Maurice Jones-Drew was born on March 23, 1985 in Antioch, California. Despite being small in stature, Jones-Drew has done a lot in the game of football. Due to his small size he became use to the underdog role early on, and has used this to his advantage for many years.
Jones-Drew was raised by his grandparents, and became very close to them at an early age. Unfortunately, his grandfather died of a heart attack while watching one of his college games. To honor him, he added the “Jones” to his last name.
As a star at De La Salle High School, Jones-Drew received a lot of attention. During his three year high school career he never lost one game. As a running back, linebacker, and return man, he had a lot to do with the team’s success during that three year run. During his senior season Jones-Drew was ranked as the number one running back in the country by some scouting services. This was due in large part to his 1,500 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior.
Jones-Drew moved onto UCLA after high school, and played three years for the Bruins. He led the team in rushing each season, and also showed the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. During his college career he ran for more than 2,500 yards, and scored 26 touchdowns on the ground. Additionally, he added 819 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Although he did not compile huge statistic, he did show NFL scouts that he was worthy of a chance in the league
He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 60th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. Early in his rookie season he was only used as a kick return specialist. But after a slow start he really took the league by storm. Jones-Drew finished the season with 941 yards on 166 carries. To go along with this he scored a total of 15 touchdowns.
As you can see, Jones-Drew is well on his way to big time success.
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