11 Questions With Ricky Jones

Our series of Indiana football Q&As kicks off this week with Ricky Jones.

Jones, a redshirt senior receiver from Sarasota, Florida, caught 54 passes for 906 yards and five touchdowns last season. He returns as one of the Hoosiers' most experienced and productive receivers on the outside.

Q: Memorial Stadium is a pretty cool venue, but if I gave you an unlimited budget to design a stadium however you’d like, what would it look like?

A: First off, I would close it, which they’re already doing here. I’d definitely close it. We’d have a big screen, and I would probably put a big time sound system in there just to keep it crunk at all times.

I’d add a few different things. Like, I like our tailgate thing, but I think I’d move it a little closer so people can move into the stadium a little bit more. I also might change it to a dome that opens and closes. That’s about it.

Q: If you have a bad game or a bad practice, how do you move on from it?

A: I just go and watch film to see where I went wrong and how it started out on the wrong path or whatever so I can figure out how I can get out of it the next time.

If I’m having a rough practice, usually guys like (redshirt senior) Mitchell Paige or (redshirt junior) Marqui Hawkins help me out. Marqui, that dude, you don’t see too much of him right now. He’s in the background, but he keeps me going and staying positive. We’ve got different guys who don’t let you get too upset.

Q: Forget your physical appearance. I don’t care that you’re 5-foot-10 and weigh 185 pounds. If you could play any other position on the field because you couldn’t play receiver any more, what would you play?

A: If I couldn’t play receiver, I would probably play safety. I always had a desire to hit dudes hard. I played it in high school, so that would definitely be my spot.

If I could throw, which I can’t really, I would love to play quarterback. I just love scoring touchdowns any way I can.

Q: Who’s the best non-football playing athlete at IU?

A: Non-football player? Man. That’s tough. I don’t really know.

You’ve got quite a few to choose from.

A: I know. That’s the hard part. It has to be a good one.

The most athletic dude I know? Oh I got it. Wait. No. He plays football. (Laughs).

You know what? I would say Coach (Kevin) Johns. Coach Johns doesn’t play football, so he counts right? We played basketball with him one day and he gave me a few moves. He’s impressive for his age and his body type. [Johns will turn 41 in December]. He’s pretty powerful, man. You don’t know it until you see it.

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

A: I’ve got a friend named Isaiah Roundtree who played on the team a few years back. Zeke, he told me, “Man, just live life. There’s more to life than football.”

Since that day, I just realized I have to be ready for whatever does happen. He told me that football is great, but I’ve got to chase my dreams because there’s more to it than catching passes.

Q: Do you remember the first time you talked to your head coach Kevin Wilson? Where were you and what were you doing?

A: Well, in person, I was at my grandma’s house. I was a senior in high school. He came in and talked to me, my aunt and my grandma. He sounded like a level-headed guy. I obviously really liked him.

Q: If you could go back in time and play with or against any player, who would you want to share time on the field with?

A: If I could, I think I would want to play with Jerry Rice. I’d just want to play next to him and watch what he does. I love his game, man.

Jerry Rice or Randy Moss, man. The way those guys caught balls and the things they did was amazing. They were like THE guys.

Now, if I was looking at the defensive side, it would definitely be Deion Sanders. He had swag, man. He played with a lot of swag, and that’s what I’m trying to play with this year. Those dudes, they played the game with so much confidence.

Q: Do you ever worry or think about what you’re going to do with all your extra time once football is over? It takes up a ton of your life right now.

A: Oh man, right now I haven’t had too much free time since I graduated. I see some now and there, but not much. I’m an artistic and creative guy, so I’m thinking I’ll find something to do with that type of thing once I’m done with football. Maybe it’ll be just for fun, maybe a job, but I want to do something creative.

Q: Do you have a favorite TV show or movie you can’t get enough of right now?

A: Man, I don’t watch much TV. I can’t.

You’ve got to have a favorite movie, though. Right?

A: All-time favorite movie has to be Finding Nemo. I just always loved that movie. I told you I’m a creative guy. I think the way they took the cartoon and made it into a touching story was really cool.

Nemo or The Woods. It reminds me of me and my friends back at home.

Q: This is obviously an election year. Now, I’m not going to ask you who you’re voting for, but if you could elect someone into the office from your football team, who would it be?

A: Oh man, let me think. He’d be our president? That’s big time.

(Redshirt senior) Dan Feeney, actually. He’s a smart dude, man. I don’t know much about his academics and that type of thing, but knowledge-wise, he knows a lot. He’s a smart dude and picks up on stuff.

Now, if I could go to last season it would definitely be Nate Sudfeld. [Sudfeld is currently a quarterback with the Washington Redskins]. He was that guy. I’d trust him running the country.

Q: Last one, but every week I ask who I’m interviewing for a question I can ask the next person. You’re the first one, so I obviously don’t have a question for you from anyone. Sorry about that. But do you have a question for Rashard Fant? I’m interviewing him next.

A: For Rashard? Ask him if he could be any animal, which animal would he be?