked [and] Joe was already down the field right there by me like ‘Yeah!’ I’m like, ‘Oh shit, we’re like this. We’re about to be nasty.'”
Jones went so far to say that current Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson would be a different kind of threat if he had the 2012 Ravens receiving corps.
“If Lamar had me, Anquan and Torrey, he wouldn’t be running nowhere,” Jones said.
Jones says it took leadership to push the Ravens to a Super Bowl title. The Ravens lost three straight games late in the year, putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy. Jones says the team came together to make the final push, starting with a 33-14 win against the New York Giants in Week 16.
“We went through a little spell, and us as players, we hold each other accountable,” Jones said of the losing streak. “We had a lot of leaders on that team. You’ve got Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Joe Flacco. … We had leaders on our team that wouldn’t let [missing the playoffs] happen.”
Jones recalled a surprise Lewis had for his teammates after they made the playoffs. Lewis brought out his Super Bowl XXXV MVP trophy to show the team what it could achieve. The rest is history. Even Jones was impressed by the competition the Ravens beat in the playoffs.
“We faced [Peyton] Manning, we faced [Tom] Brady and then [Colin Kaepernick]. We put them all to sleep,” Jones said. “Our defense was flawless and our offense was flawless. Special teams, you couldn’t tell us nothing because we stayed special.”
Jones recognizes it was not just the Ravens’ stars who made a difference. Players like defensive back Corey Graham served as the final pieces to the 2012 team’s puzzle. Graham played in the NFL for 12 years.
“You can look at Corey Graham,” Jones said. “Corey Graham had two picks [in Denver] by the end of the game and he was a quote-unquote special teams guy. And people don’t know me and Corey Graham trained together for the Combine.”
Ten years later, Jones is a receivers coach at Alabama State. He attributes his desire to coach to Ravens head man John Harbaugh. After reuniting with Harbaugh at the 10-year anniversary when the Ravens played the Browns on Oct. 23, Jones had some words for his former coach.
“I told John, I said, ‘You taught me something, you taught me how to be a player’s coach,'” Jones said. “You listen, you understand us. When you’re right you’re right and when you’re wrong you’re wrong, you let him know. That’s why, the way I coach, I coach like him. I coach like John Harbaugh.”
Jones, who briefly coached at Morgan State and Calvert Hall before arriving at Alabama State, says his background as a whole is what gives him the motivation to coach, not just his professional success. A former player at Division II Lane College and a third-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Jones coaches his players through his experiences of working through adversity.
“I want these kids to understand it don’t matter where you go [to college], they’re going to find you,” Jones said of why he coaches at Alabama State. “You know, we have scouts come here every day. What’s the work you put in? It don’t matter where you go.”
Jones wants to prove to his players they can achieve what may seem impossible, like when he helped the Ravens win a Super Bowl.
“I look these kids in the eyes and I see myself,” he said.
For more from Jones, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Sabina Moran/PressBox