INDIANAPOLIS — Auburn cornerback Jonathan Jones almost doubled his tackles from his junior season to his senior season, upping the number from 36 to 69, although that’s not necessarily a good thing for a defensive back.

Chances are, that means the front seven isn’t playing particularly well — the Tigers did finish 13th in the SEC in total defense — so the secondary is forced to take ball carriers to the ground after healthy gains. Even worse, a corner with a bunch of tackles probably didn’t break up as many passes as he should have, meaning he was wrapping up wideouts after allowing receptions.

While Jones was credited with 12 passes defensed in 2015, an improvement over the nine he had the year before, his interception total dropped from an impressive six to a dubious one.

According to Jones, the primary question he’s being asked by organizations at the Scouting Combine is why his junior campaign was so much more highlight reel-worthy than his senior effort. Fortunately for the 5-foot-9, 186-pounder, he now has an excuse he couldn’t give during the regular season.

“Now being about to talk about injuries and stuff like that, the preseason surgery that I had, things like that,” he said. “Being able to open up about that and get a chance to explain that to them.”

The Carrollton (Ga.) High School product injured his foot, which is what required the procedure. Apparently, coach Gus Malzahn refuses to let his players talk about injuries when speaking to reporters.

“It was just something that aggravated me,” said Johnson, “and I didn’t really have time to fully recover from it. But at the end of the day, I had to recover from it. It’s football. You fight through stuff like that and keep playing.”

Jones claims to be all the way back from the injury now, as he plans to participate in every drill this week.