Fifth-year receiver making impact for KU

By Jill Hummels     Sep 28, 2002

Marcellus Jones remembers that the last time a football season started this way, he became quite fond of himself.

Kansas University’s senior receiver will not make the same mistake in 2002.

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“I was on top of the world,” Jones said of his freshman year at Millwood High School in Oklahoma City when he made a couple of catches as a receiver and defensive back in his first few varsity games and thought he was top dog.

“Then I started fumbling,” Jones said, sheepishly. “I got beat deep, I got beat short. Then they put me on the bench. I got a little beyond myself.”

Not this time. After nearly five years and maybe a total of five catches thrown in his general direction as a Jayhawk, the fifth-year senior has learned to be humble.

“In high school my father instilled that in me,” Jones said.

But his dad, Marcellus II, also taught his son confidence.

“I’m not blessed with great size or great speed,” Jones said, “but I’m blessed with a big heart. I decided to use it.”

Maybe not a moment too soon.

Jones has not only become the inspirational leader on a team that has needed its share of motivation under first-year coach Mark Mangino but also the team’s leading receiver.

In four games, Jones has 12 catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

This from a player that only had two receptions and a flanker reverse to his name during his first four seasons on Mount Oread.

“I’ve been here,” Jones joked. “I guess they finally found me.”

The Jayhawks might have been looking all along.

The journalism major who said one day he wouldn’t mind calling the Jayhawks’ games from inside Memorial Stadium’s broadcast booth has been able to communicate his confidence to his teammates.

“My father instilled in me that you can’t take anything for granted, you have to use what God has given you to the best of your ability,” Jones said. “I feel like I’ve been blessed with some leadership, so I’m going to use that and take these guys as far as I can.”

That has been quite the task for the ever-positive Jones, who has seen KU compile a 17-32 record during his time at Kansas.

But his relentless drive for personal and team success is what makes him a leader, Mangino said.

“He has an extremely positive attitude that rubs off on a lot of kids,” he said. “He’s not the biggest or fastest guy we have, but he has one of the biggest hearts on the team. That will carry you a long way in football and life.”

That work ethic propelled the three-sport standout whose ending to his high school career was far less flashy than its beginning out of Oklahoma and into choosing to walk on at KU instead of accepting a scholarship at a smaller school.

“I had a childhood dream to play Division I football,” Jones said. “After serious consideration and talking with my father, I decided to come here.”

That was the easy part.

During the next four years, Jones was mostly a practice player who participated on special teams. He didn’t even receive a scholarship until last season.

Now when the spotlight seems to be shining on him, Jones would rather deflect the praise elsewhere.

But his teammates won’t let him.

“Marcellus keeps everyone’s head up,” said freshman wide receiver Mark Simmons, who trails Jones with 10 receptions.

Quarterback Bill Whittemore, who hooked up with Jones for a 23-yard touchdown against Nevada-Las Vegas the first major college score for either Jayhawk said Jones’ positive attitude pumps the team up.

“He’ll make a mistake here or there, but he’s going to come back and try to get the next one,” Whittemore said.

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