Logan Jones’ Story
Logan Jones, Center for the University of Iowa Football team grew up with little awareness of mental health and not talking about it openly with his family. As he experienced a mix of depression, anger, and self-doubt during a season lost to injury in 2021, he leaned on teammates and coaches to come out the other side and prove he belonged. Now entering his final year at Iowa, he wants to do for the younger players what was done for him. Reduce stigma around the struggles athletes experience and be a mentor of sorts that is always available to talk when needed.
“When I was in middle school and high school, I didn’t really have any awareness of it. Obviously, I had struggles but I never really addressed it.” Logan said, thinking back on his experience with mental health as a kid.
On top of that, mental health wasn’t a common topic in his household. He and his sister were raised by his mother, and despite the struggles of a single parent household, the status quo was to grin and bear it through troubles instead of talking through them.
“My mom definitely struggled raising two kids by herself, but she was just the ultimate warrior, you could tell she was battling things, but it was never something we talked about.”
Logan’s transition to college and his first season with the Hawkeyes would be a major test for him that would see him opening up and seeking help for the first time.
“You come out of high school as ‘The Guy’ but you’re bottom tier when you get to college. I struggled with that.” Logan said. This self-doubt, and the pressure to prove himself in a new environment would compound with another roadblock. In the spring of his freshman year Logan suffered a knee injury and would only appear in one game that season. On top of the pressure of adapting to college life and wanting to prove himself, he now had to watch from the sidelines.
“The worst part was just watching my teammates play on TV when I felt like I should be out there. It was hard having to battle through that. I kind of got in my own head a lot, thinking am I ever going to play, am I good enough to play here,” Logan said. “I did fight through a little bit of depression and a lot of anger. A lot of ‘why me’, it just sucked. I felt like I was, for the most part, alone at that time trying to do it all on my own.”
Still adapting to college life and watching his team from the sidelines, he started reaching out to those around him for support and looking for ways to find stability in his life. He leaned on his teammates and the team’s staff and now says although the year was a tough time for him, it helped him in the long run.
“One thing Coach Ferentz always talks about is developing a routine and I struggled with that. I was young, I didn't know what to do, but I eventually started creating routines and I think that kind of helped me out quite a bit,” he said. “But just having good people around me was the biggest thing, good teammates and good staff. They believed in me even though I wasn’t in and they really helped me come back from that injury a better person.”
Logan is returning to Iowa for his final season this fall, and after struggling with depression himself as a newer member of the team, he wants to be here for the youngest team members, especially those in the offensive lineman room with him.
“I just want to be there for them if they need anything. What’s awesome is our Offensive Line Coach, Coach Barnett, is the same way. No matter what, he is going to be there for you, and I try to do the same,” Logan said. “It’s important for the young guys to get things off their chest as they battle with things whether that be depression, anxiety, whatever it might be that comes with playing sports.”
This comradery is exemplified in one of the team’s mottos; Each One, Teach One. Team veterans are taught to support a younger player on the team as they adjust to college life and athletics, and as those young players become the veterans, they help new recruits acclimate the same way.
He has already been able to help. A teammate reached out to Logan recently through text just wanting to talk. “I thought that was awesome; being able to talk with him just knowing what the older guys did for me.”
Today, Logan is glad to see so many famous athletes speaking out about their struggles to counter the perception that athletes don’t have any issues and to open the door for more to share their stories.
Although he isn’t perfect, he has learned a lot about taking care of his mental health and leaning on his loved ones. “A lot of times I kind of don't talk about things but I should, and you always feel better when you get things off your chest. But, you know, I got a fiancé soon to be wife now who I can talk to about anything at the end of the day.”
For anyone feeling isolated, depressed, or anxious he emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with friends and loved ones and taking your mind off whatever you are fighting through by tackling one day at a time.
“Take it day by day and focus on the right now. You got to focus on today and attacking the day,” Logan said. “Eventually everything else will come.”
