University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
From the Huddle - Offensive Lineman Jason Jimenez
10/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
From the Huddle - Offensive Lineman Jason Jimenez
Jason Jimenez, one of the team's offensive leaders, has been a three-year starter for the Golden Eagles on the offensive line. He has currently started 24 games over the past three seasons.
SouthernMiss.com: How has this season gone for you so far?
Jimenez: It is a greater learning experience this season as compared to last season. I picked up on so much more of the game. I am still learning about the game inside and out. There are things that the coaches are showing me that I never realized or ever thought of before. It is making my game better, and I am playing a lot better. I am not as hesitant. I am not sitting back and waiting on things because I know what to do better and how to execute things. It has improved my game to where I am grading out a lot higher this year as compared to last year. There have been a couple of slow games for all of us, including me. But they have always taught us, championship teams will learn from their mistakes and keep going. They won?t get buried in a hole and stay there because of the same mistakes. So, now we are trying to fix our mistakes and keep moving forward.
SouthernMiss.com: What are some of the things that you feel you are learning better now?
Jimenez: It is a little of everything ? techniques, clues that the defense shows, and tendencies that defenses have in certain situations. The technique is all about repetition. It is a little bit of everything.
SouthernMiss.com: How beneficial is it this season to be part of such an experienced offensive line?
Jimenez: This year is a lot better. The coaches don?t have to teach us the ins and outs of the game. We are more focused now on executing the plays. Now, we are more focused on the game plans this late in the year as opposed to the spring. During the spring, we work on the mental reps and things that we might attempt to do in the fall. But with the experienced offensive line that we have it is better. We have great chemistry, and we work well together. That has been a big factor in us playing this well.
SouthernMiss.com: Tell us about your high school experience with football?
Jimenez: During my junior year, I was playing lacrosse and taking weight lifting as a class. The teacher of that class was the defensive backs coach and he introduced me to the head football coach. The head football coach then asked me to come and talk to him one day, and I thought I was in trouble because he was also an administrator. I went over there and he talked to me about football. He talked to me and said that I had good size, and he wanted to work with me on football if I wanted to learn. I came out during that spring, and I worked with him all summer. He taught me things like a three-point stance, pass blocking and steps and movement. It was real awkward for me because I had always played lacrosse where I played defense. He worked with the entire offensive line that summer. I didn?t think anything about college football at the time because I was just thinking that football was fun.
SouthernMiss.com: When did you finally think you would play college football?
Jimenez: My senior year rolled around, and over the first few games I could tell that I still had a lot to learn. Towards the end of the season, though, I felt that I was playing a lot better. And then Thanksgiving weekend of my senior year was when Southern Miss came and saw me. I guess my head coach threw my name out to some people and Southern Miss called me on Thanksgiving weekend and said that they wanted to give me a scholarship. I committed on my official visit in December.
SouthernMiss.com: How difficult was it for you because you only had one year of high school football experience before you came to Southern Miss?
Jimenez: It was very difficult. I remember asking Coach Danny Baker, who was the tight ends coach at the time, what I could offer the program. I was 6?7? and weighed about 240 in those days, so I looked more like a tight end than an offensive lineman. I asked him that, because I only had one year in high school football, if he thought I could make any kind of impact with the team. He assured me that if I worked hard and wasn?t a quitter, he thought I could make it. I remembered when I first got here, it was difficult going against guys like John Nix and Daleroy Stewart, because they were twice my size. It also was difficult because I was homesick. But all in all, the fact that I didn?t quit and learned the game, has helped me become a better person.
SouthernMiss.com: How big are you now?
Jimenez: Now, I am 6?7? and weight 310 pounds.
SouthernMiss.com: How did you get that big in such a short time?
Jimenez: That is one of the reasons that I got into weight lifting in my junior year. I wasn?t even thinking about football, but I was a toothpick. I weighed about 185 at the beginning of my junior year. So, I just start eating a lot more and lifting weights and with the combination of the two I got bigger. Then when I came to Southern Miss, the diet changed for me because I wasn?t use to Southern food. The diet helped me put on about 30 pounds of good weight, and over the years I got bigger.
SouthernMiss.com: What is a typical meal like for you?
Jimenez: Anything the Commons has to offer. I just sort of pick and choose. I eat salads. I drink a lot of water, juices and Powerades. I eat a lot of carbohydrates. I try to stay off the sweets during the season. I don?t drink and I don?t smoke. I try to lead a good lifestyle. I go to bed early and wake up on time to go to classes. It all ties in together. I know from experience that if I have a late night and try to get up to go to class and practice the next day that it won?t work. I would be worthless the next day. So, I say that lifestyle has been a big thing for me.
SouthernMiss.com: At the same time, do you feel that comes from maturity and leadership?
Jimenez: That also has something to do with it. I also know that if I don?t do the off-the-field things right, then it will affect my game. I watch what I do, and then I try to carry it over to football.
SouthernMiss.com: What pregame ritual do you have?
Jimenez: I sort of have one. On Friday nights before a game, I always try to take the bed that is opposite the TV when we get to the hotel. It sounds crazy, but I have seen that when I don?t, we lose. Maybe it?s just me. But I always get the bed opposite the TV, and I try to do it on away games. It may just be a coincidence, but the two games that I didn?t get the bed opposite the TV were the Alabama and South Florida games. But I also try to just get up early in the morning and try to clear my thoughts. I wouldn?t say that I get overly excited because once I step on the field, I am locked in and ready to go. I may listen to music every once in a while, but nothing in particular. One of the main things is that when the whole offensive line gets together, the enthusiasm just breeds. That is how we all get hyped for the game. It is more based on how we are all feeling.
SouthernMiss.com: Do you do your share of trash talking on the field?
Jimenez: When it?s called for I will, but I am not a big talker. I like to just play my game. When a defender talks, it depends on what they say. No one has ever said anything to me personally. It is more like: ?Hey, No. 75. The guy next to you stinks.? I laugh at that, and then the next play we just might bury them. Then we get up and say, ?Now what?? It all depends, but after the game, we see each other and it is all smiles. During the game it is always serious.
SouthernMiss.com: What type of blocking do you like best?
Jimenez: I like run blocking. Pass blocking is more about technique, and some games I have it and some I don?t. In run blocking, it is strength against strength. Who is stronger will knock the person off the ball first. On offense, you have the advantage so you have the initial contact and can get movement. On double teams, you know that you will get movement. I would say run blocking is better. If we can run the ball all game, I would love to.
SouthernMiss.com: What would surprise people about you?
Jimenez: A lot of people don?t know me that well. A lot of these new guys and freshman may look at me and say that I am quiet and keep to myself. But I am a very laid-back, easygoing guy. That is how I have always been. I tell it like I see it. I like to joke around and talk trash with my friends. But just among my friends.
