A Utica, NY native, Ernest Jones was a gifted three-sport athlete at Utica Senior Academy (USA).  Lettering in basketball, track, and football, it would be football where he would excel.  Earning All-Onondaga League honors as a defensive tackle, Jones averaged fourteen tackles a year in high school.  He was selected All-Upstate New York and during his two seasons at USA he had four fumble recoveries and three interceptions.  As a result of his stellar play, Jones earned a full athletic scholarship to Oregon University where he would star for the Ducks.

At Oregon, Jones competed as a redshirted freshman in 1989 and from 1990-1993 his play improved so steadily, a future in the National Football League (NFL) was a certainty.  As a sophomore, Jones made a name for himself by sacking future NFL Super Bowl quarterback Drew Bledsoe twice.  It would not be long before he would become a mainstay on the Ducks defensive line.

Jones’ junior campaign at Oregon was a truly solid one.  He led the team with 95 yards in lost yardage on 59 total tackles.  His 11 quarterback sacks was one of the two best individual performances at the school’s history up to that point and ranked 3rd in the Pac-10 behind All-Americans Ron George and Willie McGinest.  He would earn Honorable Mention All-PAC-10, and would chip in with two seven-tackle performances against the University of Hawaii and Washington State University respectively.

At the onset of his senior season, Jones was named Defensive Captain by his teammates.  He would produce one of the Ducks’ finest defensive seasons up that point in the school’s history.  He had 50 tackles and 17 assisted tackles for a total of 67 – 20 of which resulted in 112 lost yards.  He tied for the team lead in forced fumbles with 2 and was second on the team with 738 total plays.  He received All-Pac-10 Honors and graduated as the school’s All-Time Sack leader with 29 total sacks.

For his career, Jones would amass 170 total tackles (114 solo) and 42 tackles-for-loss.  A career in the NFL was easily predictable.

The Los Angeles Rams drafted Jones in the 3rd Round of the 1994 NFL Draft with the 100th pick overall.  In a five-year career that included playing for the New Orleans Saints, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers.

In his career in the NFL, Jones played in 29 games, had 13 tackles, 6 assisted tackles, and 3.5 sacks.  His best season was in 1999 when he played in 13 games for the Carolina Panthers amassing 6 solo tackles, 3 assisted tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Most significant, Jones is the first Utica, NY native to win a Super Bowl ring as he was a member of the 1998 Super Bowl XXXII Champion Denver Broncos.