How did Byron Jones get here?
He might be a first-round NFL draft pick Thursday night, only the second in UConn history, when the three-day event kicks off in Chicago. That would make him the first Connecticut-born player selected in the opening round since Bloomfield's Dwight Freeney went to Indianapolis with the No. 11 pick in 2002.
Jones got here because of athleticism, work ethic, devotion, a high football IQ and, of course, ability.
All that is just part of the answer because family, led by his father, Don, a retired state trooper, and mother, Garnette, a self-proclaimed "Mother Bear," provided a good base for him and his three older brothers.