http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/players/09/26/first.person1002/
First Person
Julius Jones, Cowboys Running Back
Julius Jones, Cowboys running back.
Darren Carroll/SI
As told to Peter King
On his TV viewing
I'm a sucker for reality TV. I'll sit on the couch with the clicker in my hand and watch reality shows. I started with The Real World, and now I watch just about anything with people playing real roles. I like that football show about Hoover High [Two-A-Days], and I love Laguna Beach. I am so embarrassed I told you that.
On surviving a Bill Parcells NFL training camp
One day feels like three. A week feels like a month. You're sore. It never goes away. You're always sore.
On the day-to-day razzing he takes from Parcells
It's not just me. It's all the backs. Like, if he doesn't think we're hitting it up in the hole hard enough on a running drill, he says stuff like, "Take off the high heels.... You got three-inch heels today or five? ... What color lipstick you wearing?" He keeps it interesting.
On being in Parcells's doghouse as a rookie in 2004
We're playing a [preseason] game, and I feel a pop in my ribs. I've got a burning sensation. I can't breathe. Literally. So I come out. He says, "What are you doing?" I say, "Can't breathe, Coach." He says, "Get back in there." I go back, make a block, and it's killing me. But I knew what he was doing. He was testing me. Like the time he said to me, "I'm going to send you home. I don't care how high we picked you." He didn't send me home, but I got the message: Work harder.
On his year's suspension from Notre Dame for academic reasons
That slapped me in the face. When that happens, you can say one of two things: "Screw Notre Dame. I hate this place" or, "It's my fault. I'm gonna fix it." That's what I did. I went to Arizona to live with my brother [Thomas Jones, then a Cardinals running back, now with the Bears], and I took two courses each semester [at Arizona State]. That year made me a man. I had to grow up.
On Emmitt Smith, whom he was drafted to replace
I met him at a Mavericks game, and we exchanged phone numbers. He told me to call to pick his brain on everything, which I will do -- but not until he finishes with Dancing with the Stars. He's damn good on that, isn't he?
On growing up with five sisters, including his twin sister, Knetris
I know how to treat women. I know how to share a bathroom.
On his hardest collision
Rookie year, fourth-and-two, I slammed into [then Cleveland DE] Ebenezer Ekuban. I broke my shoulder. My arm went limp. It was numb. I remember the hit, and the pain, like it was yesterday. I stayed out there maybe four more plays, running around with one arm and intense pain. I didn't want to come out of the game and face Bill Parcells.
JONES HAS 37 CARRIES FOR 166 YARDS. DALLAS (1-1) VISITS TENNESSEE (0-3) ON SUNDAY.
First Person
Julius Jones, Cowboys Running Back
Julius Jones, Cowboys running back.
Darren Carroll/SI
As told to Peter King
On his TV viewing
I'm a sucker for reality TV. I'll sit on the couch with the clicker in my hand and watch reality shows. I started with The Real World, and now I watch just about anything with people playing real roles. I like that football show about Hoover High [Two-A-Days], and I love Laguna Beach. I am so embarrassed I told you that.
On surviving a Bill Parcells NFL training camp
One day feels like three. A week feels like a month. You're sore. It never goes away. You're always sore.
On the day-to-day razzing he takes from Parcells
It's not just me. It's all the backs. Like, if he doesn't think we're hitting it up in the hole hard enough on a running drill, he says stuff like, "Take off the high heels.... You got three-inch heels today or five? ... What color lipstick you wearing?" He keeps it interesting.
On being in Parcells's doghouse as a rookie in 2004
We're playing a [preseason] game, and I feel a pop in my ribs. I've got a burning sensation. I can't breathe. Literally. So I come out. He says, "What are you doing?" I say, "Can't breathe, Coach." He says, "Get back in there." I go back, make a block, and it's killing me. But I knew what he was doing. He was testing me. Like the time he said to me, "I'm going to send you home. I don't care how high we picked you." He didn't send me home, but I got the message: Work harder.
On his year's suspension from Notre Dame for academic reasons
That slapped me in the face. When that happens, you can say one of two things: "Screw Notre Dame. I hate this place" or, "It's my fault. I'm gonna fix it." That's what I did. I went to Arizona to live with my brother [Thomas Jones, then a Cardinals running back, now with the Bears], and I took two courses each semester [at Arizona State]. That year made me a man. I had to grow up.
On Emmitt Smith, whom he was drafted to replace
I met him at a Mavericks game, and we exchanged phone numbers. He told me to call to pick his brain on everything, which I will do -- but not until he finishes with Dancing with the Stars. He's damn good on that, isn't he?
On growing up with five sisters, including his twin sister, Knetris
I know how to treat women. I know how to share a bathroom.
On his hardest collision
Rookie year, fourth-and-two, I slammed into [then Cleveland DE] Ebenezer Ekuban. I broke my shoulder. My arm went limp. It was numb. I remember the hit, and the pain, like it was yesterday. I stayed out there maybe four more plays, running around with one arm and intense pain. I didn't want to come out of the game and face Bill Parcells.
JONES HAS 37 CARRIES FOR 166 YARDS. DALLAS (1-1) VISITS TENNESSEE (0-3) ON SUNDAY.