Chad Jones has adjusted to many things since becoming a Tiger. The sophomore safety has learned to play different positions and balancing his time between the baseball and the football fields. And now he’s adjusting to becoming a key member of the LSU defense.   “He is getting more comfortable with the scheme of the defense and letting his athletic ability really start to show,” said senior linebacker Darry Beckwith. “Once he really gets everything in tune and right he is going to be a great player.”Jones showed greatness last season like when he forced a fumble during the Tigers’ 41-34 victory against Alabama.   This season Jones is tied for fifth on the team with 43 tackles, playing mostly at dimeback and most recently at safety. Senior defensive end Kirston Pittman said he wasn’t surprised by how much Jones has improved from last season. “The guy came in, and everyone knew he was going to be a top cat,” Pittman said. “One of these days he was going to step up and be one of the most prominent players on the field.” Jones said he’s relishing his new role in the defense. This season he had an interception that helped spark an LSU rally that led to 37 unanswered points in the Tigers’ 40-31 win against Troy.”With me last year, when I made certain plays, I definitely had to take some part of the role on the team,” Jones said. “But this year and next year I’m going to be looking forward to having a bigger impact on our team and forcing my opinion more.”His teammates said his versatility is what makes him so effective.”He plays in different personal packages, and he is just big presence on field,” Pittman said. “He has a big frame and is an athletic guy, real fast. He’s a smart player also. He is out there running around a lot, but he knows what to do.”Jones got a chance to play his natural safety position against Ole Miss and rewarded his team with a forced fumble.”That felt good,” Jones said. “That’s what I’ve been wanting to play since I got here. Me being back there felt normal to me. I made a nice little play on a forced fumble, and I almost had an interception, but it felt good. I’m ready to [play strong safety] now, but that’s not my decision. But I’m looking forward to doing it more next year.”Jones said he’s also having to adjust to being a leader on the team.”I have players come up to me asking me what to do on plays, and I’m kind of not used to that because I’m usually the one asking what’s going on,” he said. —-Contact Amos Morale at [email protected]