Auburn hopes Oregon transfer Jayson Jones can be ‘anchor’

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Auburn hopes Oregon transfer Jayson Jones can be ‘anchor’ at defensive tackle

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

4-5 minutes

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Oregon defensive tackle Jayson Jones (93) sacks Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura (4) in a Pac-12 football game on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. Photo by Thomas Boyd for The Oregonian/OregonLiveThomas Boyd for The Oregonian/OregonLive

Jayson Jones is hard to not notice.

One of Auburn’s newest defensive linemen certainly stands out on the field. Checking in at 6-foot-6 and 328 pounds, he is the Tigers’ tallest defender and its heaviest — as well as a potentially vital addition to what should be a formidable defensive front this fall.

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“He’s an anchor,” defensive lineman Marcus Harris said. “When I first heard (he was transferring to Auburn), I was like, ‘Oh my God, look who we got.’ I was happy for him… I heard about the type of player he was. When I heard he was coming, I couldn’t wait to get him and have some more help on this D-line so we can be the best that we can be.”

Jones is one of three new additions to Auburn’s defensive line for 2022, and one of two already on campus, along with junior college transfer Jeffrey M’ba, who is not currently practicing. The Calera native is a former four-star prospect who first signed with Oregon in 2020. He spent two seasons with the Ducks, redshirting during his first year before working his way into the rotation along the line last season.

He had 19 tackles and a pair of sacks while playing in 13 games in 2021 before entering the transfer portal at the end of the season. On Dec. 24, he committed to Auburn, giving Bryan Harsin and his staff an early Christmas present along the defensive line, where the Tigers lost 10 players this offseason either to graduation or the transfer portal. That includes five on the interior line, with nose tackle Tony Fair graduating while Dre Butler, J.J. Pegues, Lee Hunter and Marquis Robinson all hit the portal.

Jones seems like an ideal fit to slide into the spot at nose tackle previously held by Fair, the UAB grad transfer who spent his final season on the Plains, and he showed impressive knock-back on the center during a recent goal-line period in practice. With new defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh interested in rotating players through different spots along the line, Jones could also see time as a 4i or 3-technique. That kind of versatility can provide flexibility for the Tigers up front, too.

“Tony wasn’t that tall like (Jones) was, and he wasn’t like that muscular like he is,” Harris said. “I feel like Jayson, he can play different positions along the line because he’s tall and muscular…. I feel like with Jayson there’s more range. We have more range with the defensive line.”

Regardless of where exactly Jones lines up this season, he has been a welcome addition to the interior line this spring. Harris, another Alabama native who transferred in from Kansas last summer, sees some of himself in Jones as the Tigers’ newest defensive lineman acclimates to his new program.

“He comes with the work mindset,” Harris said. “He just wants to get to work and help the team out as much as he can. He doesn’t say too much, but you can tell he comes to work every day. That’s how I came in here. I wanted to get to work and help the team out anyway I could. I can see that from him…. I feel like he’s going to be a good anchor down there.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.