BOZEMAN — When Adam Jones was sprinting by FBS defenders to spark one of the best freshman seasons in recent memory, the natural inclination was to wonder if he would just be playing on an FBS offense heading into his sophomore season.
Instead, he’s back at Montana State and is one of the returning headliners for the 2024 national runners-up as MSU chases a third Big Sky title in the last four seasons.
When Jones put his foot in the ground, then proceeded to show off world-class sprinting speed on his way to one of the longest touchdowns in the history of Montana State in the first game of 2024 against New Mexico, the freshman phenom announced himself to the rest of the college football world.
Jones went from a fast-rising freshman who might crack the depth chart in the spring of 2024 to getting burn against an FBS opponent in a first game of the season for Montana State. That sparked a massive contribution by Jones to a squad that just missed winning its first national title since 1984.
Partially because of improvement and partially because of opportunity, Jones continued to get a significant dose of carries out of the MSU backfield throughout last season. By the time his rookie campaign was finished, he had rushed for 1,172 yards and scored 15 total touchdowns on the way to finishing as the runner-up for the Jerry Rice Award, given annually to the top freshman in the FCS.
Jones’ 93-yard touchdown run in Montana State’s come-from-behind 35-31 win at New Mexico proved pivotal, helping spark a 15-game winning streak for the Bobcats during a season where records fell in abundance.
After the dust had settled following a 35-32 loss in the national title game to North Dakota State, many of the best Bobcats graduated while many of the other top returners entered the transfer portal. Not Jones.
The rapid rise for a kid who grew up a Griz fan was not a surprise to those closest to him. Missoula Sentinel head coach Dane Oliver has raved about Jones’ mental acuity and natural self-confidence for years. Those two intangibles certainly compliment an athleticism that has had Oliver calling Jones “Montana’s Christian McCaffrey” for almost half a decade.
And it’s why Montana State is thrilled that Jones snubbed the suitors, instead returning to Bozeman for a now much-hyped sophomore season.
“Adam has a tremendous work ethic to go with a lot of ability,” Montana State’s fifth-year head coach Brent Vigen said at the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane in July. “When your best players are your hardest workers, that’s the blend you need. Adam certainly fits that mold.”
So how did this happen? Did he come out of nowhere? Is he a late bloomer? And why is he staying at Montana State?
Jones was a talented athlete at Missoula Sentinel who had noticeable potential but several question marks. He battled injuries at times. There was also the lingering question of just how fast he really was.
Jones didn’t play any other sanctioned high school sports other than football. Instead, he played hockey in the winter and baseball in the spring and summer. He was a good enough pitcher for the Missoula Mavericks to receive collegiate interest on the diamond.
Jones also got good enough grades to field football offers from Ivy League schools. And he certainly had the interest of his hometown Montana Grizzlies as well a keen interest from the Bobcats.
Jones was a standout on Montana State’s scout team in 2023 before really starting to emerge last spring. But none of that could have previewed the breathtaking speed and explosion he showed on his 93-yard jaunt in Albuquerque.
The tailback sprinting down the sidelines at more than 22 miles per hour looked like an FBS speedster more than an upstart freshman in the FCS. All of a sudden, people knew just how fast Adam Jones was.
“He gets out there during the New Mexico game and proved he belonged, then he built off of that for the rest of the season,” Vigen said. “That debut proved to be big for his confidence, but also was a preview of things to come.”
The other question entering last fall centered on if Jones could physically endure the rigors of a college football season. That question was answered in resounding fashion throughout the year and particularly when he carried the ball 26 times for 197 yards and two touchdowns in Montana State’s 34-11 win over Montana to clinch a second Big Sky Conference title in the last three years.
Now Jones enters his sophomore season with sky-high expectations. Upstart no more, the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder was voted the preseason Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year.
“Last year was very rewarding and up until the very end, a Cinderella season. That was in large part due to those seniors and what this team meant to them and how they got us younger guys to buy into the bigger picture at Montana State,” Jones said. “I think the high point of the season was learning from those dudes, learning how they went about their business, how they motivated us.
“And the biggest challenges, just where college football is at, this team at Montana State, it’s very challenging to get to the end of the season with coaches being contacted and players being contacted, it can be hard to keep the main thing the main thing. That was a big challenge for this team.
“We had so much attention and with that attention, it means outside teams are coming in. I think this year and years to come, we will learn from that and know how to handle those situations better and get guys to buy into this team, this year, and not let the outside noise affect us.”
Other than the abrupt departures that started coming to fruition during the playoffs and hit swiftly after the championship game loss, Jones said the rigors of 184 carries and 205 total offensive touches was the most shocking part of his first full season of college football.
“I don’t think anything can prepare your body for a 16-game season, I can’t lie,” Jones said. “We were, myself, other guys, week in and week out, we are doing whatever we can to be good by Saturday. Oftentimes, I was praying, hoping it would be a good week. I was very lucky because our offensive line didn’t let me get hit very much and even when I did, they weren’t clean hits.
“I learned how important it is for 11 dudes to really buy into doing their jobs, because if you are out there trying to do it on your own for 16 games, there is no way you are going to make it to the end. I learned how important every single dude is, the depth, and that you are going to use every dude you have on that sideline.”
Jones was not immune to the outside attention some of his now former teammates were receiving. He certainly has opportunities at the highest level of college football. And by the end of the season, that attention raised another question: would Adam Jones stay at Montana State?
Many of the Big Sky’s best young running backs have transferred in recent years. Anthony Woods had a breakout year as a redshirt freshman at Idaho in 2023 before transferring to Utah. Isaiah Ifanse was in line to become the leading rusher in Montana State history before he transferred to Cal ahead of the 2023 season.
Cameron Skattebo became the poster boy for “Big Sky to the big time” after he led Sac State to the 2023 league title, winning league MVP honors in the process. He transferred to Arizona State, where he was an All-America and a modern day folk hero after leading the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoffs.
Scottre Humphrey, an All-American who led the backfield barrage for the Bobcats last season with 1,386 yards, transferred to New Mexico this off-season. So did Damon Bankston, who rushed for 2,324 yards and 22 touchdowns in three years at Weber State, and Deshaun Buchanan, who averaged 7.2 yards per carry and piled up 567 yards to go with six touchdowns as a freshman at Idaho last year.
For every Elijah Tau-Toliver (Sac State to Michigan State) there’s been a Kevin Daniels (Northern Arizona to Eastern Illinois), a warning sign to Jones.
Lan Larison stayed at UC Davis, bided his time behind Ulonzo Gilliam, won Big Sky Player of the Year and had an inside track to a roster spot with the Patriots before a season-ending foot injury this NFL preseason.
Jones certainly received attention from Power 4 schools and likely significant Name, Image & Likeness opportunities. But he never considered entering the transfer portal officially. Because of that, he isn’t comfortable sharing any sort of offers that were made.
Instead, Jones leaned into loyalty, which is a primary reason he was one of six Bobcats named team captain on August 20.
“Being a Montana guy, I want to be at Bozeman and stay at Montana State. … Being able to take advantage of opportunities to get in front of the community, meet new people, meet kids, has been so awesome and rewarding,” Jones said. “Taco Dowler and I did a kid’s camp this summer and that was seriously the highlight of my year. It was so fun to put smiles on kids’ faces.
“For where college football is at, there’s nothing cooler than to go out and make those opportunities for ourselves by being in the community.
“The other side of it, with the Big Sky Conference and the talent there, teams are going to try to come from the outside and it can be really hard to keep the loyalty on a team intact. That’s the biggest challenge and something I don’t love about it. I think we are doing a good job at Montana State on what it means to play for this team, play for the state of Montana and a large part of that is the community of Bozeman and how much they support us.”
That support, along with the bond he’s formed with his teammates, are what kept Adam Jones home. Now, he’s primed for a memorable sophomore season for a team that’s expected to once again contend for a league and national championship.
“I think he recognizes that he had this great freshman year but that he has just scratched the surface,” Vigen said. “We love his competitiveness and his want-to to become the very best.”
