Iowa center Logan Jones finally ‘having fun,’ not ‘overthinking everything’ as he tries to replace Tyler Linderbaum

IOWA CITY — Logan Jones, Iowa’s current football player donning a No. 65 jersey, received a text message from the last guy to wear that number.

The former No. 65 “just said like prepare a lot, just work really hard and you’re going to do great” ahead of Iowa’s season opener against South Dakota State.

That former player, 2021 unanimous All-American Tyler Linderbaum, is not an easy center to replace. But that’s the task of the new No. 65 in Iowa City.

Like Linderbaum, Jones moved from defensive line to offensive line after not seeing much playing time on defense and has been quickly thrust into a starting role.

“I’ve been very impressed how he’s handled just all the newness, all the first times, all the ‘Hey, this happened,’” offensive line coach George Barnett said.

Jones said head coach Kirk Ferentz approached him about making the move during winter strength and conditioning. After about a week, Jones determined, “OK, I want to do this.”

Linderbaum made the adjustment quickly — he was an All-Big Ten honorable mention in his first year as a center — but not every player is a future NFL first-round pick like the Solon native was. It’s taken Jones a little more time to get accustomed to the position.

Pro Football Focus graded Jones as the 12th-best center out of 15 in the Big Ten who have taken at least 100 snaps through the first five weeks of the season.

“His mistakes that he’s made here and there — enjoy them while they last,” Barnett said.

Jones noticed himself “overthinking everything” in the Week 1 game against South Dakota State.

“I was like, ‘Holy crap,’” Jones said.

Along with it being his first start at center, it also was the first time he played more than seven snaps in a college game.

“Now I’m just going out there and playing and actually having fun,” Jones said. “It’s coming more naturally now.”

It’s now been almost seven months since spring practices and his move to center began.

“It feels a lot longer,” Jones said. “It’s been a fast year, but it feels like I’ve been playing O-line for a while now. … It feels like I’m right where I should be.”

Fellow offensive linemen Mason Richman and Connor Colby, who made their first career starts in 2021, helped him with “playing fast.”

“If you’re out there measuring, being timid, you’re not going to get anything done,” Jones said. “If you mess up, do it going 100 miles per hour.”

Jones said run blocking has been “a lot more” easy than pass blocking so far.

“Pass blocking is a little more finesse,” Jones said. “I’m still trying to work on that. That’s probably the worst aspect of my game right now.”

Snapping was a challenge early with Jones “overthinking fronts and things like that,” but it’s been a point of emphasis and an area of improvement.

“I was a little slow off the ball,” Jones said. “I wanted to make sure I was right. This past game, I was just like, ‘Screw it, I’m just going to go. I’m going to snap the ball faster.’”

Jones is not the only inexperienced player on this year’s offensive line.

Three of the five starters made their first career starts at the college level this year. Colby started at guard last year, but he made his first start at tackle this season.

Richman is the only starting offensive lineman to have significant experience before this season at his current position, and he’s only a sophomore.

Jones and others have been trying to apply what Barnett describes as “young courage.”

“When our younger guys go out there and play, you’ll see they’re just going super hard,” Jones said.

Barnett has praised how “poised” and “calm” Jones has been as he makes the quick change from reserve defensive lineman to starting center.

“What he brings to the table is just a steady, steady work ethic,” Barnett said.

As for future steps in the young center’s development, Ferentz said Jones “just has to keep playing.”

“There's only so much you can do,” Ferentz said. “You can only practice so long.”

Ferentz is referring to more than just the NCAA limits on practice time, but also the physical limits for someone who has taken 291 of 295 possible in-game snaps.

“There's a time limitation, but just realistically, if you want to have a guy ready on Saturday, you've got to be smart during the week, too,” Ferentz said.

The numbers for this No. 65 don’t look like what Iowa’s previous guy wearing a 65 jersey did, but Iowa’s staff is content with what Jones has done in the last seven months.

“He’s everything we thought he was going to be,” Barnett said. “Probably a little bit more, to be quite honest with you.”

As for the previous No. 65, Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras has tried to catch a glimpse of Linderbaum in the NFL. Watching Linderbaum live has been difficult with Iowa’s night games and the schedule oddities that come with it on Sundays.

“But I always watch their highlights, and it’s good to see him out there,” said Petras, a close friend of Linderbaum.

Linderbaum, The Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker wrote last week, “has been the source of zero drama” since coming back from a foot injury.

PFF graded the rookie as the ninth-best run-blocking center among those who have taken at least 200 snaps this year. He’s 18th in pass-blocking.

“He’s a stud,” Petras said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com