Logan Jones enjoys All-American Bowl experience

Traveling down to San Antonio for the All-American Bowl, Logan Jones was excited to get back in pads and hit somebody this week. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Jones did exactly that, performing well in practice throughout and earning a starting position at defensive end in the game on Saturday. After Jones helped the West team to a 33-20 victory over the East, we caught up with the future Hawkeye to get his thoughts on the experience and more.

Q: First, tell us about the whole experience at the All-American Bowl down in San Antonio. What kind of stood out to you about the week?

JONES: Definitely the thing that stood out the most was the amount of talent there. All of the guys going down there are very talented and good at what they do, so it was fun going up against some of the very best guys at their positions.

Q: In video clips from practice and the game itself, it seemed like you held your own for the most part. How did you feel like you performed?

JONES: The first day I was a little bit nervous, but the second day we had a practice on Tuesday with one on ones against our team and that went pretty well. Then we had a practice the next day against the East team with one on ones and I thought I did well against those guys. After those two days, I felt pretty confident going against some of the best guys down there.

Q: Was there anybody there that stood out to you as far as the best player you saw?

JONES: You know, one guy that really stood out was Andrej Keric. He's going to Texas and he was probably the best offensive tackle that I went up against.

Q: For you, was it nice just to be putting the pads back on after a couple months off since you played in the state semifinals?

JONES: Oh yeah, it was so fun getting to go back out there and play football. It felt like so long ago since I played, so it was nice to do it one last time in high school.

Q: Can you take me back to signing day last month? What was that day like for you just putting pen to paper and making it official with the Hawkeyes?

JONES: It was great. I committed back in February, so finally making it official in December was nice. I had a lot of family there and a bunch of my friends, so it was a big moment.

Q: You are playing basketball now and then will be going for another state title in the shot put and discus in track this spring. What else do you do from now until June to get ready for Iowa?

JONES: I just got the workout for strength and conditioning from them after signing day, so I've been doing the workouts they gave me and trying to follow the nutrition plan as well. Hopefully that will help me get ready for college.

Q: Last month, did you have Kirk Ferentz out to watch one of your basketball games?

JONES: Well, they didn't get to because that game got cancelled, but they came to practice instead.

Q: Is that pretty neat for you when the head coach comes through?

JONES: Oh, it's awesome. It shows that they really care and for the guys on our basketball team it's cool to see because some of them are big Hawkeye fans.

Q: What have you heard from Iowa as far as goals or expectations coming in?

JONES: Obviously I have goals, just doing the best I can and hopefully seeing the field early, but they haven't really given me anything specific. They've just said to enjoy high school because you only go through it once.

Q: When you look at your position, do you think it will be defensive end until you grow into a defensive tackle eventually or what are your thoughts right now?

JONES: We have a good group of talented defensive linemen coming in, so I don't know how it will end up. Wherever they put me, I'll be fine with it. We'll just see what happens.

Q: All the talk has been defense for now though right?

JONES: Yes, as of right now, I'm a defensive lineman.

Q: Is there a chance it could end up being like Tyler Linderbaum where you could maybe switch to offensive line later on or what would your preference be?

JONES: If they needed me over there, I'd definitely switch over to offensive line, but they said that's probably not going to happen.

Q: Going back to San Antonio, your teammate Thomas Fidone was down there for the underclassmen combine, and kind of blew up even more after his performance. Did it surprise you at all to see him do that well?

JONES: No, definitely not. He's been doing this stuff for so long and working hard for so long, it's something I expected before anybody else did. I saw it in him early on, especially with his athleticism and his build. He's 6-5 with about a 6-11 wingspan. You could see it coming a while ago and then it finally did after he got that first offer from Iowa. Then he started to blow up and now it just continues to happen and I'm just proud of him.

Q: Do you get in his ear about Iowa at all?

JONES: Oh, I'm always in his ear about Iowa. I feel like it would be a great fit for him, but obviously I'll support whatever he decides to do.

Q: Looking at your high school program, just in the last couple years you have had yourself and Thomas Fidone plus Max Duggan and now Hunter Deyo coming up. What is it about Lewis Central that produces as many high level Division I prospects as any school in the state probably?

JONES: The big thing in our program is the strength and conditioning. Coach Kammrad does a great job with producing athletic guys that weren't so athletic coming in because he works them out and shows them how it's done. The other thing is we're not a very flashy school. We just want to play football. I think that's why we've had so many Division I players the last eight years I think it is.

Q: Looking ahead to the spring, do you have any goals or benchmarks in mind for the track season:

JONES: Definitely winning two more state titles and the Drake Relays. Hopefully I can get to the 200' mark for disc. That would be pretty awesome. For shot, hopefully 65' and then go from there. We'll see what happens.

Q: What were your best throws last year?

JONES: It was 185'10" for the disc and 60'3" for the shot.

Q: Last question, can you take me back to your decision last February? What do you think make Iowa the right choice for you?

JONES: A big part of it was definitely the coaches. Coach Morgan was huge in my decision. He showed me what it's like to be a Hawkeye and it was just a comfortable feeling for me. I went up there and the very first time I knew that's where I wanted to go. I definitely could have committed a lot sooner than I did because I just loved it up there and I finally pulled the trigger in February.

Jones, who chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Nebraska, Iowa State, and Minnesota, finished his senior season with 33 tackles, 15.5 TFL, and 8.5 sacks for Council Bluffs Lewis Central.

See highlights from Jones' senior year in the video below.