FanPost

Maurice Jones-Drew Hangs Up His Cleats: A Great Bruin Goes Out on His Terms

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Bumped. -- BN Eds.

Maurice Jones-Drew, who was a shining light for UCLA during the Karl Dorrell era, announced his retirement from pro football. Pro Football Talk has the story.

MJD came to UCLA from national powerhouse De La Salle (Concord), part of the greater San Francisco Bay Area. He was undersized in high school. He was undersized in college. He was undersized in the pros. But whatever his physical size, he had the heart of a lion, and remained one of my favorite players during and after his UCLA days.

MJD played for the Bruins in the 2003, 2004, and 2005 seasons, and led the team in rushing each year. He showed that size didn't mean everything his freshman year, as he broke the century mark against Arizona State in a 20-13 UCLA win. He was the first true freshman to rush for more than 100 yards at UCLA since DeShaun Foster, good company indeed.

As a player for Karl Dorrell, MJD had the misfortune to play in a couple of truly awful bowl games, the Silicon Valley "Classic" in 2003 and the Las Vegas Bowl in 2004. But he also played on the most exciting team of the Dorrell era in 2005, and the team capped that year with a great comeback win against Northwestern in the Sun Bowl (I can still see those botched onside kicks by Northwestern).

MJD played most of his pro career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and made the Pro Bowl three times, holds numerous Jaguars career records, and led the NFL in rushing with 1606 yards in 2011. Not bad for a 5'7" back.

And here is a great commentary on MJD the man, as he returned to campus while on rehab but still on the Jaguars roster, to push towards his degree- freshman dorm and all.

Hats off and congrats to a great Bruin for wonderful memories at UCLA and beyond.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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