National Football Foundation

A defensive and special teams standout, Nathaniel Jones brings leadership to the Rutgers University secondary and provides academic superiority off the field.

A Second Team Academic All-America and Academic All-District II selection in 2002, Jones was named New Jersey Sports Writers Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A Robert G. Carr Scholar, he is a member of the Golden Key and Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Societies. 

A dangerous returner and fearsome cornerback, Jones was a First Team All-Conference pick in 2002 en route to being named BIG EAST Co-Special Teams Player of the Year. Leading the conference and ranking fifth in the nation with 28.3 yards per kickoff return in 2002, he had two 100-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns and was twice named Special Teams Player of the Week. An established defensive presence, Jones also tallied the third-most tackles (84) on the team in 2002. A 2003 Athlon preseason All-America pick, he again ranks among the conference leaders in kick return average and interceptions through seven games this season. 

Providing leadership in his community, Jones is the BIG EAST representative for the National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a member of the Leadership Council at Rutgers. A participant in annual Christmas toy and Thanksgiving turkey drives, he speaks regularly at Pop Warner Football Leagues and the Rutgers Football Middle School program. 

Jones was selected in the seventh round (205th overall) of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys and played in all 16 games as a rookie, registering 31 tackles and a sack. From 2004-07, he played in 51 games for the Cowboys and recorded 78 total tackles. Jones signed with the Miami Dolphins and tallied the same amount of tackles in two seasons with the Dolphins along with four sacks. 

Jones finished his NFL career with one season each with the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. He accumulated 232 total tackes, 17 pass deflections, six sacks and three interceptions in his career. During the 2005 offseason, Jones worked in financial management with Merrill Lynch, he took classes at Harvard University as part of the NFL’s Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program in the 2006 offseason. 

Jones served as the executive producer of a sitcom called Jock Itch and has worked as a producer, director and writer of such television shows as Comic View, BET Live and Steve Harvey’s Big Time Challenge, as well as the movie The Way We Do It.