Byron Jones (American football)

Early years

Jones attended St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol, Connecticut and played for Jude Kelly. He was A gifted track & field athlete, Jones was one of the state's top performers in the 200m and 400m. At the 2010 NVL Outdoor T&F Championships, he earned first-place finishes in both the 200-meter dash (22.13s) and 400-meter dash (48.43s).

In football, he received Class MM All-State and All-Naugatuck Valley honors as a senior and team captain. He was considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. He also practiced basketball.

College career

Jones accepted a scholarship from the University of Connecticut Huskies. As a redshirt freshman, he started 2 games at cornerback and six of the final seven games at safety. He recorded 51 tackles (sixth on the team), one fumble recovery, 2 interceptions and 4 passes defensed. He returned a fumble for a game-winning touchdown against the University of South Florida.

As a sophomore, he started 12 games at safety, tallying 88 tackles (third on the team), one interception and 2 passes defensed. The next year, he was switched to cornerback, starting 11-of-12 games, while registering 60 tackles (fourth on the team), 3 interceptions and 8 passes defensed.

Jones started 7 games at cornerback as a senior, posting 24 tackles, 2 interceptions and 4 passes defensed. He had a 70-yard interception return against the University of South Florida in what ESPN announcers called "what might be the UCONN play of the year". He missed the rest of the season after undergoing surgery for a shoulder injury suffered in a loss against East Carolina University. He finished his college career with 223 total tackles, 8 interceptions and 2 touchdowns.

2015 NFL Draft

At the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, Jones set a new Combine and World record for standing broad-jump by leaping 12-feet, 3-inches (3.73m), beating Jamie Collins's old record of 11-feet, 7-inches (3.53m) set in 2013.

2015 season

Jones was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the first round (27th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. Although the Cowboys thought his best position was at free safety, his versatility and ability to learn different positions allowed the defense to use him in different packages and to deal with different player injuries. He played mainly at safety and slot corner, matching man-to-man against the opponents' biggest receivers.

Against the Miami Dolphins, his first start at right cornerback (in place of an injured Morris Claiborne) proved to be difficult. He gave up a 47-yard touchdown reception to Jarvis Landry, a 29-yard touchdown to Kenny Stills and left the field in the final minutes with an ankle injury. Against the Carolina Panthers in his second game as the starting cornerback, he performed better and had two key plays on the goal line to prevent a touchdown right before the end of the half. Against the Green Bay Packers, he had to finish the game at right cornerback, when Claiborne left with an injury.

In November, he passed J. J. Wilcox on the depth chart and was promoted as the starter at free safety. Against the New York Jets he started at cornerback in place of an injured Claiborne, but suffered a dislocated left knee after tackling wide receiver Quincy Enunwa, that he was able to pop back into place and continued to play a total of 71 snaps. He was beaten by Kenbrell Thompkins for a 43-yard gain that set up the winning field goal on the Jets' next-to-last drive. He finished the season with 11 starts (7 at safety), led the defense with 12 passes defensed and also played every down on special teams.