Thornton has ties to the Pats and it turns out that Marcus Jones also has ties. Let's count the ways. David Rowe. Rutgers. McCourty. Steve Belichick. Saban. Alabama.
The Patriots addressed two holes with one selection by drafting the electric Jones, the 2021 Paul Hornung Award Winner.
For those unfamiliar with the Paul Hornung Award, it’s given to college football’s most versatile player as someone who played multiple roles on offense, defense, and special teams.
New England’s third-round pick had 47 tackles, five interceptions, four return touchdowns, and 113 yards and another score on 12 offensive touches in his last season for the Cougars.
Jones was an AP First-Team All-American defensive back and the AAC’s Special Teams Player of the Year. However, his versatility and ability to fill multiple roles isn’t the only thing that made Jones a perfect Patriot.
In an interview with CLNS Media, University of Houston defensive backs coach
David Rowe connected the dots to the six degrees of separation that led Jones to New England.
“I know Bill [Belichick] has drafted
Rutgers guys in the past.
I played with Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, and Logan Ryan. I actually played with Steve Belichick. We graduated together. He [Marcus Jones] fits that mold perfectly,” Rowe told CLNS Media.
“[Marcus Jones] is the same type of person as those guys. Hard workers, smart football players, very competitive on the field, and don’t have to worry about issues off the field.”
Rowe was a three-year starter at defensive back for the Scarlet Knights in the same secondary as several current and former Patriots players during his playing career.
But the Patriots connections to the Houston program don’t stop there. New England’s
southwest area scout, Alex Brooks, who received praise from Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh after the team selected Jones and Baylor wide receiver Tyquan Thornton,
is a close friend of Rowe’s.
“We’re neighbors, so we live in the same apartment complex,” Rowe said of Brooks. “He’s been hounding me all year about Marcus, and he finally got it done.”
If that’s not enough for the Patriots to draft Jones, here’s one more key element.
Houston’s associate head coach and
defensive coordinator, Doug Belk, is a former graduate assistant and cornerbacks coach on, you guessed it, Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama.
Belk was in Tuscaloosa working for Saban from 2014 to 2016, making a quick two-year stop at West Virginia before following head coach Dana Holgorsen to the Cougars.
With Belk’s background in Saban’s system at Alabama, Houston is running a coverage system that majors in similar schemes as the Crimson Tide, which carries over to New England.
The Patriots are usually unpredictable in the NFL Draft, but then there are picks like Houston's Marcus Jones. New England had an obvious need at cornerback after losing Pro Bowlers J.C. Jackson and Stephon Gilmore over the last calendar year. Furthermore, the Pats’ secondary depth was no match...
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