UNC football’s JJ Jones says Tar Heels to play with ‘chip’ on their shoulders

North Carolina’s J.J. Jones can envision himself one day sitting on the ESPN GameDay set, possibly next to Desmond Howard.

Howard, a GameDay regular, is someone Jones would like to emulate as a sports broadcaster. The UNC wide receiver would like to think he’s working toward that future profession.

“I just love the whole GameDay crew,” Jones said Wednesday after UNC football practice. “Being on that desk is definitely one of my dream jobs. That or the ACC Network.”

What Jones also would like to match is a bit of Howard’s football path before joining the GameDay set. Howard was an All-American receiver and return superstar at Michigan, won a Heisman Trophy, played 11 seasons in the NFL and was MVP in a Super Bowl, then turned to broadcasting.

That may be asking too much of Jones, now a graduate student, who’s looking to have a big season for the Tar Heels and have a chance to play at the next level before any TV work.

Jones already has a start on the TV part, though. He recently was among the credentialed media at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte. Nattily dressed in a light-blue suit, a mic in his hand and a UNC camera guy in tow, he got in his share of questions to the ACC players.

Elbowing his way into the media scrum around N.C. State quarterback Grayson McCall, Jones asked, “What do you know about the UNC-N.C. State rivalry?”

“Not too much,” McCall said. “I know there’s been a lot of good football games …”

So it went. Jones, who is from Myrtle Beach, and McCall, who played at Coastal Carolina before transferring to NCSU, know each other, so there was that and both had some fun with it.

“Good to see you, brother,” McCall said in finishing up.

Jones enjoyed the ACC experience, noting: “There were a lot of eyes out there who saw me and a lot of people gave me props so it was obviously perfect. I loved every minute of it.”

Soon after going to Charlotte, Jones put away the mic and started snagging passes from quarterbacks Max Johnson, Conner Harrell and Jacolby Criswell as the three compete to replace Drake Maye as the starter. Preseason practice began Monday for the Heels, who open the 2024 season Aug. 29 at Minnesota — ACC vs. Big Ten and a matchup UNC won 31-13 a year ago in Chapel Hill as Maye passed for 414 yards.

His thoughts on the QB battle?

“They all are splitting reps evenly,” Jones said. “A different quarterback has started the past few days and they’ve all had different kinds of reps with different receivers.

“From what I’ve seen they’ve all taken leadership. When they’re out there, you can tell they’re the man, they’re the guy. They want to lead the team. … None of them wants to settle for the backup role. They’re all competing to be the starter and that’s what you need, having that drive from the quarterback.”

Whoever is the starter at Minnesota, he’ll have Jones as a reliable target. Playing all 13 games last season, he had 46 catches for 711 yards, both team highs. At 6-3 and 210, he’s easy to spot.

Much of the preseason a year ago was consumed by the eligibility fight for wide receiver Tez Walker, and there was much angst in the program because of the NCAA’s stance on two-time transfers. The NCAA finally relented. Walker, now in the NFL, and others in his situation were able to play.

This season, it’s all about football and the opener — no off-the-field drama. The Tar Heels, 8-5 last season, were picked to finish eighth in the ACC in the media preseason poll released Wednesday.

“I think we’re a very underrated group,” Jones said. “I know we have a lot of key guys who left for the (NFL) draft this year, but we’ve got a lot of young guys and a lot of transfers that are going to come in and make an impact right away.

“So a chip on our shoulder. The years I’ve been here we’ve been rated pretty highly and we haven’t been able to come out on top (as) we anticipated, but I feel like with a chip on our shoulder now being eighth … there’s no pressure on our backs.”

As a media member at the ACC Kickoff, Jones was told he could have voted on the ACC finish.

“Are you serious?” he said. “UNC would have been No. 1, absolutely.”