Who Is This FL HS Legend? James Jones/Ely

[OldSchoolLion]

Old school Gator Great who earned All-SEC honors multiple times and played pivotal role in turning around a failing Gator program at the time.  Incredibly versatile south FL high school baller who earned hs All-American honors.  Thought by many to be one of the top FL high school players of the 1970's.  Was a first round draft pick of the Detroit Lions and played most of his 10-year NFL career there.

Who is he and where did he play in high school?

 

 

[FL_HS_football]

probably better known for this catch against the University of Miami (Went to Ely High School)

http://gatorchatter.com/threads/rivals-post-nsd-evaluation.13600/page-2

[OldSchoolLion]

James Jones was nicknamed "The Franchise"...that is how good he was at Ely.  Above is a photo of that famous catch he made against the Canes.  While at Florida, he was part of an amazing stable of running backs in the early 80's including John Williams (Palatka), Neal Anderson(Graceville), and Lorenzo Hampton (Lake Wales).  The Big 3 universities seemed to do a better job back then of keeping talent in the state. 

If you are a Gator fan who was not around back then, do yourself a favor and read up on the Gator teams of that era.  It was a fascinating time in the program's history.