Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Sophomore Linebacker Jones Embracing Dual Role
November 10, 2025 02:57 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – People old enough remember what happened on freshman Amos Zereoue's first carry as a college running back.
His weaving, 69-yard touchdown run at Pitt on national television back in 1996 introduced "Famous Amos" to the college football world.
Well, West Virginia University sophomore linebacker Curtis Jones Jr.'s first college carry ended up being 67 yards shorter than Zereoue's, but the result was still the same. His 2-yard touchdown run with 19 seconds left in the first quarter on fourth down gave the Mountaineer offense a big boost when it was really needed.
It's unknown how many college players have scored touchdowns on their very first carry, but it's probably a pretty rare feat. Now, linebackers scoring touchdowns on their very first carry … that's extremely rare.
In fact, there is probably a better chance of being struck by lightning than that happening.
Season-ending injuries and depth concerns have forced veteran coach Rich Rodriguez to pore over his roster with a fine-toothed comb trying to uncover players big enough and strong enough to move the football forward a couple of yards on those critical third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 situations.
This year, the transition downs have really been a struggle, leading to a less-than-stellar 30% success rate on third down and a 50% success rate on fourth down. Of course, many of those unsuccessful conversions have happened in short-yardage situations.
So, Rodriguez, like any good coach with 195 career victories under his belt would do, looked within. What he saw in Jones on the other side of the football each day in practice was a big guy who moved pretty well for his size.
Then, after digging deeper into Jones' history, Rodriguez discovered that he once rushed for 1,726 yards and scored 27 touchdowns during his senior season playing for coach Luke Salmons at Cabell Midland High.
Therefore, Rodriguez figured it made a lot of sense to see if Jones was capable of handling short-yardage situations. After a couple of weeks of practice, the coach felt the time was right to use him against Colorado.
"We didn't put him out there for the regular stuff, but all of the other guys are just little guys, and the only bigger guy we've got left, Tyler Jacklich, got hurt during Wednesday's practice so we didn't have any backs left who weighed more than 180 pounds," Rodriguez explained. "The first time we were down near the goal line, CJ was right behind me. I looked around and I could see him breathing down my neck. I'm like, 'Okay, we'll get you in there at some point.'"
"I just tried to stay over his shoulder, especially during short-yardage situations and stuff like that," Jones added. "It was just me being aware of the game, so I could prevent any delays that can happen."
Jones' big moment came on fourth down near the end of the first quarter after three cracks from the 7 only got the football to the 2.
He entered the game to score the touchdown, but it was a cliffhanger. Replay review couldn't detect anything to overturn the call on the field, so Jones, in essence, crossed the goal line because he's 6-feet-4 and weighs 226 pounds.
"I felt my elbow hit the ground before my knee did, so I was pretty confident I was in, to be honest," he noted.
Jones' celebration was obviously delayed, which explains the somewhat low-key "freestyle dance" that he said he did with his teammates.
"It was a surreal moment. I was speechless," he admitted. "It was just a great feeling, especially having all my teammates and the O-line, they blocked their butts off, and just to hear the crowd in the background, it was a surreal feeling.
"I was overcome with joy," he added.
Jones admits being force-fed the offense in such a short amount of time was a bit challenging.
"I've learned a lot of plays over the week; I'm not going to lie," he said. "That's just how every week is. On Monday, you have a whole playbook, and as you go through the week, everything condenses down as you game plan and watch film and everything. The games are way easier than the practices, I'll tell you that."
He credits running backs coach Larry Porter and several of his teammates for helping him get reacquainted with the position.
"Obviously, we're on a different level now and the preparation that was given to me by coach Porter, all of the other running backs and coach Rod, that was a big deal. I really appreciate them for that," he said. "Jahiem White, Diore (Hubbard) and all those guys, they are always giving me pointers and tips that I can use. Even the quarterbacks, Scotty (Fox Jr.) and Khalil (Wilkins), they helped me, so it's a blessing to have all those guys around."
Jones' second carry near the goal line late in the game came up 4 yards short of the end zone. On his third one, he was able to get into the end zone standing up to give West Virginia a commanding 29-19 lead with 4:15 remaining in the game.
"I was just very excited to get back out there and help my team in some situations that I could be a part of," Jones shrugged.
Now, with two games remaining in the regular season, the sophomore can also add a slash after the LB to include RB next to his name on the team roster. He was asked afterward if he's planning on becoming the next Travis Hunter.
He just smiled.
"I'm just trying to help my team in any situation that I can, and if (continuing to play running back) is our goal then I'll be right there," Jones said, adding, "I love football. It doesn't matter to me, but I would be more than happy to do so."
Mountaineer fans are all for it if it means more first downs and touchdowns!
His weaving, 69-yard touchdown run at Pitt on national television back in 1996 introduced "Famous Amos" to the college football world.
Well, West Virginia University sophomore linebacker Curtis Jones Jr.'s first college carry ended up being 67 yards shorter than Zereoue's, but the result was still the same. His 2-yard touchdown run with 19 seconds left in the first quarter on fourth down gave the Mountaineer offense a big boost when it was really needed.
It's unknown how many college players have scored touchdowns on their very first carry, but it's probably a pretty rare feat. Now, linebackers scoring touchdowns on their very first carry … that's extremely rare.
In fact, there is probably a better chance of being struck by lightning than that happening.
Season-ending injuries and depth concerns have forced veteran coach Rich Rodriguez to pore over his roster with a fine-toothed comb trying to uncover players big enough and strong enough to move the football forward a couple of yards on those critical third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 situations.
This year, the transition downs have really been a struggle, leading to a less-than-stellar 30% success rate on third down and a 50% success rate on fourth down. Of course, many of those unsuccessful conversions have happened in short-yardage situations.
So, Rodriguez, like any good coach with 195 career victories under his belt would do, looked within. What he saw in Jones on the other side of the football each day in practice was a big guy who moved pretty well for his size.
Then, after digging deeper into Jones' history, Rodriguez discovered that he once rushed for 1,726 yards and scored 27 touchdowns during his senior season playing for coach Luke Salmons at Cabell Midland High.
Therefore, Rodriguez figured it made a lot of sense to see if Jones was capable of handling short-yardage situations. After a couple of weeks of practice, the coach felt the time was right to use him against Colorado.
"We didn't put him out there for the regular stuff, but all of the other guys are just little guys, and the only bigger guy we've got left, Tyler Jacklich, got hurt during Wednesday's practice so we didn't have any backs left who weighed more than 180 pounds," Rodriguez explained. "The first time we were down near the goal line, CJ was right behind me. I looked around and I could see him breathing down my neck. I'm like, 'Okay, we'll get you in there at some point.'"
"I just tried to stay over his shoulder, especially during short-yardage situations and stuff like that," Jones added. "It was just me being aware of the game, so I could prevent any delays that can happen."
Jones' big moment came on fourth down near the end of the first quarter after three cracks from the 7 only got the football to the 2.
He entered the game to score the touchdown, but it was a cliffhanger. Replay review couldn't detect anything to overturn the call on the field, so Jones, in essence, crossed the goal line because he's 6-feet-4 and weighs 226 pounds.
"I felt my elbow hit the ground before my knee did, so I was pretty confident I was in, to be honest," he noted.
Jones' celebration was obviously delayed, which explains the somewhat low-key "freestyle dance" that he said he did with his teammates.
"It was a surreal moment. I was speechless," he admitted. "It was just a great feeling, especially having all my teammates and the O-line, they blocked their butts off, and just to hear the crowd in the background, it was a surreal feeling.
"I was overcome with joy," he added.
Jones admits being force-fed the offense in such a short amount of time was a bit challenging.
"I've learned a lot of plays over the week; I'm not going to lie," he said. "That's just how every week is. On Monday, you have a whole playbook, and as you go through the week, everything condenses down as you game plan and watch film and everything. The games are way easier than the practices, I'll tell you that."
He credits running backs coach Larry Porter and several of his teammates for helping him get reacquainted with the position.
"Obviously, we're on a different level now and the preparation that was given to me by coach Porter, all of the other running backs and coach Rod, that was a big deal. I really appreciate them for that," he said. "Jahiem White, Diore (Hubbard) and all those guys, they are always giving me pointers and tips that I can use. Even the quarterbacks, Scotty (Fox Jr.) and Khalil (Wilkins), they helped me, so it's a blessing to have all those guys around."
Jones' second carry near the goal line late in the game came up 4 yards short of the end zone. On his third one, he was able to get into the end zone standing up to give West Virginia a commanding 29-19 lead with 4:15 remaining in the game.
"I was just very excited to get back out there and help my team in some situations that I could be a part of," Jones shrugged.
Now, with two games remaining in the regular season, the sophomore can also add a slash after the LB to include RB next to his name on the team roster. He was asked afterward if he's planning on becoming the next Travis Hunter.
He just smiled.
"I'm just trying to help my team in any situation that I can, and if (continuing to play running back) is our goal then I'll be right there," Jones said, adding, "I love football. It doesn't matter to me, but I would be more than happy to do so."
Mountaineer fans are all for it if it means more first downs and touchdowns!
Players Mentioned
TV Highlights: Colorado Game
Sunday, November 09
Diore Hubbard | Nov. 8
Saturday, November 08
Reid Carrico | Nov. 8
Saturday, November 08
Curtis Jones Jr. | Nov. 8
Saturday, November 08
