When Hurricane Katrina was barreling down on New Orleans last August, University of Louisiana cornerback Jarrett Jones knew that his real-estate-agent mother had left the city ahead of the storm.

Little did Danette O'Neal know that her escape to Atlanta would eventually put her on national cable television. And Jones was part of the show, although only through a framed picture.

O'Neal was a New Orleans realtor who relocated to the Atlanta area after Katrina. She and Jones' younger brother lived with a cousin in Decatur for several months while searching for a home in Atlanta.

It was that search that caught the attention of House Hunters, one of the staple shows on Home and Garden Television (HGTV, channel 61 on Lafayette Cable TV).

"She was looking for a house there, and a lot of people in real estate know her in Atlanta," Jones said. "The TV people figured it would be a good story after the hurricane."

Jones, of course, was in Lafayette during the past fall and spring semesters, participating in his junior season with the Ragin' Cajuns and playing in all 11 UL games for the second straight year. Mom and brother, meanwhile, were searching Atlanta for a home, with the House Hunters crew in tow.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com