Jacquez Jones spent three years at Ole Miss.
He's seen every corner of the University of Mississippi campus, every hallway of the Manning Center and more time running on the playing surface at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium than he could possibly count.
However, he's never stepped foot in the visitors' locker room.
That will change, of course, on Saturday morning.
Jones, who played three seasons at Ole Miss before transferring to Kentucky, will be a key member of the Wildcats' squad that makes the trip to Oxford Saturday for a high-profile showdown between nationally-ranked teams (11 a.m., ESPN). Jones and the seventh-ranked Wildcats (4-0 overall, 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference) will be looking to vault themselves into the national conversation with a win over No. 14 Ole Miss (4-0, 0-0).
That is Jones' primary thought as this weekend approaches, but the Kentucky linebacker knows there will be some extra emotion attached to Saturday's game.
"It's going to be bittersweet," Jones said. "That was a place where I did call home. I'll have so many friends on the other sideline and so many fans that still cheer for me now. We're trying to come down there, put on a good show for not just Kentucky fans but also for Ole Miss fans too and hopefully come out with a win."
Jones signed with former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke and the Rebels in 2018 and contributed immediately, recording 36 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.
His role increased in 2019 and Jones delivered, recording 71 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles.
In 2020, Lane Kiffin's first season in Oxford, Jones had 75 tackles for an Ole Miss team that finished strong and won the Outback Bowl over Indiana.
Still, in the spring of 2021, Jones began to consider his options. He could stay at Ole Miss or he could look for a different program that better fit his playing style.
"It was really difficult," Jones said. "Especially since me and (former Ole Miss defensive coordinator) Coach (DJ) Durkin had such a great relationship. Me and him were bonding, watching film every day, so it was really hard to leave. But I had to make a grown-man decision that I had to do what was best for me."
There was speculation at the time that Ole Miss' decision to add then-Maryland transfer Chance Campbell played a key role in Jones' decision to leave and that Durkin didn't believe Campbell and Jones would complement each other's playing styles well. Jones said late Tuesday following the Wildcats' practice in Lexington that Ole Miss' adding Campbell played no role in his decision to get into the transfer portal.
"It wasn't a part of it at all," Jones said. "Of course, bringing in Chance was going to give us more depth, but that wasn't a part of it at all."
Once in the portal, Kentucky reached out quickly. Then-Kentucky defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall, a former Ole Miss assistant who is now the head coach at Troy, knew Jones from their time together in Oxford.
"They were one of the first schools that talked to me, and of course, Sumrall was here, but you never pick a school because of the coach," Jones said. "You never know how long that coach is going to be here. So I had to look at other factors like the program, the school, how long it would take until I graduated. Kentucky just worked out perfectly."
Jones played a key role at Kentucky immediately, recording 82 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery for a Wildcats team that finished 10-3, second in the SEC East and with a 20-17 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.
Jones gave the NFL Draft some consideration following the 2021 season but he elected to return to Lexington for his final season.
"I love it up here," Jones said. "It's a lot different from Oxford. I can say that Oxford is like a little country town and Kentucky is more of a city. But I love it up here. I love the atmosphere. I love the fans. I love the school. I'm loving it up here."
Jones has 26 tackles and one sack through four games entering Saturday's date with Ole Miss. As for the Rebels, Jones said he's spent a lot of time watching his former teammates on film this week.
"It's completely different when you don't have Matt Corral back there at quarterback," Jones said. "I'm kind of glad I don't have to play Matt Corral. They do have a talented quarterback in (Jaxson) Dart. They have some talented running backs and I feel like they're a really good team. We're going to have to make sure we're on our A-game."
Jones, a 6-foot, 233-pound Tuscaloosa native, said it's been difficult preparing for the Rebels this week, knowing there's a real chance Ole Miss has held some things back on offense during a September of non-SEC games against Troy, Central Arkansas, Georgia Tech and Tulsa.
"We have to revert back to our training," Jones said. "We're not going to know everything the other team is doing but at the end of the day, we have to do what we do and hopefully be able to stop them."
Jones said he's had more ticket requests this week than he can accommodate.
"It's going to be a fun game," Jones said. "Really, you have to put that out your mind. If you win this game, people are going to talk about you. If you lose this game, people are going to talk about you. It's something where you have to go out there each week and play like you don't have a ranking beside you because really, it can be taken away like that."
Before he takes the field in a familiar place, he'll have to find the one room in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium he's never seen.
"I might have to ask for assistance," Jones said, laughing.
