Maurice Smith knew something was wrong. So did Alabama's other defensive backs.

They noticed Hootie Jones was losing weight. Then, Smith saw Jones half-heartedly going through practice during the week leading up to the Tide's game against Mississippi State last season. After practice, Smith made the short walk from his apartment to Jones' to check on his close friend and teammate.

During a two-hour conversation, Jones broke down.

Jones had learned several months earlier that his mother's cancer, which had been in remission for four years, was back and even worse than before.

"I just remember him crying and telling me that he didn't want to lose his mom and that he didn't know what to do and that he didn't know what he would do without his mom," said Smith, who transferred to Georgia in August.

It's a daily challenge for Jones, attempting to stay focused on football while coping with the reality that his mother has Stage 4 Lymphoma. That's the highest of the four stages of cancer. It means the disease has spread to other parts of the body.

"I don't really talk to anyone about it," said Jones, a junior who steps in at strong safety when the Tide goes into its dime defense. "I really just keep it to myself. I really just try to fight through."

'Mama, you can't leave'

Panic set in for Jones and his stepfather as Jessica Carr, Jones' mother, struggled to catch her breath in January 2015, shortly after the conclusion of Jones' freshman season at Alabama.

Jones knew his mother's cancer was back. He just didn't know how bad it was until a conversation later that day.

Hootie Jones poses with his son and mother, Jessica Carr.

On his knees next to his mom's bed, Jones said, "Mama, don't lie to me. What's going on?"

"Baby, I'm at Stage 4," Carr told him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jones asked.

"Because there's nothing you can do," his mother responded before adding, "I've met some support people who've had Stage 4 and they've lasted a long time, and I'm not giving up and doing what I can."

Still next to his mother, an emotional Jones began searching the internet for information about Stage 4 Lymphoma before saying something similar to what he told Smith.

"Mama, you can't leave," he said. "You don't have an option. You can't die."

Helping out

Most college football players either head home to relax after games or go out with friends.

Not Jones.

After one of Alabama's games last season, Carr had trouble getting in contact with her son. Calls weren't answered and texts weren't returned, which was strange to Carr. Jones finally called at 2 a.m., telling his mother he had been working at a car dealership washing cars after playing a game earlier that day.

Jones has done that after several games the last two years while also working during the week and on Sundays when he can. He does it to make money to be able to send home for his mother and 2-year old son. While he doesn't make much -- typically $15 for washing a car and $25 for a truck -- it allows him to send money home two or three times a month to help with expenses since his mother, a family therapist, can't work much.

"If she needs money, I'll just work that whole week after practice just so I can get paid at the end of the week and get it to her," said Jones, who does that despite typically not being finished with class, practice and football meetings until the evening.

Jones recently sent his mother a picture that showed him wearing an apron with paw prints on it. He was bathing animals to make some extra money.

Jones' mother asked him at one point why he works so much, even during football season.

"Because you need me," he told her.

Feeling helpless

Friday was Alabama's first day in Tampa, Fla. in advance of the national championship game on Monday. It represented one of the latest examples of Jones feeling stressed and helpless because of his mother's situation. Earlier in the day, Carr told her son she was feeling weak and having trouble with her balance. The difficult part for Jones is, whether it's Tuscaloosa or Tampa, he isn't close enough to be able to go home and help.

"It's hard, especially the days when she says she doesn't feel good or something's hurting really bad," Jones said.

That's why Jones briefly considered transferring to Louisiana Tech or Louisiana Monroe in 2015 before ultimately deciding to stay at Alabama. Both of those schools are close to his hometown of Monroe, La.

The decision to stay at Alabama came after a conversation with his mother.

Jones told his mother, "What if they tell me that you've been rushed to the hospital? If I'm at Tech or ULM, I can get to you in less than 10 minutes. Here, I can't. That doesn't feel right."

He listened, though, when his mother responded, "That's not something I need you to worry about. If you ever want to do anything for me, you'll stay right there."

'Let them think what they want'

Most people probably know Jones as being one of the two Alabama players arrested in May on drug and weapons charges. The other player was star left tackle Cam Robinson.

The Monroe, La. police department made the arrests after spotting a car occupied by Jones, Robinson and three friends inside a closed park at 2:30 a.m. They found marijuana in the car along with a gun on Jones' lap and one under Robinson's seat.

While police let the three friends go, they arrested Jones and Robinson and, according to Carr, told both that they weren't going to be able to play football again before eventually taking pictures of the two Alabama football players in handcuffs.

Carr says both players later underwent drug tests and neither had any drugs in their system. Neither had any issue with the police prior to the incident either. Yet, three days after the arrest, Carr was at the grocery store with a client when she was approached by a woman that recognized her.

"Aren't you Jessica Carr?," the woman asked.

"Yes, ma'am" Carr responded.

"Your son, he's just a sick sack of shit," the woman said, according to Carr. "What kind of mother are you to raise such a hoodlum?'"

The woman concluded, "This wouldn't have happened if he had went to LSU."

Several months later, details of the arrest and the case are the primary things that pop up when you Google Jones' name.

"Everybody thinks I'm this mean thug," Jones told his mother after the arrest. "They're all going to talk about me and think I'm nothing because of what happened."

"Let them think that," she responded. "We know the truth."

"These are young kids that made a dumbass mistake," Carr said. "But I don't understand how one simple act of dumbness from some teenagers gets them treated like they're Jeffrey Dahmer or somebody."

'She's always on my mind'

Jones has rebounded from the arrest.

After two years as a little-used backup, Jones has become a valued contributor for the Tide and continues to work toward fulfilling a promise to his mother.

Before the season, Jones, who has 20 tackles, told his mom: "I promise you, whether it's with my degree or playing in the NFL, you're not going to have to worry about anything. I'm going to make sure you're OK."

Carr has been relegated to supporting from a distance because of the cancer, except for last week.

After being unable to attend any Alabama games since Jones' freshman season in 2014, Carr surprised him a week ago.

After coordinating with two people at Alabama, Carr and Jones' stepfather made the trip to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl and were there outside the team hotel when Jones and the rest of the team were leaving for the game.

A surprised Jones saw her while walking toward the team bus, briefly breaking away and giving her a long, tight hug before heading to the bus and helping Alabama beat Washington.

"She's always on my mind," Jones said. "I pray every night and just try to deal with everything."