Hakim Jones doesn’t take his role as a leader lightly. He knows how important it is, because he was blessed to have good leaders take him under their wing when he was a young buck at NC State.

“It’s a great honor.  When I came in we had a lot of guys like that…guys like Markus Kuhn, J.R. Sweezy and Earl Wolff,” said Jones. “They were the old guys back then, and it’s an honor to be in that role now.  It’s an honor for everyone on the team to be looking at me as that role model they should be molding themselves after.”

He realizes that he has to continue to become a more aggressive leader, but he also realizes that he must continue to carry himself as a leader as well.

“I just have to continue to push everyone, even harder than I’ve been doing.  They’ve been with me a couple of years now,” said Jones. “They’re all looking up to me and following what I do.  I just have to make sure I’m doing everything right and go in the right direction at all times.”

Much of what a leader does doesn’t even happen on the football field. How a player lives off the field directly impacts the player they are on the field. The former players that led Jones brought him into their circles, and now he is doing the same.

“They made sure I did the right thing and hung around the right people.  Whenever they went some where, they called me to make sure I was with them.  They wanted to make sure I didn’t hang around the wrong crowd and get in trouble,” said Jones. “That’s what I try to do with a lot of the young guys, especially the guys from hard backgrounds.  They can easily fall into the wrong crowd, like the people they are used to following.  I try to put them with me so they can go the right route.”

It’s always an honor to be a leader, but it’s much more fun when the crew you lead is really good. Jones feels like he is a leader of one of the best secondaries he’s seen.

“They should expect big things.  We’re a huge secondary.  We’re all fast, strong, and physical.  It’s going to be one of the best secondaries I’ve seen in awhile.”

Jones has played in all 38 games that he has suited up for the Wolfpack.  His 80 tackles last year was good for the team lead.  While 70% of the Wolfpack team are freahmen and sophomores, Jones is leading the most experienced secondary in the ACC, and according to him, the most talented.