Pac-Man Fever
October 08, 2003 11:40 AM | General
October 8, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia sophomore Adam “Pac-Man” Jones has earned some new fans after his performance last Thursday night at No. 2-ranked Miami.
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| Sophomore Adam "Pac-Man" Jones ranks 22nd in the nation this week in kickoff returns. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks) |
The College Park, Ga., resident played toe-to-toe with Miami All-American tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr. the entire game, intercepting a pass in the end zone right before the half, forcing a fumble, recovering another and finishing the game with 12 tackles.
Jones spent most of the game jawing back and forth with the very vocal and demonstrative Winslow. All during the first half Winslow was asking Pac Man, “Do you know my name?”
Finally, Jones had his chance to reply. At the end of the half after Pac-Man intercepted an under-thrown fade pass in the end zone intended for Winslow and the two were on the ground wrestling for the ball, Jones got up and said, “I’m Pac-Man, gobble, gobble.”
Pac-Man’s response had to have at least drawn a smile from Winslow.
Later in the game, Jones said he could see Winslow giving him more and more respect. At one point Winslow even winked at him.
“He was trying to talk to me the play before the field goal and I was like, ‘No let’s wait until after the game.’ But he came up to me and told me to keep my head up and that he looked forward to playing against me on Sundays,” Jones said.
Even though the two battled throughout and drew offsetting personal fouls for a brief altercation, Jones says he has a great deal of respect for the way Winslow plays.
“I love the way he plays. Why not play like that?” said Jones. “He’s the best tight end around right now and he’s playing with a lot of confidence. Sometimes it can get you and sometimes it can’t. I think he had a great game.”
Pac-Man Jones’ performance against Miami was one of many bright spots for a West Virginia team looking to turn around a 1-4 start. He was named the Big East defensive player of the week for his efforts.
“It was my first one and hopefully I’ll get a couple more of these,” he said. “It’s just the beginning for me. I’ve got a lot more to learn and a lot more to do to get better.”
Jones says there is a simple reason why he made so many impressive plays against the Hurricanes last Thursday night.
“I played more,” he admitted. “I played, what, 36 plays the last game and I played 86 plays against Miami because of injuries. I had to step up in my role. As far as confidence, that’s one thing I’ve never lacked.”
“They tested him a little bit,” said West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez, “but he played pretty well. He’s a darn good competitor.”
Believe it or not, Jones’ great self-confidence was actually a detriment to him at times as a true freshman last year. Even though he played a lot, one of the reasons he didn’t play even more was because he tried to do too much and sometimes compromised the defense, either by trying to make an impossible interception or by being in an area where he wasn’t supposed to be.
“Coach Gibby always tells me to let the game come to me. That’s what I’ve been doing now,” Jones said.
Jones isn’t sure when he earned his first career start – either East Carolina or Cincinnati – but he knows how long he lasted in last year’s loss to Maryland.
“I got in the first play and came out on the third,” he laughed.
Don’t plan on that happening again this year. Jones has assumed an important role in West Virginia’s defense ever since the season opener against Wisconsin, and is progressing nicely.
“He competed pretty well in the first game against Lee Evans,” said Rodriguez. “What’s going on now is that we’re getting more comfortable with him in knowing the entire defense. Not just knowing the man coverage things but the zone coverage things, too.”
Jones is also a threat returning kickoffs and punts. This week he ranks 22nd in the nation in kickoff returns with an average of 26.4 yards per return. Jones believes it’s just a matter of time before he returns one the distance. “I’m going to break one. I’m just being patient and humble right now,” he said.
Jones was anything but patient and humble at Westlake High School in suburban Atlanta, where after his senior season during his school signing ceremony in front of a packed gymnasium he took off a Georgia Tech cap and placed on a West Virginia hat and announced he was going to be a Mountaineer.
The stunt drew mixed responses from the students at the school, some of whom were Georgia Tech fans. Yet Jones is still revered in College Park, Ga., and he recently had his jersey number 5 retired in a ceremony at the school along with former Clemson standout Keith Adams. Jones says those are the only two jerseys ever retired in football.
Pac-Man wanted to wear number 5 at West Virginia, but was convinced by Coach Rodriguez to wear a different number last season.
“I kind of wanted to keep 5 but Coach Rod was like, ‘Just change up and try something new.’ Coach Rod put me in 9 and I’m happy to be wearing 9,” said Jones.
“I heard there was a pretty good player here once who wore 9,” Jones smiled.
After his performance at Miami, Jones’ play is beginning to measure up to the lofty standards number 9 represents at West Virginia University. According to Pac-Man, who got his nickname as an infant by his mother because of the way he went after the bottle, perhaps the biggest thing that came out of the Miami game was the fact that the team may have won back some wavering fans.
“Fan support is a very, very major factor in helping us try and run the table,” he admitted. “We need fan support more than anything. When this place is sold out everybody plays well.”
Jones is hoping to play before a big and rowdy crowd Saturday to help West Virginia battle an improving Rutgers team. Jones says there is no way the Mountaineers will take Rutgers lightly despite beating the Knights 120-7 over the past two seasons.
“As a team I don’t think we can be overconfident, what is our record, 1-4? I don’t keep up with losses. I know we won one though,” he said.
In addition, Jones says he has no idea what happened in past West Virginia-Rutgers games. Asked by one reporter if he could remember the last time Rutgers had a better record than West Virginia when the two teams played, Jones replied: “I don’t know. I’ve only been here a year. I’m a rookie still.”
Pac-Man may be a rookie, but he’s growing up pretty fast.
