Jacksonville-Onslow Sports Commission

1099 Gum Branch Road / P.O. Box 207

Jacksonville, NC 28540

Phone (910) 347-3141

Fax (910) 347-4705

Marcus Jones, as a defensive lineman, Marcus Jones earned all-state honors in high school, All-America honors in college and was a first-round draft pick in the National Football League.  As a prep star at Southwest High School in Jacksonville, Jones' all-state senior year helped the Stallions to a No. 1 ranking in 1991. He was also a two-time state high school track and field champion in the discus. Jones' stellar college career at the University of North Carolina was capped by a senior season in 1995 in which he earned consensus All-America honors and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference's defensive player of the year.  Jones, who was twice an All-ACC player for the Tar Heels, broke the school's career sack record, held at the time by NFL legend Lawrence Taylor. Jones' No. 71 is one of the honored jersey numbers hanging in UNC's Kenan Stadium.  Jones was a first-round draft choice - the 22nd pick overall - in 1996 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and went on to enjoy an eight-year NFL career with the Buccaneers and the Buffalo Bills. While with the Buccaneers, Jones broke the single-season sack record held by Leroy Selmon.

Ronda Mueller Langdon, at a time when female sports programs on the high school level were beginning to take shape in Onslow County, Ronda Mueller Langdon emerged as a standout on the basketball court and the softball field.  A star at Dixon High School from 1974-78, she led the Bulldogs to the state 2-A basketball semifinals as a senior. An outstanding track and field and volleyball performer in addition to her exploits in basketball and softball, Mueller Langdon became the first female to be named the school's athlete of the year.  That success followed her to the college level at Campbell University, where she was all-state in basketball and softball and was named the university's female athlete of the year three times. At the time of her graduation in 1982, she was school's all-time leading rebounder, and her 1,276 career points were second on the all-time list.  In 1993, she became the first woman inducted into the Campbell Sports Hall of Fame.  After college, Mueller Langdon's passion for sports included playing on traveling United State Slowpitch Softball Association and Amateur Softball Association teams, earning all-state and all-America recognition. As a high school coach, she has led girls basketball, tennis and softball teams at South Johnston High School.

Bob Grant, an Onslow County high school football and track and field star whose career came at a period when integration was just starting to take root in many of the nation's high schools and colleges.  Grant attended Georgetown High School, the black high school in Jacksonville, from 1960-64. His football talents earned him a place in the Black East-West Shrine Game in 1963, and he won a state championship in the shot put in 1964.   He received an athletic and academic scholarship to Wake Forest University, becoming one of the first blacks to play at a major university below the Mason-Dixon Line. Grant was a three-year letterman as a Demon Deacon lineman, earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 1966. In 1967, he was named to the North-South College All-Star Shrine Game. He was a second-round National Football League draft pick of the Baltimore Colts in 1968 and played at linebacker, earning the team's most valuable rookie honor. He played for an NFL champion in 1971 when the Colts defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, in Super Bowl V. He finished his NFL career the following season with the Washington Redskins.  Following his playing days, Grant served as president of the World Football League's players association and was a strength consultant for the Los Angeles Rams.