Marcus Jones earns All-Pro honors
Published 11:34 am Monday, January 16, 2023
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Enterprise native and former Troy Trojan Marcus Jones ended his rookie season with the New England Patriots by earning First-Team Associated Press (AP) All-Pro honors.
Jones received an astonishing 47 of 50 first-place votes for the AP All-Pro team at punt returner. Despite not returning a single punt until October, Jones led the entire NFL with 362 yards on 29 punt returns, averaging an NFL-high 12.5 yards per return. Jones also had the longest punt return of the season in the NFL, the 84-yard game-winning touchdown against the New York Jets back in November. Jones also earned Pro Football Focus Second-Team All-Pro as a returner and All-Rookie honorable mention from The Athletic.
Jones ended his rookie campaign with four starts on defense, tallying 39 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, one fumble recovery, two interceptions and an interception return for a touchdown. On offense, he caught four passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. Jones returned 27 kickoffs for 645 yards, 23.9 yards per return, as well.
Jones was one of the most versatile players in Alabama high school football as an all-state cornerback and kick returner at Enterprise High School. At Troy, he earned Freshman All-American honors as a kick returner and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year as a true freshman. He also earned All-Sun Belt honors as a cornerback and All-American honors as a returner as a sophomore at Troy. After transferring to Houston, Jones continued to earn All-American honors as both a defensive back and kick returner and he won the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in the country. Jones played snaps at receiver in high school at Enterprise and in college, for both Troy and Houston, much as he is now doing in the NFL. In 2022, he became the first player in NFL history to score touchdowns of more than 40 yards on offense, defense and special teams in the same season. He also became just the second player in NFL history to accomplish that feat in their entire career. Jones also became just the third player in NFL history to score touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams in the same season, and the first to do it since 1947.