Jerry Rice, Walter Payton and the 30 best HBCU football players of all time
By Dante Pryor
7. David “Deacon” Jones, defensive end, South Carolina State and Mississippi Valley State
David, “Deacon” Jones is the prototype for the modern defensive end in many ways. “The Secretary of Defense” played at 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds. Many defensive ends play at that size today. Jones was explosive off of the line of scrimmage as many defensive ends are today.
Jones coined the word sack and perfected many pass rush maneuvers defensive ends use today, including the head slap, which was banned. However, Jones’ football journey to stardom and the Hall of Fame began rather rocky.
Growing up in the segregated south, Jones was all too familiar with Jim Crow segregation. Jones, a standout high school athlete in Eatonville, Florida, went to South Carolina State to play football. Instead, Jones had his scholarship revoked after participating in a civil rights protest.
Jones followed an assistant coach to Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bina and played a final season. A Rams scout evaluating running backs and saw Deacon Jones, at over 270 pounds, outrunning the running backs.
Jones was drafted in the 14th round by the Los Angeles Rams in 1961, joining Lamar Lundy, Roosevelt “Rosey” Grier and Merlin Olsen to form the fearsome foursome most dominant defensive lines in NFL history.
Though the sack was not an official statistic during Jones’ playing days, he is unofficially credited with 173.5 sacks, including 24.5 in one season.