Georgia's Jones never relishes success for long

There wasn't much to quibble about after the linebacker for No. 7 Georgia demolished Missouri. Two sacks. Two forced fumbles. The first interception of his career, which he almost brought back for a touchdown. He spent so much time in the Tigers' backfield, he should've been wearing gold and black instead of red and black.

Yet, when Jones got in the film room, he didn't want to look at all those plays.

"People never tell you what didn't do or how you could have done something better," he said. "Everybody is patting you on the back and telling you, 'Hey, you did this good, you did that good.' But when you watch the film, you're like, 'Man, did I really play that bad?' That's the way I look at it. How can I improve?"

It's that sort of attitude that has transformed Jones into one of the country's most feared defensive players. If the junior has a few more games like he did last week — almost single-handedly ruining Missouri's Southeastern Conference debut — he could force him way into serious consideration for the Heisman Trophy.

"I never thought about that one," Jones said this week. "That would be big. I'm not going to do anything outside my team, but I'm going to give it everything I've got every time I step on the field. Just to be in New York (as one of the Heisman finalists) would be a great accomplishment for me."

Georgia (2-0) is a huge favorite in Saturday's game against Florida Atlantic (1-1), so this might be a good time for Jones to heal up some of his aches and pains. He's got a strained groin and a bruised shoulder. But any time he's on the field, he'll be going all out.

Just ask Missouri quarterback James Franklin, who spent much of the night trying to get away from Jones.

"I remember one play, he took off running and I ended up hitting him," Jones said, describing a single sequence that was actually more of a theme in Georgia's 41-20 victory. "He got up and was like, 'Dang, man, why did you have to hit me so hard?' I thought it was funny."

It's not much fun for offensive coordinators, who must account for the 6-foot-3, 241-pound Jones at all times. He's cut from the mold of Lawrence Taylor, an outside linebacker who can rush the quarterback with both explosiveness and better-than-average strength for size, or peel off to play the run, or show off his speed by dropping into pass coverage.

"He's got to be ready for challenges, because the more plays you make, the more things people are going to try to do things to stop you," said Todd Grantham, Georgia's defensive coordinator. "As we move through the league, there's a lot of good offensive coordinators and coaches. They understand the value of personnel. They're going to do things to take him out of the game."