OMAHA, Nebraska – The Big Red Nation is mourning the loss of a football legend.
Calvin Jones, a running back who dazzled Husker fans with his lightning-fast speed as part of Tom Osborne’s famous “we-back” system in the early 1990s, died Wednesday.
He was 54.
Omaha Police responded to his home near 38th and Franklin Street after a neighbor called to report a gas odor coming from the house.
Officers reported that a man, later identified as Jones, was found dead in the basement. Police confirmed to First Alert 6 that a generator was present and that there were “signs of carbon monoxide poisoning,” but an official cause of death is still pending an autopsy.
Jones accumulated over 3,000 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns during his time in Lincoln from 1990 to 1993. As a freshman, he led the Big 8 Conference in scoring before becoming an All-American as a sophomore.
In 1992, he and backfield mate Derek Brown, both I-backs, averaged 329 yards per game, leading the Huskers to the team rushing championship and an Orange Bowl appearance. Jones and Brown were dubbed the “we-backs” that year because of their unrivaled performance as a duo in Osborne’s prolific rushing attack.
Jones is also remembered as one of the best high school football players in Nebraska history, earning prep All-American honors at Omaha Central and setting numerous records, including rushing yards in a single game, rushing yards in a single season, and career total rushing yards.
Jones was named the Gatorade Circle of Champions state running back of the year in 1989, averaging an impressive 8.4 yards per carry. He was also a state champion sprinter on the Omaha Central track and field team.
Jones was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1994 NFL Draft, and the team relocated to Oakland the following year. He played two seasons for the Raiders before winning the Super Bowl in his only season with the Green Bay Packers in 1996. He later spent one season with the Omaha Beef arena football team in 2000.
In 2004, Nebraska Athletics inducted Jones into its Hall of Fame.
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