Keith "End Zone" Jones

Jones was born in Omaha, Nebraska, Jones chose to play high school football at Omaha Central High School instead of joining his brother Lee, who was a year older than him, on Omaha Benson's team. Benson offered Jones the chance to play as a sophomore, while Central's program was more restrictive and required players to workout with weights and prove themselves before being allowed to play. Jones did not play football much until his junior year. That season, he rushed for modern-day Metro Conference records of 1,710 yards and an average of 190.0 yards per game, drawing comparisons to Pro Football Hall of Fame running back and former Central star Gale Sayers. Jones averaged 9.1 yards per carry and scored 18 touchdowns, including 11 plays over 35 yards. He broke the conference single-season rushing record of 1,624 yards set by Victor Breakfield of Omaha Burke in 1981. ==College career==

Jones chose to play college football locally for the Nebraska Cornhuskers over the Washington Huskies. In two junior varsity games, he ran for 240 yards and four touchdowns and averaged 7.7 yards per carry. However, he lettered that season after being promoted to varsity following Paul Miles' season-ending separated shoulder injury against Syracuse. The No. 3 I-back behind Doug DuBose and Jeff Smith, Jones ran for 186 yards on 29 carries for a 6.4-yard average and two touchdowns. He spent most of his sophomore season as the No. 3 I-back before supplanting Miles at No. 2 behind DuBose towards the end of the season. On November 16 against Kansas, Jones returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of a 56–6 win. It was Nebraska's first kickoff return for a touchdown since Mike Rozier's 93-yard return against Oklahoma State in 1981. Jones also added a then-career-high 84 yards rushing on eight attempts. In 10 games that year, he gained 240 yards on 38 carries (6.3-yard average) for three touchdowns. His brother Lee, a redshirt junior defensive tackle, also became a starter that season. and led the Big Eight Conference with 83.0 yards rushing per game. Jones missed one game after ligament damage in a thumb required surgery, He was voted a first-team All-Big Eight selection by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI). Jones was limited in the 1987 Sugar Bowl by a deep thigh bruise suffered in the first half of the regular season finale against Oklahoma. With Tyreese Knox starting in his place, Jones had six rushes for 20 yards as a reserve in a 30–15 win over LSU. In his senior year in 1987, Jones rushed for 1,232 yards and 13 touchdowns, in Nebraska's regular season finale against one of their rivals, Colorado, earning him Big Eight offensive player of the week honors. Ranked eighth in the nation with 123.2 yards rushing per game, Jones received honorable mention from UPI for their All-America team, and again earned first-team All-Big Eight honors from the AP and UPI. In the 1988 Fiesta Bowl, he carried 15 times for 80 yards and a touchdown in a 31–28 loss to Florida State. Jones was electronically timed at 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash in 1985, which broke the record for Cornhusker football players, previously held by Irving Fryar (4.43). Jones also competed in track, winning the 1985 Big Eight 60-yard dash indoor title at 6.23 seconds. He needed to alternate between adding bulk for football and being lean and sleek for track. Jones said that around his senior year, football coach Tom Osborne told him to quit track. ==Professional career==

Jones was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the 1988 NFL draft with the 147th overall pick. The Rams later released him before re-signing him after he cleared waivers. A few weeks later, he was again placed on injured reserve, spending the final 12 weeks of the season there with a minor ankle issue. receiving a $155,000 salary and $15,000 signing bonus. However, they later traded up and acquired running back Eric Metcalf in the first round of the draft. Jones ended the season with 160 yards rushing and a touchdown along with 15 receptions. placing second on the team with 21 special teams tackles. Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson tagged him as a probable starter. Weeks later, the Cowboys traded for former first-round pick Terrence Flagler and traded again to move up in the draft to select Emmitt Smith in the first round. Following a year of rebab, he underwent surgery in May 1991 for a ruptured disc in his back. Jones began the 1991 season on the physically unable to perform list. After he passed a physical in September, the Cowboys released him. In 1993, Jones won an arbitration settlement of $200,000—one year's pay—from the Cowboys. He said that three months after his back surgery, Johnson told him to either play or be released. According to Jones, doctors said he needed eight months after his procedure before he could face full contact. NFL rules require a team to pay an injured player who is cut. ==See also==