Velus Jones Jr. Details Challenges at USC, Expectations for Final Season

On January 22nd, the University of Tennessee’s football program officially welcomed former USC wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. to Knoxville. The move came after Jones flirted with the possibility of transferring from Southern California back in 2019, however, he eventually decided to remain with the Trojans in hopes of finding some playing time during his Junior season. Jones’ plan ultimately didn’t work out, and he reunited with his former offensive coordinator Tee Martin on Rocky Top with one season of eligibility remaining a few months back.

Jones, who stands at 6’0’’ and weighs in at 190 pounds, will almost certainly be an instrumental part of Tennessee’s wide receiver core following the departures of senior duo Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway. Jones will be joined at the position by rising Senior Josh Palmer, rising Sophomore Ramel Keyton, incoming Freshman Jalin Hyatt, and a few others who will look to cushion the blow that the Vols are sure to take after losing multiple starters from the position.

The graduate transfer recently announced that he had created a new YouTube Channel, in which he would document his everyday life as a student athlete at the University of Tennessee. In the first episode of the online series, Jones commented on his time at the University of Southern California and his aspirations for his final season of eligibility at the University of Tennessee.

“Some things just don’t work out,” said Jones of his time as a wide receiver at USC. “But just because they don’t work out doesn’t mean that’s the end of the road — when one door closes, another one opens.”

Jones only had 6 receptions for 35 yards during his final season at the University of Southern California — failing to find the endzone once. This was much less than the 24 receptions for 266 yards he had as a Sophomore. In fact, during Jones’ three years at USC, he only had one receiving touchdown, and was buried under the depth chart behind a multitude of other receivers during his entire career as a Trojan.

“I can definitely say that my time at the University of Southern California tested my faith, my love for the game, and I took some great things from it. One of those things that I learned was that you can’t control things that you have no control over, I really just gave it to God,” said Jones about his time as a Trojan. “I know that there’s a plan for me, and I know that me working my tail off will get me where I need to go.” However, Jones made sure to emphasize that his entire time at USC was not a nightmare, saying, “I’m not going to just sit here and say that my whole experience at USC didn’t go well. I stayed (in 2019) and got my Social Science degree, they’re my alma mater, (and) I’m grateful.”

“You have to look at the brightest things in the darkest times,” said Jones. “There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m going to have an amazing football season, and am going to be able to pursue my dreams of playing in the NFL.”

While Jones’ main position is at wide receiver, he is quite the player when it comes to special teams — earning 1,254 yards from 52 kick-off return, and ranked 9th on USC’s career kick-off return list. He made the 2017 CollegeFootballNews.com All-Pac 12 first team as a returner, and would later earn second team All-Pac 12 honors in 2018 from Pro Football Focus.

Jones’ first game as a Volunteer is currently set to begin on September 5th against Charlotte, as Tennessee looks to get back to a major bowl game and make some major improvements in year three of the Jeremy Pruitt Era.

You can watch the full vlog from Jones Below:

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