Donovan Jones using versatility to strengthen Huskers’ secondary

LINCOLN, Neb. — After putting together a solid performance in Nebraska’s spring game, the defender is quickly molding into a Swiss army knife for the secondary.

Donovan Jones can play basically everywhere in the secondary because of his versatility. Jones is an elite defender, considering he’s a staple against the run, and a ballhawk out in pass coverage. Not only did Jones start 11 games last season, but he led the Huskers in pass breakups, and also finished fifth on the team in tackles.

The Omaha native took care of business in the classroom too, and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Jones basically picked up where he left off in last Saturday’s scrimmage. After all, he tallied three stops, which included two solo, and recorded the game’s only turnover for Team Nebraska’s defense.

Jones displayed great vision, instincts and athleticism on that play when he intercepted a tipped ball off a wide receiver’s hands, returned the pigskin 13 yards and gave Team Nebraska great field position. Not to mention he accomplished that feat against the first-team offense, which featured new signal-caller Anthony Colandrea.

“I just had vision on the quarterback, I saw him throw it, and I was kind of just waiting there for the tip,” Jones said. “He did, I was in the right spot at the right time and I tried to get in that endzone.”

Jones feels he’s just doing his job when he executes plays, and it’s just another day at the office. Defensive Backs Coach Addison Williams is in his second season of operating the secondary and continues to use Jones in differents spots at the third level. Jones lined up in the slot, and played mostly at safety last year.

However, with new Defensive Coordinator Rob Aurich at the helms, Williams is utilizing Jones’ versatility, and often inserts him in the nickel, which is more like a hybrid cornerback of the 4-2-5 scheme. Jones didn’t have no problem with having a bigger role with the defense over the spring either.

“It’s definitely some steps throughout the way, because I was playing some field safety for like the first five or something practices,” he said. “Then I got put in that nickel, and I had to learn it pretty quickly, but it wasn’t that difficult.”

There are some areas of improvement that Jones want to work on approaching summer workouts. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder is putting an emphasis on setting the edges better, and being stronger on the perimeter. It’s no mystery that Nebraska struggled to stop the run in 2025, and finished 98th in the FBS in rushing defense.

Jones usually leads by example, but wants to be more of a vocal leader for this upcoming season. He has enough experience and production to be the general, and enforcer of the secondary. Jones believes the unit is in a great place right now, in terms of terminology, depth and playmakers. In his eyes, the group is just starting to crack the surface of their potential, and hard work will lead to success on the gridiron.

“All of these safety positions, all of them are going to have a chance to make plays, and wherever they put me, I was just going to try and succeed my best from there,” the sophomore said. “I know that the plays are going to come to me just as long as I do my job, because that’s how this defense works.”

Despite the fact that everything is still in the early phases, Jones has ambitions of the Blackshirts being one of the best defenses in the Big Ten this fall. So he’s going to continue to grind daily, chop wood, and push his teammates, knowing they’ll reach their goals in due time.