Don’t Tread in Marvin’s Garden : Florida State’s Award-Winning Linebacker Doesn’t Merely Tackle Opponents, He Plants Them

MIAMI —  Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones did not complete his first college football practice three years ago, collapsing while running wind sprints in the oppressive summer heat of Tallahassee, Fla.

“The first three (sprints), I just took off and ran them in about 25 seconds because I didn’t know we had to run four of them,” Jones said. “When they told me to run again, that was it, I just went up under a tree and fell out. They had to come get the smelling salts.

“And my coach said, ‘We don’t need no shade trees.’ And ever since then, that’s what everybody’s been calling me--Shade Tree.

“I like that nickname because it sounds cool.”

That was the last time Jones quit in practice.

“He loves to practice,” Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden said. “But there’s something else about him. He has that special ability to get knocked down, but make the play. You know what it’s like? It’s like when you throw a cat up in the air and he lands right back on his feet.”

Jones’ work ethic has enabled him to become one of college football’s best players.

A 6-foot-2, 235-pound junior, Jones was named to the Associated Press All-American team for the second consecutive season and finished fourth in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy behind Miami quarterback Gino Torretta and tailbacks Marshall Faulk of San Diego State and Garrison Hearst of Georgia.

Although Jones might be the best college football player, he realizes that he had little chance to win the Heisman because he is a defensive player.

“The award is supposed to be for the best player and a lot of people think that I am the best player, but the way they give the award I didn’t think they’d change just for me,” Jones said.

Bowden says Heisman voters should give more consideration to a player other than a quarterback, running back or wide receiver.

“We ought to, whether it’s Marvin Jones, or (Washington tackle Lincoln) Kennedy,” Bowden said. “Why don’t they go get the best football player in America and that could possibly be Marvin Jones.

“We haven’t hardly played against anybody who played better than Marvin Jones. I would probably vote for Marvin. If it had to be an offensive player, Torretta would get my vote. I feel like the day we played them (Miami beat Florida State), Torretta was the difference.”

Selected by the Sporting News as the college football player of the year, Jones won the Lombardi Award, presented to the nation’s best lineman or linebacker, and the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s best linebacker.

“Thanks for being yourself and for playing the game the way it should be played,” Dick Butkus said in presenting the award to Jones.

Jones plays with the same aggression Butkus displayed during his NFL career.

“Jones gets to the ball in a hurry and he’s not in a good mood when he gets there,” Miami Coach Dennis Erickson told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Florida State created two defensive statistics to record Jones’ hardest hits--Knock ‘em Backs and Intimidations. Jones led the team with 21 Knock ‘em Backs and 21 Intimidations.

“The ultimate hit for me would be where they had to call a trauma helicopter (ambulance to transport his victim to a hospital),” Jones said. “I guess it would be hitting a guy smack in the face and bending his head back to his heels.”

Jones says that hard tackling can neutralize opponents.

“I like to get the big hits because it changes an opponent’s mind,” Jones told the Tallahassee Democrat. “You put a big hit on a guy early in a game and let him know, ‘This is how it’s going to be all day,’ and he might as well put on an FSU jersey. He’s ours.”

Despite his aggressive attitude on the football field, Jones is mild mannered off the field.

“It’s something that’s locked inside me all day and when I get to the football field it’s unleashed,” Jones said. “I carry my football mentality all day, but off the field I think about pleasant things.”

Jones’ fiancee, Sharon Thornton, marvels at the transformation that takes place when Jones puts on the pads.

“He’s like a brute on the field,” she said. “He’s like a murderer out there. It’s hard to describe Marvin. He’s a man of many different faces. He’s really kind and gentle. He loves kids and he’s very nice to his fans.

“I’ve never seen anybody take the time to sit down and return fan mail. Most people just throw it away. He loves his fans. He’s God in Tallahassee, I’ll tell you that.”

Jones comes from a football family.

His older brother, Fred, 27, a Miami police officer, was a linebacker at Florida State, graduating in 1987.

Jones’ brother is like a second father to him.

“Fred is the one that pushed him to get to his books and lift weights and to run during the off-season,” Thornton said. “Fred is a bigger influence on him than his father. Not that he doesn’t respect his father, but his father puts everything off on Fred because Fred is the only person that can get through to Marvin and get some results.

“If I even need to talk to Marvin and I’m not getting through I’m like, ‘OK, it’s time for me to call Fred.’ ”

They talk by phone often. Fred tapes every Florida State game and critiques his brother’s performance.

“It started when I was in high school and he’d tell me about all the bad things I did on the field,” Marvin Jones said. “He never gave me any credit for all the good things. He just stays on me.

“I can talk to him about anything. Nothing’s too bad for me to tell him. He just stays on me.”

Fred Jones says he feels an obligation to his brother.

“I’ve taught him more about life than football,” he said. “It’s like I play the game through him. I’m his big brother and I’m not going to ever tell him something wrong. If I don’t know the answer, then I’ll try to find out. If I can’t find out, I’m not going to tell him at all.”

Jones’ brother supported him through a difficult period in late 1983 and early 1984 when their grandfather, sister and mother died within the span of four months. After their grandfather’s death in November of 1983, sister Barbara died a month later at 24 after undergoing open heart surgery. Their mother, Thelma, died at 46 of an enlarged heart two months later.

Said Fred Jones: “It was a tough time for both of us. But Marvin was the inspiration for me to keep going through college because I always told him never to be a quitter. I preached that over and over to him and I could not quit. As much as I wanted to come home and just be with my family, I could not just leave college. I had to finish it.”

After finishing school, Fred Jones failed to make an NFL team. Waived by the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers in 1987, he returned to school and earned his degree in criminal law. He joined the Miami police department after graduating because he wanted to help troubled youths. He patrols the Liberty City area of Miami, a high-crime neighborhood where rioting broke out before the 1989 Super Bowl.

“I felt like I didn’t get a fair shot in the NFL,” Jones said. “But I kept going on. I became a cop because I like to chase people. I used to chase running backs, now I’m chasing crooks.

“I guess my size helps a little bit. I’m not the smallest officer out there. I’m 6-3 and 255. I may have lost a step, but I still play on the police department team. I love to run. A couple criminals have underestimated me. If they jump a fence, I’ll jump a fence.

“I always wanted to have some type of influence on my community. I get a chance to deal with a lot of kids on the street and I try to steer them in the right direction. Marvin is my brother and I’m definitely obligated to look out for him because he’s blood.

“But these other kids, I feel almost the same about as Marvin. It’s important because if you don’t help them it’s going to affect you whether they’re stealing from you or robbing you.”

As No. 3 Florida State prepares to play Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on Friday night, Jones is grappling with whether to renounce his final season of eligibility to enter the NFL draft. College juniors must declare for the NFL draft by Jan. 6.

“People figure that I’ve made every All-American team for the last two years and won every award and they say it’s time for me to leave because I don’t have anything left to accomplish,” Jones said.

Fred Jones says his brother will be even more productive in the NFL because NFL coaches will make better use of his skills.

“He’s their best tackler, but yet he plays strong-side linebacker and takes on all the blockers,” he said. “He’s a great pass rusher, but they don’t put him on the outside to let him blitz.

“It’s just a matter of him going to the right (NFL) team and getting played the right way. If he stays healthy, I anticipate that he’ll be in the Pro Bowl by his second year and definitely the third. “

Bowden says he expects Jones will turn pro.

“I just don’t have a good feeling about him coming back,” Bowden said. “But I’m an alarmist.”