The 50 most important college players in Texas in 2016 — No. 38: UTEP's Alvin Jones

[caption id="attachment_23318" align="alignright" width="300"]Alvin-Jones-UTEP-Athletics UTEP Athletics[/caption] The importance of a player is not always defined by their skill. The most important player on a team is not always the best player on a team. This list is designed to breakdown the 50 most important players in Texas college football for the 2016 season. It is not a ranking of the 50 best college football players in the state. Importance can be defined by position, need, skill or leadership. We’ll count down the list through the summer, all the way to No. 1.Previously — 39: SMU RB Xavier Jones // 40: Sam Houston RB Corey Avery // 41: Prairie View A&M DE DeVohn Reed // 42: Texas State WR Demun Mercer // 43: UTEP S Devin Cockrell // 44: UNT DT Bryce English // 45: Texas OL Connor Williams // 46: Texas Tech DT Breiden Fehoko // 47: Houston DT B.J. Singleton // 48: Texas A&M DT Daylon Mack // 49: TCU S Denzel Johnson  // 50: Baylor S Chance WazNo. 38 – UTEP defensive end Alvin JonesThe History A local from Burges High School in El Paso, defender Alvin Jones is quickly becoming a historically great football player for the Miners. His 14.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore in 2015 were tied for ninth in school history. Jones led the team last season in tackles (93), tackles for loss (14.5), sacks (6.5) and safeties (2). He also added four quarterback hurries and was named All-Conference USA Honorable Mention. Jones had four games with 11 tackles and made the transition seamlessly to a rush linebacker. As a freshman, he started in 12 games. He redshirted in 2013 after high school graduation, but made an immediate impact a year later. In 2014 as a redshirt freshman, Jones recorded 55 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception, four quarterback hurries and three pass breakups. He was named to the 2014 All-CUSA Freshman Team. He was an all-district defensive back and quarterback in high school. As a senior, he was first-team on defense and second-team on offense. Jones accounted for 27 touchdowns and nearly 1,500 yards as a dual-threat quarterback his senior season. Jones was also an accomplished basketball player. At UTEP, he played in two basketball games while in his redshirt season in football. The Skillset Nothing about Jones jumps off the page. He’s under 6-feet tall and not someone who will win a lot of 100-meter dashes, though he was part of a district-winning relay team in track at Burges. Jones is a 5-foot-10, 220-pound force of production. He makes plays. Jones uses his athleticism and core strength to make up for a lack of length as a defender. Jones is one of the most instinctual players in CUSA, always finding himself next to the ball. He’s also gotten better in the physical part of the game as a linebacker who played in the secondary as a prep star. It isn’t the easiest transition to make, yet Jones is already excelling to the point of earning all-conference honors in two years as an underclassman. Jones plays Will linebacker and spends most of his time in opponents’ backfield on a blitz or as a run-stopper. The Impact Jones’ impact can be seen directly in the numbers. He was UTEP’s most productive defensive player in 2015 and was its second most productive player on defense as a redshirt freshman in 2014. His motor is nearly unmatched in CUSA and he leaves his mark on every game with at least one big play in the backfield. He’s averaged nearly one tackle for loss in his two-year career and his numbers should only improve as he gets older. His 93 tackles in 2015 as a sophomore were the most at UTEP since the 2012 season. Jones might hit the century mark as a junior. He’ll enter the season as a unanimous preseason all-conference selection.

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