Purdue Football: Freshman back provides big boost to offense

Kaley Higgins | Staff PhotographerThose were Markell Jones’ numbers — for his senior year of high school.

The Mr. Football award winner of Indiana in 2014 enrolled early to Purdue, graduating one semester early so he could participate in spring football camp.

Now that he’s here, he’s had his ups and downs. Running backs coach Jafar Williams said so himself.

“Right now, he just needs to keep learning,” Williams said of Jones earlier in the spring. “He’s struggling assignment-wise and picking up the concepts and what we’re doing, but you can tell he has the talent to do it.”

That talent manifested itself in a big way during Saturday’s biannual jersey scrimmage. In the offense’s 111-45 rout of the…