Jones Named a Semifinalist for 2019 Campbell Trophy
WACO, Texas – Baylor senior wide receiver Marques Jones was named a semifinalist for the 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Mazda, it was announced Wednesday morning by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF).
Jones was announced as one of 185 semifinalists from all levels of college football nominated by their institutions for the prestigious award given to the individual who is the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. He is measured on his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
Jones is the first Bear to be named a semifinalist for the honor since Spencer Drango in 2015. Drango was eventually named a finalist for the prestigious honor. Previously, Nick Florence (2013), Joe Pawelek (2009) and Don Trull (1963) also were named Campbell Trophy finalists.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
Jones graduated in May 2019 with a 3.95 GPA and an undergraduate degree in electrical and computer engineering. He is currently working on a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering and is doing research for the U.S. Navy in Baylor’s Neuromorphic and Robotics Lab.
Jones was the 2018-19 Baylor Engineering Student of the Year, an honor given to the top Baylor engineering student that year. He was on the Dean’s List all eight semesters of his undergraduate career and earned the 2018 Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, the Big 12’s highest academic honor. Jones was named to the 2017 and 2018 Big 12 All-Academic First Team and the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll six different semesters.
On the field, Jones has been a major contributor for the Bears the past two-plus seasons, earning a scholarship in August 2018. A starter at wide receiver in 2019, he caught the go-ahead touchdown, a career-long 52-yd reception in the 2018 Texas Bowl. That touchdown bookended the scoring for the Bears in 2018, where he also scored the first touchdown of the year for the Bears on Sept. 1, 2018 vs. ACU. A versatile student-athlete with NFL-caliber speed, he currently plays on four different special teams units and has played on offense, then defense and offense again during his Baylor career. His first career start came at wide receiver in 2017 vs. conference foe Texas.
Jones is active in the Baylor student-athlete community as a member of Baylor’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). He was selected by head coach Matt Rhule as Baylor’s representative for the Big 12’s Champions for Life campaign, highlighting all that one can do with an athletic scholarship at 2019 Big 12 Media Day.
Marques is also very active in the community, participating in a variety of community service, including the Be the Match bone marrow registration drive on campus, Breakfast with the Bears, MLK Day: Keep Waco Beautiful, Pack of Hope and the 254 Football Clinics.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Oct. 30, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2019 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 62nd NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 10, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. Live during the event, one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 30th Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.