Jeshaun Jones recaps his experience at Maryland, Music City Bowl
- Ahmed Ghafir
- Dec 29, 2023
- 4 min read
Jeshaun Jones will put on his Maryland jersey for the final time on Saturday, marking the end of his six-year career in College Park. For Jones, it’s a journey that surpassed his expectations as a former three-star prospect out of Fort Myers, Florida. After initially being recruited to Maryland by Chris Beatty, now in his third season as the WR coach for the Chargers, Jones became an instant success in College Park after posting three touchdowns on his first three career touches before finishing with the most receiving touchdowns (5) by a freshman since Stefon Diggs. The highlights continued over the last two seasons as Jones has emerged as Maryland’s top wideout despite multiple NFL-bound receivers vying for targets through the 2022 season. Jeshaun Jones enters the weekend fifth in program history in career receiving touchdowns (14) and receptions (146) while becoming the eighth player to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards at Maryland, but it wasn’t all “peaches and roses,” as Jones said. His latest accolades came off the heels of two season-ending injuries, first a torn ACL suffered in preseason of 2019 then a leg injury suffered in vs. Ohio State during the 2021 season. Battling back from two major injuries instilled the confidence that elevated Jones over the last two seasons. “Losing temporarily everything I came here for was tough and you just have to learn how to live without it, make the most of everything,” Jones told IBG. “You're going to deal with adversity. How you handle it is everything and adversity builds character, it makes you kind of who you are. Trials and tribulations, things you’ve been through, things you’ve seen, it makes you who you are. Knowing and understanding that everything isn’t going to be peaches and roses and everything isn’t going to be good all the time, you just have to make the most of things and play the cards you’re dealt.” His mentality was a big reason why head coach Mike Locksley was so public about his intention to recruit Jones back for the 2023 season. “This guy shows the toughness that you want, the resiliency, all pillars of our program and he’s a guy that leaves it all on the field,” Locksley said after the Rutgers win in 2022. With the shift in locker room mentality becoming a prevalent theme over the last three seasons of the Mike Locksley era, Locksley turned to Jeshaun Jones to enforce the standard that’s routinely referenced inside Jones-Hill House, further proof the Florida native became a cornerstone for the program. “I appreciate coach for bringing me back and making it such a big emphasis and making that known publicly and personally. I definitely would say I was one of those people that helped build this up. I’m just proud of how far we’ve come and everything that we’ve been through as a program, as a team. I’m thankful for it all. I wouldn’t change anything and I’m appreciative of it.” On the field, Jones stepped up in 2023 and led Maryland with five catches in a win at Nebraska, while tying his career-high with nine catches at Northwestern. His 100-yard receiving game against Indiana made him just the eighth Terp to record a 100-yard receiving game in three different seasons, but while the versatile and elusive wideout was the clear leader in this year’s receiver room on the field, Jones pointed to what he did off the field. “I think I showed good leadership. Leadership is the biggest thing I’ve shown. Being a good leader and like I said, make plays.” Maryland made the trip down to Nashville on Tuesday before practicing at Ensworth High School on Wednesday and Thursday. “It's cool to be in a different environment. Change is good sometimes. Having to change the environment is sometimes what you need. I feel like everyone is taking it just like with little different things, travel to practice, not go in the locker room and walk right out,” he added. But being present and in the moment was also a point of emphasis for Jones heading into the bowl trip. “Sometimes you can get caught up trying to look toward gameday, team activities, whatever the case may be. Just be where my feet are and enjoy these times because I've built a lot of bonds and great relationships with people on this team and knowing I won't be with them every day is tough and sad. It's great to know I have these guys forever. Just trying to enjoy it, basically. Just making the most of practice, having fun, kind of just enjoying it. Just trying to make the most of it.” Now, Jeshaun Jones will look to close out his college career with Billy Edwards Jr. and Cam Edge under center against Auburn. “They’re both great leaders. Seeing them both step up, play that role has been huge. They both prepared really well this whole season and now they’re getting the opportunity all of their preparation. It’s a great opportunity for them and I’m looking forward to it.” Related Links
