Calvin Jones (running back)

{{for|other American football players of the same name|Calvin Jones (disambiguation)#Sports{{!}}Calvin Jones § Sports}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Calvin Jones

| number = 27, 44

| position = Halfback

| birth_date = {{birth date|1970|11|27}}

| birth_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|01|22|1970|11|27}}

| death_place = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 11

| weight_lb = 205

| high_school = Omaha Central

| college = Nebraska

| draftyear = 1994

| draftround = 3

| draftpick = 80

| pastteams =

Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders ({{NFL Year|1994|1995}})
Green Bay Packers ({{NFL Year|1996}})
Omaha Beef (2000)

| highlights =

Super Bowl champion (XXXI)
Third-team All-American (1993)
Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year (1992)
2× First-team All-Big Eight (1992, 1993)
Second-team All-Big Eight (1991)

| statlabel1 = Rushing yards

| statvalue1 = 112

| statlabel2 = Average

| statvalue2 = 4.1

| statlabel3 = Receptions

| statvalue3 = 2

| statlabel4 = Receiving yards

| statvalue4 = 6

| pfr = JoneCa00

}}

Calvin D'Wayne Jones (November 27, 1970 – January 22, 2025) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning third-team All-American honors in 1993. Jones was selected by the Raiders in the third round of the 1994 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1994 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1994/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He played for the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders and the Green Bay Packers. In his only season with the Packers, they won Super Bowl XXXI against the New England Patriots.

College career

Jones rushed for 3,166 yards and scored 40 rushing touchdowns from 1990 to 1993 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He played I-back under the direction of head coach Dr. Tom Osborne. Jones' single-season high was 1,210 rushing yards in 1992.{{cite web |url=http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=945674|title= #44 Calvin Jones |work= Huskers.com |access-date=9 August 2012}}

His best single-game performance came as a redshirt freshman on November 9, 1991, against Kansas when Jones ran the ball 27 times for 294 yards and six touchdowns, including a 69-yard scoring run.{{cite web |url=http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=945674|title= #44 Calvin Jones |work= Huskers.com |access-date=9 August 2012}} During the 1991 season, Jones led the nation with an incredible 8.3 yards per carry.

Professional career

{{NFL predraft

| height ft = 5

| height in = 11 1/8

| weight = 212

| dash = 4.58

| ten split = 1.61

| twenty split = 2.61

| shuttle = 4.09

| vertical = 30.5

| arm span = 32 3/4

| hand span = 10

}}

In the NFL, Jones played with the Raiders for two years. He ran for 112 yards on 27 carries in 2 seasons. He spent his final season with Green Bay.{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JoneCa00.htm |title= Pro-Football-Reference.com - Calvin Jones |work= Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=25 January 2013}}

Jones played with the Omaha Beef in 2000.{{cite web |url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/week-eight-ipfl-preview/n-2707600 |title=Week eight IPFL Preview |date=May 25, 2000 |publisher=OurSports Central |work=www.oursportscentral.com |access-date=July 19, 2017}}

Death

On January 22, 2025, Omaha Police Department officers responded to Jones' home to assist firefighters with a natural gas odor. Jones was found unresponsive in the basement, and was pronounced dead. He was using a generator in lieu of a malfunctioning furnace, and officials said the circumstances of his death were indicative of carbon monoxide poisoning. Jones was 54.{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Jake |date=January 23, 2025 |title=Calvin Jones, an Omaha Central grad and former Husker football standout, dies at 54 |url= https://www.ketv.com/article/calvin-jones-omaha-central-nebraska-football-dies/63530730|work=KETV|location=Omaha, NE|publisher= |access-date=}}

Statistics

\| ! colspan="5" style="background:#e7e3e7;"\| Rushing ! colspan="5" style="background:#e7e3e7;"\| Receiving
class=wikitable style="text-align:center" \|+ Jones' stats for the Nebraska Cornhuskers
\|YEAR !\|ATT !\|YDS !\|AVG !\|LNG !\|TD !\|NO. !\|YDS !\|AVG !\|LNG !\|TD
1990	colspan=10\| Redshirt
1991	108	900	8.3	69	14	3	25	8.3	17	0
1992	168	1,210	7.2	90	14	14	162	11.6	41	1
1993	185	1,056	5.6	64	12	7	117	16.7	55	1
Totals	461	3,166	6.9	90	40	24	304	12.7	55	2

{{cite web |url=http://www.huskermax.com/stats/stats_1993.html |title=1993 Nebraska football statistics |work=HuskerMax.com |access-date=25 January 2013}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Jones' rushing stats in the NFL
Year ! Team ! ATT ! YDS ! AVG ! TD
1994 \| RAI \| 22 \| 93 \| 4.2 \| 0
1995 \|OAK \| 5 \| 19 \| 3.8 \| 0
1996 \|GNB \| 0 \| 0 \| 0.0 \| 0
Totals ! — ! 27 ! 112 ! 4.1 ! 0

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+ Jones' rushing stats in the NFL

Year

! Team

! ATT

! YDS

! AVG

! TD

1994

| RAI

| 22

| 93