I saw his name mentioned again and thought I'd share my story. It was March 2007 and I was in Mobile for work. My flight out of Mobile was at around 7 pm and I was flying to Houston and then on to my home in Kansas City.
Before I get to the Julio Jones part, I will mention that I was sitting at the Mobile airport watching the travelers from the flight before me de-plane, when out came a big black man with about 10 others that could be described similarly. I didn't recognize him off the bat, but when someone near me said "that's Jamarcus Russell" I knew it to be true. That was about a month before the NFL draft that made him rich and famous. He already had his entourage, though, which is key.
Ok, so I'm on my flight - a little plane with two rows on one side and one on the other - and sitting near the back. All by myself. We're just a couple minutes from pushing back when four, again, large black men make it back to my part of the plane. They're loud and obviously happy, giving each other trouble. The flight attendant comes back and asks the obligatory "are you all famous athletes?" One of them pointed to the tallest and youngest one and said "this one here will be the #1 high school football player in the year next year. Julio Jones! Remember that name!"
One of them, I believe Julio's cousin, sat next to me and we had a good conversation about college football and his brother's plans. They were headed to Oklahoma to hang out with Bob Stoops. Before long he tired of me and directed his attention to the very attractive passenger in the row ahead of me. Then he moved up a spot. I can't say that I blamed him.
One of the memorable things about the trip was that Julio looked extremely uncomfortable, and I quickly caught on that flying made him nervous. His cousins - I took it that his companions were either siblings or cousins, but not sure - gave him a ton of trouble over this. He held on tight, I'll say that much.
Anyway, when I got home I quickly relayed the story to my friends and we all researched Julio's greatness, learning that he was indeed a top player. To this day my friends give me trouble that I never plugged Mizzou when I had that chance. If it happened now, I would have, since Mizzou is on the radar more, but back then I didn't see Mizzou competing with OU or Alabama.
Before I get to the Julio Jones part, I will mention that I was sitting at the Mobile airport watching the travelers from the flight before me de-plane, when out came a big black man with about 10 others that could be described similarly. I didn't recognize him off the bat, but when someone near me said "that's Jamarcus Russell" I knew it to be true. That was about a month before the NFL draft that made him rich and famous. He already had his entourage, though, which is key.
Ok, so I'm on my flight - a little plane with two rows on one side and one on the other - and sitting near the back. All by myself. We're just a couple minutes from pushing back when four, again, large black men make it back to my part of the plane. They're loud and obviously happy, giving each other trouble. The flight attendant comes back and asks the obligatory "are you all famous athletes?" One of them pointed to the tallest and youngest one and said "this one here will be the #1 high school football player in the year next year. Julio Jones! Remember that name!"
One of them, I believe Julio's cousin, sat next to me and we had a good conversation about college football and his brother's plans. They were headed to Oklahoma to hang out with Bob Stoops. Before long he tired of me and directed his attention to the very attractive passenger in the row ahead of me. Then he moved up a spot. I can't say that I blamed him.
One of the memorable things about the trip was that Julio looked extremely uncomfortable, and I quickly caught on that flying made him nervous. His cousins - I took it that his companions were either siblings or cousins, but not sure - gave him a ton of trouble over this. He held on tight, I'll say that much.
Anyway, when I got home I quickly relayed the story to my friends and we all researched Julio's greatness, learning that he was indeed a top player. To this day my friends give me trouble that I never plugged Mizzou when I had that chance. If it happened now, I would have, since Mizzou is on the radar more, but back then I didn't see Mizzou competing with OU or Alabama.
