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MAURICE Jones-Drew shed tears of joy when his son scored a touchdown on debut for the same high school he went to.
Jones-Drew, 39, was a three-time Pro Bowl running back and an NFL rushing leader.
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He remains one of the best players to ever play for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he spent seven of his eight pro years.
And MJD thinks his son can follow in his footsteps – after watching his explosive debut for the same De La Salle high school that he attended.
Duece Jones-Drew missed his entire freshman season with a shoulder injury.
But when he eventually made his high school debut in August as sophomore, Duece broke free for a 64-yard touchdown.
“I definitely cried in the car,” Jones-Drew told The Sun. “It was tears of joy more than anything.”
“I saw him get hurt, have surgery and go through the ups and downs.
“To see him go out there in the first game in high school and score a 60-yarder was pretty amazing.”
Duece ran the 100 meters in 10.8 seconds and is already attracting attention from colleges such as UCLA.
“There’s a lot of guys in the combine that never even did that,” Jones-Drew said.
“If his goal is to make it to the NFL, he can for sure make it.
“He has the skill set to do it and he has the mindset to do it.
“There’s something different about him and how he prepares and how he goes about it.
“My job, having gone through that process, is to put him in the best situation to be successful and to guide him.
“I always allow him to make his own decisions and try and give him my advice on what I went through, but I never tell him what to do.”
Duece will get a chance to shine on an international stage this week.
I definitely cried in the car. It was tears of joy more than anything. I saw him get hurt, have surgery and go through the ups and downs. To see him go out there in the first game in high school and score a 60-yarder was pretty amazing.
Maurice Jones-Drew on his son
De La Salle has been invited to London to take on the NFL Academy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The NFL Academy is a program based in England for 16-19 year olds to try and prepare them to play D1 college football.
MJD is also in London ahead of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ two games in the UK this month.
And he urged his son to “eliminate distractions” if he wants to play football on a global stage in the future.
“I remember being 16 years old, a sophomore in high school, hanging out and doing all the stuff you’re not supposed to do.
“I try to give him instances I went through or things that I did that didn’t work out for me so he doesn’t have to hit those same rocks.
“I have no worries about him physically making it, he’s light years ahead of where I was at his age.
“But don’t be distracted by partying and different things.
“Show up on time every day at college and continue to perform.”
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