The Red Cross has mobilized in Myanmar following a cyclone that is estimated to have claimed over 20,000 lives. More info

Lucas: From string bass to D-line, UW's Jones strikes a chord

Mike Lucas  —  4/18/2008 8:45 am

University of Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema excused Kenny Jones from practice last week, even though Jones, a sophomore walk-on, has been offering some much needed relief and depth on a gutted defensive line. Jones had a previous commitment. "I had a concert,'' he said.

Last Thursday, the 20-year-old Jones was performing with the UW symphony orchestra at a run-out concert in Brookfield. When he isn't playing defensive tackle, the 6-foot-2, 260-pound Jones plays the stand-up string bass. "And we already had two other bass players missing," he said.

Striking a balance between such conflicting disciplines -- football and music -- has been a challenge. "It's such a weird contrast," Jones acknowledged. "It almost feels like I'm living a double life."

Last Saturday, Jones, a converted offensive tackle, performed well on defense during an extended scrimmage at the McClain Indoor Facility. Last Sunday, he performed a piece that he had composed for the string bass during a joint recital with friends who are violinists at the Humanities Building. "There have always been two parts to my life,'' he said.

And while they're now intersecting, Jones is a realist about reaching a crossroads. "It's going to hurt to give up one of them,'' he said. "I know I can do music for the rest of my life. But as soon as I take the helmet off, it's done forever. So I'm valuing the time I have as much as I can, knowing (that) when it stops, I'll never be able to pick it up again.''

Jones has definitely struck a positive chord with Bielema, who has his own passion for music. "I'm always amazed by someone who has the talent that he does,'' Bielema said. "I started off playing the guitar in the seventh grade. I played the cornet and tuba all the way through high school. And I'm self-taught on the piano.''

Bielema started out playing "Chopsticks'' -- a universally accepted training song for beginners. "I can play about 15 songs today,'' he added. "The one I do best is probably the theme song to 'The Days of Our Lives.' At Iowa, my college roommate, Matt Rodgers, taught himself how to play the guitar and he's unbelievable.''

UW defensive coordinator Dave Doeren is also fairly accomplished on the acoustic guitar, according to Bielema. "And he taught himself how to play, too',' he noted. "If there's one thing I wish that I could do right now, it would be to go back and learn how to play the guitar. It's so relaxing.''

Bielema got a greater appreciation for Jones' musical skills while the Badgers were in Tampa, Fla., for last season's Outback Bowl. When they weren't practicing, Jones was usually playing the piano in the lobby of the team hotel. And he got the same reaction from his teammates. "They'd say, 'Can you play something good?'" he recalled.

That was in response to Jones sticking with some old jazz standards, like the classic "Misty,'' which dates all the way back to 1954 and pianist Erroll Garner. "I love playing that stuff," conceded Jones, who also received some notoriety for his singing voice during a home game last season.

During a timeout, a super-sized Jones showed off his singing talent on the scoreboard video screen at the north end of Camp Randall Stadium. "After the game," Bielema remembered, "everybody was talking about this Kenny Jones kid."

Recently, Jones gave everyone in the locker room a heads-up with a tongue-in-cheek "Kenny Jones -- Live in Concert'' posting. But nobody took him up on last Friday's performance of the UW symphony orchestra at Mills Hall. Maybe they just weren't into Leonard Bernstein's "Fancy Free" or Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Russian Easter."

What kind of reaction does Jones get in his other world -- the music world -- to being a college football player? He's surprisingly well-received. "I'm surprised how many people are skilled in multiple disciplines here," he said.

For example, he cited the personal background of one of the violinists from his recent recital. "He's a graduate student from Malaysia," he said, "and he spent the first 25 years of his life doing mixed martial arts and music. He studied with a great grandmaster and he was an undefeated professional fighter. But he ended up giving that up for his music."

In 1969, Penn State defensive tackle Mike Reid won the Outland Trophy and Maxwell Award. He also finished fifth in the Heisman voting. Reid went on to play in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals before giving up football for his music. From his beginnings as a symphony pianist, he has evolved into a Grammy Award winning singer-song writer.

Jones admitted that playing defensive tackle can be unforgiving on the hands because of the scrums and physical contact along the line of scrimmage. "I'm very aware of that, very self-conscious," he said, knowing how important his hands are to his music. "But I tape them up real good."

Not that Jones had any idea that he would wind up where he is today when he first joined the Badgers as an invited walk-on in 2006. Jones lettered in football, wrestling and track at Delavan-Darien High School. He also graduated with a 4.0 grade-point-average. "I wanted to play football wherever I went to school," he said, underlining music as a priority.

Jones, who played middle linebacker as a prep senior, was somewhat miscast as an offensive lineman because he lacked Big Ten size. In this context, he caught a break. "I was in class," he recounted, "and I got a text message from one of the assistant coaches. He said, 'We need to talk.' I was a little nervous at first. But when I went in there, he just said, 'We need you on defense because of the injuries. We're short on personnel.'"

Jones has since made a relatively smooth transition to defense at end and tackle. Moreover, he has taken advantage of his opportunity to earn some snaps in the rotation. "He's doing what we ask him to do," Bielema said. "He's coming off the ball with his first step. He's conscientious. He fights. He strains. And because we're so seriously depleted, we're kind of excited with what he's doing."

Bielema likes something else about Jones. His presence. "As long as you're in this business, there's always going to be a couple of kids who everybody rallies around, and he's one of them," he said. "He came into my office last week and asked me how I reach certain players who aren't living up to their potential because he knew a musician who fell into that category. That showed me great insight on his part." In striking another chord that this Kenny Jones kid can play in more ways than one, maybe.

mlucas@madison.com

Mike Lucas  —  4/18/2008 8:45 am