University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Cash Jones
September 22, 2023 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
It is perhaps unusual enough that the top-ranked Georgia football team has both a Brock Bowers and a Brock Vandagriff on its roster. That the Bulldogs also have someone from Brock, Texas, Cash Jones, seems triply unlikely. The three of them are good friends, and even went dove hunting recently.
Bowers is the All-American tight end from California, one of the best offensive players in all of college football, and Vandagriff, who grew up in the Athens area, is the backup quarterback, a former five-star recruit, with loads of potential. Jones, meanwhile, a 6-foot and 180-pound three-star recruit, is the less well-known player, though he's been quite busy through the Bulldogs' first three games.
In the opener, against UT Martin, Jones' game was highlighted by four catches for 24 yards. Against Ball State, he caught two passes for 32 yards, including a 27-yarder for a touchdown. Last week, against South Carolina, Jones ran twice for 20 yards, including a 13-yarder for a touchdown, and had an 11-yard reception. Through three games, Jones has seven carries and seven receptions for a combined 96 yards and two touchdowns.
He's already topped last season's total production, which included two carries — one of them a 36-yard run for a touchdown against Vanderbilt — and two receptions.
During a Quick Chat after practice Wednesday, Jones talked about his play this season, his favorite sport when he was younger, life in Brock (it's about 45 miles west of Fort Worth), and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What have the first three weeks of this season been like for you?
Jones: It is definitely one of the most fun times I've had during my football career. Just all the fans and stuff, that crowd really gets me going and makes it so much more fun.
Frierson: Does scoring a touchdown in a game, particularly at home, feel as good as I think it would?
Jones: It's hard to explain how good it feels. The adrenaline rush, hearing the crowd go crazy — I don't know how to explain it. It's just insane.
Frierson: I'm guessing you'll be 70 years old and still get goosebumps thinking about it.
Jones: The first time I ever scored, against Vanderbilt, I didn't stop smiling until I went to sleep that night. I couldn't ... nobody could tell me to stop smiling. My body just took over.
Frierson: Were you always really busy with sports when you were young?
Jones: Growing up, I was always outside. I wasn't big into video games or staying inside; my parents were always pushing me to go do something, like mow the grass. In Texas, at our home, we have 50 acres, and it would take me three or four days to mow it. And then the next week, it would take me three or four days to mow it again, so I was always outside in the sun.
Frierson: What is Brock like?
Jones: Brock's getting bigger. We just got a new gas station and it has a Sonic in it, which is a really big deal to us. There's really nothing else there, except for the schools.
Frierson: Did you take a lot of trips into the Metroplex (Dallas/Fort Worth area) to watch pro or college sports?
Jones: No, I never really got into college sports or pro sports, just because I was always hunting or fishing or doing anything else.
Frierson: If you weren't playing football for Georgia, is there a sport you'd like to be playing?
Jones: A lot of people won't say it, but I'm definitely the best golfer on the team. My best ever is a 76, and I was pretty pumped up about that.
Frierson: Who is you toughest competition on the team?
Jones: Last year, Ladd (McConkey) gave me the most competition, but I'd always end up winning by one or two strokes. The UGA course, it's no joke. It's completely different from the Texas courses that I grew up playing, which are usually pretty flat.
Frierson: Is golf something you do now to get away from football and school for a while?
Jones: During the season, it's actually deer (hunting) season right now, so the first two games, after we had our weights and stretch and stride on Sunday, I went dove hunting with Brock Vandagriff and Brock Bowers. We're good friends, so we always usually do the same thing.
This past weekend, I went deer hunting.
Frierson: I have to ask ... you're from Brock and you're hanging out a lot with two guys who go by Brock. And that's not a name most of us encounter all that often. Have you all at least acknowledged that it is kind of an odd thing?
Jones: I know, it's weird. We actually call Brock Bowers "Stan." I don't know where that came from, but we call him "Stan" now. It kind of helps with all of the Brock nonsense, and we just call Brock Vandagriff "Brock."
Frierson: What is your best-ever moment in sports?
Jones: Shoot, probably my first touchdown here at Georgia. It's what you dream about since you were a little kid, scoring a touchdown for a big school. Once that happened, I don't think anything could ever beat it. Except for scoring in the National Championship Game.
Frierson: Who is the funniest guy on the team?
Jones: I'd say it's Brock Bowers.
Frierson: Really?
Jones: Yeah, he's pretty funny. He's a goofball sometimes and he just cracks me up.
Frierson: I was not expecting that. Brock is really nice and friendly, but the side of him a lot of us see is this almost reserved guy that doesn't really want to be in the spotlight. Or at least that's what I see. I love the idea that he's got a bit of goofy class clown in him.
Jones: He's a great dude, I love him to death, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for him.
Frierson: In a perfect world, what are you doing in 10 years?
Jones: I'm somewhere building a family, happy, have a good job — just somewhere being happy. I don't really care where I am or what I'm doing, as long as I'm happy.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
