We continue our top 40 Most Impactful local sports figures and liking off our Top 25 is Johnson City's DaQuan Jones!

As a kid in JC, DaQuan was bullied for his weight, but Jones and his father, Steve, turned that weakness into a strength. According to the Press & Sun-Bulletin, Jones became close with Bill Spalik, a JC varsity assistant who DaQuan says believed in him from the start. Jones and the Wildcats won the 2009 Section IV Class B Championship over Maine-Endwell, the program's first since 1998 and as a senior, Daquan was named to the All-American All-Star game before he took his talents to Penn State. 

As a Nittany Lion, Jones was a first-team Big 10 member in 2013 when he picked up three sacks and 56 tackles as a defensive tackle. The Tennessee Titans would pick Jones in the fourth round of the NFL draft in 2014 where he became a full-time starter in his sophomore campaign. Jones spent seven seasons as a Titan, starting in 93 of 99 games, and was even named a team captain in 2020.

He'd spend one year in Carolina before signing with the Buffalo Bills. Jones racked up 38 tackles in his first year in Buffalo and in 2023, through his first seven games, he was having a career year with 2.5 sacks and was on pace to beat his career high of 3.5 before suffering a torn pec. Jones signed a two-year extension with the Bills this offseason.

Jones has still represented his Southern Tier roots since going pro, hosting the DaQuan Jones Cornhole Classic each of the last two years in Broome County and even bringing business to downtown Binghamton. Jones even said one of the reasons he signed with the Bills was to be closer to home and allow his friends and family to see him play in Upstate New York.

For being a stud at Johnson City and winning a Section IV Championship then being an All-American before heading down to Happy Valley where he was one of the best defenders in the Big 10 his senior year before getting drafted. Jones hasn't missed a step since, being one of the biggest steals of the 2014 draft with 133 starts in his career with plenty more to come. For a 10-year-plus NFL career repping the Southern Tier proudly and for being one of the best players on a stout Buffalo Bills defense, DaQuan Jones comes in at number 25 on Fox 40's Top 40.

Fox 40's Top 40 is sponsored by UHS Sports Medicine and UHS Orthopedics.