Yesterday, we honored one of Arizona State's most recent starters on the offensive line in center Leif Fautanu. Today, with 78 days until the football season kicks off, we look at another lineman whose impact on the Sun Devils was just as big in Levi Jones.
Growing up in the small Arizona town of Eloy, Jones opted to walk-on at Arizona State as a defensive lineman. Jones even flashed some potential there, recording a sack and five tackles as a freshman. However, coaches saw more potential in him as a blocker, and Jones moved to the offensive line room.
That potential didn't take long to manifest, either, and Jones became the starting left guard that next year. He started all 12 games and gradually became one of the Sun Devils' most reliable blockers in the 1999 season.
After the season ended, reliable tackle Marvel Smith left for the draft, so Jones was moved out to left tackle. In just his second season playing offensive line in college, he was protecting Jeff Krohn's blindside.
The move proved to be a stroke of genius. Jones was named to the second team All-Pac 10 that year, and he earned first team honors the next season as a senior. Jones was also named a second team All-American in his senior year, capping off two dominant years as the Sun Devils' left tackle.
Jones went on to be drafted 10th overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. Over the next seven years, Jones was the chief blindside protector for Carson Palmer, forming one of the NFL's best tackle tandems alongside future Hall of Famer Willie Anderson.
The story of Levi Jones is ultimately one of humble beginnings. A walk-on who didn't even play on offense became one of the program's most dominant tackles. Even still, he plays a thankless position and also played in Tempe during the decline of the Bruce Snyder era and the first year of the Dirk Koetter era; Jones never even played on a team that had a winning season.
Nevertheless, when anyone thinks of the best offensive linemen to ever come through Tempe, Jones is always near the top of the list. All who have come after him are chasing Jones' legacy, and in 78 days, the likes of Josh Atkins and Jalen Klemm will continue their efforts to become the next Levi Jones.