The four-star Class of 2022 athlete from Germantown (Tenn.) High School said he has heard plenty from Tennessee over the past several weeks, and he expects the Vols to host him on an official visit at some point. With the ongoing dead period for recruiting set to end Monday, he said it’s possible that he could make a trip to Knoxville as early as next month.
“I’ll probably be at Tennessee,” said Jones, who’s ranked the No. 319 overall prospect and No. 18 athlete in the 2022 class and the No. 11 junior from the state of Tennessee, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. “I plan on taking an official visit (there) in the fall.”
The 5-foot-11.5, 175-pound Jones said his communication with Tennessee picked up several weeks ago. He said he’s now talking with the Vols on a “daily” basis, led by running backs coach
Jerry Mack, defensive backs coach
Willie Martinez, defensive coordinator
Tim Banks and head coach
Josh Heupel.
“I hear from them a lot,” Jones said. “They haven’t always been on me this hard. They’ve been applying a lot of pressure probably, like, the last month and a half.”
Jones finally will get to take his first look at Michigan next month. He said the Wolverines are scheduled to host him on an official visit the weekend of June 18. His other possible visit plans are uncertain for now, but he said he “most likely will” take official visits to other schools, including Tennessee.
If he follows through on visiting other schools, he said he’s “not sure” how much he will consider his other options. But he said “the commitment’s still solid.”
The Vols’ former staff gave Jones his first scholarship offer in October 2019, and he visited Tennessee's campus twice in 2019. He most recently attended the Vols’ home game against Chattanooga in September 2019, less than a month before Tennessee extended an offer to him.
He’s now interested in visiting the Vols again for at least a couple of reasons.
“It’s the home-state school, and the staff seems to love me,” said Jones, who now holds offers from at least 30 schools.
Tennessee’s new staff has made a good impression on him, too, since Heupel was hired in late January to replace former coach
Jeremy Pruitt.
“They’re together as a family and they just started, and they’re clearly changing the program, and they’ve got team bonding activities they do all the time,” Jones said. “With that type of stuff — being close as a team on game day and believing in each other, the team chemistry — you’ll play harder for your brother.”
He said the Vols mostly are recruiting him to play “cornerback and safety,” although Mack also has mentioned the possibility of using him on offense.
“I still hear some offense,” Jones said. “Tennessee, the running back coach wants me to play offense. Defensive coaches want me to play defense. That’s really how most of the schools are. Coach Mack wants me to play offense. But the defense is going to pursue defense, and offense is going to pursue offense.”
Knoxville, TN
