In week five of the college football season, the No. 13 USC Trojans will face the unranked Wisconsin Badgers. The Trojans are coming off of a tough loss and will need their home crowd to help them bounce back as the team returns to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

What better way to energize the crowd than to have former USC running back Ronald Jones II as the tunnel captain? The tunnel captain’s job is to get the crowd excited and loud ahead of the matchup, and this is a sold-out game and an important one for the Trojans. 

For the Trojans home opener against Utah State, former USC star quarterback Matt Barkley led the team out of the tunnel.

Home field advantage is a big part of college football, and if the crowd gets loud early, it will be hard for Wisconsin’s offense to gain momentum on the field. Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke is starting for the Badgers for the first time. There is always pressure for quarterbacks during their first start, but Jones hyping up the crowd can make it much harder for the Badgers quarterback.

Jones played with the USC Trojans from 2015 until 2017. In his collegiate career, he rushed for 3,619 yards and 39 rushing touchdowns, and Jones is fifth on USC’s career rushing list, appearing in 40 games with 19 starts. In 2017, his final season with the Trojans, Jones won USC’s Offensive Perimeter Player of the Year award and was a finalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose award.

Jones was selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The running back won his first Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in the 2020 season. He earned his second ring with the Kansas City Chiefs when they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. Jones is currently a free agent.

Now, Jones will be making his return to the USC Trojans as the tunnel captain. The Trojans are 2-1, looking for a big win at home. The game against Michigan came down to the final minutes, but the offense could not get the job done. Instead of letting the loss defeat them for the season, the Trojans are still making a push for playoffs. Getting the win against Wisconsin can turn their season around for the better. 

Getting the home crowd hyped up ahead of the game is the first step to victory for the Trojans. The crowd will then energize the players on the field, giving them the fight they need to bounce back. USC will kickoff against Wisconsin at 12:30 p.m. PT.

Ronald Jones II is the Perfect Choice to Hype Up the Crowd

The USC Trojans have a special event coming up on Saturday. And, for a special event, you need special people in attendance. Sure, the fans are special, but you need a special person who means something to the school, team, and the fan base. The Trojans are doing that on Saturday. 

According to the team and university themselves, they are having former USC Trojans running back Ronald Jones run out of the tunnel with the team, to hype them up. Jones is one of the most underrated USC running backs of all time.

RoJo is a Fan Favorite

He is fifth on USC’s career rushing list with 3,619 yards, with 2 Heisman Trophy winners and 2 Heisman runners-up ahead of him, so it's not hard to see why he is so loved. The fan base loves RoJo for what he did on and off the field during his time as a Trojan.

RoJo is a Super Bowl Winner

And, he went on to the NFL and played with a couple of teams, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Kansas City Chiefs, both of those he won a Super Bowl with. He has since bounced around on practice squads, and it unfortunately hasn't stuck yet.

The Trojans Need a Win at Home

The Trojans are starting their first-ever Big Ten conference game at home on Saturday, and having RoJo there to help hype the team up is as good as it gets. USC vs. Wisconsin is going to be a good one.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.