Safety carries Gerald Jones spent the first part of the season picking off passes. Lately, San Jose State's ball-hawking safety has been picking on himself.
Spartans’ burden
Jones, who is No. 3
Notebook
in the nation in picks,
likes to take the blame
for SJSU's woesBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comJones, who is third in the nation with six interceptions in eight games, likes to blame himself for the Spartans' (4-5, 2-2 Western Athletic Conference) three-game losing streak as they prepare to play at Hawaii (6-2, 5-1) on Saturday.
Jones intercepted passes in four consecutive games and had three against Stanford. He's credited with eight takeaways when you add a fumble return for a 72-yard touchdown against Arkansas State and his forced fumble vs. Boise State.
But he's not impressed. No. 3 in the nation as an individual doesn't mean a whole lot to Jones.
"It's nice, but no, not really, the interceptions just came to me. I didn't do anything spectacular," he said. "I guess I know the truth and don't need people to tell me how good I am. I'd rather they tell me how bad so I can improve."
Jones is his own toughest critic. He shoulders blame even though he has an injured shoulder he could blame.
The 6-foot, 196-pound junior who was a teammate of UH's Isaac Sopoaga at College of the Canyons said he is suffering a midseason slump.
"I just do my best to do my job and my job only. The last couple weeks I haven't been doing it," Jones said. "Hopefully, I can get it into gear and do my job specifically. If anything maybe I've suffered a lack of focus. Yeah, at this point in the season there is a burnout factor, but you have to be able to show up every Saturday."
Jones' comments highlight a problem for San Jose State; with an ambitious schedule and only 61 scholarship players, the Spartans depend a lot on a few standout players; it wasn't the only reason, but when Jones missed the Ohio State game, San Jose State was blown out 50-7.
Since then, the Spartans lost 52-24 at Nevada and 45-8 at Boise State. What looked like a good chance at bowl eligibility has turned into a long shot.
"It's not an excuse," Spartans coach Fitz Hill said. "We just try to deal with it one game at a time, but injuries have hurt us tremendously because of our lack of depth. There are times we're not as sharp because we can't do some things in practice. But we're up and coming and looking forward to our future."
Whether or not they make it to a bowl game, Jones and the Spartans will still count this as a special season. Winning at Illinois began a three-game win streak for a team few expected to perform well.
"It felt real good," said Jones, who is second on the team with 69 tackles. "To go to Illinois and beat a BCS conference team was an overwhelming feeling."
When: Saturday, 6:05 p.m. Hawaii vs. San Jose St.
Where: Aloha Stadium
Tickets: $21 sideline, $16 end zone, $12 students/seniors, UH students free (super rooter only). Available at Aloha Stadium, except for student tickets at Stan Sheriff Center. Also at Ticket Plus outlets or by calling (808) 526-4400.
TV: KFVE (Channel 5), delay at 10 p.m., with rebroadcast Sunday at 9 a.m. Also available live on Pay-Per-View. Call 625-8100 on Oahu or (866) 566-7784 on neighbor islands to subscribe.
Radio: 1420-AM.
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