Levi Jones talks to young fans at training camp. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        GEORGETOWN, Ky. - A skills session is football practice in shorts without pads, designed as an on-field laboratory to first put into action what has been learned in the classroom. On a running play practiced Tuesday morning, rookie Levi Jones showed the seriousness the Bengals liked when they drafted him in the first round.

        Jones charged from his left tackle spot and delivered a crisp forearm block into the orange pad held by a teammate posing as a linebacker. Then he did it again, just as purposefully as the time before.

        “In college, you can get away with a lot of stuff,” Jones said. “Up here, you can't get away with anything. You've got to be on top of your game every play, or the guy across from you is going to embarrass you. You've got to come out prepared every day and ready to work.”

        Jones has lived up to enough promise that the Bengals felt comfortable releasing veteran tackle John Jackson, who was the team's top backup to starter Richmond Webb last season. Jones - who considers Jackson and Webb two of his football mentors, along with right tackle Willie Anderson - is one injury away from inheriting the most important spot on the Bengals' offensive line.

        “Levi really has lived up to his reputation,” said Paul Alexander, the Bengals' offensive line coach since 1994. “He's made very few mental errors. It's a lot to learn right now. There's a lot of stuff coming at him. He has his ups; he has his downs. He's doing a fine job. He's going to be good. He's quicker than hell.”

Jones stretches. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        Jones saw his first NFL action Friday night in the preseason opener at Buffalo, a 24-17 Bengals victory. He played the second half and helped backup running back Rudi Johnson gain 100 yards on the ground.

        “He had several blocks in the game the other night that were wows, literal wows, rare-ability blocks,” Alexander said. “He had some blocks in the game that need to be cleaned up a little bit. Right now, he's working through it.

        “I had almost every one of these guys (offensive linemen) as rookies, and Levi is ahead of schedule. Is he perfect right now? No. But he's ahead of schedule.”

        Jones' schedule is a fast one. He is a young man in a hurry, and learning to slow down is one of the hardest lessons to learn.

        “He has great talent, great feet,” Bengals quarterback Gus Frerotte said of Jones, who will be protecting Frerotte's blind side when they're both on the field. “He's going to be a great player, but he's so anxious to do so well, he overplays some things. He can catch up because his feet are so quick.

Jones blocks. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        “When you're young, you don't realize, you don't learn how to be patient. Let the other guy make his four moves before he gets to you, and don't bite on his first one.”

        One of the best moves Jones made was hurrying to get his contract signed and reporting to camp on time.

        “These three weeks have been real important to me,” Jones said. “If I had missed them, I would have been 10 pages behind.”

        In one-on-one pass-blocking drills, Jones has been matched often against last season's first-round draft pick, defensive end Justin Smith, another big man known for his speed.

        “That's going to be huge for Levi to take advantage of learning from Richmond Webb, who's one of the greats,” Smith said. “(Jones) has really good feet and just has to put it all together. That takes time. Coming from college to the pros, the rushers you face in college aren't even close.”

        Jones, who earned an academic scholarship to Arizona State before getting a football grant, is known as a fast learner. He's learning a lot from Smith.

        “When you're going against somebody every day who's as good as anyone in the league, that's great preparation right there,” Jones said.

        Webb, a seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle entering his 13th NFL season, said the Bengals' almost-too-good-to-be-true scouting report on Jones is accurate.

        “They hit it right on the nail,” Webb said. “If you watch his practice habits, running to the football, showing a lot of energy, high-motor guy, good character, willing to listen. They hit it on the nail.”

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