Jack Jones: Vols top OL prospect praises Butch Jones as a recruiter
By Jason Hall
Published:
Jack Jones was the second player to commit to Tennessee from the 2015 recruiting class. The self-proclaimed “lifelong Vols fan” avoided the recruiting process by staying loyal to his home state’s biggest program, despite temptations to take visits elsewhere.
“I committed early because I knew Tennessee was where I wanted to go,” Jones said after the Under Armour All-American Skills Challenge Wednesday. “I didn’t want to deal with the recruiting process. I’m not going to lie, throughout my commitment to Tennessee it was tempting to take some other visits and use my officials. But in the long run I don’t think it really matters and I think it shows the coaches that I’m loyal and that’s really good to me.”
Jones will participate in the Under Armour All-American Game on Friday alongside future teammates Shy Tuttle, Preston Williams, Micah Abernathy, Andrew Butcher and Marques Ford. Tennessee also has three representatives in Saturday’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Head coach Butch Jones has dominated the recruiting trail since his arrival in December 2012. After salvaging a depleted 2013 class, the second-year coach is on pace to sign his second consecutive top-5 group in 2015.
The younger Jones is a big reason for the Vols’ current No. 5 overall ranking as the team’s top incoming OL prospect. The two-time Tennessee Mr. Football winner praised his future coach and believes that he is capable of even more success in the coming years.
“He’s done a great job,” Jones said. “My family loves him, my parents both love him. He’s kind of taken us in as his family. That’s his big thing is being a part of this UT family. It’s been great to be a part of those coaches and for him to be upfront and straight with us, he’s not going to beat around the bush with anything. He’s going to be straight up. He tells me how he feels. He’s told me to recruit other guys and anything I can do to help I will do. I really like him a lot and I think he’s going to do even better things at UT.”
Jones also gave credit to the Tennessee fan base, who he believes plays a positive influence in recruiting. The four-star prospect is optimistic of Tennessee’s rebuilding process and realizes that he’s joining a program on the rise at the perfect time.
“I think the fan base in itself recruits people,” Jones said. “I think on Twitter there’s no one else like it. People trust Coach Jones’ staff and are starting to see what he’s going to do and they’re hitting it at the right time. I’m getting there at the right time and could get playing time early right at the beginning of my career and I really can’t wait, it’s going to be awesome.”
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
