A Fitter Caleb Jones is Seeing the Benefits in Spring Practice

Written by Sammy Jacobs

Indiana offensive lineman Caleb Jones is a giant human being. He makes his fellow linemen look small when standing next to them. On IU’s spring football roster Jones is listed at six-foot-eight and 362 pounds. However, during a pandemic stricken off season, Jones admitted he playing at 395 pounds by the end of the 2020 season. His mission this offseason was to shed weight and become a better offensive lineman.

“The biggest thing for me coming into this spring was all about body weight” Jones said, “making sure I was at a weight that I was comfortable playing at and a weight that I thought I would be able to get the most out of this season at. That was the biggest focus coming into practice. Now that I am at the weight that I feel good at, it is about refining my technique and making sure I take advantage of every opportunity I get in spring ball. I am trying to make sure I am the best version of me that I can be next season.”

So what is the optimal weight for the big Hoosier from Indianapolis? After discussions with IU strength coach Aaron Wellman and his staff Jones said, “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 has played in 29 total games for the Hoosiers, but missed three games in the middle of the season due to an undisclosed issue. Jones brings experience to a line that needs both that and production. He believes that continuity should help the Hoosiers improve upfront.

“We have a lot of guys coming back that have a lot of game experience.” Jones said. “Of course, that is going to help when it comes to crunch time and those situations in games where you have to have guys out there that know what they are doing and how to handle themselves. That will be a big advantage for us, knowing that we have so many guys coming back that have game experience. There are not a lot of guys in our room that are new.”

A veteran group should have an easier time getting in the skills needed during spring practice with COVID restrictions and it has lightened the load on the slimmed down Jones.

“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.”

The Hoosiers wrap up spring practice on April 10th before heading into the summer portion of their off season. IU is slated to open the 2021 season at Iowa on September 4th.