Tavorus Jones calls his return to El Paso after four years at Missouri a “no-brainer” and it’s easy to see where that comes from.
“We saw a running back, we saw the last name Jones, we saw El Paso, we figured that has to go right,” coach Scotty Walden said with a laugh following UTEP’s second spring practice Wednesday.
Tavorus Jones: ‘Good being at home’
Throw in Burges High School (he was Class of 2022) and Jones, no relation to Burges alum Aaron Jones but they know and like each other, checks a lot of obvious boxes for a UTEP football team in need of a revamp at the running back position.
Since his transfer over winter, Jones has checked a bunch more. He 5-foot-9, now up to 215 pounds, and brings a mixture of bulk and speed that made him a four-star recruit out of Burges.
He didn’t see extensive playing time at Missouri, where in four years he rushed for 111 yards on 27 attempts with a touchdown. For his senior year, he wanted somewhere he could contend for a full-time starter spot. That he can do it in his hometown is a bit of a dream.
“I think it’s great,” Jones said. “It feels good being at home, playing with the guys. (Linebacker) Jayden (Wilson, an Austin High alum), I played growing up with him so it’s good to have somebody I knew growing up.
“Talking to my parents after the visit it was great, it was a no-brainer. I grew up here, it’s good to be closer to home, closer to my family. My little brother (LJ Bailey) plays football here for Pebble Hills, it’s good to be able to watch his games.”
Jones has played against a number of his new teammates going back to his days at Burges, including against a player blocking for him, offensive lineman Juan Camacho from Bowie.
“I’m excited I don’t have to chase him anymore,” Camacho said. “He broke a lot of long runs against us in high school.”
Tavorus Jones learning a new offense
While the setting and some of his teammates are familiar, Jones does have the task of learning a new program. UTEP is just his second university, so this is just the third offense he’s been in since his freshman year at Burges in 2018.
“It’s my first time learning a new playbook,” he said. “I feel like the system here, especially my running backs coach (Ray Pickering), has made it easy to learn the playbook and get everything down. It’s always a process learning a new playbook.
“We run a lot of tempo. I like playing fast paced and being mentally prepared — it’s more of a mental thing than physical — means being able to read the play, get set and run that play.”
At the dawn of spring, Jones is already flashing the potential that made him so heavily recruited out of Burges as one of the best running backs ever in a city that has produced talent at that position.
Scott Walden: ‘a shot to be the dude’
What struck Walden about Jones was his attitude.
“T-Man came on that (recruiting) visit and he was hungry,” Walden said. “He wasn’t, ‘I want to make as much money as I did at Missouri … this, that, the third.’ It was about ball. It was about, ‘I want to come back home. I want somewhere I have a shot to be the dude.’ I love his mindset. He’s been tenacious through the offseason.
“Our mindset is to recruit El Paso first, then through the portal, find players from the city, from the state of Texas and bring them home. It was a great fit with Tavorus. It’s exciting to get him back in the 915. He’s done a fantastic job so far.”
While his presence has shot a jolt of life into a remade running backs room, Jones also has the on-field skills.
“He’s 215 pounds and he’s a fast kid,” Walden said. “He has great feet. The thing we loved about him is his contact balance. He has the ability to stop and start.
“To be 215 pounds, to be a load who can be a downhill threat, and he can also take it the distance and make you miss, he’s done a great job. That whole room has.”
That includes Lamar Sperling, a junior transfer from Buffalo, and returners Josh Bell and Elijah McCoy.
Jones (and Sperling, too) is the newest addition to the UTEP roster, but he’s not new to El Paso, as he’s often reminded.
“I have a lot of friends here,” he said. “I made a lot of friends at Missouri, but it’s always better to have your best friends with you for this last little ride I’ve got.”
UTEP hopes the last ride is a special one.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: ‘Good being at home’: Burges alum Jones making most of ‘last ride’
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
