Jones 'feels like he belongs' at Temple
Randle Jones could have opted for the transfer portal and nobody would’ve blamed him.
Instead, the veteran wide receiver elected to stay around to complete some unfinished business in North Philadelphia, rather than see what was on the other side of the portal.
The NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to all players due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 6-foot, 185-pounds Jones was directly affected by that decision, allowing him to return for his sixth season of eligibility.
Jones was originally recruited by former Temple head coach Matt Rhule and his staff and five years later, he’s playing for Rod Carey. While coaches have come and gone during Jones’ tenure at Temple, that family feeling for the Miami native has never left.
“The school is family-oriented,” Jones said during Temple’s Friday media availability. “I felt like I belong here. Leaving to go somewhere else, you never know what can happen, but I’m here now and I’m just focused on this season. I’m ready to go.”
Jones has always been one of Temple’s more dynamic weapons, but an inability to stay on the field has hampered his chances of consistently being one of the team’s go-to guys
When healthy last season, he was arguably the team’s most effective receiver. He got off to a hot start in 2020, leading the Owls in receiving yards (81) in Temple’s 39-37 home opener victory over USF. He followed that up with a career-high 12 receptions and 118 receiving yards against Memphis en route to being named Temple’s Offensive Player of the Week.
Jones didn’t stop there. He caught now-retired Trad Beatty’s first career touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage against SMU. Jones went 75 yards to the house on a bubble screen, giving the Owls an early lead. He couldn't stay in the game due to an injury, and the offense lapsed in his absence.
The veteran wideout was later diagnosed with a broken rib, which caused him to miss the team’s remaining two games. Jones said the recovery process for the rib injury was only about a month and he’s fully back and fully healthy.
Jones also dispelled any notion that the injury had anything to do with his return. Besides feeling like he belongs, it’s about one thing for Jones.
“I just felt like it was best for me to come back,” he said. “I want to win. I want to win a championship. That’s my goal, to win a championship, so I came back just to do that.”
As a true freshman in 2016, Jones was a part of the last Temple team to win an American Athletic Conference championship. Now he’s aiming to get the program back there before his time on North Broad Street runs out.
Jones looks at himself as one of the main leaders on this team. This will be his third season as a single-digit recipient.
“When I came in, I saw a lot,” he said. “I learned a lot from other guys that left this program and to see where they have gone. I still believe that I can do that here. I didn’t have to go to another school to accomplish my goals. I feel like being a leader on this team is just going to take me to the next level.”
After working with Anthony Russo for most of his career, it’s now up to Jones as a leader in the wide receiver room to help establish rapport with the younger quarterbacks -- D’Wan Mathis, Re-al Micthell, Mariano Valenti and Matt Duncan.
Mathis has taken it upon himself to formulate relationships with Jones and Jadan Blue, working to strengthen those connections with his presumptive top-2 receivers before any of them arrived on campus for the start of the spring semester.
“D’Wan, he came in and we knew we had to treat that chemistry before the spring ball even started,” Jones said. “We were getting together, throwing every day, just getting better. Now that practice has started, it’s way easier for us to connect with one another. It’s just been going well so far. I’m looking forward to the season.”
Front page photo by Don Otto