Saivion Jones is a defensive end from St. James high school in St. James, Louisiana. The 2021 recruit helped the Wildcats capture their first state championship in over 40 years. Standing at 6’5 and weighing in at 250 pounds, Jones has drawn comparisons to former LSU defensive ends like Barkevious Mingo and Arden Key. Jones has elite speed coming off the edge, and a nose for the football. The junior seemed to live in many offensive backfields this past season having multiple tackle for loss and sack games. Saivion has a tremendous first step and in some cases has beaten the offensive lineman across from him with that initial step. The junior tells me he wants to work more during this off season to increase his foot speed. Jones currently has a 3.4 GPA and a 19 ACT.
When did you start
playing football?
I’ve been playing since I was about six years old. I started
with a little league team called the Rams.
What do you love
about football?
I love that it brings a lot of competitiveness, and if you
want to compete, that’s where you have to go.
Did you play any
other sports growing up?
I played basketball too, I’m still playing basketball. I
started playing football first, and then basketball.
Did you play any
other positions other than defensive end?
I played tight end too. For basketball, I played center and
power forward.
On the football
field, what style of play best describes you?
I think a person that likes to get after it, every single
play, and just work hard.
Going back to this
previous season, what were your personal goals?
My personal goals were for to us have less than five mistakes
every game, and to at least have ten sacks at the end of the season. I met all
those goals.
Who are some of your
biggest influences?
My mom, she is the one that keeps me grounded. She keeps me
going.
Do you think attitude
is a factor in winning?
Oh yeah! Attitude is a big factor in the game. If you have a
bad attitude, it won’t bring you very far in the game of football. But it you
have a good attitude it can bring you far.
On game day what was
one of your biggest strengths?
I would say my speed, my quickness, the ability to get off
the ball and get up field.
What motivates you
the most?
The thing that motivates me the most is my school, we hadn’t
won a state championship in forty years, so we were hungry for it.
On a scale of 1 to
10, what would be your ideal performance number?
Well, every ones ideal would be a ten, but I would love to
stay above a seven at least. I feel like five is just average, and I don’t want
to settle for average. I want to stay above average.
At the end of this
coming year, what would your coaches and teammates say about you?
That I’m a hard working person.
If you weren’t playing
football, what sport would you be playing?
Basketball, probably playing center or power forward.