Devy Profile: Ronald Jones II, RB USC

Name: Ronald Jones II

Position: Running Back

School: USC

Year: Junior

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 200

What do you get when you cross one of the most storied programs in college football history with a highly touted NFL-bound running back prospect? The answer is a seemingly infinite amount of hype. Some of us embrace it, and assume the ideal future and what it could look like. Others question it so much that they can’t even just sit back and watch some great football enjoying it for what it is. Today we try to take an unbiased and level-headed look at one of the top running backs in the country, Ronald Jones II.

As a Recruit

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Ronald Jones II has been under the bright lights of stardom since 2013. Yes it was that (his junior) year that Ronald exploded for 2,406 yards and 39 touchdowns in just 12 games. Read that last sentence again. From that moment on Ronald flew up the recruiting boards until he was a consensus top-five running back recruit in the nation. After running for another 2,000 yards his senior year of high school and running a 4.45-second forty-yard dash at age 17 it was time for Ronald to select a university to take his show on the road. Though he received 27 other offers from schools like Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Auburn, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State and more, Ronald decided to take his talents to Southern California.

Production Story

When Ronald first landed with USC, the competition seemed slim for Ronald to hit the ground running since Javorius Allen had just departed for the NFL. Justin Davis was there, and linebacker turned running back Tre Madden was apparently going to help with depth at the position too. But really Ronald Jones II looked like he would just waltz in and take on just about all of the work.

Sadly, if you’re familiar with USC’s track record, they don’t generally feed their freshman running backs. In fact, even dating back to the Reggie Bush days, they don’t ever seem to heavily feature any one running back, regardless of how good they are.

Ronald Jones was no exception. He was forced to split carries with Justin Davis and Tre Madden regardless of how breathtakingly inefficient they were compared to RoJo. Let’s take a look.

Statistics from Sports-Reference.

Luckily Tre Madden left after 2015, and in 2016 it was mainly only Justin Davis left to threaten Ronald’s workload. But then of course the USC offense started off the year against Alabama (lost 52-6), and Max Browne (USC QB to start the year) would take 20 passes just to move the ball 100 yards (seriously).

Things looked dark for Ronald Jones and his opportunity to actually showcase his talents. But then Justin Davis go injured and Sam Darnold happened (you know, the guy on the cover of ESPN the magazine for September).

Let’s take a look at what Ronald Jones did with his first actual “feature” opportunity from the Arizona game to the end of the season (with Justin Davis injured or taking a backseat AND Sam Darnold starting):

Statistics from Sports Reference.

I’ll do the math for you. That’s 874 rushing yards, 11 touchdowns, 10 receptions, 74 receiving yards, and one touchdown through the air in just seven games.

Not bad for an undersized running back that clearly can’t be a feature option…

Now that USC is done trying to get Justin Davis drafted, they have possibly the best quarterback in the country entering his second season, and plenty of top notch wide receivers to open up the box, Ronald Jones is primed to explode in 2017.

But hey let’s slow down for a second. The whole reason we’re interested in RoJo is that he could one day land on our fantasy football teams. Let’s take a look at some of the things that make Ronald great, and others that may limit him this year and beyond.

On the Field – Strengths

As I mentioned before, Ronald Jones II has legit 4.4-second forty-yard dash speed. Jones can blow up a game on any play with his game-breaking speed. That much is undeniable. But what might be more dangerous is RoJo’s feel for when to kick it in to gear in and out of cuts. Jones can side step contact near the line, hit the hole, cut outside, and get back to full speed before the defense has time to even realize he’s ten yards downfield.

One thing that quite often goes unnoticed with Ronald is his knack for finishing forward. He uses small last second bursts forward to pull or push defenders for that little bit extra a lot more than most “smaller” running backs do. He and Myles Gaskin of Washington might be the best smaller running backs in the country when it comes to finishing forward.

Ronald is also very decisive. If you watch closely it’s clear that RoJo is quite often diagnosing his running path well before he has the ball. Ronald diagnoses, puts his foot in the ground off of his first cut, and creates extra yards with his unbelievable burst.

There’s more to Ronald than his positives though.

On the Field – Weaknesses

Let’s play a game. How many of the top 12 PPR fantasy running backs in 2016 were “undersized” like Ronald Jones II? The bad news is that list really begins and ends with LeSean McCoy and Devonta Freeman. The sad truth is that feature backs are generally quite thicker than 6’0”, 200 pounds. There are exceptions like Jamaal Charles too, but it would be nicer for Ronald’s future feature running back chances if he added a little weight. He actually added 5-10 pounds this past off-season. Hopefully he keeps adding just a bit more.

Beyond his size, Ronald Jones doesn’t have many weaknesses. However, he also doesn’t break many tackles (probably partially due to his size). RoJo does make up for it with forward-leaning finishing, but he goes down with arm tackles and first contact a little too much.

Some say that Ronald can’t catch. That’s just not true. USC hasn’t utilized a running back in the passing game significantly since Reggie Bush. Ronald did see more targets with Darnold. He did pretty well in a small sample size. It would be nice to see him catch some more passes, but it’s definitely not a verifiable weakness.

Conclusion

Ronald Jones is a dynamic athlete with tons of potential. If he can overcome his size with a little extra strength it might be enough to make him a relevant fantasy football running back one day. Regardless, just sit back, relax, and watch one of the best offensive playmakers in the country do his thing. As always, come find me on Twitter @FF_TravisM so we can be friends. And hey, enjoy some highlights for the road.

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