Norfolk football star to pursue filmmaking in college

NORFOLK

Darrius Jones turned down a football scholarship offer from the University of Richmond, so the Norview senior was not among the dozens of area high school football players who last week signed national letters of intent. But Jones, a standout wide receiver and defensive back, didn't opt for another football program.

He's headed to New York City and the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York University to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker.

Jones verbally committed to Richmond in July but changed his mind in November.

"As I told the Richmond coaches, I can't sign this paper and tell them that I'm going to do something for them and my heart is not totally into it," Jones said. "I wouldn't be doing them justice. I could possibly be wasting their time when they could have somebody else who wanted to play."

Jones' decision took many by surprise - including his mother, Patrice. She was so upset she took a week off from work to try to understand her son's decision. A single parent after her husband, Eric, died when Darrius was 8, Patrice also has two other sons, Sheridan, 11, and Kennedy, 9.

The scholarship to Richmond would have paid for Jones' education. Now, the family faces more than $40,000 for tuition and housing each school year.

"It was a tough time," Patrice said. "I really had to get myself together because I was making myself sick just thinking about how life would be with student loans."

But, she said, she realized it was important to support her son and not "kill his dreams."

Jones knows he could have easily agreed to attend Richmond, which has a film studies program. But he also knew that NYU is one of the best film schools in the country.

Zohn Burden, the Richmond assistant coach who recruited Jones, said he's had athletes turn down scholarship offers to attend another college. But no athlete has turned down a full ride to pay to attend another school.

"That's a first," Burden said with a chuckle. "The thing was, he wasn't even accepted into (NYU) yet. So it was more like, 'I'm going to get accepted and this is what I'm going to do.'"

Burden knew there was no changing Jones' mind.

"When he told me I was in disbelief," said Burden, who has since joined Old Dominion's coaching staff. "You could see in his eyes that this was his dream and his goal and he was going to follow his dream."

Norview coach Greg Gibson also was surprised, but supportive.

"When I talked to him, I was really impressed with his maturity level," Gibson said. "For him to say this is what I want to do and football is not in the plan, I think it takes a lot of courage for a young man to understand what he really wants to do in his life. I'm proud of him to make that decision."

Jones said he loves football and has enjoyed all the excitement that's come with it. But he said football, even on its best day, couldn't fulfill him like directing.

Jones began dabbling in the arts as a child, and filmmaking became a passion after attending James Madison University's Male Academy - a motivational summer camp - before his freshman year.

Now, he's a prolific writer of screenplays and poetry, and he's written and produced a short film called, "Hi&Bye."

Jones was accepted to NYU after submitting an essay and 5-minute film.

The Joneses have reached out to others, including director Spike Lee, in an effort to find scholarship money. They haven't heard back, but they've been busy filling out scholarship application forms.

Jones knows it's a leap of faith to attend NYU, but thinks it's worth the risk.

"To me, it seems like the right choice," he said. "I've had some good times in football, but they don't even measure to how I feel when I write a play or direct. It's a totally different vibe and it's what keeps me going."

Larry Rubama, 757-446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com