Former Saints cornerback graduates with master's degree in biology from ASU

Reginald Jones has spent time in stadiums filled with cheering fans and conference rooms with executives wanting to learn from his successes, but the former Saints cornerback recently set out with a new goal — a master's degree.

Now, last month, he finally attained that goal — one he values as one of his greatest achievements yet.

Jones, who played in the NFL from 1991 to 1995 and later built a successful business career, said his decision to return to school stemmed from a desire to better understand learning, memory and the long-term effects of concussions — something he experienced personally during his football career that led to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.

“I wanted to learn everything I could about memory and the brain,” Jones said.

Before enrolling at ASU, Jones said he reached out to roughly 50 universities across the country, specifically targeting neuroscience departments. Several schools expressed interest in supporting his graduate studies, but scholarship opportunities ultimately fell through.

The one institution that would accommodate Jones’ scholarship need was ASU.

After initially reaching out to Joshua LaBaer, executive director of ASU’s Biodesign Institute, he connected with Jeffrey Kordower, center director for the ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center, who was intrigued by Jones’ interest in studying the brain.

“I thought, ‘This is a former NFL player who wants to learn about learning and memory,’” Kordower recalled after reading the message. “So, I gave Reggie a call.”

Kordower said Jones stood out because he approached graduate school with a clear sense of purpose.

“One of the reasons I was interested in mentoring Reggie is he already had a plan to go forward and help people,” Kordower said. “There was already a vision.”

Jones enrolled in ASU’s master’s degree in biology program and focused much of his research on concussions and cognitive impairment, particularly the issue of unreported sports-related concussions among high school and college athletes. 

“There’s fear of losing playing time, fear of the coach’s response, fear of teammates’ response,” Jones said. “Most people don’t appreciate the seriousness of it.”

Jones makes sure to point out that his interest in the topic is highly personal. During a visit with a neurologist, he said he began to understand that head trauma-related experiences commonly dismissed during his playing career were, in many cases, concussions.

“(My doctor) said, ‘Do you realize all those were concussions?’” Jones said. “And tears went down my eyes because I didn’t know how many concussions I had.” 

At ASU, Jones completed an applied project examining unreported concussions among student athletes. He said the work combined concepts from the biology program with his own professional experiences and long-term research interests.

Kordower described Jones’ final project as “terrific,” noting that it connected scientific research with practical concerns surrounding athlete health and cognitive decline.

Jones also spoke openly about the challenges of completing graduate school while managing mild cognitive impairment. He said he underwent speech, occupational and physical therapy after his diagnosis and still goes to the latter two to this day.

“One of the challenges I have — I can learn once I get it, but I have a problem understanding the assignment,” Jones said.

To adapt, he broke assignments into smaller steps and rewrote each component separately by hand.

“Every assignment, everything that I had to do, went on a separate piece of paper,” he said. “It’s a much longer process, but it’s efficient because that’s how it works.”

Despite initial concerns about completing an online degree program, Jones said he was impressed by the support he received from faculty members and the university’s approach to education.

“I was impressed,” Jones said. “The professors that I had, many of them were very unique and very gifted.”

Jones also praised ASU President Michael Crow’s emphasis on innovation and inclusion, saying the university’s culture aligned closely with his personal values.

“I believe in diversity,” Jones said. “It’s different when you say it and when you believe it. I believe in it.”

While Jones plans to continue researching concussion awareness and cognitive health after graduation, he said his broader goal is to help others better understand and respond to cognitive challenges connected to sports-related head trauma.

“The smartest people ask the most questions,” Jones said, recalling advice from an eighth-grade science teacher that stayed with him throughout his life.

It is a mindset, he said, that ultimately brought him from professional football to graduate-level neuroscience research.