Thomas Jones (born August 3, 1979) is a professional gridiron football

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

. After a standout prep career at Eaton High School where he played football, basketball and baseball, Jones continued his football career at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

. After taking a red-shirt his freshman year, Jones split first team practice reps with

Antwaan Randle El Antwaan Randle El (; born August 17, 1979) is an American football coach and former player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He is currently the wide receivers coach for the Detroit Lions of the Nati ...

. Head Coach

Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach. He is the former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and playe ...

ultimately decided on Randle-El, and Jones appeared in just 3 games as a red-shirt freshman. During his sophomore season, there was once again training camp talk of Jones starting over Randle-El, and once again Jones was named the backup, playing 6 games. His junior season, he was named the starting quarterback and Randle-El moved to wide receiver. Jones completed 18 of 31 passes and had one touchdown, but was benched the following week as the offense didn't take off as well had Cameron had hoped. Jones was then injured during week 4 and didn't play in a game the rest of the season. During his senior season, the Hoosiers were under new head coach

Gerry DiNardo Gerard Paul DiNardo (born November 10, 1952) is a former American football player and coach. He played college football as a guard for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish where he was selected as an All-American in 1974. DiNardo served as the head f ...

, and Jones was named the starter out of fall camp. Jones started the first 7 games of the season, throwing for 879 yards with 9 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. He was then benched in favor of

Gibran Hamdan Gibran Latif Hamdan (born February 8, 1981) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League and NFL Europa. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played co ...

. After going undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft, Jones was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and participated in mini-camp and training camp before being released. He then signed with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-o ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

, where he started 6 games, throwing for 1,168 yards with 7 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Following his release from the Stampeders, Jones turned to the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

, catching on with the

Nashville Kats The Nashville Kats were an Arena Football League team, located in Nashville, Tennessee. They were last coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team's original incarnation to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to the original franchise's move to A ...

and the

Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They fol ...

, but never seeing the field for either team. Jones then turned his attention to indoor football, signing with the

Odessa Roughnecks Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrative ...

of the

Intense Football League The Intense Football League (IFL) was a professional indoor football minor league that began operations in 2004. Its focus was in Texas, but it was notable for being the first professional football league to place a franchise in Alaska. History ...

. Jones shined in his first season of indoor football, throwing 100 touchdown passes and leading the Roughnecks to a 97-56 victory in

Intense Bowl The Intense Bowl was the championship game for the Intense Football League (IFL). *Number of appearances: **Corpus Christi Hammerheads: 3 (0-3) **Louisiana Swashbucklers: 2 (2-0) **Amarillo Dusters: 1 (1-0) **Odessa Roughnecks: 1 (1-0) **Lubbock ...

II. The following year, Jones signed with the Mississippi MudCats of the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

. Jones again threw over 100 touchdowns, while also being named to the All-Star team. In 2009, Jones signed with the

El Paso Generals The El Paso Generals were a professional indoor football team that played in the Indoor Football League in the 2009 season. Based in El Paso, Texas, the Generals played their home games at the El Paso County Coliseum. The Generals were the first ...

, throwing for 66 touchdowns and 3,158 yards. In 2010, Jones returned to the Roughnecks, as they were now member of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams am ...

. In 2011, Jones signed with the

Saginaw Sting The Saginaw Sting was a professional Indoor Football team based in Saginaw, Michigan. The team was most recently a member of American Indoor Football (AIF). They began play in 2008 as an expansion team in the Continental Indoor Football League ...

, where he would lead the Sting to an

Ultimate Bowl The Ultimate Bowl was the annual championship game of the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL). In 2011, it was the meeting of the two semifinal game winners. In 2012, it was the meeting of the winners of the North and South Divisions. Past Ulti ...

Championship, while winning Offensive Player of the Year honors as well as Ultimate Bowl I MVP. Jones re-signed with the Sting in 2012, as they transitioned into the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIF ...

. The Sting went undefeated, winning the 2012 CIFL Championship Game over the

Dayton Silverbacks The Dayton Silverbacks were a professional indoor football team based in Dayton, Ohio. The team was a member of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). The franchise started as the Miami Valley Silverbacks and joined the CIFL in 2007 afte ...

. Jones won the CIFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year Awards. In, 2013 Jones signed with the expansion

Dayton Sharks The Dayton Sharks were a professional indoor football team based in Dayton, Ohio. The team was a member of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). The franchise started as an expansion team in the CIFL during the 2013 season. The Sharks ...

, where he was named their starting quarterback and offensive coordinator.

Early life

Born the son of Tom and Meg Jones, Tommy attended Eaton High School, in

Eaton, Ohio Eaton is a city in, and the county seat of Preble County, Ohio, United States, approximately 24 mi (38 km) west of Dayton. The population was 8,375 at the 2020 census, down 0.4% from the population of 8,407 at the 2010 census. Eaton's ...

, where he was a member of the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and football teams. As a football player he passed for 1,185 yards and 19 touchdowns as a sophomore, 1,022 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior and completed 88 of 174 passes for 1,532 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed 67 times for 586 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior. He was 25-5 as a starter during this career, going 9-1 his season year in 1997. After his senior season he was named a first-team

Southwestern Buckeye League The Southwestern Buckeye League (SWBL) is an Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) sports conference made up of schools located in southwestern Ohio, mainly around the greater Dayton and Cincinnati areas. It was established in 1944. Mem ...

selection, the Richmond, IN

Palladium-Item The ''Palladium-Item'' is the daily morning newspaper for Richmond, Indiana, and surrounding areas. The paper is a merger of two older papers, the ''Richmond Palladium'' and the ''Richmond Item'', and traces its history back to 1831, making it the ...

Player-of-the-Year as well as earned postseason

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors and was named as one of the top 90 players in the country by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report. As a basketball player, he averaged over 20 points per game as a junior and senior. As a baseball player he was a shortstop.

College career

1998 season

After his graduation, Jones chose to continue his football career at

on scholarship, playing for

. He was a

General Studies General Studies is a multidisciplinary subject offered at different levels of education. Its scope varies by country. North America Some North American universities offer the Bachelor of General Studies degree. England, Wales and Northern Ireland ...

major. He sat out the 1998 season as he

redshirted 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, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

1999 season

In 1999, Jones saw some first team reps in spring practice with, the 1998

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Freshman of the Year in 1998,

taking reps at wide receiver. When questioned about if he would actually play Jones at quarterback Cameron stated, "Get the best players on the field. If that means Jones and Randle El, so be it." Jones played in just three games, and completed 4 of 9 passes for 77 yards, including a 47-yard completion at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. His season ended when he chipped a bone and sustained ligament damage to his right

index finger The index finger (also referred to as forefinger, first finger, second finger, pointer finger, trigger finger, digitus secundus, digitus II, and many other terms) is the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the thumb and the mid ...

during warm-ups prior to the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

game.

2000 season

In 2000, Jones was once again talked about as replacing Randle-El at quarterback, but when the season came, Jones was once again in a reserve role. Jones saw action as a back-up to Randle-El, and completed 6 of 16 pass for 57 yards and one interception. His best game of the season came at Northwestern, when he completed both passes he threw for 43 yards, including a 27-yard completion. He attempted five passes against both

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and Wisconsin. He also saw action against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and Penn State.

2001 season

During his junior season in 2001, in what was one of the worst coaching decision in the history of Indiana football, Head Coach Cam Cameron decided to move Randle-El to wide receiver, and let Jones become the starting quarterback. He opened the season as the starting quarterback against NC State, completing 18 of 31 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown. He also saw action on the kickoff return team. He did not play after week four of the season as he was sidelined with

tendonitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tennis e ...

in his throwing shoulder.

2002 season

For his senior season in 2002, under new head coach

, he completed 75 of 152 passes for 879 yards and nine touchdowns in seven games before being replaced by

Statistics

Through the end of the 2002 season, Jones's college statistics are as follows:

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

He was signed on May 12, 2003 as an undrafted free agent, and participated in Bengals mini-camp & training camp, but was later released on August 25, 2003 due to reduction to 65-man roster.

Calgary Stampeders

After sitting out the 2003 season, he was signed on May 18, 2004 by the

. He appeared in eight games, starting six and threw for 1,237 yards, seven touchdowns and completed 52% of his passes. Jones was later invited to private workouts with both the Seattle Seahawks and the Buffalo Bills following the end of the CFL regular season.->

Nashville Kats

Jones joined the

of the

in the winter of 2004, he attended training camp with the Kats, but failed to make the team.

Columbus Destroyers

After the outdoor game had seemed to lose interest in him, he signed to play

arena football Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...

for the

, but didn't appear in any games.

Odessa Roughnecks

Jones was finally given a chance to start in every game by the

during the 2006 season, and led the club to their only championship (

) after going 12–2 during the regular season. Jones led the offense by posting 100 touchdown passes during the season, and led the club to a recording-setting 97–56 win over

Corpus Christi Hammerheads Corpus is Latin for "body". It may refer to: Linguistics * Text corpus, in linguistics, a large and structured set of texts * Speech corpus, in linguistics, a large set of speech audio files * Corpus linguistics, a branch of linguistics Music * ...

II.

Mississippi MudCats

After his great indoor success, he then came to the Mississippi MudCats in 2007 as their starting quarterback, where he completed 63% of his passes, threw 102 touchdowns, setting a league record with the AIFA and he rushed for 12 touchdowns. Jones was voted to the AIFA All Star Team in 2007 and was re-signed for a second season with the MudCats.

El Paso Generals

Jones led the

to a 12-2 regular season record in '09 including the Lone Star Division Championship. Jones led the IFL with 3,158 passing yards in 2009 and finished second among all quarterbacks with 66 touchdown passes. Jones became the only quarterback to eclipse the 3,000-yard passing mark in 2009 and he led the league with 225.6 passing yards averaged a game. Jones posted 450 passing yards with nine touchdown passes in two games played during the 2009 IFL playoffs and he would lead the Generals to an appearance in the Intense Conference Championship Game against Billings. Jones capped off the 2009 season by being named to the All-IFL Second Team.

West Texas Roughnecks

Jones signed with the Roughnecks for the 2010 season, this time the team had moved to the

after the Intense Football League folded. He played in 13 games passing for 2,487 yards and 42 touchdowns. The Roughnecks lost in the first round of the IFL playoffs.

Saginaw Sting

For the 2011 season, Jones signed with the

of the newly formed

Ultimate Indoor Football League The Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) was a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011 as the Ultimate Indoor Football League before playing as the United Indoor Football League in 2012 ...

. Jones went on to lead the league in touchdowns (76) and pass efficiency rating (107.1). He guided the Sting to the first ever

championship, and the same night he was also honored as the league's Offensive Player of the Year. Once Saginaw's 86-69 victory over the

Eastern Kentucky Drillers The Kentucky Drillers were a professional indoor football team based in Pikeville, Kentucky. The franchise started as the Eastern Kentucky Drillers and joined the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2013 after playing their first two se ...

was complete, Jones picked up another trophy, this one as the

's Most Valuable Player. The veteran quarterback went 25-of-36 for 346 yards and a UIFL record 10 touchdowns in

I. On January 18, 2012, it was announced that Jones had re-signed with the Sting for their 2012 season, but the team had left the UIFL and re-joined the

. Jones went on to lead the Sting to a perfect 8-0 regular season record, setting the CIFL for points in a game (91) along the way. The team played in the CIFL Championship Game, where they defeated the

35-7. Jones led the Sting's offense as he connected on 22 of his 35 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns. Following the conclusion of the season, Jones was named the CIFL's MVP as well as the league's Offensive Player of the Year.

Dayton Sharks

Jones signed with the

for the season. Jones was named the team's starting quarterback, as well as the offensive coordinator.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Tommy 1979 births Living people American football quarterbacks Calgary Stampeders players Cincinnati Bengals players Columbus Destroyers players Indiana Hoosiers football players Mississippi MudCats players Odessa Roughnecks players Saginaw Sting players Dayton Sharks players People from Eaton, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Canadian football quarterbacks