University of Richmond Athletics
Jones Named To National Defensive Player Of The Year Watch List
08/05/2016 | Football
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The preseason accolades continue to pour in for David Jones.
Jones, a senior safety for the University of Richmond football team, was named to the STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. The honor adds to a long list of preseason accolades that include two Preseason All-American nods, CAA Preseason First Team and CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
“It's incredibly humbling to receive the praise and I truly honored, but at the end of the day, I have to let my play to the talking,” Jones said. “My teammates and I have goals set for us this year and our focus is solely on those goals.”
Jones, who earned All-American and All-CAA honors last year for the Spiders, tied the single-season school record for interceptions with nine, one of which was returned for a 100-yard touchdown in the FCS home victory over rival William & Mary.
He also set a school record and tied a CAA record when he had four interceptions in a home win over Albany in October of last year.
The St. Petersburg, Fla. native had a breakout year last fall. Along with his record-setting interception total, he also posted a career-high 97 tackles, second most on the team, 15 pass breakups and three tackles for a loss. His 12 career interceptions ranks him third all-time in program history.
Jones and his teammates open up the 2016 campaign on September 3 when they travel to Charlottesville, Va. to take on the Cavaliers of the University of Virginia. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN3.
