Houston Cougars NFL Star Reaches Special Program Milestone
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Houston Cougars football has some of their former players making an impact at the professional level in the NFL. Houston currently has 16 players scattered across the league, but there is one former Cougar that is flat out one of the best at what he does.
That is former UH football legend and current New England Patriots cornerback/punt returner Marcus Jones.
Jones was named to the AP All-Pro Second Team as a punt returner on Saturday. This was actually his second major recognition, as he was named to the AP All-Pro First Team as a punt returner as well in his rookie season in 2022. Jones was the first Patriots rookie to earn a first-team All-Pro.
All-Pro honors for @DrakeMaye2 & @MarcusJonesocho 👏 pic.twitter.com/v79YBROYAJ
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 10, 2026
He is the only active Houston player in the NFL with an AP recognition, let alone multiple.
Houston’s Special Player
Jones was tied for the league lead with two punt return touchdowns and also averaged over 17 yards per return. The 27-year-old is currently the all-time career leader in punt return average. The last Houston player to earn second-team All-Pro was Eugene Lockhart back in 1989. Jones is clearly one of the greatest Cougars in the NFL.
The third-round pick in 2022 also won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week back in week four, thanks to his punt return touchdown that week, the second of his career. Jones is obviously a key contributor for the playoff Patriots, playing all 17 games at corner.
Jones spent two seasons at Houston from 2020-21 after transferring from Troy. He quickly became arguably the best punt returner in the nation. Jones won the Paul Hornung Award in his senior season as the most versatile player in the country, having earned All-American honors at punt returner and All-Conference as a corner. The Patriots have one of the most electric special teams players in the league, who also scored an offensive touchdown in his rookie season thanks to his elite speed.
Prominent Houston Players in the League
Given some of the names that made it to the league from Houston, it’s a bit surprising to see no other players have earned AP All-Pro honors in a very long time. While Tank Dell is still early in his career, defensive tackle Ed Oliver was one of the highest-picked Cougars ever drafted at ninth overall back in 2019 to the Buffalo Bills. He was the highest Houston draft pick this century.
Oliver is a star at his position in the NFL and had a breakout 2023 with 9.5 sacks, 14 TFLs, 1 INT, 51 tackles, and 16 QB hits. That still wasn’t good enough for any All-Pro mark. Logan Hall was a second-round pick by the Buccaneers in 2022 and is a key starter for them, having played four full seasons. He still has not earned All-Pro honors.
Case Keenum has primarily been a reliable backup quarterback for more than 12 years, and the only other player that could have possibly made an All-Pro team would have been linebacker Elandon Roberts. He has been in the league for 10 seasons and has also won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots in 2017 and 2019.
Roberts put up more than 60 tackles twice in his Patriots career. He really stepped up lately with more than 100 tackles and 4.5 sacks with the Dolphins in 2022 alongside nine run stuffs. That season was not good enough to merit an All-Pro season.
Jones is truly one-of-one wherever he goes.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.