The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Riverside grad Jones eyes NFL
If Nov. 10 was the last organized football game of Marcus Jones’ career, he came full circle.
That’s not what the Riverside graduate is thinking. He has the NFL on his mind, and he left anyone from the big-time watching a lasting impression.
Jones also proved to NFL scouts the elements can’t stop him.
Before his final game as a college running back Nov. 10, a snowstorm hit Erie, Pa., where Jones’ Gannon team was hosting Lock Haven. Nearly a foot of snow littered McConnell Family Stadium, but it didn’t matter.
Jones had a game for the ages. The senior from Riverside rushed for a whopping 410 yards and seven touchdowns in a 50-48 loss. It rekindled his earliest football memory.
“I was 6, and yeah I remember it well,” said Jones in a phone interview. “It was my first snow game ever.”
Against Lock Haven, it was like being 6 all over again with a reminder.
“Running in the snow isn’t easy,” said Jones.
The storm hit Erie early Nov. 10, and with Gannon down to its fourth-string quarterback and many other players out with injuries, it quickly became a Jones kind of day.
By mid-afternoon and 34 carries later, Jones broke his own singlegame school records for rushing yards in a game and touchdowns in a game. The 410 yards are the second most by a college player this season, regardless of division. It’s also the third-most ever by a D-II player in NCAA history.
Gannon administrator Dan Teliski usually provides updates to the team during games about milestones and records, but couldn’t on this day.
“He was too busy shoveling the field,” said Jones, who didn’t know the extent of his performance until after the game.
His seven TDs came on runs of 57, 63, 33, 43, 35, 1 and 1 yards. The seven TDs are the most by a player in an NCAA football game this season.
“It was definitely a surreal moment,” said Jones, who finished this season with 1,708 rushing yards and 21 TDs. “I don’t know what the future holds, but if it was my last game, I won’t forget it.”
Jones’ plan is beginning preparations to train for the NFL Draft. He should generate interest because Jones will be intriguing to NFL teams. At 5-foot-11, 225 pounds, Jones has the ideal size for an NFL running back. Before his junior season, he transformed his body as a 260-pound bruiser to a back that can still be physical but also break away for long runs.
Jones will carry the small-school stigma into the draft season, when the big question from scouts and the like will be his 40-yard dash time. Jones would not reveal that time but said, “I feel pretty confident. No doubt about it.”
“Most of the (NFL) scouts reaching out to me want to see my 40 time,” said Jones. “That’s the No. 1 thing for sure.”
The next few months will be busy. Jones plans to take online courses and said he’s on track to graduate in the summer with a criminal justice degree. In January, Jones will move to Portland, Oregon, where Gannon’s strength and conditioning coach Tyler Johnson, instrumental in transforming Jones to his current 225-pound frame, is relocating to the west coast. Johnson will continue working as a trainer.
“I’m taking this process very serious,” said Jones, who hopes to get invites to college all-star games and possibly to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.
Jones has entrusted his football future to Johnson, but also trusts his inner circle of family and friends, which includes Riverside football coach Dave Bors and former Riverside standout alums Anthony Bilal and Cam Jefferies.
“I can’t wait to get started,” said Jones, Gannon’s all-time leader in rushing yards (4,449) and TDs (54). “I’m just going to enjoy the process.”