2022 Season Countdown: #19 Trente Jones

 

Trente Jones (image via UMGoBlue)

Name: Trente Jones
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 311 lbs.
High school: Loganville (GA) Grayson
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #53
Last year: I ranked Jones #34 and said he would be a backup offensive tackle (LINK). He started two games as a sixth lineman and played in all fourteen games.
TTB Rating: 88

Last year there was quite a battle on the offensive line to see who would start. Trente Jones, Karsen Barnhart, and Chuck Filiaga were all in the running to start somewhere along the line, and all three lost their position battles. Jones became the sixth lineman and played in every game wearing #80 as an extra tight end (or #53 when he came in as a tackle during blowouts). Barnhart played as a backup, and Filiaga was a part-time starter. It portends good things when you're the sixth offensive lineman for a team, and there was some buzz about Jones, particularly about his athleticism. And it helped the offensive to have a 300+ pound tight end.

Fast forward to 2022. Filiaga has transferred to Minnesota for his sixth and final year, while Barnhart and Jones have remained to duke it out at right tackle. While Barnhart has more experience playing standard offensive line positions, it seems that Jones has at least written in pencil his name on the starting offensive line. It appears that Barnhart will once again be a backup - at least until Ryan Hayes leaves after this season - and Jones will be replacing Andrew Stueber at right tackle. I think Jones is a good athlete with a powerful base, and I expect him to give a Stueber-like performance. In other words, he should be very reliable without being a truly dominant player.

Prediction: Starting right tackle