Maurice Jones-Drew

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Maurice Jones-Drew
No. 32     Jacksonville Jaguars
Running back
Personal information
Date of birth: March 23, 1985 (1985-03-23) (age 24)
Place of birth: Oakland, California
Height: 5 ft 6.75 in (1.70 m) Weight: 208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
College: UCLA
NFL Draft: 2006 / Round: 2 / Pick: 60
Debuted in 2006 for the Jacksonville Jaguars
Career history
 As player:
Career highlights and awards
  • NCAA Season Record
    Punt return average
  • Jacksonville Jaguars Record: All-Purpose
    Yards in a Single Game (Week 14, '06 season)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars Record: Single Season All-Purpose Yards (2,250 yards, 2006 season)
  • 2nd Place, AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Career NFL statistics as of 2009
Rushing yards     3,393
Average     4.9
Rushing Touchdowns     46
Receptions     180
Receiving yards     1,628
Receiving Touchdowns     5
Stats at NFL.com

Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew[1] (born March 23, 1985 in Oakland, California) is a current American football running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted in the second round (60th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. Drew graduated from De La Salle High School in Concord and played three years of college football at UCLA before declaring himself eligible for the NFL draft after his junior year.

Contents

[edit] Early years

Maurice starred at national powerhouse De La Salle High School in Concord, California. De La Salle owns the longest winning streak in high school football history at 151 games. The football teams he played on never lost a single game during his 3-year career. He was an elusive, high-scoring running back and return specialist on offense and a punishing linebacker on defense. Maurice somersaulted into the national consciousness on October 6, 2001, when, as a junior, he scored all four of De La Salle's touchdowns in a 29-15 nationally-televised victory over Long Beach Poly in the first game that ever matched up the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 ranked high school football teams. On the Spartans' opening drive, Maurice received a short pass in the right flat on third-and-eight from the Poly 25-yard line. He broke a tackle and then sprinted down the right sideline before launching a spectacular forward somersault into the end zone. Drew next scored on a 29-yard reception on fourth down in which he ran a circle route out of the backfield down the left sideline and hauled in an over-the-shoulder touch pass at the goal line from quarterback Matt Gutierrez. Drew’s third touchdown came in the second quarter when he burst through the line, shook off two tacklers, before hitting paydirt 17 yards later. Drew’s final score salted away the historic De La Salle victory. It was a similar effort to his third touchdown and came on a 22-yard run with just under 7 minutes remaining. Drew finished with nine carries for 86 yards and three catches for another 79 yards.

During his junior season, Maurice rushed for nearly 2000 yards, averaged nearly 12 yards per carry, and scored 26 touchdowns. He was rated the No. 1 all-purpose back in the nation by rivals.com. He is pictured outrunning a slew of defenders on the cover of the book "When the Game Stands Tall," which chronicles the De La Salle Spartan's all-time-record 151-game winning streak.

[edit] College career

Maurice Jones-Drew played his entire collegiate career at UCLA under head coach Karl Dorrell. Despite being undersized, Jones-Drew led the Bruins in rushing all three years he was on the squad and showed good pass catching ability and big playmaking skills as both a punt and kickoff returner.

In 2005, Maurice set an all-time NCAA single-season record with a 28.5 yards per return average on 15 punt returns, breaking the previous record of 25.9 yards per return held by Bill Blackstock of Tennessee in 1951. His career average of 23.2 yards per punt return ranks second in NCAA history. Jones-Drew also established a number of UCLA records, including the career all-purpose yardage record (4,688 yards). As a sophomore against Washington, Maurice set UCLA's all-time record for yards rushing in a single game (322 yards) and also scored a school-record five touchdowns.

On his first carry of the game he burst to the outside and raced 47 yards to tie the game at 7–7. On his second carry, with UCLA trailing 24-7 and 2:30 remaining in the first quarter, he raced 62 yards for another TD. On his fourth carry, a third-and-12 with 40 seconds left in the first quarter, he sped 58 yards for his third TD. In the first quarter alone, he rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns on four attempts. He gave the Bruins the lead for good (27–24) with 4:16 remaining in the first half when he scooted around right end for a 15-yard touchdown. In the third quarter, he broke numerous tackles en route to his school-record fifth touchdown, a 37-yard run on the Bruins' first possession of the half. His total of 322 yards rushing was the 3rd most in the history of the Pac-10 Conference, and his overall performance earned him several National Player of the Week awards.

His final year in college, his junior year, he was a consensus first-team All-American as an all-purpose back and a first-team All-Pac 10 selection as a punt returner, ahead of Heisman Trophy-winner Reggie Bush. He was also the first Bruin since Jackie Robinson to lead the country in punt returning. Maurice gave a sign of things to come when, as a freshman, he rushed for 176 yards on only 18 carries against Arizona State, including an 83-yard scamper down the left sideline to the end zone which put UCLA ahead in 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 list of long runs. His 176-yard day ranks No. 2 on UCLA's all-time list for true freshmen. In his collegiate career, Jones-Drew had 16 touchdowns of 40-plus yards. He was named to the Golden Gridiron Team by the WCBGU Athletic Group.

Year Carry Yards Touchdowns Yards Per Carry Receptions Yards Receiving Touchdowns Return Yards Return Touchdowns
2003 135 582 5 4.3 15 104 0 533 2
2004 160 1007 8 6.3 18 262 3 337 1
2005 186 914 13 4.9 31 453 4 496 3

[edit] NFL career

[edit] 2006 NFL Draft

Maurice Jones-Drew was selected 60th overall in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars to perhaps eventually replace Fred Taylor. He was passed on by all 32 teams in the draft, most citing his height as the reason why he would not succeed in the NFL. He chose 32 as his jersey number to remember that all 32 teams passed on the opportunity to draft him. Maurice is considered a rising young star in the NFL, and is often seen as a model for other power running backs.[2]

Pre-draft measureables
Wt 40yd 20ss 3-cone Vert BP Wonderlic
207 lb* 4.39s* 4.41s* 7.08s* 36 in* 18*[3] X

(* represents NFL Combine)

[edit] Jacksonville Jaguars

[edit] 2006 season

In the beginning he was used mostly for kick-off returns, but he eventually became the Jaguars' primary third-down back, behind Fred Taylor. After a relatively slow start, Jones-Drew suddenly exploded. Against the Colts on December 10, 2006, Jones-Drew set a franchise record with 166 rushing yards and 303 All-Purpose Yards, which included a 93-yard kickoff return for touchdown. He already has broken Jaguars team records by scoring at least one rushing touchdown in eight consecutive games (the previous record was four straight games) and by gaining 2,250 all-purpose yards.

He finished 3rd in the NFL 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 TD rushing, receiving, and returning kicks (Reggie Bush was the other). He also led all AFC running backs in scrimmage yards per touch. Narrowly missing 1,000 yards for the season, Jones-Drew's rushing average of 5.7 yds per carry was 1st in the NFL for backs with 100 attempts and was the highest for an NFL running back since Barry Sanders averaged 6.1 yds per rush in 1997. In addition, he had the third-most all-purpose yards of any rookie in history. He was nominated five different times for NFL Rookie of the Week in 2006. According to one NFL scout, "Maurice Jones-Drew should be rookie of the year. He's got the biggest legs for a shorter guy and way more power than anybody gives him credit for. And he's got outstanding speed. He's just a little dynamo." (Source: The Sporting News, Jan. 8, 2007, edition, p. 33.)

Nevertheless, he finished tied for 2nd in the balloting for Offensive Rookie of the Year (Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans was the winner). Experts believe he could be another Joe Morris type running back with short stature but blazing speed. Jones-Drew says he likes wearing #32 because it reminds him each and every time he steps on the football field just how many NFL teams bypassed him in the 1st round of the 2006 NFL Draft because of his height.

[edit] 2007 season

In his second season in the NFL, Maurice Jones-Drew had already proven to be one of the most versatile running backs in the league.[4] At the beginning of the 2007 season, Maurice Jones-Drew was considered arguably the best running back from the Class of 2006.[5] Expectations were high, and although the preseason had its ups and downs, such as a dropped pass from Byron Leftwich in a 21–13 win against Green Bay, a high was provided by the 38-yard catch and run from Leftwich in a win against Tampa Bay. Overall Maurice Jones-Drew averaged 4.6 yards per carry in the preseason.[6]

In his 2007 season debut Jones-Drew's production was just average. During a 10-13 loss to the Titans, Maurice Jones-Drew had 32 yards on seven carries in a game that produced just 48 rushing yards between Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor combined. Jones-Drew's fumble at the 8 yard line in the 4th quarter was the last scoring opportunity for the Jaguars in that game.[7][8] Promises that the running game would get better as the season progressed were realized when Maurice Jones-Drew celebrated his first touchdown of the year after the fourth game of the season, in a 17-7 win against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The following week against the Houston Texans Jones-Drew recorded his first 100-yard rushing game of season, rushing for 125 and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries. He also recorded 4 catches for 59 yards. In week 7 he scored the Jaguars only points in a Monday Night loss against the Indianapolis Colts. In week 10 he reached the 100-yard mark for the second and final time in the season, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans. He would score a touchdown in each of the following three weeks.

Although his role as a running back was diminished during the 2007 postseason, he still managed to impact the game with his capabilities as a receiver and a return man. In the Wildcard game against Pittsburgh he totaled 198 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns. His first touchdown was a 43-yard pass from David Garrard, his second was a 10-yard run which put the Jaguars up 28-10 in the third quarter. He also returned a kick-off 96 yards to set up the Jaguars' first score of the night, a Fred Taylor 1-yard run. He was named co-MVP of the game together with QB David Garrard. One week later against New England, he rushed for just 19 yards on 6 attempts as the Jaguars lost 31–20. He did manage to catch 6 passes for an additional 49 yards.

[edit] 2008 season

3 Jaguars offensive linemen were injured by week one of the 2008 NFL season and Maurice Drew was not as explosive as he was in 2007. His first 100 yard rushing game of the season came against the Indianapolis Colts, where the Jaguars won by a score of 23-21 on a last second field goal by kicker Josh Scobee. Teammate Fred Taylor also compiled over 100 yards in the game. Another good performance came in week 10 against the struggling Lions, where Drew posted three touchdowns, all in the first half. On Thursday Night Football in week 16, Maurice Drew was given the opportunity to carry the load with Fred Taylor on injured reserve. The ball was handed to Drew 20 times and with that he gained 91 yards for a 4.6 yards per carry average. He also caught the ball 7 times for 71 yards.

In total, Maurice Jones-Drew gained 824 yards on 197 attempts, posting a 4.2 yard per carry average. He also gained 12 touchdowns on the ground. Drew was used more in the passing game than his previous seasons and he managed 525 yards on 62 receptions.

[edit] 2009 season

Maurice Jones-Drew was named the starting runningback for the 2009 season.

Jones-Drew had a record-breaking season for the Jaguars. In a 13-30 loss in Tennessee during Week 8, Jones-Drew rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns on only 8 carries, one for 80 yards and the other for 79 yards. This performance tied 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 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 12th, 1997. Jones-Drew became the third player to share the record, as San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore, also tied Sanders' record in a Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks during the same season.

As of Week 10, he has rushed for 860 yards on 169 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Jones-Drew has also rushed for 12 touchdowns, leading the NFL. In a recent article by Thomas George, Jones-Drew had been recognized as the most versatile offensive player in the NFL [9]

[edit] NFL career statistics

Statistics taken from ESPN.com[10] and NFL.com[11]

Year Carries Yards Rushing Touchdowns Yards Per Carry Receptions Yards Receiving Touchdowns Return Yards Return Touchdowns
2006 166 941 13 5.7 46 436 2 860 1
2007 167 768 9 4.6 40 407 0 811 1
2007 postseason 14 48 1 3.4 7 92 1 159 0
2008 197 824 12 4.2 62 565 2 350 0
2009 (as of Week 11) 194 926 13 4.8 36 238 0 0 0

[edit] Personal life

Born to Sidney Gayles and Andrea Drew, Maurice was raised by his grandparents, Maurice and Christina Jones. At the height of his college career, his grandfather died of a heart attack while watching his grandson play at the Rose Bowl against Rice University. Dorrell broke the news to Drew on the sideline during the game, and he ran to the locker room and left to go to the hospital. To honor the man who raised him, Maurice added Jones to his surname, making him “Maurice Jones-Drew.” [12][13]

[edit] References

  1. ^ NFL Players Association's Biography Page - The NFLPA is the union for professional football players in the NFL
  2. ^ NFL: Rice says size isn't everything by Vinny Ditrani, The Record - online edition, February 23, 2008
  3. ^ *Maurice Drew, RB, UCLA - 2006 NFL Draft Scout Profile, Powered by The SportsXchange
  4. ^ Jags’ Jones-Drew packs big punch in his small body
  5. ^ Five NFL trends to watch for in '08
  6. ^ Five things we know we know: Cold, Hard Football Facts for August 8, 2007
  7. ^ Summary - Titans run roughshod over Jaguars in 13-10 victory
  8. ^ Opening week sees early ups and downs By Matt Pitzer USA TODAY, September 10, 2007, Page 13C
  9. ^ http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d80bb0aad/comments/jonesdrew-proving-to-be-nfls-most-versatile-player
  10. ^ ESPN Player Profile
  11. ^ NFL.com Jacksonville Jaguars Player Profile
  12. ^ Running with a spirit - Bruins star's biggest fan was his late grandfather
  13. ^ Late grandfather has lasting impact on Drew

[edit] External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Maurice Jones-Drew
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Fred Taylor		 Jacksonville Jaguars Starting Running Back
2007-		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Awards and achievements
v • d • e
Jacksonville Jaguars 2006 NFL Draft selections
Marcedes Lewis • Maurice Jones-Drew • Clint Ingram • Brent Hawkins • James Wyche • Dee Webb
Draft Years: 1995  • 1996  • 1997  • 1998  • 1999  • 2000  • 2001  • 2002  • 2003  • 2004  • 2005  • 2006  • 2007  • 2008  • 2009


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