Sept. 30, 2002

Dallas, Texas - University of Missouri senior cornerback R.J. Jones was rewarded with his record-breaking performance this past weekend versus Troy State by being named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week, as announced today by the conference office.

Jones tied Big 12 and Missouri single-game records by intercepting three Trojan passes on Saturday. He returned his final interception 39 yards to set up a Tiger field goal in MU's 44-7 rout over Troy State. Jones also broke up three passes on the afternoon, and added 2 tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage. The Mountain View, Calif., native was an integral part of a Tiger defense that held Troy State to 300 yards and seven points, well below the Trojans' per-game averages of 402 yards and 23.5 points coming into Saturday's contest.

Jones is the first Tiger defender to win the weekly conference award since former All-American defensive end Justin Smith claimed the same honor after facing Baylor in November of the 2000 season.

Jones becomes the second Tiger to earn conference player of the week honors this season. Freshman quarterback Brad Smith was named Big 12 co-Offensive Player of the Week after leading MU to a scintillating 33-20 win against Illinois in the Tigers' season opener.