Yes, he will start at running back for the Seahawks in their nationally televised Thanksgiving Day game against the Dallas Cowboys - the team that drafted Jones in 2004 and then gave up on him last season.

Jones needed to get that word from coach Mike Holmgren before he could get too excited about this chance to play against his former teammates.

"I'm going to try and control it," Jones said after practice when asked about handling his emotions. "This is a huge game for the team, but definitely for me. I was playing down there for years. All my old teammates, I still talk to them, so it's going to be exciting. I can't wait."

The significance of Jones' homecoming had been on hold because Maurice Morris started Sunday against the Washington Redskins and responded with his first 100-yard rushing performance since 2006.

Jones? He was limited to a handful of plays and two carries - the fewest this season for the free agent who signed with the Seahawks in March.

Holmgren admitted that going back to Jones for Thursday's game was based, in part, on the emotions he will carry into the matchup against the heavily favored Cowboys at Texas Stadium.

"It absolutely figured in on whether he started or not," Holmgren said. "Heck, we've made many trades and gotten players from other teams, and when they go in and get a chance to play against their friends and their teammates, it's a special game for those guys.

"Julius is no different. I just think it's kind of the fair thing to do."

Fair isn't exactly the word anyone would choose to describe Jones' fall from grace with the Cowboys. They hitched their playoff wagon to Marion Barber last season, leaving Jones to get no more than nine carries in the final five regular-season games and then only three in the playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants .

The Cowboys never talked contract with Jones when he became a free agent, and then drafted running back Felix Jones in the first round to take his place.

"Do I think I got the shaft?" Jones said, repeating the question, during his conference call with Dallas-area reporters.

"No, I think they went to the direction they wanted to go. That's it. That's part of the business, and I'm rolling with it. I'm happy to be here. Cowboys went in a different direction, and so did I."

But that doesn't mean Jones wouldn't love to get back on a roll Thursday - as he was in rushing for 127 against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 and for 140 yards against the St . Louis Rams in Week 3.

"Julius is a guy who's going to be hyped-up, no matter what," fullback Leonard Weaver said. "That's just kind of his character. He's going to come ready to play any game.

"But any time you play an old team and old teammates, people you have relationships with, that does something to you. So I know he's really going to be hyped for this one."

You could see it in his eyes, if not hear it in his words, Tuesday. Especially when he was talking about Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman, who lives next door to the house Jones still owns in the Dallas area.

"It'll feel good, it'll definitely feel good to play those guys - all my old friends," Jones said.

"It's an exciting game for them, too. I've talked to them this week, and they're excited for me to come back and play against me, too."

Jones has been talking about this game since he signed with the Seahawks.

"Actually, my dad let me know that we were going to be playing on Thanksgiving," he said. "Definitely it was in the back of my head. Definitely."

HAWK TALK: Center Chris Spencer missed practice Tuesday because of his recurring back problem. That means backup Steve Vallos moved a day closer to his first regular-season start. ... Injured left guard Mike Wahle will not play Thursday. Holmgren said the plan is to have Wahle back for the Dec. 7 home game against New England. ... Former Seahawks defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy made the cut to 25 on the list of Pro Football Hall of Fame candidates for 2009. The list also includes defensive tackle John Randle, who led Seattle in sacks in 2001-02 after a productive career with the Minnesota Vikings . It will be trimmed again, to 15 names, in early January for final consideration by the selection committee at the Super Bowl.\

Seahawks AT Cowboys

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, 1:15 p.m., Texas Stadium

TV/RADIO: KCPQ/13; KIRO-AM/710\

FOCUS ON: Steve Vallos (Ran only in web editions of the P-I)

When the Seahawks players reported for work Tuesday, center Chris Spencer was not among them.

The back problem that caused Spencer to be added to the injury list Saturday - but did not prevent him from playing Sunday against the Washington Redskins - has flared up.

That means backup Steve Vallos moved a day closer to starting his first NFL regular-season game. On Thanksgiving Day. Against the Dallas Cowboys . In a nationally televised game.

"It's a huge game. I'm just excited about it," Vallos said after practice, when he took all the snaps with the No. 1 line - between the already shuffled guard positions, where right guard Floyd Womack is on the left side for injured Mike Wahle, and Ray Willis is filling in for Womack on the right side.

"As of right now, I'm starting."

Vallos, drafted last year as a guard, started at center during the preseason because Spencer was out with a back problem and veteran backup Chris Gray was forced to retire because of a back injury.

"It was just a great experience being out there," Vallos said of his extended preseason stint. "I think that's really going to pay off now."

- Clare Farnsworth

P-I reporter Clare Farnsworth can be reached at 206-448-8016 or clarefarnsworth@seattlepi.com Read his Seahawks blog at blog.seattlepi.com/Football.