Oakland football to honor Jack Jones, O. Tom Johns with hall of fame nod

Jack Jones misses playing football.

But the former Oakland star, whose career was cut short by injuries at Tennessee, doesn't live in the past. What he does keep with him are memories of his playing days with the Patriots. That's what he misses the most.

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"I always tell people, when they ask me what my best memory of football was, that it was the state quarterfinals my senior year (2014), a fourth-quarter drive to go up 20-7 against Blackman," Jones said. "That's up there with beating Florida or the Hail Mary (a 34-31 Vols win over Georgia in 2016). There was nothing like playing with the guys you grew up with. I cherish those moments as much as running through the 'T'.

"I still want to be out there playing on Friday nights. It's the purest of all football. I miss strapping it up, but I think that's all part of God's plan for me. I take each day as a new day. I try not to think about what if I was playing on Sundays."

Jones will be inducted into the Oakland Football Hall of Fame on Friday during the Battle of the 'Boro against Riverdale. Also being honored is Dr. O. Tom Johns, a longtime area orthopedic surgeon who died recently.

"I feel so grateful and humbled ... It really took me by surprise," said Jones, whose father, John, is in the Riverdale Football Hall of Fame. "With all the great talent I played with and all the guys who went on to do great things, I'm blessed to be accepted into the hall of fame."

Jones is arguably one of the best offensive lineman to come out of Murfreesboro.

He was a two-time Mr. Football Lineman of the Year winner (2013, 2014) before signing at Tennessee, where he started 12 games before recurring neck/shoulder problems ended his career during his junior season.

At Oakland, he led the Patriots to a 24-3 record during his junior and senior seasons, reaching the state quarterfinals in 2013 and semifinals in 2014.

He was named an Under Armour All-American in 2014.

"I wouldn't have been what I was without Oakland High School and the guys I played with," said Jones, who played under Thomas McDaniel at Oakland.

Jones said McDaniel did a great job leading Oakland to its current run of success. He said former line coaches B.J. Oliver and Matt Snow, among others, helped mold him  and his teammates into "not only great players, but great men."

He also had high praise for the current Patriots coaching staff.

"It's a great staff," he said. "Coach (Kevin) Creasy really cares about the kids and he's an offensive genius. (Defensive coordinator Steven Jackson) is a genius too. They're film junkies, and I love that about them."

Johns left lasting legacy

Johns was a fixture in area athletics for more than 40 years, working closely with local high schools and MTSU after forming then Murfreesboro Orthopedic Association in 1978, then founding Middle Tennessee Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in 1993, along with Dr. Michael Jordan.

Johns, who died in his home in late March at age 72, spent the later part of his life working with Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance. He was a familiar face at high school and college sporting events and performed surgeries on thousands of area athletes.

Coach Kevin Creasy got to know Johns well after he spent a year as an assistant coach at Riverdale. 

"The Hall of Fame doesn't necessarily have to be players," said Creasy, who added that Johns was selected for the Oakland Hall of Fame prior to his death though the 2019 class wasn't announced until recently. "He was a great contributor to the program. We understand what a huge contribution he's made to the whole community, not just Oakland High School."

Johns was a 1965 Murfreesboro Central graduate before attending MTSU and Tennessee-Memphis, where he received his medical doctorate in 1972.

He was one of the most noted orthopedic surgeons around and was a team doctor for the United States in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.  But most appreciated the human being and friend as much as the doctor.

"I always thought really highly of him," Jones said. "He was very involved in the community. What a man, and what a legacy he's left. I looked up to him as someone in the community who left it better than he found it."

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.