Maurice Jones-Drew pushed his son to play college football everywhere except his alma mater.
“I didn’t want things to not work out and him be upset at me,” Jones-Drew, the former All-America running back and punt returner at UCLA, told the California Post on Monday, “so I wanted this to be his decision purely.”
After overseeing his own recruitment and listening to all the pitches, high school running back Duece Jones-Drew decided he wanted to follow his father’s lead and become a Bruin.
“I’m scared,” the elder Jones-Drew cracked, “because I think all my records that are left – if there are any left – are about to go falling down.”
By giving UCLA his verbal commitment on Sunday afternoon – one day after he attended the team’s spring game at the Rose Bowl – Duece became the latest high school recruit to join a growing legion. The Bruins now have 16 players committed – including eight consensus four-star prospects – before playing their first game under new coach Bob Chesney.
“What they have going on there,” Maurice said, “I’m excited about it and excited for my son to be a part of it.”
Maurice, 41, said his son grew up a big UCLA fan even while living in Florida while his father became a three-time Pro Bowler for the Jaguars.
Now a junior at De La Salle High in the Bay Area, Duece wanted to commit to UCLA last year before his father advised him to take more time with his recruitment. He also considered Arizona, California, Southern Methodist and Oregon State before giving UCLA coaches a quiet commitment on Friday.
Listed as a three-star prospect by the major scouting services, Duece will bring more than a famous last name to his new school. The 5-foot-8, 180-pounder features a combination of skills that makes his father believe he’s destined to do special things.
“I think we have a very similar running style,” Maurice said. “I’m a little bit heavier than what he was coming out [of high school], but he’s faster, has better vision and I will tell you, he’s not afraid to put his face in the fan. He catches the ball better than I did, he’s played in three state [championship] games where when I was here [at De La Salle] we didn’t have that.”
In another similarity, Duece is joining UCLA under a new coach at a time when the Bruins are looking to reverse recent fortunes.
Maurice played for Karl Dorrell during Dorrell’s first season in 2003 before helping the Bruins win 10 games in 2005 amid a series of stunning comebacks.
“I was able to help turn that around and he wants to be part of the same thing,” Maurice said. “So a full-circle moment. It makes me feel old, for sure. But it’s awesome.”
Among his father’s school records that Duece will have a chance to break are Maurice’s 322 rushing yards against Washington in 2004 and 162 punt return yards against Cal in 2005.
The pull of legacy will also bring Maurice back to UCLA football games for the 2027 season.
Maurice said he told Chesney that he needed to be on the sideline having fun like Miami (Fla.) alumnus Michael Irvin, whose antics have become nearly as big a draw as the games themselves.
“If I’m not there,” Maurice said of being near his son, having fun, “it’s not right.”
