Link.
Marvin Jones was a spectator on the sideline when last season's comeback attempt against Oregon State came up 10 yards short, halting a jump to No. 1 in the nation and starting a slide of six losses in seven games. "That loss ate me up, because I felt like part of the team," said Jones, who turned down 16 other scholarship offers and verbally committed to Cal the next morning. "I wished so badly that I could have gone out there and done something about it." Now, he can.
Jones, a freshman from Etiwanda (San Bernardino County), is the marquee player in an incoming receiving corps saddled with the task of replacing a trio that has moved on to the NFL. Coach Jeff Tedford has said that as many as three of the newcomers could play right away, and, a week into camp, Jones is making his pitch. Actually, he made his opening statement four plays into the first day. Jones, a 6-foot-2, 189-pounder, drew a rousing ovation from teammates when he contorted his body while leaping and catching a 37-yard pass over cornerback Chris Conte. "That was awesome," redshirt freshman quarterback Brock Mansion said, "but he does something like that every day." By the second day, Cal's top corner, Syd'Quan Thompson, was seeking Jones out during individual drills. On the third, Jones again drew one of the loudest reactions of the practice when he wrested a ball away from Kevin Lewis on a slant pattern.
Jones makes you notice him. "He has shown signs that he is a special player," Tedford said. "I think he's shown that he has the ability to make plays. He has very good hands, he can run and he has good body control. Now, we have to check on the learning curve because he has to keep it up." That's pretty much been the coach's message to all of the young receivers, who have to replace Lavelle Hawkins, DeSean Jackson and Robert Jordan and the threesome's 454 career catches, 6,218 yards and 47 receiving touchdowns. The new group includes back-to-back scout team players of the year in Jeremy Ross and Michael Calvin and all-world recruit Nyan Boateng, a transfer from the University of Florida. Though Calvin regularly makes circus catches appear easy and Boateng seems to have matched his work ethic with his talent level, Jones might be the most intriguing in the stable. "He stands out to me as a player," Calvin said. "He's an unbelievably polished guy for someone coming straight out of high school. There are some things he does that people don't learn in their entire college careers." Jones is a perfect mix of speed (4.5-seconds 40-yard dash) and power (300-pound bench press), and he has an interesting combination that comes from being an introspective preacher's kid and you-have-to-be-cocky receiver.
"I know this is going to sound fake, but I care only about winning and want to do everything I can to provide for this team," Jones said. "I want to be someone who everyone on the team, and especially the quarterback, knows they can completely depend on. At the same time, I'm not going to sit at the back of the line and wait for someone to call my name. "I'm going after it." The quote might sound "fake" if there wasn't proof.
Exhibit A: "He's going to give you everything he's got on every single ball," Mansion said. "If a ball is in the air, he thinks it's his ball. Even when you throw a terrible ball, if he doesn't catch it, he'll come back and apologize."
Exhibit B: Jones is wearing No. 1, which will naturally lead fans to make comparisons to Jackson. "I have my own name, and I hope it's considered a new number. I don't know how to say this, but I think I can offer some things that he didn't. It's my heart under that number, and I'm different than the past."
Keeping up with Jones
Name: Marvin Jones
Position: Wide receiver
Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 189 pounds
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Etiwanda (San Bernardino County)
Stats: Caught 144 passes for 2,349 yards and 22 touchdowns in final two high school seasons ... runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and bench presses 300 pounds. ... Ranked as the No. 22 prospect in California and offered full scholarships by 17 Division I-A schools
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