Daniel Jones’ Mobile journey comes full circle at the Senior Bowl
By Creg Stephenson, AL.com
Daniel Jones has been a regular in Mobile for nearly a decade, but in a less high-profile manner than he is this week.
The former Duke standout is one of eight quarterbacks in this year’s Reese’s Senior Bowl, the annual NFL draft showcase at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. He first became a pupil of Mobile-based private quarterback coach David Morris when he was a sophomore at Charlotte (N.C.) Latin High School, and has made trips to train at Morris’ QB Country ever since.
Morris has trained a number of NFL quarterback hopefuls over the years, including former Alabama standouts AJ McCarron and Jake Coker, plus Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly, Memphis’ Paxton Lynch and USC’s Matt Barkley. A former back-up quarterback to Eli Manning at Ole Miss, Morris is also close to current Duke (and former Rebels coach) David Cutcliffe.
Morris said Jones was 5-foot-10 when he first began working with him at QB Country. The quarterback has had several growth spurts since, and checked at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds for the Senior Bowl.
“He’s had a huge influence on my development,” Jones said of Morris. “I started coming down here and working with him my sophomore year in high school. Since then, I’ve kept coming down here. He’s been so supportive and had a lot to do with my progression as a player. I’m very appreciative of him.”