Jayden Jones, a 2021 defensive end out of Dallas (Parish Episcopal) TX and former North Texas Mean Green pledge, will announce a commitment tomorrow morning.
While he wasn't exact on the time he'll announce, he was adamant that Saturday will be his decision day.
As he gets ready to settle in this evening and consult with his mom and dad, one thing is for certain — his decision is not yet formalized.
“I have a little bit of thinking tonight," he said. "Me and my parents will talk about everything and that’s when it’ll be solid, call the coaches and announce tomorrow. I feel good but I also kind of feel bad at the same time. It sucks having to call coaches that I won’t be attending their school after we built strong relationships. That’s the hard part.”
The other "hard part" of course is being a recruit who is expected to make a decision on where to spend the next four to five years in the world of COVID.
By the time Jones backed off his North Texas pledge over the summer, the NCAA recruiting dead period was well underway. For Jones, that's been particularly impactful, given that two of his three finalists — Colorado and Kansas — are out of his reach.
While Southern Methodist is a 20-minute drive from Parish Episcopal down Route 75 and thus right at Jones' fingertips, he has been unable to see Boulder or Lawrence in-person.
Jones said not being able to visit schools in-person has been hard to grapple with.
“It makes it a lot harder — it’s very challenging, especially when most of the time, you go on campus and you can just feel it around you," he said. "There’s a gut feeling, especially when you have several options. It makes it very challenging."
Despite that, the Buffs and namely Brian Michalowski have done everything in their power to present Jones as much information and visual aid possible in terms of showing him what life would be as a student-athlete at CU.
Michalowski offered Jones back in mid-June and since then, has built a solid relationship with the 6-foot-4, 230-pound prospect.
“Me and coach Mike have built a pretty good relationship over the last few months," Jones said. "I’ll talk to him not only about football, but about life and how we’re doing, things that we struggle with, things that we love. We always have great conversations. It’s crazy how strong of a relationship you can build virtually, not even in-person.”
For Michalowski, ever the scout for multifaceted players, Jones is a player who could factor into the Buffs's defense in more than one way.
“At Colorado, I would be the outside linebacker that’s lined up on the (line of scrimmage) and lined up in coverage — I would be like a hybrid there," Jones said.
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Karl Dorrell has also been involved in Jones' recruitment.“We’ve actually talked for awhile," Jones said. "He’s talked to me, my dad and my mom on the virtual visit and separately. Calls will last like 30 minutes to an hour — long conversations. I really like coach Dorrell. He seems pretty laid back and he knows what he’s talking about. He’s very wise and experienced.”
As Jones gets ready to make a decision regarding his recruitment, the Buffs have treated him like a top target and also have made it a point to become familiar with his parents.
“I definitely feel like a priority, especially when I’m talking to the coaches," he said. "They talk to my parents, text them, send them lots of letters and graphics — all that stuff.”
