Senior defensive lineman David Jones has become the heaviest player in college football for the 2026 season after transferring to Mississippi Valley State University.
The six-foot lineman, nicknamed Big Dave, is officially listed at 425 pounds on the Mississippi Valley State website as he joins the Delta Devils defensive line.
Jones has drawn comparisons to former NFL icon William "Refrigerator" Perry after being utilized as a goal-line running back at his previous school, where he scored three rushing touchdowns last season.
The Augusta, Georgia native began his high school career playing offensive guard and defensive tackle at Hephzibah High School, earning First Team All-Region honors as a senior in 2021.
However, the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic led to packed college rosters and limited spots as older players stayed in school. Jones subsequently joined a club program competing against junior college teams to keep his career alive.
When potential scholarship opportunities collapsed following coaching retirements, Jones returned home to work a full-time 9-to-5 job with United Parcel Service (UPS) while attempting to gain recruitment interest.
Persistent recruiting effort and move to North Carolina
"Every Sunday, [we] emailed every coach starting from Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi," Jones told HBCU Gameday. "All the way from D1 to D3… and we did that every day consistently."
To ensure college coaches were evaluating his footage, Jones embedded offensive plays inside his recruitment videos.
"I put little gems in my highlight tape to see if my coach actually even watch it," Jones said. "Like I put some of my running plays in the middle of the highlight."
The strategy succeeded when Livingstone College assistant coach Mark Williams spotted the clips and recruited Jones to the North Carolina school.
"At the end of his film, man, he had like two or three clips of him running the ball," Williams said. "Some coaches… might look at that and see, 'Man, this joker 6-2, 6-3, 360 pounds, why is he running the ball like Refrigerator Perry?' But you never know when you may need to use that skill set."
While playing for Livingstone in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Jones was listed at 350 pounds. His three rushing touchdowns went viral on social media, paving the way for his move to Division 1 (I-AA) football with Mississippi Valley State.
Joining Mississippi Valley State and upcoming schedule
"This will be my third school I'm going to," Jones told HBCU Gameday. "All I know is, okay, Dave, you gotta go bet on yourself. I'm just trying to really go feed my family. Football, really a business right now."
Mississippi Valley State officially lists Jones at 425 pounds for the upcoming season, and the program recently shared a promotional photograph featuring the lineman posing in his new uniform while holding a sledgehammer.
The Delta Devils, who compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), open their season on Thursday against Nicholls State. In Week 3, the team will travel to Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, to face Lincoln in the Chicago Football Classic.
Predecessor Desmond Watson and NFL precedent
Jones takes over the title of college football's heaviest player from former University of Florida defensive tackle Desmond Watson, who weighed 449 pounds at his collegiate Pro Day before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the heaviest player in NFL history.
Watson was placed on a conditioning program by Tampa Bay and required to practice separately, but was ultimately released prior to playing an official NFL game.
"The door is not closed on him, but if you don't practice, you're probably not going to make this team," Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said during training camp. "We'll see where we are in a couple weeks and we'll circle back and we'll go from there. We're in the last week of camp. If you're not practicing, you're not going to play. He's been working hard, we had a good talk, and we'll circle back and see where he's at."
Speaking during training camp last year, Watson addressed the attention surrounding his physical size. "I feel like my name is etched in history, of course, as being the official heaviest player in the NFL or whatnot," Watson said. "It's a good story, but at the same time I don't want that to be my narrative. I want to be known as a football player, and a good football player at that."
Following Watson's release from Tampa Bay, his agent told the Associated Press: "He's still working. Job's not finished." Watson subsequently signed with and was released by the DC Defenders of the XFL, and has not appeared on an NFL roster during training camp.
