Ronald Jones

BIOGRAPHY

Ronald Jones II was born on August 3, 1997, in Fort Stewart, Georgia. He is a running back in the National Football League.

During high school, he had 520 rushing yards (7.2 avg) with 9 TDs as a 2012 sophomore. As a junior in 2013, he ran for 2,406 yards (9.9 avg) with 39 TDs. Jones made 2014 Prep Star All-American Dream Team and USA Today All-Texas as a senior running back at McKinney (Tex.) North High. He ran for 2,009 yards (8.4 avg) with 28 TDs as a senior in 2014. Jones had 4,935 yards (8.9 avg) and 76 TD on the ground in his 3-year career. He also sprinted for McKinney North’s track team, with bests of 10.37 in the 100 meters (he won his district championships in 2015) and 21.98 in the 200 meters.

In college, in 2015, Jones made an immediate impact as an often-used backup first-year freshman tailback in 2015. Overall in 2015 while appearing in all 14 games, he had a team-best 987 yards on 153 carries (6.5 avg) with 8 TDs and 7 receptions for 39 yards (5.6 avg) with 1 TD. He joined LenDale White as the only true freshmen to lead USC in rushing in a season (White did so in 2003). His 987 rushing yards broke Heisman Trophy winner Charles White’s 39-year-old USC freshman season rushing record (858 yards in 1976). He was 18th nationally in yards per carry (6.5, second in Pac-12). He made 2015 All-Pac-12 honorable mention and Phil Steele All-Pac-12 third team. He set the USC freshman game rushing yardage record as he ran for 177 yards on 19 carries (breaking LenDale White’s 2003 mark by 37 yards), with a 74-yard TD burst, and he also caught a 5-yard scoring pass against Arizona to earn Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week honorable mention and USC’s Jack Oakie “Rise and Shine” Award (for longest run from scrimmage).

In the 2016 season, after making quite an impression with his record-breaking showing in 2015 as a rookie, Jones was made an even bigger impact as a sophomore tailback in 2016. Overall in 2016 while appearing in all 13 games and starting the final 6 regular-season games, he ran for a team-best 1,082 yards on 177 carries (6.1 avg) with 12 TDs and had 11 catches for 76 yards (6.9 avg) with 1 TD. His 1,082 rushing yards in 2016 marked the 29th time a Trojan eclipsed the 1,000-yard season rushing mark and ranks 27th on USC’s season list. He had 4 100-yard rushing games in 2016, all in the last 5 regular-season contests. He ran for a TD in each of the last 7 games and had 4 multi-TD games in 2016. He made the 2016 Campus Insiders Sophomore All-American honorable mention, All-Pac-12 second team, and Phil Steele All-Pac-12 second team. He won USC’s 2016 Jack Oakie “Rise and Shine” Award (most electrifying run).

Against California, he ran for a career-high 223 yards on 18 carries (12.4 average) with a 37-yard TD (along with non-scoring bursts of 61 and 42 yards), the most rushing yards by a Trojan since Allen Bradford also had 223 against Washington in 2010 and the second most by a USC sophomore behind Shawn Walters’ 234 in 1994 versus Stanford (he also had 2 catches for 18 yards, including a 16-yard score) to earn Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week honorable mention. Combined with his 223 yards in the previous game, his 2-game rushing total of 394 yards was the most in consecutive games by a Trojan since Reggie Bush’s 554 in 2005 versus Fresno State and UCLA (he also caught 2 passes for 26 yards) and thereby earning Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Player of the Week honorable mention.

As a junior in 2017, Jones played 13 games with 1,550 rushing yards, 165 receiving yards, and 20 total touchdowns. After his junior year, Jones decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Overall he has run for 2,069 yards on 330 carries (6.3 avg) with 20 TDs and caught 18 passes for 115 yards (6.4 avg) with 2 TDs in his career. He is 17th on USC’s career rushing list with 2,069 yards. His 6.27 career yards per carry are fourth-best among those on USC’s Top 40 all-time rushing ladder. He has 5 100-yard rushing games in his career. He has 6 career starts.

Jones was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round (38th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the fifth running back to be selected that year. He made his NFL debut in Week 4 against the Chicago Bears. In the 48–10 loss, he had ten carries for 29 rushing yards. During Week 7, against the Cleveland Browns, he scored his first NFL rushing touchdown as the Buccaneers won in overtime by a score of 26-23. He finished the 2018 season with 23 carries for 44 yards and one rushing touchdown.

In the 2019 season, Jones finished with 172 carries for 724 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns to go along with 31 receptions for 309 receiving yards. Overall, Jones finished the 2020 season with 978 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns to go along with 28 receptions for 165 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. With the Buccaneers finishing the season 11–5, the team earned a playoff spot. During Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs, Jones finished with 61 rushing yards as the Buccaneers won 31–9.

Jones signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2023.