Maurice Jones - Drew Maurice Christopher Jones - Drew ( born March 23 , 1985 ) is an American football running back for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League ( NFL ) . Jones - Drew played college football for the University of California , Los Angeles ( UCLA ) , and received All - American recognition . He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft . He has been named to the Pro Bowl three times and led the NFL in rushing yards in 2011 . Early years . Jones - Drew was born in Oakland , California ; his name at birth was Maurice Christopher Drew . He graduated from De La Salle High School in Concord , California . De La Salle owns the longest winning streak in high school football history at 151 games . The football teams he played on never lost a single game during his 3 - year career . He was an elusive , high - scoring running back and return specialist on offense and a punishing linebacker on defense . He also played four official college games as a cornerback . Jones - Drew somersaulted into the national consciousness on October 6 , 2001 , when , as a junior , he scored all four of De La Salle ' s touchdowns in a 29 - 15 nationally - televised victory over Long Beach Poly in the first game that ever matched up the nation ' s No . 1 and No . 2 ranked high school football teams . On the Spartans ' opening drive , Jones - Drew received a short pass in the right flat on third - and - eight from the Poly 25 - yard line . He broke a tackle and then sprinted down the right sideline before launching a spectacular forward somersault into the end zone . Drew next scored on a 29 - yard reception on fourth down in which he ran a circle route out of the backfield down the left sideline and hauled in an over - the - shoulder touch pass at the goal line from quarterback Matt Gutierrez . Drew ’ s third touchdown came in the second quarter when he burst through the line , shook off two tacklers , before hitting paydirt 17 yards later . Drew ’ s final score salted away the historic De La Salle victory . It was a similar effort to his third touchdown and came on a 22 - yard run with just under 7 minutes remaining . Drew finished with nine carries for 86 yards and three catches for another 79 yards . During his junior season , Jones - Drew rushed for nearly 2000 yards , averaged nearly 12 yards per carry , and scored 26 touchdowns . He was rated the No . 1 all - purpose back in the nation by rivals . com . He is pictured outrunning a slew of defenders on the cover of the book " When the Game Stands Tall " , which chronicles the De La Salle Spartans ' all - time - record 151 - game winning streak . College career . Jones - Drew attended the University of California , Los Angeles , where he played for the UCLA Bruins football team under head coach Karl Dorrell from 2003 to 2005 . Despite being undersized , Jones - Drew led the Bruins in rushing all three years he was on the squad and showed good pass catching ability and big playmaking skills as both a punt and kickoff returner . He was the fifth player in Bruins history to lead the team in rushing in three seasons . In 2005 , Jones - Drew set an all - time NCAA single - season record with a 28 . 5 yards per return average on 15 punt returns , breaking the previous record of 25 . 9 yards per return held by Bill Blackstock of Tennessee in 1951 . His career average of 23 . 2 yards per punt return ranks second in NCAA history . Jones - Drew also established a number of UCLA records , including the career all - purpose yardage record ( 4 , 688 yards ) . As a sophomore against Washington , Jones - Drew set UCLA ' s all - time record for yards rushing in a single game ( 322 yards ) and also scored a school - record five touchdowns . On his first carry of the game he burst to the outside and raced 47 yards to tie the game at 7 – 7 . On his second carry , with UCLA trailing 24 - 7 and 2 : 30 remaining in the first quarter , he raced 62 yards for another TD . On his fourth carry , a third - and - 12 with 40 seconds left in the first quarter , he sped 58 yards for his third TD . In the first quarter alone , he rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns on four attempts . He gave the Bruins the lead for good ( 27 – 24 ) with 4 : 16 remaining in the first half when he scooted around right end for a 15 - yard touchdown . In the third quarter , he broke numerous tackles en route to his school - record fifth touchdown , a 37 - yard run on the Bruins ' first possession of the half . His total of 322 yards rushing was the 3rd most in the history of the Pac - 10 Conference , and his overall performance earned him several National Player of the Week awards . His final year in college , his junior year , he was a first - team All - Pac - 10 selection as a punt returner , and was recognized as a unanimous first - team All - American as an all - purpose back and kick returner . He was also the first Bruin since Jackie Robinson to lead the country in punt returning . Additionally , Jones - Drew was named second - team All - Pac 10 as a running back . Jones - Drew gave a sign of things to come when , as a freshman , he rushed for 176 yards on only 18 carries against Arizona State , including an 83 - yard scamper down the left sideline to the end zone which put UCLA ahead in the game for good in the third quarter . The run was the longest ever by a Bruin true freshman and ranked ninth ( tied ) overall on the school ' s list of long runs . His 176 - yard day ranks No . 2 on UCLA ' s all - time list for true freshmen . Jones - Drew led the Bruins in rushing that season , becoming the first true freshman to lead the Bruins in rushing since DeShaun Foster in 1998 . He was also named first - team All - Pac 10 as a kick returner by " The Sporting News " . In his collegiate career , Jones - Drew had 16 touchdowns of 40 - plus yards . Track and field . Jones - Drew ran track for the De La Salle ( CA ) track team . He was a member of the 4 x 100 metres relay , that posted a personal best time of 42 . 20 seconds . At the age of 16 , he posted a personal best time of 10 . 80 seconds in the 100 meters . In addition to football , Jones - Drew was also a track star at the University of California , Los Angeles . . He also competed in the 60 meters and 200 meters , posting personal bests of 7 . 29 seconds and 22 . 19 seconds , respectively . He also specialized in the 55 meters , with a personal best of 6 . 85 seconds , and in the 60 metres hurdles , with a personal best of 10 . 04 seconds . Professional career . 2006 NFL Draft . Jones - Drew was selected 60th overall in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars to perhaps eventually replace Fred Taylor . He was passed on by all 32 teams in the draft , most citing his height ( which is 5 ft 6¾ in ) as the reason why he would not succeed in the NFL . He stated on Sirius XM NFL Radio that is the reason why he chose the number 32 . Jacksonville Jaguars . 2006 season . In the beginning he was used mostly for kick - off returns , but he eventually became the Jaguars ' primary third - down running back , behind Fred Taylor . After a relatively slow start , Jones - Drew suddenly exploded . Against the Colts on December 10 , 2006 , Jones - Drew set a franchise record with 166 rushing yards and 303 All - Purpose Yards , which included a 93 - yard kickoff return for touchdown . He already has broken Jaguars team records by scoring at least one rushing touchdown in eight consecutive games ( the previous record was four straight games ) and by gaining 2 , 250 all - purpose yards . He finished 3rd in the NFL in both kickoff returns ( 27 . 7 yd avg ) and touchdowns scored ( 16 ) . He was also one of only two players in the NFL to score at least one TD rushing , receiving , and returning kicks ( Reggie Bush was the other ) . He also led all AFC running backs in scrimmage yards per touch . Narrowly missing 1 , 000 yards for the season , Jones - Drew ' s rushing average of 5 . 7 yds per carry was 1st in the NFL for backs with 100 attempts and was the highest for an NFL running back since Barry Sanders averaged 6 . 1 yards per rush in 1997 . In addition , he had the third - most all - purpose yards of any rookie in history . He was nominated five different times for NFL Rookie of the Week in 2006 . One NFL scout said , " Jones - Drew should be rookie of the year . He ' s got the biggest legs for a shorter guy and way more power than anybody gives him credit for . And he ' s got outstanding speed . He ' s just a little dynamo . " Nevertheless , he finished tied for 2nd in the balloting for Offensive Rookie of the Year ( Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans was the winner ) . 2007 season . In his second season in the NFL , Jones - Drew had already proven to be one of the most versatile running backs in the league . At the beginning of the 2007 season , Jones - Drew was considered arguably the best running back from the Class of 2006 . Expectations were high , and although the preseason had its ups and downs , such as a dropped pass from Byron Leftwich in a 21 – 13 win against Green Bay , a high was provided by the 38 - yard catch and run from Leftwich in a win against Tampa Bay . Overall Jones - Drew averaged 4 . 6 yards per carry in the preseason . In his 2007 season debut Jones - Drew ' s production was just average . During a 10 - 7 win to the Titans , Jones - Drew had 32 yards on seven carries in a game that produced just 48 rushing yards between Jones - Drew and Fred Taylor combined . Jones - Drew ' s fumble at the 8 - yard line in the 4th quarter was the last scoring opportunity for the Jaguars in that game . Promises that the running game would get better as the season progressed were realized when Jones - Drew celebrated his first touchdown of the year after the fourth game of the season , in a 17 - 7 win against the Kansas City Chiefs . The following week against the Houston Texans Jones - Drew recorded his first 100 - yard rushing game of the season , rushing for 125 and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries . He also recorded 4 catches for 59 yards . In week 7 he scored the Jaguars only points in a Monday Night loss against the Indianapolis Colts . In week 10 he reached the 100 - yard mark for the second and final time in the season , rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans . He would score a touchdown in each of the following three weeks . Although his role as a running back was diminished during the 2007 postseason , he still managed to impact the game with his capabilities as a receiver and a return man . In the Wildcard game against Pittsburgh he totaled 198 all - purpose yards and 2 touchdowns . His first touchdown was a 43 - yard pass from David Garrard , his second was a 10 - yard run which put the Jaguars up 28 - 10 in the third quarter . He also returned a kick - off 96 yards to set up the Jaguars ' first score of the night , a Fred Taylor 1 - yard run . He was named co - MVP of the game together with QB David Garrard . One week later against New England , he rushed for just 19 yards on 6 attempts as the Jaguars lost 31 – 20 . He did manage to catch 6 passes for an additional 49 yards . 2008 season . Three Jaguars offensive linemen were injured by week one of the 2008 NFL season and Jones - Drew was not as explosive as he was in 2007 . His first 100 - yard rushing game of the season came against the Indianapolis Colts , where the Jaguars won by a score of 23 - 21 on a last second field goal by kicker Josh Scobee . Teammate Fred Taylor also compiled over 100 yards in the game . Another good performance came in week 10 against the struggling Lions , where Jones - Drew posted three touchdowns , all in the first half . On Thursday Night Football in week 16 , Jones - Drew was given the opportunity to carry the load with Fred Taylor on injured reserve . The ball was handed to Jones - Drew 20 times and with that he gained 91 yards for a 4 . 6 yards per carry average . He also caught the ball 7 times for 71 yards . In total , Jones - Drew gained 824 yards on 197 attempts , posting a 4 . 2 yard per carry average . He also gained 12 touchdowns on the ground . Jones - Drew was used more in the passing game than his previous seasons and he managed 525 yards on 62 receptions . 2009 season . Jones - Drew had a record - breaking season for the Jaguars . In a 13 - 30 loss in Tennessee during Week 8 , Jones - Drew rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns on only 8 carries , one for 80 yards and another for 79 yards . This performance tied Hall of Famer Barry Sanders ' record of rushing for two touchdowns in a single game of 75 yards or more , which was set by Sanders in a Week 7 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 12 , 1997 . Jones - Drew became the third player to share the record , as San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore , also tied Sanders ' record in a Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks during the same season . At seasons end Jones - Drew compiled some nice statistics . He rushed for 1 , 391 yards on 312 attempts for a 4 . 5 per carry average and 15 TD ' s . He was also one of the big components in the Jaguars passing attack , as he had 53 receptions for 374 yards and a TD . In a recent article by Thomas George , Jones - Drew had been recognized as the most versatile offensive player in the NFL . Jones - Drew was selected as a backup in the Pro Bowl behind Chris Johnson . During the game he rushed for 30 yards and a touchdown on 5 attempts . 2010 season . Jones - Drew played the entire 2010 season with a torn meniscus in his left knee . He became aware of the extent of the injury in training camp , but tried to keep it a secret to prevent opponents from intentionally taking shots at his knee . After the 2010 season , he was named Running Back of the Year by the NFL Alumni Association . Although the Jaguars did not make the playoffs , Jones - Drew drew attention in the postseason with comments he made questioning the severity of an in - game injury to Jay Cutler in the . Jones - Drew stated that he was also rooting for the Bears , but his injury prompted him to say : " All I ' m saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee . . . I played the whole season on one " , as well as comparing Cutler to former quarterback Urban Meyer . 2011 season . Maurice Jones - Drew led the NFL in rushing yards during the 2011 season and also broke the Jaguars franchise records for both rushing yards in a season and also yards from scrimmage in a season finishing with 1 , 606 rushing yards . Jones - Drew did all of this despite the offensive struggles that were experienced by the Jaguars , at the end of the season he accounted for 47 . 7 % of the Jaguars yards . Jones - Drew was named to the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl as a back - up for Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice as a result of his spectacular season . He was also ranked 12th on the NFL Network ' s top 100 players list in 2012 . 2012 season . Jones - Drew began the 2012 season by not attending organized team activities or training camp in hopes of signing a new contract . Jones - Drew currently has two years remaining on a deal he signed in 2009 , according to which his average salary is lower than that of fellow running backs Adrian Peterson , Chris Johnson , LeSean McCoy , Arian Foster , Steven Jackson , DeAngelo Williams , and Marshawn Lynch . There were rumors that he was open to being traded . After missing his team ' s entire offseason , Jones - Drew ended his holdout and reported to the team ' s facilities on September 2 , 2012 . He was placed on season - ending injured reserve on December 28 , 2012 . 2013 Season . In 2013 , Jones - Drew finished the season with 5 touchdowns and 803 yards on 234 carries . He became a free agent on March 11 , 2014 . Oakland Raiders . On March 28 2014 , Jones - Drew signed a three - year deal with the Oakland Raiders . NFL career statistics . Statistics taken from ESPN . com and NFL . com Outside of football . Jones - Drew appeared in a 2007 ESPN commercial as an inductee into the " ESPN Fantasy Hall of Fame " . Jones - Drew appeared in a commercial for the " Madden NFL 09 " video game . He hosts a two - hour radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio titled " Runnin ' With MJD " which focuses on fantasy football talk and strategy . In 2011 , Jones - Drew appeared as himself along with fellow NFL players Brent Grimes and Sidney Rice in an episode of the FX comedy " The League " . In 2013 , he joined the list of other tattooed althletes who have appeared in PETA ' s " Inked Not Minked " ads , posing shirtless in support of their anti - fur campaign . Personal life . Born to Sidney Gayles and Andrea Drew , Jones - Drew was raised by his grandparents , Maurice and Christina Jones . At the height of his college career , his maternal grandfather died of a heart attack while watching his grandson play at the Rose Bowl against Rice University . Coach Dorrell broke the news to Drew on the sideline during the game , and he ran to the locker room and left to go to the hospital . To honor the man who raised him , he had his entire legal surname affixed to his jersey , making him " Maurice Jones - Drew . " Jones - Drew is a father of three with two sons ( Maurice II and Madden ) and one daughter ( Alayah ) . He is also a cousin of Denver Broncos safety T . J . Ward .