Keeping up with The Jones

Nacogdoches safety Brandon Jones had his junior season cut short by a torn PCL, but that didn’t stop him from becoming one of the most talked about recruits in the 2016 class. The injury also prevented Jones from competing at “The Opening” regional camp in Dallas, but Jones still attended, getting his height and weight taken as well as soaking up instruction from the coaches. There is a possibility that Jones could still receive an invite to the camp’s final event in Oregon.

Jones is excited to be back in workouts, saying that he was released for football activity in mid-March. Officially measuring in at the camp at 5’11, 191 pounds, Jones stayed involved throughout the event by staying close to defensive back coaches on the field.

Jones holds offers from just about every premier program in the nation, but has a strong interest in Texas, saying, “The Longhorns are very high on my list.”

When asked for his thoughts on the Texas program, Jones said, “I go down there for Texas relays and state track meets, so I always end up stopping down there. I like Texas.”

Texas defensive backs coach Chris Vaughn is the lead UT recruiter for Jones, but the Nacogdoches star also has an east Texas connection to new tight end coach Jeff Traylor. On his budding relationship with Traylor, Jones said, “I know him, I’ve talked to him a couple of times. He was actually telling me that his parents went to SFA down in Nacogdoches, so they have some Nacogdoches in them.”

As a blue chip prospect in a talent rich state, Jones is busy fielding calls from a number of top programs. According to Jones, Texas schools have been in contact often, as well as a couple of west coast programs, “I hear from a lot of the Texas schools. Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech, and UCLA was a recent offer who has been hitting me up every day since. USC and Oklahoma also talk to me a lot.”

Jones released a top ten list last December that included Texas, and says things haven’t changed much since then, “I’ve been trying to narrow it down a little bit, but it just gets harder and harder.”

Jones responded when asked about his favorites, “It’s just a general list, I haven’t made one in order.”

As Jones returns from his injury, he will focus on getting back in playing shape and says he’s planning to let the recruiting process run its course, “I’m probably going to end up committing after football season sometime. I first planned on committing at the Under Armour game, but I want my friends and family to see me commit so I’m going to do it at the high school sometime.”

Jones will be one to watch as the recruiting season heats up, and from the sound of it the Longhorns will be right in the thick of things.