Drew Dougherty of Texans TV chatted with special teams ace Taiwan Jones about food, television, cooking, karaoke...and a frightening first job on a farm.
1 DD: Who's your favorite retired NFL player?
JONES: It’s got to be out of Barry Sanders, Jim Brown or Deion Sanders.
2 DD: What was the first job you ever had?
JONES: It was on a farm, actually. It was in college. It was one of my summer jobs, and I’ll never forget it. They wake me up early in the morning, about four in the morning. They drive me out to the middle of nowhere. The first thing they did was they open this big fence and there was like a hundred cows and bulls and they were like ‘Alright: just don’t let them get past you.’ And I’m looking at them like: ‘I’m scared. How am I going to keep these from getting past me?’ They were like ‘Aw, just scare them. Get big. Make noise.’ I already got a small voice, so I’m trying to scare them when I’m already more terrified than them. But it was working on a farm, helping them round up cattle so they could brand them. And tarping hay.
3 DD: Pizzas or hamburgers?
JONES: Pizza.
4 DD: So what's on the pizza?
JONES: Pepperoni pizza with green bell peppers. I’ve got to have my ranch dipping sauce.
5 DD: What was your favorite TV show as a kid?
JONES: I liked the Rugrats. Tom and Jerry. Ninja Turtles, of course.
6 DD: What's your favorite TV show now?
JONES: Game of Thrones. I was a little wary of getting into it, but once I did, I couldn’t stop.
Check out the best Week 12 images from Texans team photographer Zach Tarrant. Presented by Houston Methodist.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
An image from the Nov. 21, 2019 regular season home game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans won 20-17.
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7 DD: Who's the first person--non teammate/coach--you talk with after a game?
JONES: My brother. I’ve got six brothers and one sister. He’s the next under me. He sends me a video every gameday. I can always count on seeing his video of encouragement before the game. I always reply to it once I get to the locker room.
8 DD: What's your best football trait?
JONES: I’m fast.
9 DD: Favorite football movie?
JONES: Remember the Titans.
10 DD: What's the last thing you cooked?
JONES: Pfffft. The last TIME I cooked was about three years ago and I cooked some steak, lobster and sautéed spinach and it was for Mother’s Day.
11 DD: Thanksgiving was yesterday. What's on your perfect Thanksgiving plate?
JONES: Deep fried turkey, macaroni and cheese, dressing, greens. As long as I got those, I’m good. For dessert: peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream and sweet potato pie.
12 DD: Do you have a go-to karaoke song?
JONES: I don’t. I always thought that I wouldn’t like karaoke until I went for my first time. Then they couldn’t take the mic away from me.
BAKER'S DOZEN DD: What animal scares you?
JONES: Raccoons are pretty sneaky.
The Houston Texans roster in photos. (Updated 12/1/2019)
S, Mike Adams, 27
LB, Tyrell Adams, 50
S, Jahleel Addae, 37
TE, Jordan Akins, 88
P, Bryan Anger, 9
CB, Cornell Armstrong, 30
DE, Angelo Blackson, 97
WR, DeAndre Carter, 14
OL, Chris Clark, 77
CB, Gareon Conley, 22
WR, Keke Coutee, 16
CB, Keion Crossen, 35
ILB, Zach Cunningham, 41
DE, Brandon Dunn, 92
K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, 7
TE, Darren Fells, 87
WR, Will Fuller, V, 15
OL, Zach Fulton, 73
FB, Cullen Gillaspia, 44
S, Tashaun Gipson, 39
CB, Vernon Hargreaves, 28
DE, Joel Heath, 93
WR, DeAndre Hopkins, 10
RB, Buddy Howell, 38
RB, Carlos Hyde, 23
RB, Duke Johnson, 25
CB, Lonnie Johnson, Jr., 32
OL, Roderick Johnson, 63
RB, Taiwan Jones, 34
CB, Johnathan Joseph, 24
OLB, Peter Kalambayi, 58
OL, Greg Mancz, 65
LB, Jacob Martin, 54
C, Nick Martin, 66
QB, AJ McCarron, 2
LB, Benardrick McKinney, 55
OLB, Whitney Mercilus, 59
LB, Barkevious Mingo, 52
WR, Steven Mitchell, Jr., 11
S, A.J. Moore, 33
DE, Charles Omenihu, 94
NT/DE, D.J. Reader, 98
S, Justin Reid, 20
CB, Bradley Roby, 21
OLB, Brennan Scarlett, 57
OL, Max Scharping, 74
WR, Kenny Stills, 12
TE, Jordan Thomas, 83
OL, Laremy Tunsil, 78
NT, Eddie Vanderdoes, 95
DL, Carlos Watkins, 91
QB, Deshaun Watson, 4
LS, Jon Weeks, 46
