Family reunion: Southeast senior Jones figures to have sizeable following Saturday

Edgar Jones figures to have his own cheering section Saturday when Southeast Missouri State hosts Samford.

Jones, a native of Rayville, La., expects nearly 50 relatives and friends from his hometown to be on hand for the 6 p.m. Family Weekend game at Houck Stadium.

Just the thought of that support produced a big smile from Jones, the Redhawks' senior defensive end who ranks second nationally among NCAA Division I-AA players in sacks with six and tackles for loss with 7.5.

"Supposedly, 46 are coming," Jones said following Wednesday afternoon's practice at Houck. "Relatives, friends, people I went to church with. I'm excited. A lot of them, I haven't seen since the Fourth of July."

It will be something of a whirlwind trip for the Jones supporters, who will make the roughly nine-hour trek on a charter bus. They are scheduled to arrive in Cape Girardeau about 2 p.m. Saturday and depart approximately 7 a.m. Sunday.

"They won't be here that long, but it's going to be real good just having them here and knowing they're here to support me and the entire team," Jones said. "I know they're looking forward to it."

Jones, a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder, was a standout all-around athlete in Rayville, a town of about 5,000 people. He earned two all-state honors in football and three in basketball before opting to continue his football career at Southeast.

Jones saw limited action as a true freshman in 2003, then had his playing time as a sophomore hampered by an arm injury.

Last year, finally healthy, he had a solid season, ranking second on the team in sacks with four and tackles for loss with six.

So far this year, Jones has already exceeded those figures to lead the OVC and rank second nationally in both categories.

"Edgar has a lot of ability and he's doing a good job for us," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said.

The soft-spoken Jones, while relatively pleased with his start, thinks he can do a lot better.

"I think I've been playing all right, but I have a lot of room for improvement," he said.

Jones, a criminal justice major who is a Southeast Scholar Athlete and hopes to eventually be a U.S. Marshal, figures the same can be said for the Redhawks -- and he believes it will happen.

Southeast began the season with two straight wins for the first time since 2002 -- albeit against lesser competition -- defeating Austin Peay and Missouri-Rolla by a combined score of 82-36.

Then reality somewhat set in for the Redhawks as they were hammered at Jacksonville State 38-7 in their Ohio Valley Conference opener on Sept. 16.

After an open date, Jones believes the Redhawks are ready to get back in the win column Saturday against OVC opponent Samford.

"We had a good week of practice last week and we've been practicing hard so far this week," Jones said. "We all know we can play a lot better than what we did against Jacksonville State."