Jacoby Jones: The legacy of the Super Bowl hero revives in New Orleans.

Jacoby Jones’ Legacy Revives in New Orleans: A Football Camp to Honor His Memory

NEW ORLEANS – Former NFL wide receiver Torrey Smith didn’t hesitate when he was asked to organize a youth football camp in New Orleans this summer. “Said and done,” repeating the phrase his late friend and former Baltimore Ravens teammate, Jacoby Jones, used to use. Smith set out to honor the wishes of Jones’s mother, Emily London-Jones, who sought to restart the camp after a decade of absence. The Jacoby Jones Foundation was in charge of running the camp from 2009 to 2015, with the aim of giving back to the community where Jones grew up. Jones, a native of New Orleans, who won Super Bowl XLVII with the Baltimore Ravens in the 2012 season, died of a heart attack a year ago, shortly after turning 40. So, on a Saturday in late May, Smith found himself sweating under the New Orleans heat, trying to guide a group of 317 children between the ages of 8 and 14. After an afternoon of football drills in Pontchartrain Park, he gathered the youngsters, embracing London-Jones, who spent the day taking care of the children, supervising breakfast and lunch, and handing out free shoes and t-shirts from the “Jacoby Jones football camp”. Smith reminded the group of the reason for their presence, with a nostalgic smile on London-Jones’ face.

This is Miss Emily, also known as Mama Jones. We literally wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her and for giving birth to a legend like Jacoby Jones. You don’t know what she went through for you to be here.

Torrey Smith

Then they broke the circle: “1-2-3, Jacoby!”. The children scattered in all directions, still full of energy after five hours of training. That energy was familiar to the group of loved ones who gathered to celebrate Jones’ memory. Pontchartrain Park was where Jones played youth football and is only 15 minutes from the Caesars Superdome, where he won a championship and set an NFL record with a 108-yard kickoff return in the Super Bowl. When his friends and family are in the park now, they remember their Jacoby: the laughter, the dancing, the dynamism of the energy, as if he were right there. Friends and family from all over came to honor Jones. His former Ravens teammates, Ray Rice and Bryan Hall, were among those who agreed to coach, with Smith overseeing most of the camp. Greg Fassitt, a friend of Jones from high school and a Super Bowl winner with the New Orleans Saints in 2009, attended for the first time, an experience he described as “bittersweet”.

It also allows me to truly participate in what it means to carry his legacy. There are so many children who, like him and me, grew up here… We didn’t grow up having these opportunities where someone could come and tell you, yes, it’s possible, and follow the example.

Greg Fassitt

Jones’ cousin, Cantrelle Larkins Jr., wore a replica of Jones’ high school football jersey, representing the former Marion Abramson High School. Many wore Ravens gear, and at one point in the camp, everyone handed out handkerchiefs with the number 12 to the children, a nod to Jones’ signature look in his playing days.

It definitely shows the power of a game and the heart, the energy, and the love that he gave. Impacting so many different people.

Torrey Smith

Jones is no longer with us, but his mother and family are determined to ensure that his kindness and generosity are not forgotten. Jones’s selfless acts, such as when he took off his shoes to give them to someone who didn’t have any, are part of that legacy. Organizing the free camp was their way of giving back to their community, and now they want to maintain that tradition. Whatever it takes to keep his name from fading. Because he was good with people. And he loved people. And I want this to continue.

The most remembered image of Jones is usually his spectacular kick return in the Super Bowl. On February 3, 2013, he positioned himself in the end zone to receive the kickoff for the second half of Super Bowl XLVII for the Ravens. Jones chose to advance instead of doing a touchback, and by the time he reached the 30-yard line, he had surpassed the coverage of the San Francisco 49ers. Jones ran the final 70 yards by himself, achieving the longest kickoff return in Super Bowl history, putting the Ravens up 28-6. London-Jones was present with Jones’s young son, Jacoby Jr., and several family members.

I was holding little Jacoby when he was running with the ball. I was doing this with the baby in my arms. ‘Run, baby, run!’ He was always a runner. When he was running, I was running, but I couldn’t run because I was holding my grandson… When he got to the end zone and there were no flags, it was incredible.

Emily London-Jones

It was a moment worthy of a movie: the native of New Orleans returning to win a championship in his beloved hometown. In addition, he had a 56-yard touchdown reception and his 290 total yards set another Super Bowl record. Jones, who was selected for his first Pro Bowl in 2012, helped the Ravens fend off the Niners to win a game that was also infamous for a 34-minute power outage. The Ravens’ general manager, Ozzie Newsome, once attributed the championship to Jones, saying: “We didn’t win Super Bowl XLVII without Jacoby.” Jones was also a key piece in the Ravens reaching the Super Bowl. In the AFC divisional round of the playoffs, he caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco with 41 seconds remaining in regulation, sending the game to double overtime, where the Ravens defeated the Denver Broncos. The following week, they defeated the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship to secure their trip to New Orleans. Rice recalled that Jones, who caught two passes against the Broncos, had dropped a pass early in the game, which led linebacker Ray Lewis to take him aside and assure him that the ball would come back to him.

And look what happened. We needed it at the most crucial moment of all, and you can count on that because… nobody was going to beat us after those moments. I think fate was on our side that year.

Ray Rice

Lewis also gave Jones a motivational talk at the Super Bowl, approaching him before the start of the second half to predict a big return. Former Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta commented: “Ray is a larger-than-life personality. Then, Jacoby comes running out and returns the kickoff. It was incredible. And Ray somehow talked it into existence. Jacoby, with his speed and vision on that play, obviously made it possible. But, what a huge play!” The power went out three plays after Jones’ touchdown, and the Niners scored two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter before the Ravens rallied, defending with an intentional safety to run out the clock. Although Flacco was named MVP, Jones stole the show.

I don’t think anyone in Baltimore forgets how his play made them feel. Watching him play that kickoff return in the Super Bowl or the long receiving touchdown where he dodged two guys near the 5-yard line and slid into the end zone. And that’s just in one Super Bowl.

John Harbaugh

When the game ended, Jones took his family onto the field, holding his son in his arms for the post-game interviews. When he was released from his obligations, he burst into the Ravens’ post-game locker room shouting and jumping with so much enthusiasm that he burst a blood vessel in his eye. Fassitt added: “Ask anyone who knew him, it’s the spirit, the mindset, the energy, always positive. So it was beautiful to see that story complete itself. The Denver game and the most ‘improbable’ person every time. So I think that’s something beautiful, part of his legacy that I will always remember, the same person from high school until long after.”

Jones’ feats in the Super Bowl catapulted him to brief fame. He threw the first pitches and received the honor of riding in a Mardi Gras float along with Ravens safety Ed Reed, also a native of New Orleans. He finished third in “Dancing with the Stars”, where he demonstrated a love for dance that went back to his childhood. People lined the streets early on the morning of Fat Tuesday to celebrate life and the local players, and with each corner the float turned, London-Jones could hear the chants grow louder: “M-V-P. M-V-P. M-V-P”. “That was all you could hear,” said London-Jones, who also rode in the carriage. “I had chills all over my body… They were screaming his name, singing. Of course, he was dancing in the carriage. Oh, I bet you knew he was going to dance. It was a very exciting time.” But his favorite moments of those whirlwind days came in the period before the game, when he cooked for more than 100 members of the Ravens’ roster and staff. The tables were laden with the weight of lemon pepper chicken, potato salad, and bread pudding. There was gumbo and jambalaya and, of course, Jones’s favorite seven-cheese mac and cheese. Everyone came back for more, repeating until all the food disappeared. She loved those days, cheering him on from their seats in the scoring zone, where she whistled to indicate his location. If he scored on that side of the stadium, it was his mother he ran to first. Once, in the final minutes of a 2013 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Jones was about to receive a punt, but he was chatting with his mother seconds before the kick.

He is talking to Mrs. Emily in the end zone. I am yelling: ‘Jacoby, Jacoby, Jacoby’. He looks back and says: ‘Oh, I guess we have to go’. He turns around running and runs as the kicker is kicking the ball; he is running from the end zone, catches it running and takes it to the house for the touchdown [of 77 yards].

John Harbaugh

London-Jones only missed one of his games, in 2013 against the Chicago Bears, when he was in the hospital. She was still prepared to get up and leave, determined to fly to see her son, but the doctors stood firm. “They put me in the ICU so I wouldn’t leave. They didn’t discharge me until Sunday after the break,” he said. London-Jones and her son got tattoos after the Super Bowl victory, the first for her, and one of many for Jones, who already had New Orleans tattoos on his body. He had one on his stomach to replace the photos of his grandparents swept away by Hurricane Katrina, another on his back with the address of the house where he grew up, the outline of the Superdome, then complete with the Ravens logo and the Lombardi Trophy. Jones played two more seasons with Baltimore before being released in 2015, but he retired as a Raven after signing a one-day contract in September 2017.

Jacoby, in the most important game on the biggest stage, had his best game in his hometown. And that’s surreal.

Ozzie Newsome

When Jones retired, he bought a house in New Orleans right next to his mother, preparing them both for the next phase of their lives. He coached wide receivers at Lane College, tight ends at Morgan State, and, most recently, wide receivers at Alabama State. Before his death, he accepted a job as head coach of the Beaumont Renegades, an arena football team that won the National Arena League title in its only season of participation this year. London-Jones said he had a “phenomenal gift” for coaching, teaching through his actions rather than yelling. At his funeral, a former teammate told London-Jones that “Jacoby would make a locker room one.”

He simply brought a kind of happiness and light to everyone around him and everyone fed off of that, and everyone liked him.

Dennis Pitta

The presence of Jones still endures in Pontchartrain Park. When he passed away, a mural was painted in his honor on one of the park’s buildings, allowing Jones to watch over the next generation of children. On the day of their camp, a woman took a photo with the mural, explaining that she had driven her children for two hours to have the opportunity to participate. Another man, Eric Bridges, proudly displayed the Most Valuable Player trophy he once won when he was a camper. That day, Bridges was there with his teenage son, who has his own dreams of playing football someday.

I signed him up as soon as I saw him. I always told them, brother, go to the camps and this is what you learn. You can learn many things. You meet many different players you didn’t know. I met the first NFL players I knew in my life, coming to this camp.

Eric Bridges

Perhaps the next Jacoby Jones was present that day in May. If that is the case, Hall and Jones’ other friends want to be there to witness it.

Losing him last year was a shock to many of us, and we are here to honor his name and it feels good to be here to honor what he did. He started as a kid like this. So we want to make sure there are opportunities for the same kids, because there’s another Jacoby Jones here and we want to make sure he has that opportunity.

Bryan Hall