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University of Minnesota Athletics
Marcus Jones Just Wanted an Opportunity
10/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 29, 2014
All that mattered was that he was 5-7 and 150 pounds and there are not a lot of players that size playing big-time college football. So despite all his high school accolades, Jones had limited options for college and decided to continue his football career at Northern Illinois and play for Jerry Kill. Jones was verbally committed to the Huskies, and quarterback coach Jim Zebrowski, who recruited Jones to DeKalb, Ill., thought his squad was getting a steal.
"He was a great athlete" said Zebrowski. "He was fast, explosive, quick kid, strong for his size and a tremendous competitor. He played offense, defense and special teams in high school, but he was also just fearless out there."
Jones learned early in his career that there was no place for trepidation on the gridiron.
"Being small, people always go at you a lot," said Jones. "My dad taught me early if you want to play football you're going to have to be physical, and you have to be more physical than the people who you play against. That's something that I've always done. Even as a sophomore in high school, I was playing nickel linebacker, corner, and sometimes safety on the varsity team. I would do whatever I had to. I loved to tackle. To hit people just to prove a point that I'm not as small as you may think I am. If you think you're going to run the ball all day, it's not going to happen over here."
Jones - and his defensive mentality - was set to head to Northern Illinois, but then Minnesota hired Kill at the end of the season. Jones took an official visit to Minneapolis in December 2010 and decided to follow Kill and Zebrowski to the Big Ten.
However, the move came with a catch. Literally.
Jones was recruited to Northern Illinois to play defense, but Kill told him he would be playing receiver at Minnesota. The Gophers were a bit thin in the receiving corps and Kill thought that his new team could immediately benefit from Jones' athleticism, speed and strength.
Jones played in 18 games in his first two years and caught 15 passes for 209 yards. Jones, who never shied away from contact, also took pride in blocking and often found himself looking for a linebacker or safety to hit, trying to spring a big run.
Often, with prosperity comes adversity, and Jones has had his share at Minnesota. He tore his ACL with five games left in his freshman season. Jones was relentless in his rehab and was ready for his sophomore season, only to have it abruptly ended with another torn ACL in the 11th game of the season.
"I love this game," said Jones. "Things happen and you have to live with that. But being tough and pushing through those things helped me a lot. Injuries are the toughest thing to deal with, especially some of the injuries that I've had because I had to sit out so long. You don't get to redshirt or get an extra season, so you realize that every play matters. A lot of people in my position would have walked away or quit, but I'm going to keep coming back because it's what I love."
As a junior, Jones returned from injury and also returned to the defensive side of the ball, as he was now playing in the secondary again. He has seen limited action on defense in the last two years, but has been a stalwart on special teams returning kickoffs and punts.
Zebrowski, who recruited Jones, watched both scores from the coaching box. He did so with a tear in his eye.
"I got a little emotional because I know what he's been through," said Zebrowski. "Some guys may have given in, some may have said, 'Hey, I'm done with this,' but he keeps going."
Jones has missed the last two games with a broken hand, which happened against San Jose State while returning a punt. However, his cast came off earlier this week and he is ready to help the team if his number is called.
"I'm okay with that because I got hurt trying to make something happen," he says. "I can live with that."
Jones is currently sixth on Minnesota's all-time kick return list with 1,311 yards. He has two career kickoff returns for touchdowns and ranks first in the Big Ten this year with an average of 24.4 yards-per-return. He doesn't play offense anymore and is used sparingly on defense, but Jones' impact on the team is as big as it has ever been.
He has certainly made the most of his opportunity.
But at 5-7 and 150 pounds, not a lot of people were willing to give him one. It didn't matter that he led his high school to a state title game appearance as a senior. It didn't matter that he rushed for nearly 800 yards and 19 touchdowns in his final year at Wake Forest-Rolesville. It didn't matter that he starred as a defensive back, snagging interceptions, forcing fumbles and making tackle after tackle. It didn't matter that he blocked field goals and returned punts and kickoffs for touchdowns.
All that mattered was that he was 5-7 and 150 pounds and there are not a lot of players that size playing big-time college football. So despite all his high school accolades, Jones had limited options for college and decided to continue his football career at Northern Illinois and play for Jerry Kill. Jones was verbally committed to the Huskies, and quarterback coach Jim Zebrowski, who recruited Jones to DeKalb, Ill., thought his squad was getting a steal.
"He was a great athlete" said Zebrowski. "He was fast, explosive, quick kid, strong for his size and a tremendous competitor. He played offense, defense and special teams in high school, but he was also just fearless out there."
Jones learned early in his career that there was no place for trepidation on the gridiron.
"Being small, people always go at you a lot," said Jones. "My dad taught me early if you want to play football you're going to have to be physical, and you have to be more physical than the people who you play against. That's something that I've always done. Even as a sophomore in high school, I was playing nickel linebacker, corner, and sometimes safety on the varsity team. I would do whatever I had to. I loved to tackle. To hit people just to prove a point that I'm not as small as you may think I am. If you think you're going to run the ball all day, it's not going to happen over here."
Jones - and his defensive mentality - was set to head to Northern Illinois, but then Minnesota hired Kill at the end of the season. Jones took an official visit to Minneapolis in December 2010 and decided to follow Kill and Zebrowski to the Big Ten.
However, the move came with a catch. Literally.
Jones was recruited to Northern Illinois to play defense, but Kill told him he would be playing receiver at Minnesota. The Gophers were a bit thin in the receiving corps and Kill thought that his new team could immediately benefit from Jones' athleticism, speed and strength.
Jones played in 18 games in his first two years and caught 15 passes for 209 yards. Jones, who never shied away from contact, also took pride in blocking and often found himself looking for a linebacker or safety to hit, trying to spring a big run.
Often, with prosperity comes adversity, and Jones has had his share at Minnesota. He tore his ACL with five games left in his freshman season. Jones was relentless in his rehab and was ready for his sophomore season, only to have it abruptly ended with another torn ACL in the 11th game of the season.
"I love this game," said Jones. "Things happen and you have to live with that. But being tough and pushing through those things helped me a lot. Injuries are the toughest thing to deal with, especially some of the injuries that I've had because I had to sit out so long. You don't get to redshirt or get an extra season, so you realize that every play matters. A lot of people in my position would have walked away or quit, but I'm going to keep coming back because it's what I love."
As a junior, Jones returned from injury and also returned to the defensive side of the ball, as he was now playing in the secondary again. He has seen limited action on defense in the last two years, but has been a stalwart on special teams returning kickoffs and punts.
In the first game of his junior year, he returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. In his second game, he raced 65 yards to return a punt for a touchdown.
Zebrowski, who recruited Jones, watched both scores from the coaching box. He did so with a tear in his eye.
"I got a little emotional because I know what he's been through," said Zebrowski. "Some guys may have given in, some may have said, 'Hey, I'm done with this,' but he keeps going."
Jones has missed the last two games with a broken hand, which happened against San Jose State while returning a punt. However, his cast came off earlier this week and he is ready to help the team if his number is called.
"I'm okay with that because I got hurt trying to make something happen," he says. "I can live with that."
Jones is currently sixth on Minnesota's all-time kick return list with 1,311 yards. He has two career kickoff returns for touchdowns and ranks first in the Big Ten this year with an average of 24.4 yards-per-return. He doesn't play offense anymore and is used sparingly on defense, but Jones' impact on the team is as big as it has ever been.
He has certainly made the most of his opportunity.
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