Jason Jones to anchor middle of Cobras’

Jason Jones had a choice to make. For the first time in his life, he was struggling with academics, and a series of events had endangered his budding football career.

Hurricane Katrina devastated southeastern Louisiana just two weeks after the 6-foot-2, 305-pound defensive tackle stepped on the campus at Nicholls State University in Thibodeaux, La.

Jones’ parents, who live 15 minutes outside of downtown New Orleans in Reserve, lost power for two weeks following the 2005 event, but they were spared from the flood waters. He went to stay with his brother, who was finishing up at Southern University in Baton Rouge, until the hurricane was over.

Then students from other universities started to show up at Nicholls State, and the comforts of home were just a little more than a half-hour away.

Jones found it difficult to be successful with all the distractions. He took responsibility for part of it, too.

“When I found out I didn’t have to go to class, that was a problem,” said Jones, who signed with the Seattle-Tacoma Cobras this week. “I really thought I could go in there, hear something one time, study it and pass.

“I missed a lot of class.”

It hadn’t been a problem in high school. Jones was an honor student at East St. John, where he played with onetime LSU standout quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, a dual threat considered one of the top recruits in the country. READ MORE