Rating the running backs

Seated in a plush sofa that seemed to envelop his well-defined physique as no opposition tackler ever could during the 1999 ACC season, the twin diamond studs in his ear lobes like incongruous beacons for a player who has always been more about substance than style, Virginia running back Thomas Jones paused to consider the paradox laid out by a reporter interrogating him at the NFL's predraft combine workouts two months ago.

The consensus top tailback prospect in this year's draft, Jones smiled broadly when it was noted that running back is the position where rookies perennially have the best opportunity to make an immediate impact in the league. And he scowled when the same writer suggested it is a position that has produced more than its share of first-round flops over the past two decades.

"No way," said Jones, his dark eyes flaring, "will I be a bust. (I've) worked way too hard to reach this point and I'm not going to fail now. That's not even a possibility. I won't allow it to happen."

The scouts and general managers surveyed by SportsLine.com for this draft preview series agree Jones, who rushed for 3,101 yards and 29 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Virginia, is too talented and, almost as significant, too diligent to end up on the scrap heap with other running backs of the past that failed to live up to their first-round status.

Most often compared to Dallas Cowboys star and future Hall of Fame honoree Emmitt Smith in terms of his running style, Jones scores as high on intangibles as he does on-field performance. It is a lunch pail-type work ethic by which he has come honestly and proudly.

"To even be mentioned in the same breath as a player like Emmitt Smith, it awes me," Jones acknowledged. "I'd like to think I run like him, finish off every carry and get every inch that you can. But, man, I'm going to have to work 24 hours a day to be in Emmitt Smith's class."

That is the mindset that has transformed Jones, the man with a common surname but uncommon ability, from blue collar to blue chip.

"The best attribute with Thomas Jones is that he never takes his physical gifts for granted," said New York Giants tailback Tiki Barber, the man who preceded Jones as the Cavaliers' starter. "I never saw the guy coast when I was there. That's what will make him a great NFL player. Not only will he be better than most backs, but he'll work harder than most of them, too."

Even the name of Jones' hometown -- Big Stone Gap, Va. -- conjures up images of a tough back who early on learned the dividends that could be gleaned from dedication. A small town in the southwestern part of the state, Big Stone Gap is a city that takes pride in the merits of getting a little down and dirty, of hard-earned money for an honest day's work.

Jones' father, Thomas Sr., was an admissions counselor at the University of Tennessee before he settled into Big Stone Gap and found a job at a nearby state prison. And Betty Jones, his mother, labored 17 years in the local coal mines, riding the elevator deep into the earth every morning at 8 o'clock, then emerging grimy and gritty at 4 p.m., ready to go tend to her seven children.

Said Jones, who almost certainly will be a top 10 pick on April 15: "You watch your mother go off every morning, knowing that she's sweating in some hole in the ground for you and for your (siblings), yeah, it's going to have an effect on you. The first thing you think is that you wished she didn't have to do that. The second is, 'I never want to have to do that myself.' It puts a kind of fear into you."

The soft-spoken but forceful Jones was frightened enough to make sure he laid the groundwork for success in football, and away from it as well. Following a 1997 sophomore season in which he rushed for 692 yards, but found that fourth-best effort in the ACC still disappointing to coaches and fans, Jones redoubled his efforts.

Jones hit the weight room and hit the books. The results of the first, a squarish body that includes a thick neck and meaty forearms and legs and exudes explosiveness, are obvious. The fruits of the second, a degree in sociology earned in only three years and a leg up already on a master's degree in education, are a topic he enjoys discussing. Despite his contention he will not disappoint the team that selects him on April 15 and then rewards him with a signing bonus between $8 million-$10 million, Jones is prepared for a life's work outside of football.

Thomas Jones isn't a flashy running back, but he could make NFL defenses pay with his punishing style.(Allsport)

Whatever post-athletics career he has planned -- and he has considered alternatives as diverse as teaching and politics -- likely will have to be put on hold for 10 seasons. Jones could be chosen as early as the fourth overall pick, if the Cincinnati Bengals decide to trade incumbent running back Corey Dillon.

"He's built like a 225-pound guy and runs big," said Bengals coach Bruce Coslet. "You've got to be impressed with the guy."

He almost certainly will fall no further than seventh overall, the Arizona pick, since the Cardinals publicly covet him.

His seven runs of 40-plus yards last season aside, Jones is not a flashy back. That's what makes the diamond-stud earrings, a graduation gift from his girlfriend, so out of place. He describes his style as "5 or 6 yards, take what I can get, maybe punish a defense a little, and occasionally break a long run."

One Baltimore official, explaining why the Ravens are one of the few teams not sold on Jones, called him "a hit-and-miss runner who doesn't break many tackles and isn't a guy who really moves the pile." But most scouts feel Jones will have a long career and that he possesses the instincts, toughness and quickness (a consistent high-4.4s to low-4.5s time in the 40) to be a starter as a rookie.

"He has that instinctive run savvy," Arizona national scout Jerry Hardaway said. "He catches the ball out of the backfield and can run after the catch. Some people wish he were a little taller, but his height doesn't bother me. He's compact in stature (5-feet-10, 216 pounds), built for longevity at the position. We feel he's a 'can't miss' guy."

The Virginia star is likely to be joined in the first round by three other tailback prospects: Shaun Alexander (Alabama), Jamal Lewis (Tennessee) and Ron Dayne (Wisconsin). The running back crop drops off dramatically after that, but there still figure to be a number of tailbacks selected in the second round. Some scouts have predicted that not a single fullback will be drafted.

While the men making the calls in draft war rooms around the league are all cognizant of the kind of impact that rookie tailback Edgerrin James had for the Indianapolis Colts in 1999, they're also aware the position is fraught with peril and uncertainty. Going into the '99 season, remember, the premier backs in the league were Denver's Terrell Davis and Jamal Anderson of Atlanta, players who were chosen in the sixth and seventh rounds.

Beyond James, the only other rookie to rush for 1,000 yards in 1999 was Olandis Gary of Denver, and he was a fourth-round choice.

Such is the dilemma scouts face every spring in evaluating running backs for the draft: It's always possible, they know, to identify a solid back who can be chosen in the middle rounds. But the top backs, the ones who merit first-round consideration, are sometimes too tempting to bypass.

Still, consider this partial list of first-round running backs from the '90s who failed to live up to expectations: Blair Thomas (N.Y. Jets, 1990), Steve Broussard (Atlanta, '90), Darrell Thompson (Green Bay, '90), Harvey Williams (Kansas City, '91), Tony Smith (Atlanta, '92), Vaughn Dunbar (New Orleans, '92), Greg Hill (Kansas City, '94), Ki-Jana Carter (Cincinnati, '95), Rashaan Salaam (Chicago, '95), Lawrence Phillips (St. Louis, '96) and John Avery (Miami, '98).

That litany far outnumbers the Pro Bowl backs chosen in the first round during the '90s.

"There definitely have been a lot of misses on running backs," said Baltimore scouting director Phil Savage. "You would think it would be one of the easiest positions to scout, but the track record certainly indicates otherwise."

Coming Thursday: The wide receiver prospects.