Toya Jones made a game-saving tackle in the 1998 Big 12 championship that helped Texas A&M clinch their last conference title, a moment that remains vivid as news of his death at 49 spreads. Jones suffered a heart attack last weekend and was placed in hospice care on Wednesday before passing away on Thursday, according to statements from friends and former teammates.
Jones was a defensive back for the Aggies from 1995 to 1998 and also excelled as a sprinter and long jumper on the track team. His tackle came at the end of regulation in that 1998 Big 12 title game against unbeaten Kansas State. Michael Bishop's 54-yard Hail Mary pass to Everett Burnett looked like it might win the game for the Wildcats, but Jones stopped Burnett at the 1-yard line. Texas A&M then won in double overtime to secure the championship.
R.C. Slocum, the Texas A&M coach who recruited Jones, wrote on Facebook, “What a great guy. This is so sad. He was a special athlete and person. God rest his soul.”
Jones’s football career extended beyond college. He spent time in training camps with the San Francisco 49ers in 1999, the Denver Broncos in 2000, and the Houston Texans in 2002 but did not appear in an NFL regular-season game. He played for the Birmingham Thunderbolts in the XFL in 2001 and had two seasons in the Canadian Football League with the British Columbia Lions.
On the track, Jones’s high school achievements in Texas remain exceptional. At Refugio High School, he won 17 medals at state meets, including 13 golds, and helped lead his team to three state championships. He scored 147 points in total at the state meets, with 45 points as a sophomore when he won gold in all five events he entered: 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, triple jump, and the 400-meter relay. He is one of only two boys in Texas history to win five gold medals at a single state meet.
At Texas A&M, Jones ran the second leg on the 1997 NCAA champion 400-meter relay team, a squad that was undefeated that season with victories at the Texas Relays, Penn Relays, Big 12 Championships, and NCAA Championships.
Friends and family gathered around Jones during his final days. Randy Keisler, a former Major League Baseball pitcher and close friend, posted on Facebook, “Today is a very difficult day for me and so many others. I have to say goodbye to one of my closest friends for more than 20 years. Toya, you were the funniest guy I've ever known and your personality was one of a kind. Your positive outlook on life, your smile, sense of humor and always making anyone around you laugh and feel better just being with you was an awesome gift that you possessed. I could be down and out and you would make me laugh or somehow just feel better with your infectious smile and sense of humor. I love you brother and it's a shame that the world is losing you today.”
After retiring from sports, Jones worked in sales around Houston. He was employed at Sagis Diagnostics before founding Sagis Transport in Sugar Land in 2017. The company was recognized by Texas A&M’s McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship in 2023 and 2024 as part of the Aggie 100, an honor for the top 100 businesses owned or operated by Texas A&M graduates.
Jones’s impact on Texas A&M football and track remains remembered by those who knew him and watched his career. His tackle in the 1998 Big 12 championship is particularly recalled as a defining moment in Aggies history, underscoring his role in one of the program’s most memorable victories.
According to Yahoo Sports.
