People always assume that Coaches can predict how good players are from practice... and for the most part, it's true. But sometimes, it isn't true also, a la Rodney Smith. As we all can see, Roderick is no where near the talent Smith is, yet he "won" the competition until Smith was given a chance in a real game to show what he has. Right from the start you could see Smith's talent over Roderick's. Cobb was a back up for 2 years, plus 3 (or 4) games his Junior year before they actually gave him a chance, funny thing was that every time he touched the ball, we all could see his talent, the coaches just never let him play.
Is Jeff Jones better than Smith? Who knows... but at least give him a try. I don't agree with the "oh he's been out of football for a year" comments, because he is an athlete. A top 10 (maybe even top 5) RB his senior year. RB is probably the easiest position to learn on offense, and trust me, many true freshmen (and nfl rookies) can be stars their first year on their respective teams.
I honestly think there is something else that's going on. Whether it's academics, or Coach Kill just doesn't like him... I dunno. Talent-wise, we are talking about a kid who was in the same top 5 with Nick Chubb and Leonard Fournette (
http://247sports.com/Season/2014-Football/RecruitRankings?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool&Position=RB ), we are talking about more talent then Justin Jackson, maybe even the same level as Ezekiel Elliott. Watch Jeff Jones' film and tell me he shouldn't be out there playing, whether it's RB or WR, if only for 5 plays per game. An athlete like him doesn't come around often. He has more talent than even Smith has. So there is something else going on.
I feel bad for the kid because he chose to stay home... he worked his butt off last year to get to play, and so far this year, he hasn't gotten much of a chance... and maybe it's just pure bad luck he's been "injured" or maybe it's something else that isn't being said.