Inductees

When it comes to Corby Jones, he wasn’t happy just to be a football player. No, he was proud to be a Missouri Tiger. And there may be no better example than in 1997. Two years after vaulting to the starting quarterback as a true freshman, he was leading a fourth-quarter rally against No. 12 Oklahoma State.

“I looked everybody in the eyes in the huddle,” Jones recalled, “and said, ‘If you don’t think we’re going to win this game, get out.’”

The Tigers won 51-50 in double overtime, a victory that propelled Mizzou to a terrific, two-year run: Its first winning season since 1983 and two bowl games, including the Tigers’ first postseason victory since 1981. All as Jones cemented his legacy.

Thus, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Jones with the Class of 2016. .

An All-State quarterback and graduate of Columbia Hickman High School, Jones was a four-year starter and fan favorite for Mizzou from 1995 to 1998. In fact, he held 14 school records at the end of his senior year, and still ranks in the top 10 of at least eight Mizzou records.

He also was a four-time letterman and a three-time All-Big 12 Conference selection, including first team in 1997 when Jones quarterbacked the Tigers to a 7-5 record and on to the Holiday Bowl. The team finished 8-4 the next year, beating West Virginia in the Insight.com Bowl.

Overall, Jones amassed 6,230 career yards of total offense, a mark that ranked seventh in school history entering 2016. Jones rushed for 2,533 career yards on 559 carries, a 4.5 yards per carry average. He also was 257-of-516 passing for 3,697 yards, which ranks 10^th in Mizzou history. Hia 228 points are now sixth-most in the Mizzou record book.

All this from a player who turned down a scholarship offer from legendary Nebraska coach Tom Osborne in order to play for Mizzou, a program which hired his dad, Curtis, as an assistant in 1993.

Jones had long wanted to prove himself, partially because his father had withheld him from football until he reached the seventh grade in Dallas, Texas.

“When I look back, I loved the people I played with,” said Jones, whose father passed away before his senior season. “And I will never trade the years I had with my dad.”

The victory against Oklahoma State was a favorite, as it marked Mizzou’s first win against a ranked opponent since 1992. Among the highlights was a Jones-to-Ricky Ross, 52-yard TD pass over cornerback R.W. McQuarters, a future NFL star.

Those Mizzou teams of the mid to late 1990s featured running backs Brock Olivo and Devin West, and linemen Eddie Brooks, Jeff Marriott, Mike Morris, Todd Niemeyer and Steve Haag. They helped Jones reach the record books.

Jones ranks … first in school history in most passing yards gained per attempt in a single game (15.2 average against Iowa State, 1997); tied for first with Terry McMillan and Maty Mauk for most TDs responsible for (6)in a single game; and ranks second, seventh and ninth, respectively, in QB passer rating in a single game (260.7 against Iowa State, 1997), single season (140.8 in 1997) and career (119.6).

“We believed we could play. Losing wasn’t acceptable,” Jones said.

Overall, it was quite a journey for Jones. He earned All-State in football and baseball at Hickman. Then, only five weeks into his true freshman year at Mizzou, he learned he would be the starting QB. That came as Jones – who wasn’t on the travel squad – caught the TV postgame press conference after a Tigers loss at Kansas State.

“Coach (Larry) Smith said, ‘You all will see wholesale changes in the offense by the time we get to Lincoln in two weeks,’” Jones said. “We had the type of linemen suited for the trenches, and we had some ability to do different things from that standpoint.”

Jones, who graduated in 2000, eventually turned down interest from NFL and joined the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in hopes of becoming a pro QB. He spent part of 2001 with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and later graduated from Mizzou’s Law School in 2004.

“It was an amazing time,” Jones said of his Mizzou days. “It was great to show up and go to work with a bunch of people you enjoyed working with, and you knew they were going to fight for you until they couldn’t fight anymore.”