Austin Jones reveals what it's like being the 'old head' in USC running back room

This year, Austin Jones is going to be the most experienced running back that USC has. With that role comes a lot of responsibility.

Jones recently spoke about what it’s like to be the ‘old head’ in the Trojans’ running back room.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Austin Jones said. “I guess I’m kind of the ‘old head’ of the room now and everything like that.”

For Jones, now a redshirt senior, being a veteran player has given him the opportunity to grow both as a player and as a leader.

“So, just being there and honing in on my leadership skills and continuing to uplift guys and do everything. So, it’s been a lot of fun. Had an opportunity to grow my game and everything like that. So, it’s been a lot of fun to continue to do that at such a great place.”

Over the past four seasons, Austin Jones has been a key piece of USC’s running backs room. Through this point in his college career, Jones has 413 carries for 1,860 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also has two receiving touchdowns. 2022 was his first season at USC after transferring from Stanford, though. In 2022, Jones earned the most carries of his career, rushing for 705 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry.

Austin Jones isn’t the only back that USC is going to turn to in 2023, though. MarShawn Lloyd is a veteran who transferred to USC from South Carolina. Meanwhile, Raleek Brown hopes to be a key contributor as a sophomore. Then there are players like Darwin Barlow and A’Marion Peterson that will compete for opportunities too.

Austin Jones on what’s next

Earlier this spring, Austin Jones spoke about what was next for him and for the USC offense in 2023. As he explained, it’s most important to build on last season and get USC to the next level.

“We can’t just settle on what was good last year,” Jones said. “We’ve got to keep it going. We averaged what, like 41 points per game? Boost it to 50. We’re going to keep going up from here.”

Austin Jones also spoke about his decision to return to USC, instead of trying to move to the next level like several other Trojans did.

“We thought it was best that I came back and just kind of develop and continue to get my stock higher,” Jones explained.