From The Gridiron To The Arena: Inside Linebacker Carson Jones’ Unique Balance As A Student-Athlete
4/25/2024 12:38:00 PM | Football
Story by: Ammar Khan, Cal Poly Athletic Communications Intern
Carson Jones starts his days typically beginning at 5 a.m. His days consist of working out, going to football meetings in the mornings and evenings, practicing rodeo at his farm in Paso Robles, and going to class in between all of this.
"It's definitely not easy to do so", said Jones. "But I figured to kind of get it managed down".
Equestrianism has been a part of Jones' life for a long time. Jones started riding horses with his mother at two and competed in a junior rodeo in the sixth grade.
The 20-year-old from Danville, Calif. comes from a line of ranchers. Jones' grandfather owns a ranch and his father Jeff (a former Cal Poly athlete and graduate) grew up around horses.
By his sophomore year in high school, he decided to take rodeoing seriously. During the pandemic, Jones and his family packed up their horse trailers and rodeoed across ten different states.
By the end of his high school career at De La Salle High School, Carson went on to qualify for the junior world rodeo finals three times, became a reserve high school champion, and a high school national finals rodeo qualifier.
However, rodeoing was not the only sport that Jones wanted to pursue in college. Carson grew up playing football in his hometown of Danville, playing for his local Pop Warner team and De La Salle High School.
At De La Salle, Jones played linebacker where he finished his career with 32 tackles, two sacks, and one interception. He went on to finish his high school career making second-team all-league honors.
With college just around the corner, Carson wanted to continue competing in rodeo and play football. The opportunity to pursue his passion for both sports was only possible at Carson's dream school: Cal Poly.
"At other schools, I would just be rodeoing or be just playing football," said Jones. "But at Cal Poly I had the opportunity to do both".
Jones also attributes his father being a former Cal Poly football alum and athlete being another reason why he wanted to go to Cal Poly.
"Always wanting to follow in his footsteps and play the same positions and everything", said Jones. "I had to think that he was proud of that and carrying on the legacy here".
Jones attended Cal Poly football games as a young kid and his love for the team and the city at a very young age also shaped his love for Cal Poly.
Carson cites the similarities between both sports as a reason why he has been able to succeed in both sports at both the high school and collegiate levels. Even though rodeo is more of an individual sport, the core principles of competitiveness and grit are two characteristics that a football player and a rodeo competitor must inhibit to be the best at their sport.
He also adds that the preparation for both sports is also a similarity.
"For football, you learn so much body coordination and being able to control your body", said Jones. "The amount that we lift, being able to use all those might be a lot stronger than pretty much everyone that rodeos because they just don't lift as we would for football".
However, the dual sport lifestyle for Jones is not anything new. As far back as elementary school, Jones played multiple sports throughout the school year.
"Growing up, I would get done with school and I would immediately go to baseball practice, and then football practice", said Jones. "I played rugby, like basketball. So my entire life, I was playing so many different sports".
Jones attributes his experiences from his youth as the reason he has been able to find a balance as a student-athlete at Cal Poly playing multiple sports.
This past season, Jones appeared in five games and was a big contributor for the Mustangs defense before sustaining a season-ending injury.
Jones joined the football team as a true freshman in 2022. That season, he appeared in the Mustang's final two games, recording a tackle in each game. He also joined the rodeo team his freshman year and participated in five rodeos, including the Poly Royal Rodeo where he finished amongst the top finalists.
After spring ball, Carson plans to travel down to Texas for the summer and compete in professional rodeos with friends. He plans to stay there before reporting back for fall camp.
