Thomas Jones

He retired among the top 25 leading rushers in NFL history (currently 26th, after LeSean McCoy passed him ), and a member of the 10,000 rushing yards club.

Thomas Quinn Jones (born August 19, 1978) is an American actor and a former football player.

He was a running back who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

While playing for Powell Valley High School in Big Stone Gap, he led the team to back-to-back state championships in 1994 and 1995.

He still holds the VHSL record for the most rushing yards in a season with 3,319.

He broke his late uncle's (Edd Clark) single-game rushing record in 1994 (462 yards against John I. Burton High School).

He also tied for most career touchdowns (104) with Terry Kirby.

Thomas was featured in the January 22 (1996) issue of Sports Illustrated section, Faces in the Crowd.

Jones attended the University of Virginia, and played for coach George Welsh's Virginia Cavaliers football team from 1996 to 1999.

Through four years, he left his mark on the record books of both the team and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

He ended his career at Virginia with eight conference and fifteen team records, including finishing as the Cavaliers' all-time rushing leader with 3,998 yards, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,389 yards set by Tiki Barber.

His rushing total was the fourth highest in conference history.

Jones also set the conference and school record for single season rushing (1,798 yards) and single season all-purpose offense (2,054 yards).

While becoming the first player in ACC history to attain 200 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game, Jones set a single game school record with 331 all-purpose yards against the University at Buffalo.

Setting an ACC record for 200-yard games, Jones finished with six 200-yard rushing performances.

He finished his college career with 4,698 all-purpose yards, fourth all-time at Virginia.

He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, earning consensus All-American honors in 1999.

As a senior in 1999, Jones was voted as a consensus first-team All-American by The Associated Press, Football News, the Football Writers Association of America, Walter Camp Foundation, and The Sporting News.

Finishing 8th in balloting for the 1999 Heisman Trophy, he was the first ACC consensus All-American running back since 1978 (Ted Brown, NC State) and third in league history.

Jones led the conference running backs and receiving yards, amassed four 200-yard games, and finished third in the nation in rushing (163.5 yards/game) and all-purpose yards (186.7 yards/game).

While successful on the field, Jones also focused in the classroom, earning his bachelor's degree in psychology in three years.

Jones was selected by the Arizona Cardinals seventh overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in addition to the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs.

Thomas Jones was chosen by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft with the seventh overall selection.

In his three years with Arizona he rushed for 1,264 yards and 9 touchdowns.

He was injury-prone, however, and finished only one full season (2001) for the Cardinals.

Up until the 2002 season he also was splitting time with running back Michael Pittman.

Jones was traded in 2003 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Though not the featured back in Tampa Bay, Jones played an injury-free season, gained 627 yards, and scored three rushing touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards per carry.

As a free agent in 2004, Jones received his opportunity to be a featured back, signing a multi-year contract with Chicago.

In his first season with Chicago, he rushed for 948 yards and 7 touchdowns.

After the season, Ron Turner took over as offensive coordinator and installed zone blocking schemes that utilized Jones's speed and ability to make quick decisions.

Heading into the 2005 NFL season, Jones figured to return to sharing duty as the Bears used their top draft pick on running back Cedric Benson.

However, a lengthy hold-out prevented Benson from pushing Jones for playing time.

In 2013, performing under the name Thomas Q. Jones due to the SAG-AFTRA's unique stage name requirements, he began an acting career.

Among his credits are 2015's Straight Outta Compton and a recurring role in the Luke Cage series.

Thomas was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.

His mother, Betty, worked the graveyard shift in a Virginia coal mine for nearly 20 years while raising seven children, including his younger brother, Julius Jones.

While in Appalachia, Virginia, his father encouraged the children to learn five new words per day, and made them read the front page of the newspaper, before they could read the sports section.

Jones credits his parents with instilling the ambition and strong work ethic that he is known for in professional football.

In September 2019 he was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020.