Calm, quiet linebacker learning to lead on field

His football coach calls him the quiet type. So do some of his teammates. He even considers himself a goofy guy. But when sophomore linebacker Herana-Daze Jones steps on the field, he is all business.\nJones is second on the team with 66 solo tackles and 32 assists for a total of 98 despite missing last Saturday's game against Penn State with a shoulder injury. He is averaged 9.8 tackles per game which is good enough for fourth in the Big Ten conference for all games played.\nDefensive coordinator Tim Kish said he expected a lot of productivity. Kish told Jones at the beginning of the year he would have to be heavily involved in the defense.\n"He really, year in and year out, should be the most productive player on the team," Kish said. "He's come in and made some big plays for us this year. I keep challenging him to be more consistent. He needs to become a better tackler. But he's starting to develop his leadership skills, and that's important for a guy in his position."\nJones said he is working on becoming a vocal leader. But he said he leads better in other ways.\n"Sometimes [Kish] wants me to be more of a vocal leader," Jones said. "Mainly, he wants me to come out and play and lead by example. He wants me to be the catalyst, the one that sparks everything."\nJones said he has to come out every day in practice with a lot of emotion. He said his teammates look to him to play hard all the time.\nJones surprised some of his teammates before the Iowa game on October 19. He got up before the team and spoke about pride and taking a stand.\nHis inspiration comes from his mother; a women who Jones said spoiled him as a kid and made sacrifices for him and his four siblings. Olivia Jones has attended every home game this year and has even made it out to a few road games.\n"If she couldn't give me the material things, she gave me a lot of love," Jones said. "I had everything I needed. We are a close-knit family."\nBut Jones said that what he gets most from his mother is work ethic. He knows that sacrifices that she had to make for her family.\n"I know my mother worked hard for what we had," Jones said. "It was the main thing that changed my attitude. I saw how hard my mother worked to provide for us."\nDuring the spring, Jones made the switch from defensive back to linebacker. Kish said the coaches had to make quick decisions on positions. He credits Jones' knack for the football as his best attribute as a linebacker.\nKish said that Jones still has some growing to do, but he is becoming a better student of the game. Freshman linebacker John Kerr said Jones has really helped him out this year, and it's good to have somebody like him out there.\n"Herana-Daze is a very smart player," Kerr said. "If I have any questions during practice, he picks things up pretty quick. He knows the defense very well. If I don't what to do, I can always holler over there, and he knows what to tell me"