Another Xplorers quarterback moves up
October 17, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Memphis Xplorers News Release
SOUTHAVEN --- The Memphis Xplorers of af2 announced today that Quarterback Brian Jones has become the third member of the Xplorers' ArenaCup Championship team to move on the AFL. He has signed with the Las Vegas Gladiators for the 2006 season. Kevin Prentiss also recently signed with the Gladiators while Defensive Specialist Dahnel Singfield signed with the New York Dragons.
"I believe that Brian Jones had one of the best seasons for a quarterback in af2," Xplorers Head Coach Danton Barto said. "If you look at Brian Jones only throwing 7 interceptions and accounting for 92 touchdowns, that is an unbelievable year. He also led the league in passing rating with a 123.11 quarterback rating. I believe that Brian was the most valuable player on a championship team."
Barto knows a thing or two about prepping quarterbacks for the next level or higher. Jones joins along list of former Memphis signal callers that have received promotions. He joins the likes of Cleo Lemon, currently a back up with the San Diego Chargers, Rod Robinson, who played in the AFL with the Gladiators, Michael Wall currently in the AFL with the Austin Wranglers and Tim Lester who serves as the quarterbacks coach at Western Michigan University.
Jones, in his second season with Memphis, was a double threat with the pass and the run as he set the franchise's single-season marks for passing touchdowns (69) and rushing touchdowns (23). He also set the career record for rushing touchdowns with 32. To go with his league-leading passer rating, he completed 245 of his 388 attempts for 3,384 yards, 69 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. On the ground, Jones was the team's leading rusher with 229 yards and had a knack of finding the endzone, as his league leading 23 rushing touchdown would attest.
In the 2004 season for the Xplorers, the Toledo, Ohio native and former Toledo University Q.B., was Memphis' starting quarterback until a knee-injury at mid-season ended his season. At the time, Jones was amongst the league leaders in rushing yards and rushing scores.
By signing with the Gladiators and joining Prentiss in Vegas, Jones will have the opportunity to continue the offensive chemistry between the two that produced big numbers during the Xplorers' championship season of 2005. When you combine their regular season statistics, Jones and Prentiss accounted for 136 touchdowns and 6,747 yards of offense.
ArenaFootball2 (af2) is the developmental league of the AFL. The AFL's season starts in February and concludes with the Arena Bowl in June. By comparison, the Af2 begins play in April and wraps up their season with the ArenaCup in August.
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