CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The University of North Carolina is one of the academic powerhouses in the country, regardless of not being an Ivy League school. Yet, it is also one of the biggest athletic powerhouses in the country with historic success coming from their basketball, baseball and more recently, its football program.
It's why it is so impressive that its student athletes are able to perform so well in both the classroom and on their respective "fields."
Football wide receiver J.J. Jones is no exception, as UNC is preparing him for both life in football and afterward.
Jones is a graduate student with the Tar Heels, studying journalism at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media in Chapel Hill.
In the classroom, his resume can stretch the distance of a first down. Dean's List, All-ACC Academic Team, ACC Honor Roll and Tar Heel Scholar-Athlete are just some of the many academic achievements the student athlete has garnered. He even served as a representative at the 2024 Black Student Athlete Summit and was a 2024 ACC Top-Six for Service award recipient for his community service efforts.
That alone would be enough to keep the average college student plenty busy. Yet Jones was not and is not satisfied.
He wants to play in the NFL, and he's hoping that his final season in Carolina blue can get him to the next level. His final year won't be without challenges though. He won't have a NFL-caliber quarterback throwing to him, like he's had in the past with Sam Howell and Drake Maye. He'll be one of the more talented and veteran leaders on the offense that will look to find success in a tough ACC in 2024.
Regardless if Jones makes it to the professional ranks, he's confident knowing he's prepared for life thanks to what he's learned at UNC, and the strong academic legacy he's had to uphold.
"He tells every recruit the same thing, and it's a genuine statement," said Jones about Head Coach Mack Brown's message to new recruits. "It's a 40-year decision, not a four-year decision. You know, as a recruit, you're like, 'I just want to play football,' that's all you're worried about. But the coaches, the academic staff, nutrition, staff from top to bottom told me and showed me that there's more to football than just playing on the field."
Brown has been in coaching for almost 50 years and has gotten some of the best college football players in history to the next part of their lives. He's also benefited from being their coach though, having former players go on to do surgeries on him in a medical setting.
While Jones isn't interested in becoming a doctor, he is interested in using his football knowledge to entertain people watching college and professional football, which means being at UNC has been the perfect place to go to school. UNC's journalism school is rated as one of the best in the country, coming in at No. 22 by U.S. News & World Report. Add in Brown's experience as an analyst for ESPN, and Jones is in the sweet spot for finding success.
"Coach Brown was able to be a guy and be a mentor to me because he was on TV, and he was great at what he did on TV," Jones said. "So to be able to talk to him, the connections he's been able to give me, ever since I told him I wanted to get into broadcasting, I'm extremely grateful, and I don't think I'd be in this position without him."
In football, Jones is trying to build off a year where he caught 46 passes for 711 yards. With a new quarterback coming in to UNC to replace top-NFL draft pick Maye, things could be challenging for Jones. However, his ability to be a quick and efficient study should help him. It's why he thinks he'd be so good at becoming an entertaining and informative analyst.
"Being able to play down [on the field] gives me, I feel like gives me an advantage, because I understand what's going on," Jones said. "But whenever I get up [in the press box] one day, I'll know the sounds of the sideline, what the coaches are talking about, how the players are communicating on the field. So just being able to be up there one day, that's my dream. That's my aspiration, of course, after the league."
Jones is not afraid of a challenge, as evident by his efforts in school and on the gridiron. His motivation for becoming a sports broadcaster is no exception, as it stems from a childhood memory, and overcoming adversity.
"So it's actually a funny story. Whenever I was a kid, we had the local news come out for a little league football game, and they just want to do little promo commercials talking about the news and saying 'we'll be right back,' so my line was 'we'll be right back.' That was it. And he told me before what my line was. I did it perfect in the run through, we went live, and he put that camera on me and I blanked. I just couldn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. And he whispered it behind the camera, and I got made fun of by my friends, my family. From that point, I told myself I'll never mess up on camera again," Jones said.
The Tar Heels begin their 2024 football season with a road matchup against Minnesota on August 29.