Sai’vion Jones a standout for LSU’s defense in season-opening loss to USC

Though the defense looked improved overall, it wasn’t exactly a confidence-inspiring showing for LSU in its 27-20 season-opening loss to USC on Sunday night.

The Tigers gave up 450 yards of total offense and were picked apart by quarterback Miller Moss. But the front seven seemed to be the bright spot, and one player in particular stood out.

Defensive end Sai'Vion Jones is a veteran on this defense and one of the few players who started every game last year. He certainly impressed in the first game of his final season, finishing with five tackles and two sacks.

That caught the attention of his teammates.

“Outstanding,” Linebacker Whit Weeks said of Jones’ outing. “I was telling those guys up there I think he had the best performance on our defense, and to see a guy like him who a lot of people look up to on the defense play like that it brings everyone else up around him. So it was great to see him play like that.”

For Jones’ part, he’s not thinking about it too much and remains focused on the bigger picture entering the Tigers’ Week 2 home opener against Nicholls on Saturday night.

“The key for me is to just not get a big head,” Jones said. “Just as people can have one bad game and the rest of the season be good, somebody could have a good game and the rest of the season be bad. And I feel like I understand that, so I just need to continue working on the little things and try to be consistent.”

If LSU is going to be improved on defense this fall, it seems Jones, who is already just half a sack away from matching last year’s total, will be a major reason behind it.

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