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PRO: Despite missing 11 games in his first two NFL seasons, Julius Jones has proven himself to be one of the NFL's most productive players and brightest young stars. In his first two seasons Jones has provided the Cowboys with historic rushing performances that were unprecedented in the annals of Cowboys runners. With that kind of ability, he has captured the eye of the nation and pumped hope into the hearts of Dallas fans everywhere. After trading their first round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft to Buffalo, the Cowboys chose Jones in the second round with the 43rd selection overall. It marked the highest Dallas draft choice to be spent on a running back since the club selected Emmitt Smith with the 17th overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. For a franchise that has been blessed with excellence at the running back position for its entire existence - Don Perkins, Dan Reeves, Calvin Hill, Duane Thomas, Robert Newhouse, Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker and the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith - Jones's emergence has been a breath of fresh air and a vivid reminder of how much success the Cowboys have enjoyed through the years on the strength of a solid running game. Jones brings excellent vision and balance to the Dallas ground game while also possessing the toughness and cutback ability to be effective between the tackles and the speed and acceleration to get around the outside. In 21 career games, with 19 career starts, he has run for 1,812 yards (86.3 yards-per-game), including 1,780 in the 19 starts (93.7 yards-per game). In those 19 career starts he has rushed for over 70 yards 14 times. Along the way, he established individual game rushing performances that equaled, eclipsed or drew near to previous standards established by NFL greats such as Hill, Earl Campbell, Dorsett and Smith.
2005: Despite missing three games, Jones finished eighth in the NFC, 17th in the NFL, with 993 rushing yards. He picked up a first down on nine of 16 carries (56.0%) on third or fourth down, including six-of-10 (60.0%) from under five yards. In the opener at San Diego (9/11), Jones ran for 93 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries while adding three receptions for 18 yards. The following week against Washington (9/19) he ran 22 times for 81 yards. He topped the 80-yard mark for the third consecutive game with 85 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries in the 34-31 win at San Francisco (9/25). He also caught four passes for 24 yards against the 49ers. Jones was held to 76 yards on 22 carries at Oakland (10/2), just the second time in 11 career starts that he has failed to rush for at least 80 yards. Against Philadelphia (10/9), Jones was off to an outstanding start with 16 carries for 72 yards as Dallas ran out to a 27-3 lead in the first half. However, just before halftime he suffered a high sprain on his left ankle and did not return. He sat out the next three contests because of the injury, returning to limited action at Philadelphia (11/14) with eight carries for 16 yards and a three-yard reception. He returned to the starting lineup against Detroit (11/20) and rushed for 92 yards on 21 carries. On the game's opening drive, he ran seven times for 37 yards as the Cowboys marched 84 yards in 14 plays to open the game with a touchdown. On Thanksgiving Day against Denver (11/24), Jones led the team with 20 carries for 55 yards and also hauled in five catches for nine yards. The following week at the N.Y. Giants (12/4), Jones again led the team with 74 yards on 23 carries and had career bests with nine receptions for 88 yards, also tops on the team. He was limited to 41 yards on 12 carries against Kansas City (12/11). At Washington (12/18) Jones ran 12 times for 79 yards, including a season-long 51-yard burst to set up the only Dallas touchdown of the afternoon. Jones had his biggest game of the season in one of the Cowboys biggest wins of the year. In a 24-20 win at Carolina (12/24), Jones posted a season-high 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 34 carries. The 194 yards was the second best total of his career and the fourth best day in club history. His 34 carries tied Smith for the second most in a game in club history, one shy of Smith's record of 35. It ended up as Jones's only 100-yard game of the season. His eight-yard touchdown run in the first quarter got Dallas on the scoreboard at 10-7, and then he added a 43-yard scoring run in the third quarter to put Dallas on top for the first time all day at 17-13.
2004: Although he didn't burst into the spotlight until late November, Jones enjoyed one of the most memorable and productive rookie seasons of any player - at any position - in team history. Saddled with injuries (bruised rib and fractured scapula) that held him out of eight of the first nine games of the year, Jones left an indelible mark on the Cowboys record book when his health returned. While starting the final seven games of the season, Jones finished the year with 819 rushing yards, a 4.2-yard average and seven rushing touchdowns. In eight games, Jones averaged 102.4 yards-per-game - a figure that was fifth best in the NFL. Jones finished the year as the NFL's second leading rookie rusher ranked 14th overall in the NFC (28th in the NFL). He also finished third among NFC rookies in scoring with 42 points, and his seven rushing touchdowns led all NFL rookies. Jones compiled three of the top 36 rushing performances in the NFL and three of the top five rookie rushing games. Seattle's Shaun Alexander was the only runner in the NFL with more rushing games of 149-plus yards (four). As a pass receiver, Jones finished with 17 catches for 109 yards. After not playing in the season opener at Minnesota (9/12) due to a preseason rib injury, Jones made his Cowboys debut in the win over Cleveland (9/19), carrying the ball five times for 16 yards and catching two passes for 14 yards. Jones suffered a fractured scapula in the Cleveland game and missed the next eight weeks as a result. He returned to action, and earned his first NFL starting assignment, at Baltimore (11/21), where he carried the ball 30 times for 81 yards. Jones had a breakout day in front of a national television audience against Chicago (11/25) on Thanksgiving Day, rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries. His 150 rushing yards tied the then second best total by a rookie in club history (Dorsett, 206 and Hill, 150). His 33 carries were the most by a Dallas rookie and tied for the third most in club history. His performance against the Bears marked the first 100-yard rushing day by a Dallas back in 2004, and his 33-yard touchdown run was the longest scoring run of the season for Dallas. While playing in just two games in the month of November, Jones earned the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Month award by rushing 63 times for 231 yards and two touchdowns. In the come-from-behind Monday night victory at Seattle (12/6), Jones carried the ball 30 times for a career-high 198 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. His 198 rushing yards marked the second best effort by a rookie in club history (Dorsett, 206), the top effort by a rookie in the league for 2004 and the third best performance in the NFL in 2004. He scored the game winning touchdown on a 17-yard scamper with 32 seconds remaining to cap a Dallas comeback that featured 14 unanswered Cowboys points in the final 1:45. Jones carried the ball four times for 44 yards on the game winning drive that covered 57 yards in eight plays in 1:13. His three rushing touchdowns were the most by a Dallas runner since Smith had three against Minnesota on Nov. 26, 1998. Included in his record rushing outing was a season-best 53-yard run in the first quarter. His performance against the Seahawks garnered Jones NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors and Fed Ex Air and Ground honors and his 17-yard game-winning touchdown run was recognized as the Levitra Play of the Week. His 30 carries at Seattle allowed him to become the first player in team history - and only the second player in NFL history (Campbell) - to carry the ball at least 30 times in three consecutive games. His two-game outburst against Chicago (150 yards) and Seattle (198) enabled Jones to become the first Dallas back to post back-to-back 100-yard rushing days since December of 2001. Jones also became the first Dallas rookie runner to have consecutive 100-yard rushing games since 1969 when Hill had 109 against New Orleans (11/9) and 150 at Washington (11/16). His two-game push marked just the fifth time in club history that a Cowboys back had back-to-back 150-yard rushing games and the first time since Smith did so in 1995. His 348 rushing yards in two games marked the second best performance in team history - Smith had 354 yards in consecutive games against Philadelphia (237) and New York (117) in 1993. In the loss to New Orleans (12/12), Jones had 23 carries for 88 yards and scored the Cowboys only touchdown on a one-yard run in the first quarter. By virtue of his 88 yards rushing against New Orleans, Jones posted a three-game rushing total of 436 yards, the third best mark in club history. In the following week's narrow loss at Philadelphia (12/19), Jones ran 25 times for 80 yards, marking his fifth straight game with 80 rushing yards-or-more. In the Cowboys last-minute 13-10 win over Washington (12/26), Jones carried 22 times for 57 yards, helping Dallas control the clock for 32:42. In the season finale at the N.Y. Giants (1/2/05) in front of a national television audience, he ran 29 times for 149 yards (5.1 avg.) while catching five passes for 46 yards. It was his third 148+ yard rushing game in the last six games. He accounted for 195 total yards and edged the NFL's yards-from-scrimmage leader Tiki Barber by a 195 to 116 margin. Jones also scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 1:49 remaining in the game to put Dallas ahead 24-21. New York eventually pulled out the win with their own last-minute touchdown drive. He also posted season-highs with five receptions for 46 yards, including a 37-yard screen pass.
COLLEGE: Jones was one of just four running backs in school history to rush for over 3,000 yards in his Notre Dame career. Jones started 17-of-45 games for the Irish, carrying 634 times for 3,018 yards (4.8 avg.) and 26 touchdowns, becoming the fourth player in school history to gain over 3,000 rushing yards in a career. A gifted return man, Jones had 38 career punt returns for an 11.2 average and a touchdown to go along with 72 kickoff returns for a 23.3-yard average and a score. His kickoff return efforts broke the Irish all-time record of 1,613 yards that was held by Tim Brown. His total kick return yards of 2,104 also broke Brown's school record. Jones's 5,372 all-purpose yards was a Notre Dame record. In his final collegiate season, Jones returned from an inactive 2002 season to earn honorable mention All-America honors after setting a school record by running for more than 200 yards in three separate games. He closed his final collegiate campaign by rushing for 1,268 yards and 10 touchdowns on 229 carries, the fourth highest total in school history. His 1,568 all purpose yards were the most by a Notre Dame player since former Cowboy Raghib Ismail had 1,723 yards in 1990. In 2002, Jones sat out what would have been his fourth year of eligibility after being ruled academically ineligible. In 2001, Jones gained 718 yards on 168 carries (4.3 avg.) and six touchdowns. Jones brought back 18 punts for 192 yards (10.6 avg.) and 18 kickoffs for 405 yards (22.5 avg.). As a sophomore, Jones led the Irish in rushing attempts (162), rushing yards (657) and rushing touchdowns (seven), as well as all-purpose yards (1,169). He enjoyed a stellar year in returning kickoffs with a 28.4-yard average on 15 attempts. As a true freshman, Jones set a Notre Dame single-season record with 26 kickoff returns. His 603 kickoff return yards ranked behind only Heisman trophy winner Brown's 698 in 1986. His 798 combined kick return yards (195 punt, 603 kickoff) ranked second all-time in a season behind Brown's 857 in 1987. As a backup running back, Jones averaged 5.0 yards-per-carry while gaining 375 yards with three touchdowns.
PERSONAL: Jones attended Powell Valley High School in Big Stone Gap, Va., where he was an honorable mention USA Today All-America. While earning four letters in football, he captained his team as a senior and rushed for 2,564 yards and 36 touchdowns in his final prep campaign. He was named the Virginia Group A Offensive Player of the Year in 1997 and 1998 by the Associated Press and Virginia High School Coaches Association. He was also the Virginia Region D and Lonesome Pine District Player of the Year as a junior and senior. Jones's career totals include 614 carries for 5,803 yards and 86 touchdowns. As a safety on defense, he also intercepted 10 career passes. He helped Powell Valley to 28 straight victories and the Virginia Group A-Division 2 state title in 1997 and 1998. Along the way, he set a Virginia high school record with 321 rushing yards in one state playoff game (on 19 carries) while also scoring five touchdowns. Jones won four letters in basketball, serving as a senior captain and leading the team to league titles as a sophomore and junior. He also added four letters in track, captaining the team as a senior and earning all-state honors his last three seasons while competing in hurdle and jumping events. He set a state record with a time of 38.7 in the 300 intermediate hurdles in 1998 and also turned in a 14.2 in the 110 high hurdles. His older brother, Thomas, was the sixth pick in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, played for Tampa Bay in 2003 and Chicago in 2004-05. As a rookie, he was part of the Cowboys 2004 Rookie Club - a program designed to introduce rookie team members to community service in the Dallas area. He and his fellow rookie teammates participated in visits to various non-profit organizations serving children and adults, including the NFL Play It Smart program at Dallas's Lincoln High School, ChildCareGroup, NFL United Way Hometown Huddle and The Salvation Army. Julius Andre Maurice Jones majored in sociology at Notre Dame in the College of Arts and Letters. |
