As they watched the first round of the NFL draft together, Hootie Jones' mom asked him how he was doing.

She figured it was probably difficult watching considering his situation, so his response surprised her some.

"Man, I'm happy," Jones told his mother, Jessica Carr. "My boys are getting their blessings and mine's coming soon."

It is.

Three Alabama defensive backs were drafted last week. Two more were signed as undrafted free agents. Soon, another member of last year's secondary -- Jones -- will get an NFL opportunity.

At least four NFL teams have told Jones they want to bring him in for a tryout this summer whenever he's back healthy, including one he talked to as recently as Sunday.

"I was hoping to still get picked up (during the draft), but I kind of had it in the back of my mind that somebody probably isn't going to take a chance on damaged goods," said Jones, who is still recovering from a season-ending knee injury he suffered during last year's Iron Bowl. "They've got to invest money in someone who's already injured, and I knew it was going to be hard for somebody to do that. ... But I can't complain. I'm still here. I'm still rehabbing. I'm back running again. And I'm just excited to be able to do stuff now because at one point I wasn't able to do anything."

In addition to suffering a partial MCL tear, Jones also ended up having a PCL tear.

The PCL injury is why he wasn't able to return to Alabama during the playoffs and why he's still not back to 100 percent five months later, though he does expect to be back to full strength within the next month or so.

"If it was just the MCL, I would have probably played in the last game," Jones said. "The MCL really could have healed on its own (without surgery), but since he was already in there for the PCL, he went in and fixed that, too."

At least one team told Jones, who posted 53 tackles and two interceptions last season, that he could have been drafted as high as the fourth or fifth round if not for the injury.

But Jones is very much upbeat, as his mom realized last Thursday, and he's expecting to be ready for tryouts in either June or July.

"I've got to keep going," Jones said. "I can't just stop because I'm hurt. I'm going to shake back. I've just got to be patient and trust the process."

*** Jones' mother continues her fight against Stage 4 cancer. For more on her cancer battle or to make a donation that will help with the family's medical expenses, click here.

Matt Zenitz is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.