BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Browns began day three of the 2023 NFL Draft by adding depth to the offensive and defensive lines with the selection of Ohio State’s Dawand Jones and Missouri’s Isaiah McGuire.
Jones, taken 111th overall, was a second-team All-American last season for the Buckeyes and third team All-Big Ten and he gets to stay in Ohio.
“It's a great feeling,” Jones said. “Just there at Ohio State, they treated me well, the whole state of Ohio, it's just a blessing honestly.”
Known for his massive wingspan and size, Jones played in 41 games for the Buckeyes, starting 27 of them.
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Jones is listed at 6-foot-8 and he weighed in at the NFL Combine at 374 pounds.
“I feel like where I'm from, there's bigger people,” Jones said. “There's always somebody to match up with, but I thought I was probably much stronger than most people and a little bit more advanced than those guys. Just my body was a little bit better than theirs, you can just take advantage. When the talent got better in some places, you got to be a certain weight and I had to play up.”
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler cites Jones’ hands as a strength and weakness in his 'The Beast' NFL Draft guide scouting report. Jones was penalized 16 times over the last two seasons.
Jones was recruited as a basketball player by Kent State before receiving football offers.
“I was in between playing basketball and football, I really had no football offers in my senior year,” Jones said. “Kent State was there with basketball, they were on me pretty tough and I took my time and I waited and waited and coach sent me a message and said you haven't given me a scholarship [answer]. I took a chance and I said I'm just waiting for this one football scholarship, my season wasn't done yet for football, and after that, last day of the season, I got my first scholarship on Monday and it was on me after that.”
McGuire was selected No. 126 overall with the opportunity to play opposite of Pro Bowler Myles Garrett.
“I've watched him for years, ever since he was at Texas A&M,” McGuire said. “Seeing how far he's come in his game and I'm really excited to be able to pick his brain, be able to learn from him and have him as a mentor for this upcoming stage of my life.”
McGuire started 25 games over the last two seasons for Missouri where he racked up 13 1/5 sacks and 27 tackles for loss.
A team captain, McGuire was named second-team All-SEC in 2022.
“That was definitely an honor, honestly,” McGuire said. “Being voted by my fellow teammates, it was an honor for my last year at Mizzou. To get to enjoy a lot of time with those boys in the locker room. Definitely something I had to grow into, but that's the great thing about life as a pro. Definitely continue in that trend and just continue to get better each and every day.”