South Carolina Football: Former Gamecock among NFL’s leading tacklers

Last night, the Los Angeles Rams lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football. The two teams were evenly matched in a defense-first affair. However, one linebacker stood out on the field above the rest. Former South Carolina football star Ernest Jones led both teams in tackles and partnered with future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald to dominate the game defensively.

Had the Rams’ offense been anything better than atrocious, Jones’ defensive effort would have led Los Angeles to a victory. He was all over the field for the royal blue and gold as, in addition to his 9 tackles, Ernest Jones also had a key pass deflection and a tackle for loss. In the end, though, Cincinnati avenged their Super Bowl LVI loss to LA.

The Rams’ defensive captain now sits in 12th in the entire NFL in tackles, and more impressively, is tied for 7th in tackles for loss. This is a rare feat for a traditional linebacker. Only one non-DL/non-EDGE player in football has more tackles for loss than Jones, and that is Micah McFadden of the New York Giants who has a significant advantage in snaps played this season.

In just his third season in the NFL, Jones has developed into one of the top sideline-to-sideline linebackers in football. Named one of the league’s youngest team captains prior to this season, Jones is expected to garner a lot of support for a Pro Bowl selection in 2023. He was a starter as a rookie on the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI championship squad and played well enough to be the game’s MVP had it not been for the superhuman effort from wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

During his Gamecock career, Jones battled a back injury from high school that saw him miss most of his freshman season. Showing the type of team player he is, though, he burned his redshirt to play special teams in the Gamecocks’ Belk Bowl appearance.

After his lost freshman campaign, Jones became a starter and a bright spot on some poor South Carolina football teams. He became an All-SEC performer at linebacker and earned himself a 3rd-round selection by the Rams in the 2021 NFL Draft.