*EDITOR'S NOTE:Wide receiver Jacoby Jones will be providing periodic diary entries for HoustonTexans.com to give fans insight into the life of an NFL rookie. *
Things have been going so well so far. I keep thinking I'm dreaming, and I just don't want to wake up. I hope this lasts, hopefully until I get taken off the face of this earth, if you know what I mean. I'm just having a great time right now. I can't even explain it. It's overwhelming.
Coming out of high school, like a lot of people know, I was 5-7, 160. And I was overlooked. I was at school running track, and I actually walked on at Lane College because I had a cousin playing basketball there. So I walked on and they gave me the shot and I never looked back. I just kept rolling.
I'm grateful every day for getting my chance at Lane College. Johnnie Cole, the coach at Lane, is like a father figure to me. I talk to him every day. And I call back to school, talk to some of the players and try to keep them going, keep them motivated. Because they've got some more athletes down there, guys that I think could make it to the league, too. Ed Williams, Virgil Union – there's a bunch of them. We have a quarterback, he's just a junior this year, named Sherard Ellis, who is a Houston native. So there's a bunch of guys that are down there that can play.
We didn't have crowds like we did at the Dallas game, though. That crowd was loud. But the thing was, I still kind of heard my momma's whistle this time. I got her lower seats. I was warming up for punt returns, and I heard her whistle. I knew I heard her, and I turned around and there she was.
After the game, she just told me she loved me. I told her I loved her back. My mother, she's like my mother, my father, my sister, my brother, my best friend. I was an only child and she raised me by herself. She's still living in New Orleans, but she'll be here for all the home games, most definitely. It's five hours to drive to Houston, so it's not that bad. My momma flew here for the Dallas game, but she drove for the first one.
I told her she better be driving that Range Rover I just bought her. That's her dream car. I kind of surprised her with it. They did an interview with me in New Orleans on the news, and I said I was going to get her a Range Rover. She saw it on there and she just went into tears.
People ask me about what the response has been from my family and friends, but it wasn't a really big reaction. I mean, they knew I could play the game. They're just happy for me that I'm doing well. But my cell phone's still blowing up, man. My voicemail stays full.
It's funny now because some people have been telling me lately, especially after the last game, that they're picking me up on their fantasy teams. Maybe I might get a fantasy football commercial like Andre Johnson or something. Then when I went to the Dub Car Show, I must have been been asked to take about 50 pictures. A lot of people are recognizing me now. I signed a bunch of autographs, too. But I'm a people person, so I enjoy that a lot.
Playing in front of all these people at home games gives me a rush. Like I said, I'm a people person. I love the fans – they keep me going. When I heard that crowd get loud on the punt return, I think that made my legs move a little faster.
Hopefully, it'll be the same way when we open up against Kansas City. If it is, I'm going to have to give them something to cheer for again.
Jacoby Jones diary archive:
Got a question for Jacoby? Post a comment, or send an e-mail to editor Nick Scurfield at **nscurfield@houstontexans.com*.*
