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It’s hard to find a player having a better preseason than Ernest Jones, who’s gone from TJ Brunson’s backup to the coaches moving Brunson to another spot so Jones can start at middle linebacker.

It’s easy to see why with the physical tools he brings to the table—he’s a 6-foot-2, 235-pound thumper of a linebacker who sure as heck looks the part—but one of his biggest upsides comes in the film room where he spends quite a bit of time during the season.

“I really couldn’t,” Jones said, shaking his head when asked how much time he spends in the film room. “It’s a good bit."

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Described as one of the more cerebral players on the team, Jones doesn’t give specific numbers on how much time he devotes to breaking down film, but said it’s not unusual for him to leave the facility at 11 p.m. during the season or be in the room before practice starts getting a jumpstart on preparations.

He’s diligent in his note taking and spends time looking for things most people don’t even notice.

“Look for tendencies in the quarterback, see where he’s looking before reads; maybe if the sniffer kind of peaks before he decides where he’s going to go,” Jones said. “When I get in there I’m just breaking it down. I spend a good bit of time in there. I’m trying to break down every aspect and see what I can tell from my study. Then having TJ and everyone else in there, they may see different things. I may see things TJ doesn’t see or TJ may see something I don’t see. It’s a big help with them in there.”

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Now the follow up question after that quote—what the hell is a sniffer?—is easily answered by Jones, who calmly explains it’s a player who lines up in the backfield and usually tips off which way a play is going, but it’s just one of the examples of the intricacies Jones pays attention to.

And all the extra film work is paying off on the field.

He’s easily been one of the Gamecocks’ standouts in the month leading up to the season, playing so well he’s earned the starting MIKE spot after impressing the coaching staff with his mental acuity to go along with some God-given talent.

“He’s off the charts, man. He works at it in the meeting room, on the field and in walk-thrus. His approach mentally has been awesome to bring along with being a hammerhead and a physical player at the point of contact,” Coleman Hutzler said. “He’s handled it all.”

It was a slow start to Jones’s South Carolina career, having to get over a lingering back injury before trying to make an impact.

He opted to play in five games last year, one over the redshirt threshold, picking up 16 tackles and a forced fumble.

This was his first full offseason where he could spend it all doing the team’s weight lifting regiments and workouts and it’s paying dividends right now as the season starts.

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“This is the best my body has ever felt. Conditioning-wise, as a team this is the best shape we’ve been in mentally and physically,” Jones said. “You can definitely feel the difference and tell. Offseason-wise, I’ve worked on getting faster. I’ve gotten faster; we’ve all gotten faster, bigger and stronger. We’re able to handle the toughness of the schedule. I feel like this year’s going to be good.”

Right now, it looks like he and Brunson would be the team’s top two linebackers entering the season with the SAM linebacker spot still unknown right now.

Jones is one of a few guys who are finally healthy after an injury-riddled 2018 season and Jones thinks this group could be special.

“Man, it’s amazing. It’s amazing what we can do,” he said. “We all have individual talents. Some of us are better than others at certain things and we always help each other out. We’re a very close group. At our best, we’re top notch.”