In the fourth round of the NFL Draft, the Houston Texans have used the 99th overall pick to select a player who is going to make their fans, their backfield, and their QB very happy for a long time. That player is Ben Jones, the center from the University of Georgia.
Jones has many qualities that should help him find NFL success. Not the least of these is that he's a little bit nuts... in the best possible way.
I should probably state up front that Ben Jones is one of my favorite Bulldogs. The 6'2" 303 lb center from Centreville, AL (I kid you not) really matured and improved in 4 years as a starter at Georgia and was ultimately named a 1st Team All-American by ESPN, Yahoo, and Rivals.
Georgia's overall captain for 2011, Jones has the physical tools to be successful in the NFL but, more importantly, he is a solid high character guy that you can rely on to lead the offensive line. He doesn't get in trouble with the law, he doesn't shoot his mouth off to the media, he manages to stay healthy or play injured, and he has four years of experience playing a plethora of current and future NFL defensive stars that he went up against in the SEC.
Along with fellow draftee Cordy Glenn, Jones has long been one of the only consistent things about Georgia's offense (and even Glenn has changed positions). Georgia's offense was in a perpetual state of change during Jones' time in Sanford Stadium. He snapped to Matthew Stafford, Joe Cox, and Aaron Murray during his 49 career starts. Linemen came and went due to injury or transfer, while a revolving door at running back saw no consistent running threat beyond Jones' freshman year. Yet, there was Ben Jones: the consistent anchor of Georgia's line. Jones isn't the kind of player that is going to set the world on fire (and his ceiling probably isn't as high as Peter Konz's), but he's consistent, reliable, and he isn't injury prone. He's the kind of player that can help make your offense go for years to come.
The Dawg Sports staff congratulates Ben and wishes him the best of luck in the NFL. We're sorry to see him go, but happy to watch him go on to great things. GATA Ben!