| | |
|
Old rivals meet again Colorado LB Jones gets another shot at Ducks' Smith
Posted: Sunday December 20, 1998 04:08 PM
BOULDER, Colorado (AP) -- The University of Colorado left Sunday for Hawaii for its Christmas Day date with No. 21 Oregon, hoping to make it two straight over the Ducks. This Aloha Bowl matchup will not be a rematch of the 1996 Cotton Bowl, but also the renewal of an old high school rivalry between Colorado linebacker Fred Jones and Oregon quarterback Akili Smith. The San Diego natives met annually with Jones playing for St. Augustine High School and Smith at Lincoln. "Akili was pretty good then," Jones said of his former division and city foe. "He is really good now." Good enough to produce 3,490 yards of total offense, 3,207 yards coming through the air. Smith has completed 191 of 325 passes for 30 touchdowns and has been intercepted just seven times. "He makes things happen for them on offense and they play well because of him and play better because of him," Jones said. 'You have to respect a guy like him. They say he is better than Michael Bishop at Kansas State." Smith probably has little memory of Jones and their past encounters. Jones played offensive tackle in high school. "I didn't get to sack him, never got off the sidelines when he was in the game," Jones said. "I'd like to take care of that when we play him in Hawaii." Jones has spent the entire past season making up for lost time. He missed the entire 1997 campaign due a knee injury suffered in a pickup basketball game over the previous winter. Surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament followed by a lengthy rehabilitation period didn't allow him back on the practice field until mid-October that year. Jones returned to the practice field, but was suspended for breaking a non-football related university code. "Last year was a total loss and I had to spend a lot of rehab time getting back," Jones said. "I never lost sight of my goal to come back. I had to have something to prove to myself." Jones responded with a very good year with a team-leading 6 1/2 sacks, three coming against Texas Tech. His forced fumble near the goal line preserved a victory over Fresno State. "Fred was always an aggressive player," Colorado defensive coordinator A.J. Christoff said. "This year he's demonstrated his experience and actually picked up his intensity and we expect more of him and more big plays from him." "Considering everything I have been through and everything I've done, I am satisfied," Jones said. "You'd always like to have things even better, better, but the year has been satisfying for me." Jones credits Christoff and the defensive scheme for his productivity. He said it was the scheme that allowed him to be in position for his only interception of the season against Utah State and his sacks. "This scheme allows for a lot of players to make plays and anyone that follows their assignments can make them in this defense," Jones said. "We will need plenty of big plays to beat a team with big-play capability." Jones wasn't dressed the last time the two teams met. He was redshirting on January 1, 1996 when CU beat Oregon 38-6.
| |||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||
