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Name: Trente Jones
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 325 lbs.
High school: Loganville (GA) Grayson
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #53
Last year: I ranked Jones #19 and said he would be a starting offensive tackle (LINK). He started six games at right tackle.
TTB Rating: 88
Jones stuck it out for three years, playing mostly as a sixth offensive lineman, and finally earned a starting job in year four! And then . . . he got hurt, and Karsen Barnhart took his job. Even when Jones returned later in the season, the coaches thought Barnhart was still ahead of Jones. So he continued to play as a sub and in certain packages. Jones did a good job of moving people at times, but he also had some tactical errors.
We keep hearing about him that he's an amazing athlete for his size, but Barnhart seems to be the steadier player. I've been waffling back and forth on which one I think will start in 2023. My heart tells me Jones, but my head tells me Barnhart. And the dark horse is Stanford transfer Myles Hinton. Michigan has a ton of good options, which is great for the team and terrible for amateur prognosticators like myself. One silver lining is that Jones or Barnhart could use the 2020 COVID exemption to return in 2024 if the winner of the job moves on after this season. It will be very interesting to see how it all plays out on the field this fall.
Prediction: Backup offensive tackle
Jones made some critical mistakes in pass pro, and we definitely don't want or need that. Maybe he is the better athlete, and probably did beat Barnhart in camp, but those mistakes were costly
ReplyDeleteJE, you’re right about the pass pro mistakes, but they were quite early in the season. It was mainly the first two games. His run game blocks were fantastic.
ReplyDeleteTough to rank guys at OT but he's a good bet go be the 6th OL and this isn't a bad spot for that if considering that 7th and 8th options are also good.
ReplyDeleteJones would start almost anywhere else but here he's in a fight. I hope they use him at TE/6th ol frequently.