Sept. 30, 2002

By Amy Fiscus
MU Athletic Media Relations

Thank R.J. Jones' grandmother if Wes Welker or Bethel Johnson is held to a career-low day against Missouri this season.

The Texas Tech and Texas A&M stars, respectively, are statistically two of the top receivers Jones and the Tigers will line up against this season. However, if it weren't for his grandmother, Jones might not have stayed in town for his first practice.

After a year and a half at City College of San Francisco, Jones transferred to Missouri in January of 2001 to start the winter semester. He wanted to earn his spot in spring practice in order to have as much preparation as possible for his regular-season Division I debut in the fall. But coming from the Bay Area, the environment that Columbia, Mo., presented was somewhat of a culture shock for Jones.

"It was a Sunday, and I got on the freeway - or highway, because it's not a freeway," Jones said. "I drove around town, and there wasn't much in town. I'm used to seeing traffic, a whole bunch of cars. I hopped on the highway, and I didn't see anything on the side of the road. I was like, there has to be another city. After 20 minutes, I didn't see one, so I turned back around before I got lost. I lived off campus, I didn't really know anybody, and football didn't start for another month. So I thought, this wasn't the place for me. I called my grandma, and she told me to stick it out. So here we are."

Where we are is a starting position for Jones, who intercepted two passes, including one thrown by Nebraska's Eric Crouch in Jones' second play from scrimmage as a Tiger, during a solid first season. He also had seven tackles against Colorado and broke up two passes in the end zone against Kansas. One of the more talkative players on the team, he was named to the Columbia Daily Tribune's "All-Interview" Team after the 2001 season.

Jones has also adjusted to life in Columbia. He has joined the Big Brothers / Big Sisters program and is Big Brother to 12-year-old Avery Nelson.

"It's something I've always wanted to do since high school," Jones said. "I thought if I was ever at college or in an established position somewhere, I wanted to be able to help somebody else out. Where I'm from, there weren't too many people going to college."

Jones' cousin Willie Howard is currently a defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings, and along with another cousin, Daron, who is the same age as Jones' older sister, the two of them helped to keep Jones away from the suspect parts of Mountain View, Calif.

"My cousins were like Big Brothers to me," Jones said. "There wasn't any label to it, but they helped me out. They showed me you can go to college; you don't have to do what everyone else is doing."

Football didn't always seem like the most viable option for Jones. He wasn't allowed to play on the local Pop Warner team for 8-year-olds because his birthday falls two days past the cutoff date, so Jones became the team's ball boy instead. His family moved the following year and didn't sign him up for any football teams. Finally, at age 10, Jones was given a chance for football, but even then it was a substantial undertaking. Jones lived with his mother and grandmother, 30 minutes away from his father, who had signed Jones up to play for the Mountain View Marauders. Jones' father took time off of work to drive the 30 minutes to pick up R.J. for practice, drive the 60-minute round-trip to practice, and finally the 30 minutes back to his own house.

In high school, Jones focused on his play as a receiver until his senior year when he had nine interceptions and was named All-Bay Area. Most schools that were recruiting him wanted Jones to play receiver, yet Jones was sure his future as a football player was as a cornerback. Faced with no Division I prospects as a cornerback, Jones didn't think he would be going to college. His father told him he would have to join the Army if he didn't go to school, so Jones took the offer from City College of San Francisco, where was a two-time all-conference selection and named a team captain in his second season.

The 6-foot, 165-pound Jones still has odds to overcome as a football player. "You don't expect to see people my size playing football," Jones said. "If I walk on campus, people don't think I play football. They're sure I'm on the track team." He also broke his clavicle in preseason practice in 2001 and, while the injury has healed, some of the more unnatural movements while playing football can cause pain.

After the season, Jones will concentrate on getting his degree. His goal is to be a high school athletic director and history teacher in either southern California or Maryland.

But it will take a lot more than schoolwork, oversized receivers or broken bones to tame Jones' excitement for this weekend's game. His mother, Barbara, is flying to Columbia to see Jones play for the first time at MU.

"She came out here when I broke my collarbone, but that wasn't fun for her. She'll be able to see my house and meet all my teammates. We want to show her how well we can play."

That's something to which all Missouri fans can look forward.