Dale Jones

In Tennessee's 6–6 tie against Georgia Tech on October 26, Jones batted away a 3rd-down pass by John Dewberry to force the Yellow Jackets to settle for a field goal early in the first quarter, and was named "SEC Lineman of the Week" for his overall performance.

In the Vols' 34–14 win over Ole Miss, Jones had two third-quarter sacks, both of which forced Ole Miss to punt from their own end zone.

Marvin Dale Jones (born March 8, 1963) is an American football coach and former player.

He was most recently the defensive coordinator for Appalachian State.

Working with long-time coach Bill Dupes, Jones led the TMI squad in tackles in 1981, and was a team captain.

He also gained nearly 30 pounds.

Jones's performance at TMI caught the attention of University of Tennessee coaches, and he was finally offered a scholarship.

He was injured prior to the 1982 season, however, and redshirted.

He began the 1983 season as the third-string right outside linebacker, but still received playing time due to injuries to the Vols' starting linebackers.

He had 6 tackles in the opener against Pittsburgh, and had two tackles-for-loss in the team's 41–34 victory over Alabama.

He led all players with 14 tackles in Tennessee's 30–23 victory over Maryland in the 1983 Florida Citrus Bowl.

He finished the season with 77 tackles (43 solo), 2 sacks and 7 tackles-for-loss.

He registered 11 "big plays," second only to teammate Reggie White's phenomenal 29.

He was named to the Freshman All-American team by The Football News.

As part of a linebacker corps that included future NFL players Reggie McKenzie, Alvin Toles and Carl Zander, Jones opened the 1984 season with 12 tackles in Tennessee's 34–27 win over Washington State.

In the Vols' loss to Auburn, Jones stuffed running back Brent Fullwood at the one-yard line, causing a fumble and preventing a touchdown.

He had 13 tackles in Tennessee's 28–27 win over Alabama.

He finished the season as the team's leader in "big plays," with 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles (led the team), and 7 tackles-for-loss.

His 109 total tackles was second only to Zander's 167.

He was named to the Sophomore All-American team by The Football News.

Jones played linebacker at the University of Tennessee, where he was a member of the 1985 "Sugar Vols" squad, and was a captain of the 1986 team.

Jones is frequently recalled as the "emotional leader" of the 1985 "Sugar Vols" squad.

In Tennessee's 38–20 upset of #1 Auburn on September 28, Jones led a swarming defense that held eventual Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson to 80 yards on 17 carries (Jackson entered the game averaging over 200 yards per game for the season).

Following the team's 17–10 loss to Florida on October 12, Jones rallied the team with a locker room speech in which he declared, "This is the only game we're going to lose all year."

The biggest play of Jones's career came in Tennessee's win over Alabama, which took place at Legion Field on October 19.

After Tennessee's star quarterback Tony Robinson left the game with an injury, Alabama seized the momentum and scored a touchdown to cut the lead to 16–14, and had driven into Tennessee territory for what would have been the go-ahead score, when Jones tipped a pass from quarterback Mike Shula and caught it as he fell to the ground for a drive-killing interception.

Jones also recovered a fumble late in the 3rd quarter that set up Tennessee's third field goal.

Jones finished the 1985 season with 82 tackles (59 solo), 5 sacks, 9 tackles-for-loss, 5 forced fumbles, and 4 pass deflections as the Vols finished 9–1–2.

He was named All-SEC, 3rd-team All-American and SEC defensive lineman of the year honors from the Atlanta Touchdown Club.

In Tennessee's upset of Miami in the 1986 Sugar Bowl, Jones had 7 tackles as a part of a defensive effort that held the Hurricanes' high-scoring offense to just 7 points.

Jones sacked Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde twice for -38 yards, including a crucial sack late in the second quarter that forced Miami to settle for a long, unsuccessful field goal attempt.

Jones was a tri-captain of Tennessee's 1986 squad, and was named to Playboy's preseason All-American team.

He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 10th round of the 1987 NFL Draft, and played during the 1987 NFL strike as a replacement player.

Jones was born in Lee County, Virginia, the second from the youngest of 13 children.

After his family moved to Cleveland, Tennessee he attended Bradley Central High School, where he was twice named All-State at defensive end.

However, college recruiters had questions over his size (he weighed less than 180 pounds his senior year).

For a whole summer, he would work all day on a farm in his hometown and then run six miles home at night.

He turned down a scholarship from Tennessee State University and instead chose to spend a year at the Tennessee Military Institute— a prep school— while gaining extra weight and muscle mass.

Jones previously worked as a defensive coordinator for Georgia Military College (1992–1996) and the Parma Panthers (1990) of the Italian Football League (IFL).

He served in various capacities for Appalachian State (1996–2022), including three years as defensive coordinator (2010–2012).