Upon joining UTEP, Jones stood at 6feet 4inches (1.93m) and weighed 223 pounds (101kg).[5] As a junior, he competed with freshman Major Stevenson and redshirt Fran Pilarcek for the starting tight end role for the Miners.[4] He won the job and caught 26 passes for 394 yards and four touchdowns during the 1967 season.[5][6] The 1967 UTEP team compiled a record of 7–2–1 and won the 1967 Sun Bowl over the Ole Miss Rebels.[7] The El Paso Herald-Post reported that he "attracted a good deal [of] attention in the Sun Bowl" and displayed "impressive" strength.[8] Then, as a senior in 1968, Jones caught 31 passes for 430 yards for UTEP, being named first-team All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC).[6][9] He placed ninth in the WAC in receptions and eighth in the conference in receiving yards.[6] The 1968 Miners compiled a record of 4–5–1.[10]
Professional career and later life
Jones was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round (134th overall) of the 1969 NFL/AFL draft.[1] Along with Leon Harden, he was one of two UTEP players selected by the Packers.[11] He impressed in training camp, with assistant coach Bob Schnelker describing him and Tom Buckman as "two of the best tight end prospects we've had since I've been here".[12] He was waived/injured to begin the season and later placed on the taxi squad.[13][14] He was then activated and appeared in six games during the 1969 season.[1] In September 1970, Jones was traded to the Atlanta Falcons.[15] He did not appear in any games for the Falcons and was later released in August 1971.[1][16]
Following his football career, Jones worked in the organized crime unit for the Dallas Sheriff's Department.[17] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was a member of a reunion football team, composed of old UTEP players, that played in the spring against the current UTEP roster.[17]
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