Taiwan Jones
Taiwan Jones, 2007 Deer Valley High School graduate was an exceptional athlete with blazing speed in football and track and field. He was selected 1st Team and Player of the Year by the Bay Valley Athletic League, Contra Costa Times Player of the Year and Top 50 Athletes. The two-way starter set a Wolverine single season record of 19 touchdowns and rushed for 1,466 yards, averaging 9.3 yards per carry. He had 37 tackles and led the Wolverines to a 10-0 regular season record and DVHS first BVAL title since it first fielded a varsity football team in 1997.
He received a scholarship to Eastern Washington University, scoring on a 87-yard touchdown run on his first collegiate carry as a junior in 2009 and set a school record in 2009 with a 96-yard TD run against Idaho State. He had a banner year in 2010, rushing for 1,742 yards and 14 TDs in 12 games. The season ended on a high note as Taiwan was selected to several all-star teams: NCAA Football Championship Subdivision All-America (first team), Associated Press (first team) College Sporting News (first team) and was the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He holds the EWU school record for all-purpose yards per game (162) and has a college career high of 5,021 all-purpose yards.
In the 2011, NFL combine the 6-0 195-pound running back ran an incredible 4.33 in the 40-yard dash, drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 4th round with the 125th pick of the 2011 NFL draft. He had a 12 year career in the NFL, playing 6 seasons (2011-2016) for the Raiders and 6 seasons (2017-2022) for the Buffalo Bills. He was selected Team Captain of Special Teams 2020-22.
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