Reshad Talks NFL, Future

Reshad Jones met with media today to discuss his decision to leave school early and enter the NFL draft. He told me earlier today that he expected Rennie Curran would be announcing today, too, but backed off those comments this afternoon, and UGA sports information director Claude Felton confirms that Curran has not yet made an official decision.

As for the rest of what Jones had to say, here ya go...

On making his decision...
“I decided to come out of school early. I talked about it with my family and prayed about it. I got my stuff back from the NFL advisory board. Like I said, I sat down with my granddad, and we kind of felt this was the best decision for me.”

On his NFL evaluation...
“I don’t want to go in-depth on what my grade was, but it was pretty good. It was good enough for me to make my decision.”

On his hopes for the draft...
“I hope to be a first-rounder. I think it is possible with the strong safety class this year. I’ll have to go the combine and just work my butt off and see how everything goes.”

On what he thinks the knocks on him are...
“A lot of guys probably think I can’t run as fast as I can, so really I just need to blow up the combine like I know I can and just increase my stock and move on up the draft board.”

On NFLers he talked to about the decision...
“I kind of talked to Mohamed (Massaquoi). We’re pretty close. And he just said, ‘Man, the next level is a business, and make sure you’re mentally prepared for the next level. I think you’ve got all the tools physically. Just make sure you come prepared mentally.’”

On waiting for a new DC to be hired...
“I was considering doing that but the time was getting close and I knew that whatever I was going to do, I needed to make my decision. I know I needed to do it fast, and I got my papers back and talked about it with my grandparents and I knew it was time for me to make a decision. I decided to come on out because I needed to start training and preparing myself for the next level.”

On the reaction from Richt/Garner...
“Coach Richt and those guys supported me. They said I’ve done all I can do at Georgia, I’ve been great for Georgia, and they supported me whichever way I was leaning.”

On his career at Georgia...
“I think I had a pretty solid four years here at the University of Georgia. I was all-conference last year, second team, and I made second-team this year. I think I’ve made some tremendous strides over a four-year period, not only on the football field but off the football field also as a man. I’ve matured, and that’s what led me up to making my decision also. I feel like I’m mentally and physically prepared for the next level.”

On how prepared Bacarri Rambo is to step in for him...
“Watching Bacarri grow, I think he’s going to fit right into my shoes. He’s learning the game, he knows his stuff now, and I think he’ll be a big help for Georgia and the secondary next year.”

On the reactions of his teammates...
“A lot of guys were thinking about me leaving, talking about me leaving, but they probably said that because there’s always room for improvement. You can always get better. But I felt like the time was right for me to make that jump.”

On what he thinks the last year accomplished for him...
“I think I’ve always been physically ready. I just wanted to learn the game a little bit more, get in the film room, break down tape and just know the game more. That extra year gave me more opportunities to evaluate the game more and be a better player.”

On whether playing for a new DC in a new scheme affected his decision...
“That would be kind of hard coming in my senior year learning a whole new scheme when I’ve been a part of the same scheme for four years. That would be kind of hard to get a hold on.”

On whether he talked to Willie Martinez...
“I talked to him and let him know the way I was leaning. He said to just make sure you do the right decision and he was going to have my back and support whichever way I do.”

On his final two games...
“I had a pretty good season last year but I ended off on a bad note last year. Playing a great game in the Tech game and the bowl game kind of solidified my decision of making the jump early.”

On where he thinks he ranks right now for the draft...
“I’ve had a lot of people say right now that I’m ranked in the top five safeties to come out and enter the draft, so I really want to be in the top two safeties. So I’m just going to keep working and see what happens.”