Former St. Paul standout student-athlete Byron Jones has always been a great all-around person.
Jones will enter his fifth NFL season with the Dallas Cowboys this fall, but first, he brought his knowledge about the game and life to his first Byron Jones Football Camp in his native New Britain. On Saturday, Jones gathered with children 8-14 years of age from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a free camp at the PAL Raiders facility at 544 Osgood Avenue.
“I grew up on this field. I grew up right down the street. I want the kids to understand that you can make it out of New Britain and have big aspirations and big dreams by starting here with football,” Jones told FOX61’s Bobby Martinez. “Some of the most important lessons I’ve learned on the field really, was team work, being responsible, being dependable for your teammates, all that starts here. And that’s what we’re trying to do at this camp. We’re trying to get the kids to get exposed to the message I have and get exposed to football and empower ways to what they do in the community.”
Jones has always had the ear of the community. While standing out in football at UConn, he had two Congressional internships, one with state Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz and the other with U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty.
“It’s nice to talk with different people from all over and see how passionate they are about some issues,” Jones told UConn’s Kenneth Best in an October 2013 story. “They’re very intelligent and know what they are doing.”
Jones is also passionate about football and what he can to help the younger generation. He put that passion on display on Saturday, and he made his hometown and high school and college Alma maters proud.
