One call was all it took.
LSU running backs coach Kevin Smith dialed Dilin Jones and the former Wisconsin Badger heard enough. He was ready to come to Baton Rouge.
“It was really talking to (Kevin) Smith, it had me all on board,” Jones said. “I understand he played the game, and then he really understands football. Having a coach like that had me all on board.”
When the phone rang, Jones was with his best friend and high school teammate, Faheem Delane, who was also in the portal after a season at Ohio State. Delane’s older brother, Mansor, spent a season at LSU and became the No. 6 pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL.
The duo decided to come to LSU together.
“He was in the portal, too, and then he was thinking about what he should do,” Jones said. “I told him I was thinking about coming (to LSU). His brother went here. So, he also thought about it, too.”
Both entered crowded position rooms with returners.
Dashawn Spears and Tamarcus Cooley were back at safety. Jones entered a position group with returning backs Caden Durham and Harlem Berry. Durham led LSU in rushing in 2024 and 2025, and Berry was the nation’s top prep back in 2025 and earned starting reps late last fall.
Jones didn’t see it as a problem.
“I feel like I looked at it as like, this is competition,” Jones said. “This is going to help me push myself to be better. I don’t want to go anywhere and they tell me, ‘Oh yeah, you can come here and you’re a guaranteed starter.’
“That’s not going to help me be the best person that I am,” Jones. “So just coming in here knowing I got great guys in the room. I feel like that just helped me out a lot more.”
Jones has certainly competed. He worked his way back from turf toe surgery last fall, and won a starting role nearing the end of spring ball. By the time fall camp ended, he was entrenched as LSU’s lead back.
His 128 carries on the season are 97 more than Berry’s. The former Badger has 566 yards rushing and five scores.
Recently, L5U has incorporated him more into the passing game. Fifteen of his 26 catches have come in the last two games.
“Every play that I’m catching the ball, I’m pretty much just the last read,” Jones said. “(Quarterback) Sam (Leavitt) just finds his way to me, and I feel like the more comfortable he gets, I might end up being the first read sometimes.”
Jones now feels at home at a place he’d only visited once before committing. He and Delane played a high school game against Catholic High School in 2022. Their Our Lady of Good Counsel team edged the Bears 38-35 in Memorial Stadium.
The NFL draft is an option for Jones after this season, his third in college. He plans to play for the Tigers for another year.
“For sure I’m gonna be here next year,” Jones said. “But after that, I plan on next year being my last year.”
