T Dawand Jones (4.29.23)
On how excited Jones is to stay in Ohio:
“It’s a great feeling. Just there in Ohio State, they treated me well. The whole state of Ohio, it’s just a blessing, honestly.”
On why he did not work out at the OSU Pro Day:
“I’ve just been dealing with a couple injuries. I just didn’t want to chance anything or make it worse in any type of way, so I talked with my agent. He heard me in the process. I’m just here to work and there’s no other words to talk about, but I was very fearful of how it would pan out. Cleveland gave me a chance and I’m just happy to be here.”
On the influence Thayer Munford had on him:
“He had a great influence. My first year, I kind of struggled with my offense, but he took me under his wing and he protected me like I was his little brother.”
On his basketball background and how that helped him maintain his athleticism:
“It’s helped me a lot, just working on my footwork all the time in basketball. It just translated over to football, so whether a pass or a switch or cutting off the baseline. It translated over and it helped out, it helped me out in the long run.”
On his comfort on both sides of the line and how his versatility could work with the Browns:
“I’ve played both sides at Ohio State. Just something that we always had a big talk about, being able to jump in and do whatever. Whatever the Browns need me to do, I’m going to do it. I’m just being versatile, just know I’m much of an asset.”
On if he was the biggest guy in class all of his life and what it was like playing football against guys that were much smaller than him:
“I don’t know. I feel like where I’m from, there’s bigger people. There’s always somebody to match up with, but I thought I was probably much stronger than most people and a little bit more advanced than those guys. Just my body was a little bit better than theirs, you can just take advantage. When the talent got better in some places, you got to be a certain weight and I had to play up. I was giving my all and I was doing my own thing, playing some guys from back home who are in the draft, so I’ve been near those big people.”
On if it’s true if he wanted to play basketball at Kent State and how he eventually picked football:
“Yes, I was in between playing basketball and football, I really had no football offers in my senior year. Kent State was there with basketball, they were on me pretty tough and I took my time and I waited and waited and coach eventually sent me a message and said they haven’t given me a scholarship. I took a chance and I said I’m just waiting for this one football scholarship–my season wasn’t done yet for football–and after that, last day of the season, I got my first scholarship on Monday and it was on me after that.”
On his basketball background and how he responded to teams asking him if he was fully invested in football:
“That was my biggest thing, proving my passion for the game. It hurt me knowing and watching my family, they don’t see it enough and it makes me go harder.”
On working with OL coach Bill Callahan:
“It means a lot coming from great coaches at Ohio State, so coming to a new staff. It’s a higher level, getting the best coach to help me out my rookie year is going to be tremendous, in my opinion.”
On what jersey size he wears:
“I’m a 4x jersey, but I don’t know all the numbers. Sometimes, they make it wider or make the split different, so I don’t know.”
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