Markeysia Donta Jones (born August 27, 1972) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
. He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at
Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
. He was selected by the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
in the fourth round of the
1995 NFL draft
The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...
. He played for six seasons in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) for the Steelers,
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
and
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
and
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
.
Early life
Jones attended
Maurice J. McDonough High School in
Pomfret, Maryland. While there he was an All-State and All-Metro
Washington D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
selection as a two-way starter on the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team. He played both linebacker and
tight end
The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
. As a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
, he recorded seven
receptions on offense. On defense, he recorded 172 total
tackles
Tackle may refer to:
* In football:
** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football
** Tackle (gridiron football position)
A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...
, and 15
sacks. He was chosen to play in the
Big 33 Football Classic
The Big 33 Football Classic is an All-star game, all-star American football game featuring the top high school football, high-school football players in Pennsylvania. Played since 1958 in sports, 1958, the game is often described as the "Super B ...
in 1990.
He was also the starting
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
for his
high school basketball
High school basketball, also known as prep basketball, is the sport of basketball as played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada.
Top high school athletes often go on to play college basketball after ...
team. He averaged 10 points-per-game. He also ran
track & field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...
, recording a personal best of 1:58 in the
800 meters
The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...
run and 49 seconds in the
400 meters
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...
.
College career
Jones then earned a
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
and attended the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...
, where as a freshman in
1990
Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...
, he
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Sports
* Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...
. In
1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
, as a redshirt freshman, he appeared in six games. He recorded eight tackles and one sack (that being
Gino Torretta
Gino Louis Torretta (born August 10, 1970) is an American former football player who was a quarterback for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...
). As a redshirt sophomore in
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
, he served as a back-up at both outside linebacker positions, to starters
Travis Hill and
Trev Alberts
Trev Kendall AlbertsJim Offner '' Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier'', February 6, 2013, accessed July 8, 2013. (born August 8, 1970) is an American sports administrator and former professional football player who is the athletic director at Texas A ...
and occasionally
David White. Jones appeared in all 12 games, recording 21 tackles (seven solo.), four tackles-for-loss, two sacks and six quarterback hurries. In
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
, as a redshirt junior, he appeared in nine games (eight starts), missing three with a
sprained ankle
A sprained ankle (twisted ankle, rolled ankle, turned ankle, etc.) is an injury where sprain occurs on one or more ligaments of the ankle. It is the most commonly occurring injury in sports, mainly in ball sports (basketball, volleyball, and foo ...
. He recorded 25 tackles, one sack, one forced
fumble
A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...
, two fumble recoveries, one pass broken up and 10 quarterback hurries. As a redshirt senior in
1994
The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations.
In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
, he started all 12 games. He recorded 52 tackles (23 solo.), 10 tackles-for-loss, five sacks, one forced fumble, two passes broken up and 22 quarterback hurries. For the season, he earned All-
Big Eight. He graduated with a degree in
accounting
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...
and
business administration
Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization.
Overview
The administration of a business includes the performance o ...
.
In 2007, Jones was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.
Professional career
Jones was selected in the fourth round (125th overall) in the
1995 NFL draft
The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...
by the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
. As a
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...
in
1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
, he appeared in all 16 games and recorded three tackles for the eventual
AFC champions.
In
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
, he appeared in 15 games with two starts. He recorded 13 tackles (nine solo.) and one sack and one forced fumble.
For the
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
season, he appeared in all 16 games with four starts. He recorded 15 tackles (six solo.), one pass broken up,
one fumble recovery. Prior to the
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
season, on June 9, he re-signed with the Steelers.
For the season, he appeared in all 16 games with three starts. He recorded 17 tackles (11 solo.) and three sacks.
On February 12, 1999, Jones signed as an
unrestricted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
with the
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
.
While with the Panthers, he competed with former Steelers linebacker
Kevin Greene
Kevin Darwin Greene (July 31, 1962December 21, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player who was a linebacker and defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, and San Francisco 49e ...
. For his
lone season with the Panthers, Jones appeared in all 16 games. He recorded 21 tackles (18 solo.) and one fumble recovery and three passes broken up.
He was cut by the Panthers on August 20, 2000, at the end of the preseason.
On August 22, 2000, two days after cut by the Panthers, Jones signed a one-year contract with the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
.
For the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
, he appeared in 12 games and recorded eight tackles.
On August 8, 2001, he was signed by the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
, however, he was released 19 days later.
References
External links
Nebraska Cornhuskers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Donta
1972 births
American football linebackers
New Orleans Saints players
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Carolina Panthers players
Chicago Bears players
Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
Living people