At 6-foot-5, 333 pounds, Travis Jones is hard to miss on the football field.

He's also sticking out for another reason.

A former all-state player at Wilbur Cross, Jones is receiving attention for his play at defensive tackle for UConn.

Jones, a New Haven native, has been invited to play in the prestigious 2022 Reese's Senior Bowl on Feb. 5 in Mobile, Ala. The event, which will be televised on the NFL Network, is considered the first stage of the NFL Draft process. Practices will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Former UConn offensive lineman Matt Peart also played in the Senior Bowl and impressed NFL scouts. Peart was drafted in the third round by the New York Giants in 2020.

"I was excited to get it," Jones said earlier this week. "I saw guys like Matt Peart get it. I always wanted to get it as well, so I'm happy. Peart was here last week, so I spoke to him. He said that I've got to go out there and dominate every snap."

Interim head coach Lou Spanos has coached in several of those Senior Bowls.

"I've been there," Spanos said. "You're talking about all eyes of the NFL are there and also getting coached by NFL coaches. It's a great opportunity for him, but also it's great for the University of Connecticut having representation."

With two games left in the regular season, Jones is just seven tackles shy of passing his career-high for tackles (46). He'll get a chance to add to that total on Saturday when UConn (1-9) visits former American Athletic Conference rival Central Florida (6-4) at 4 p.m. in Orlando.

Jones is coming off what Spanos called his best game of the season in a 44-7 loss at Clemson.

"I've been fortunate to see him grow and mature over the last three years," Spanos said. "This year was special for him. What's impressed me with him is how much he got better — his football instinct, IQ, work ethic, changed his body and he's also pushed himself."

Jones has had plenty to play for this season.

Games like last Saturday at Clemson, a powerhouse program, gave scouts a chance to see how Jones measures up against top notch competition. He finished with three tackles, including one for a loss, and a quarterback hit. He also helped the defense limit Clemson to just 3.1 yards per run.

"Going against Power Five schools, I know NFL scouts are going to look at things like that because coming from a smaller school that's not known for football, it was big for me to go out and have a (good) game," Jones said.

Jones has remained focused on the task at hand despite the program's struggles and coaching changes.

Spanos took over as interim head coach after Randy Edsall stepped down in early September. Last week, UConn hired Jim Mora as the next coach. Mora started serving as an assistant coach last Saturday against Clemson.

"For me, the coaching changes and stuff like that, I don't even think about that," Jones said. "My job is to go out there and play. That's what I've been doing."

Jones has racked up 40 tackles this season, including a career-high 6.5 tackles for loss. He has a career-high tying 3.5 sacks.

While Jones has played well, he sees plenty of room from improvement, especially in his pass rushing department. Opposing defenses have doubled-team him at times to limit his effectiveness.

As far as his future, that's something that Jones will think about in a few weeks.

"I'm going to worry about that after these next two games," Jones said.

The Huskies need a win either Saturday or in the regular season finale against Houston on Nov. 27 to avoid having the program's third one-win season team since 1977. They went 1-11 in 2018 and 1-10 in 1977.

g.keefe@theday.com