Georgia State South Alabama Football Oct. 18, 2014

South Alabama running back Jay Jones (8) is injured on this play in the second half against Georgia State during homecoming Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)

(Mike Kittrell)

South Alabama running back Jay Jones (8) leaves the game in the second half with an injury as the Jaguars host Georgia State for homecoming Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)

MOBILE, Alabama - South Alabama senior running back Jay Jones' career has likely come to an end. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder from Horn Lake, Miss., who arrived in Mobile last year after two seasons at Northeast Mississippi Community College, suffered what is believed to be a season-ending knee injury in Saturday's 30-27 home win over Georgia State.

According to Chad Stefano, South Alabama's assistant athletic trainer, Jones will undergo a MRI Monday morning to determine the extent of his injury. It is believed Jones suffered an ACL and MCL injury to his left knee.

Jones, the Jaguars' leading rusher with 83 carries for 393 yards and three touchdowns, suffered the injury on the Jags' game-winning, three-play scoring drive in the fourth quarter. After a 65-yard run by quarterback Brandon Bridge to the GSU 20, Jones picked up 2 yards on the next play (which was reviewed as a possible fumble, but it was ruled his knee touched the ground before he lost control of the ball). The running back was injured on the play. He was helped off the field, with Jones not placing any pressure on his left leg.

"You hate it for a guy who's such a great leader and such a great player; you hate it for him first and you hate it for us as a team second to lose a really good football player and leader,'' head coach Joey Jones said at the conclusion of South Alabama's Sunday night practice. "We don't know the final verdict yet, but it doesn't look good right now.

"We've got Xavier (Johnson), we've got Kendall (Houston) and we've got Terrance (Timmons) and T.J. Glover is actually in the mix. We're pretty deep at running back for this year so I think those guys will step up.''

Jones led the Jags in rushing last season with 737 yards and five touchdowns. For his career, he has 226 carries for 1,130 yards and eight touchdowns. In Saturday's game, Jones had 16 carries for 71 yards and no scores. He also had one catch for 11 yards. For the year he had 90 touches for 442 yards and three touchdowns. He had 83 carries for 393 yards and three scores and seven catches for 49 yards and no scores this season.

Houston and Johnson are the likely replacements for Jones. Houston, a senior, has 48 carries for 209 yards and no scores this season, while Johnson, a redshirt freshman, has 34 carries for 188 yards and no scores. Timmons will also figure into the mix. He has nine carries for 81 yards this season.

"I told all those guys from the very beginning that I felt like we had several guys in that room that we could win a football game with and that we felt good about,'' running backs coach Robby Brown said. "We have a lot of good football players (at running back) and you hate that something like that happens, but it's kind of a next-man-up deal.

You hate when it happens to a great guy like Jay, and those guys know that. It feels kind of empty being out here practicing without him with us. But at the same time, you have to get the next man going.''

SHORT WEEK FOR JAGS: Because this week's game is being played on Friday night - South Alabama and Troy meet at Ladd-Peebles Stadium at 6:30 p.m. for a Sun Belt Conference rivalry game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU - that calls for some changes in the Jags' practice schedule. But there aren't drastic changes.

"The only thing we have to do is add a practice a Monday; we're normally off on Mondays,'' Jones said. "We'll come in (Monday) morning and we had a short practice (Sunday) night. Really, the only thing that changes is the off day, which they'll get Saturday, the day after the game this week.''

NO CATCH FOR JONES: Consistency is senior receiver Jereme' Jones' calling card. The Mobile native entered Saturday's game against Georgia State with at least one reception in 47 consecutive games. But that streak came to an end as Jones failed to catch a pass against the Panthers.

The Jags as a team completed just 11 passes to seven different receivers on Saturday, with no receiver catching more than two passes and no one producing more than 31 total receiving yards for the game.