Maurice Jones-Drew

At 39 years old, Maurice Jones-Drew has this physical status:

College career

Jones-Drew has received a football scholarship to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he played for the Bruins under head coach Karl Dorrell from 2003 to 2005. Despite being undersized, Jones-Drew led the Bruins in rush for three years, demonstrated excellent pass catching skills, as both a punt and kickoff returner. In three seasons, he was the fifth player in Bruins history to lead the team in rushing.

Jones-Drew set a new NCAA single-season record with a 28.5 yards per return average on 15 punt returns in 2005, lowering Bill Blackstock of Tennessee's previous record of 25.9 yards per return back in 1951. His career average of 23.2 yards per punt return stands second in NCAA history. Jones-Drew has also set a number of UCLA records, including the career all-purpose yardage record (4,688 yards). Jones-Drew set a new UCLA record for yards rushing in a single game (322 yards) and also scored a school-record five touchdowns as a sophomore against Washington.

He burst to the outside and raced 47 yards to tie the game at 7-7 on his first carry of the game. He ran 62 yards for another touchdown on his second carry, with UCLA trailing 24-7 and 2:30 2:30 in the first quarter. He sped 58 yards on his third carry on his fourth carry, a third-and-12 with 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter. He rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns on four attempts in the first quarter alone. With 4:16 remaining in the first half, he gave the Bruins the lead for good (27–24). In the third quarter, he made several tackles on his way to his school-record fifth touchdown, as well as a 37-yard run on the Bruins' first possession of the half. His total of 322 yards was the third most in the Pac-10 Conference's history, and his overall success earned him several National Player of the Week awards.

He spent his junior year as a punt returner and was named as a unanimous All-American as a pioneer and kick returner. He was also the first Bruin since Jackie Robinson to lead the nation in punt returning. Jones-Drew was also named as a running back on All-Pac 10, in addition. Jones-Drew was a sign of things to come as a freshman, with an 83-yard sprinter down the left sideline to the end zone, putting UCLA ahead of the game for good in the third quarter. The run was the longest ever by a Bruin true freshman and ranked ninth (tied) overall on the school's long runs. His 176-yard day ranks No. 1 on the national bestseller list. 2 on UCLA's all-time list for true freshmen. Jones-Drew led the Bruins in rushing last season, becoming the first true freshman to lead the Bruins in rushing since DeShaun Foster in 1998. According to The Sporting News, he was also named as a kick returner by All-Pac 10. Jones-Drew had 16 touchdowns of 40-plus yards in his college career.

Professional career

Jones-Drew, age 21, was chosen by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft, finishing fourth overall, to replace veteran running back Fred Taylor. All 32 clubs in the draft passed him on, with the majority blaming his height (5 ft 634 in, 169.5 cm) as the reason why he did not progress in football. That is the reason why he chose the number 32 on Sirius XM NFL Radio and the Dave Dameshek Football Program, according to him.

He was mostly used for kick-off returns at the beginning, but he was soon to be the Jaguars' primary third-down running back, behind Taylor. Jones-Drew exploded after a slow start. Jones-Drew set a franchise record of 166 passing yards and 303 all-purpose yards against the Colts on December 10, which included a 93-yard kickoff return for touchdown. He had already broken Jaguars' record by scoring at least one rushing touchdown in eight games (the previous record was four straight games) and gained 2,250 all-purpose yards.

Jones-Drew placed third in both kickoff returns (27.7 yd avg) and touchdowns scored (16). He was also one of only two players in the NFL to score at least one touchdown, receiving, and returning kicks (Reggie Bush was the other). Jones-Drew led all AFC running backs in scrimmage yards per touch. With 100 attempts, he was the first in the NFL for backs with 100 attempts, his best running back since Barry Sanders averaged 6.1 yards per carry in 1997, and his rushing average of 5.7 yards per carry was first in the NFL for backs with 100 attempts. In addition,, he had the third-most all-purpose yards of any rookie in history. In 2006, he was nominated five times for NFL Rookie of the Week. "Jones-Drew should be the rookie of the year," one NFL scout said. He has the longest legs for a shorter guy and has a lot more power than anyone else gives him credit. He has a natural charm, and he has a very high rate. He's just a little dynamo."

He came in second place in the balloting for Offensive Rookie of the Year, which was given to quarterback Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans.

Jones-Drew had already established himself as one of the most versatile running backs in the league in his second season in the league. Jones-Drew was arguably the best running back from the Class of 2006 at the start of the 2007 season. Although the preseason had its ups and downs, such as a missed pass from Byron Leftwich in a 21-13 victory over Green Bay, a high was generated by Leftwich's 38-yard catch and run in a victory over Tampa Bay. In the preseason, Jones-Drew averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

Jones-Drew's debut in 2007 was about average. Jones-Drew had 32 yards on seven attempts in a game that featured only 48 rushing yards between Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor combined during a 10-7 victory over the Titans. The Jaguars' last scoring opportunity in the 4th quarter was Jones-Drew's fumble at the 8-yard line in the 4th quarter. Jones-Drew's first touchdown of the year was a promise that the running game would get better as the season progressed, as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 17-7.

Jones-Drew played his first 100-yard rush game of the season against the Houston Texans on Tuesday, rushing for 125 and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries. He also caught 4 passes for 59 yards. In a Monday Night loss to the Indianapolis Colts, he scored the Jaguars' only points in week 7. For the second and final time in the season, he reached the 100-yard mark against the Tennessee Titans in week 10. In each of the following three weeks, he would score a touchdown.

Despite the fact that his role as a running back was cut during the 2007 playoff season, he continued to play a role as both a receiver and a return man. He totaled 198 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns in the Wildcard game against Pittsburgh. David Garrard's first touchdown was a 43-yard pass, his second was a 10-yard run that put the Jaguars up 28-10 in the third quarter. Fred Taylor 1-yard run set up the Jaguars' first score of the night on Friday, as he returned a kick-off 96 yards to set up the Jaguars' first score of the night. He and QB David Garrard were co-MVP of the game together. The Jaguars lost 31-20 after rushing for 19 yards on 6 attempts a week later against New England. He did manage to grab 6 passes for an additional 49 yards.

By week one of the 2008 season, three Jaguars offensive linemen were injured, and Jones-Drew was not as tumultuous as he was in 2007. Josh Scobee's first 100-yard rushing game of the season came against the Indianapolis, where the Jaguars won by a score of 23-21 on their last second field goal. Fred Taylor, a teammate, also scored over 100 yards in the game. Jones-Drew scored three touchdowns in the first half, with another good showing against the struggling Detroit Lions in week 10. Jones-Drew was given the opportunity to carry the load with Fred Taylor on injured reserve on Thursday Night Football in week 16. Jones-Drew 20 times, and with that, he gained 91 yards on a 4.6 yards per carry average. He also caught the ball 7 times for 71 yards.

Jones-Drew averaged 824 yards on 197 attempts in the 2008 season, a 4.2 yard per carry average. He has also scored 12 touchdowns on the ground. Jones-Drew was more active in the passing game than he had in previous seasons, with 525 yards on 62 receptions.

In 2009, Jones-Drew had a record-breaking season for the Jaguars. Jones-Drew rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns on just 8 carries, one for 80 yards and another for 79 yards in a 13-30 loss in Tennessee during Week 8. This was Hall of Famer Barry Sanders' record of rushing for two touchdowns in a single game of 75 yards or more, which was set by Sanders in a Week 7 match against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1997. Jones-Drew made history by becoming the third player to record the record in a Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks during the same season.

Jones-Drew produced an impressive stat line at the end of the season. He rushed for 1,391 yards on 312 attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry, and a 15-TD's. He was also one of the Jaguars' passing game, with 53 receptions for 374 yards and a touchdown. Jones-Drew had been named as the NFL's most versatile offensive player in an interview by Thomas George.

Jones-Drew was selected as a backup in the Pro Bowl behind Chris Johnson. During the game, he rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown on five attempts.

Jones-Drew sustained a torn meniscus in his left knee throughout the 2010 season. He became aware of the severity of the accident in training camp but attempted to keep it a mystery to discourage opponents from deliberately shooting at his knees. The NFL Alumni Association named Running Back of the Year after the 2010 season.

Despite the fact that the Jaguars did not make the playoffs, Jones-Drew the most coveted player of the NFC Championship Game by making a remark during the offseason. Jones-Drew wrote that he was still rooting for the Bears, but he said, "All I'm saying is that he will finish the game on a hurt knee." I spent the entire season on one, as well as comparing Cutler to former University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer.

Jones-Drew had 85 rushing yards, two touchdowns, six interceptions, 51 receiving yards, and two touchdowns in the 41–14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 12. He scored 24 total points in the game, the most by any player in a single game in the 2011 season. During the 2011 season, he led the NFL in rushing yards (1,606) and yards from scrimmage (1,980). Despite the Jaguars' offensive struggles, Jones-Drew did all of this, accounting for 47.7% of the Jaguars' yards.

As a result of his outstanding season, Jones-Drew was named in the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl as a back-up for Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. In 2012, he was ranked 12th on the NFL Network's top 100 players list, finishing 12th.

Jones-Drew began the 2012 season by not attending organized team workouts or training camp in the hopes of securing a new deal with the Jaguars. Jones-Drew was still owing to his two-year contract on a contract he signed in 2009, according to which his average salary was less than that of fellow running backs Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, LeSean McCoy, Steven Jackson, DeAngelo Williams, and Marshawn Lynch. According to rumors, he was open to being traded. Jones-Drew called off his holdout and reported to the team's facilities on September 2 after missing his entire offseason. On December 28, 2012, he was put on season-ending injured reserve.

Jones-Drew ended the season with 5 touchdowns and 853 yards on 234 passes. On March 11, 2014, he became a free agent after eight seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jones-Drew returned to the Bay Area on March 28, 2014 and signed a three-year contract with the Oakland Raiders. Jones-Drew's first season in Oakland was marred by inability, as he had only 96 yards on 43 attempts (averaging 2.2 yards-per-carry) and zero touchdowns. Due to his teammates' solid results, Darren McFadden and Latavius Murray's number of carries would be limited.

Jones-Drew announced his retirement from football at the age of 29 on March 5, 2015. He spent his career as the Jaguars' second highest rusher of all time, behind Fred Taylor. He resigned as a Jaguar on April 28, 2015.

NFL career statistics

Statistics from ESPN.com and NFL.com are included in this article.

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