Film Room Monday: One year later, Indiana's Reakwon Jones has a special day
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Welcome back to Film Room Monday. This morning we're capturing a special moment from Saturday's 35-0 win over Rutgers, when Indiana linebacker Reakwon Jones picked up a loose ball and scored a touchdown on the very first play of the game.
It was the fastest touchdown in Indiana football history and it got the Hoosiers off to the fast start they were looking for. For Jones, a fifth-year senior linebacker, it was his first college touchdown.
It was emotional for him because his big moment came almost a year to the day when his family home in Florida was destroyed by Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm that ripped through the Florida Panhandle and destroyed much of his hometown of Panama City. His mom and his siblings still haven't been able to move back in, because repairs have taken so long.
Jones has bounced back from it all and he's been having a great senior season for the Hoosiers. Scoring that touchdown made the day really special.
Check out the replay on these two tweets to see how it all went down.
More on Reakwon's touchdown right here, plus highlights from the entire game (Warning, it's kind of long but the Reakwon TD is first):
I had a chance to catch up with Reakwon after the game, and he was thrilled with how Saturday played out. The Indiana defense was awesome all day, pitching its second shutout of the year and allowing only 75 yards of total offense by Rutgers all day. He helped them got off to a hot start, and that mattered a lot.
The win helped move the Hoosiers' record to 4-2 on the season.
Here's a great Film Room Monday video to capture Reakwon's big day. Please check it out below. (VIDEO: 2:23)
Back in August, I wrote all about his family's struggles in trying to rebuild from the hurricane during my special four-part series on Indiana's recruiting pipeline into Florida. I spent several days in Florida interviewing people for the series, and it really turned out great. The response to the entire four-part series was incredible.
It was something I was really proud of, and I appreciate Reakwon and his mother sharing it all with me. Please give it a read. CLICK HERE.
