2021 Countdown to Kickoff: 77 Days (Caleb Jones)

Written by: Zach Greene (@zgreene650)

The 2021 countdown carries on! The Hoosiers will take on the No. 16 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes on September 4, just over 75 days away! Today we profile Offensive Lineman Caleb Jones, a redshirt senior out of Indianapolis. @calebballsohard

Name: Caleb Jones 

Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.

Position: Offensive Lineman 

Year: Redshirt Senior

Height/Weight: 6-8/362

Caleb Jones will look to build off 2020 and lead the Hoosier offensive line this season. During the 2020 season, Jones played in five games, four at left tackle and one at right tackle. He earned Offensive Player of the Week honors against Michigan State last year. When Jones was on the field, his presence was palpable, as he made a pretty solid job protecting Quarterback Michael Penix.

An enormous human being Jones stands at 6 foot 8, which makes him the biggest man on the O-Line. Considering his immense size, Jones has trouble with his mobility. He will look to improve and have faster twitch muscles in 2021.

Out of Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Jones was ranked a three-star recruit by 247 Sports. He decided to attend Indiana over offers from Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Illinois. 

As a senior, Jones looks forward to his leadership duties as a veteran player of the Offensive Line unit. “It is definitely a weight off my shoulders being one of the older guys in the room,” he said. “I have other guys around me that can help me take on the task of making sure the younger guys know what to do. I do not really have to worry about them not knowing what to do. It is a sigh of relief when you have guys around you that play at the same level that you do.”

Although Jones is listed on the IU football roster at 362 pounds, Jones’s optimal weight is around 345-350. “The optimal weight for me I feel, that I've had the conversation with my strength coaches and my coaches about is somewhere around 345-350. I’m at about 355 right now, which is a 40-pound difference from last season, where I honestly at the end of the season I was playing at around 395, so it's definitely a huge difference, and I hope that you know people will notice the huge difference in the work.”

Jones is motivated to seal the deal and finish the season strong. He states, "Two years in a row, we didn’t finish. And this year, it can’t be that same way.”