Pack football: Jones key to Eastern Washington's bid for upset on Thursday
Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones averaged 7.5 yards per rush last year. He had six games in which he racked up at least 200 all-purpose yards. He had 10 plays of 50-plus yards and 21 plays of 30-plus yards.
And while those numbers are gaudy, this list might be even more impressive: severe stingers in both shoulders; two fractured toes; a broken hand; a sports hernia that required surgery.
Those were the injuries Jones played with in 2009. Despite the setbacks, Jones played in all 12 of the Eagles' games while piling up 2,345 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns.
"Last year, I was pretty messed up," Jones said on the eve of EWU's game against Nevada. "It was a pretty rough year, but I had to fight for my team and I had to give everything I had. The playoffs were coming up and I wasn't going to miss those."
The Eagles made the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, but fell to Stephen F. Austin, 44-33, in the first round. On Thursday, Eastern Washington visits Nevada in the season opener for both teams.
Eagles coach Beau Baldwin said by playing with those injuries, Jones gained some major credibility with his teammates.
"He's tough," Baldwin said. "He's pound-for-pound one of our toughest football players, period. He was playing with a lot of things our other players might not have played with. That's his nature. He isn't loud; he's soft-spoken. But he's a leader and he's one of the toughest players I've ever coached."
He also is the key to Eastern Washington's upset hopes against Nevada.
On a team that relied heavily on the pass, Jones rushed for 1,213 yards and scored 15 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 40 balls for 561 yards and four more scores.
Baldwin said Jones is "maybe the most explosive football player to ever play here," which is astonishing considering he was a defensive back the year before.
Since the Eagles had four senior running backs in 2008, Jones played cornerback as a freshman. The plan always was to move him to running back in 2009, but nobody knew Jones would be as dynamic as he was as soon as he was.
Jones even scored on an 87-yard run on his first career college carry.
"That was crazy," Jones said. "You go into your first game waiting for that first hit to get the jitters out. But I saw a hole and got to the sideline and there was nobody in front of me, so I just ran for the end zone. It was a great feeling. It was a feeling I can't explain."
Jones went on to garner third-team All-American status and will be an even bigger focal point of EWU's offense this season, his junior year.
He's one of 20 players on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the top player in the FCS.
That's a heady accomplishment for a player whose only scholarship offer out of high school came from the Eagles (Sacramento State also offered a walk-on position).
When Jones leads Eastern Washington into Mackay Stadium on Thursday, it won't be his first trip to Reno.
The Antioch, Calif., native participated in the Wolf Pack's summer camps during his final two years of high school. Despite performing well, he wasn't offered a scholarship by Nevada, which he'll keep in mind come kickoff.
"I'm just focused on helping my team, but I would be lying if it wasn't in the back of my mind," Jones said. "My senior season I was the MVP of their summer camp. I obviously want to go down there and play a good game and show them what I can do."
