Purdue media day notebook: Big year ahead for Markell Jones, Lorenzo Neal?

Coach 'ecstatic' about Jones: It's been an eventful career for Markell Jones, the running back who was outstanding for a losing team as a freshman, then up and down for one reason or another from there on out, with extreme highs and extreme lows as a player.

But if what running backs coach Chris Barclay is seeing from him now is an indicator of things to come, Jones may be poised for his last season to be his best season and for his 217-yard outburst against Indiana last season to stand as his standard.