Gerald Jones has a knack for leaving a trail of bewildered defenders on the field. The 6-1, 190-pounder is having a great senior season and drawing attention from schools all over the country. Rated four stars and the number nine running back in the country by Scout.com, Jones is probably the best player in Oklahoma. He’s got six favorite schools but he’s nowhere close to making a final decision.
His Oklahoma City Millwood team is 7-1 and headed to the playoffs again with Jones is the catalyst. There might not be a better back anywhere in the nation running in traffic and he ranks among the best at changing direction at break neck speed.
Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech all are awaiting the word from Jones that they will get the magical fax on signing day. Right now, Jones won’t even list one of them as his favorite.
“I still have the same list and all the schools are still equal until I find out more about each of them,” he said. He went on to talk a bit about each school.
FLORIDA: “They still haven’t told me when they want me to visit, but I will visit. I talk to (wide receivers) Coach Gonzales and we talk about where they want me to play if I came to Florida. He came to watch me play last week. He said that he was impressed, and it surprised me because I thought I had a pretty rough game. He likes the kind of moves I make.
“I saw (Florida) play against Tennessee. I loved it, especially since they want me to play wide receiver. I know it might be a different story there now with Chris Leak leaving, but they are recruiting a lot of good players. Their offense is okay with me. They are recruiting me as a receiver, but they move their receivers to the backfield quite a bit.”
TENNESSEE: “I am going there on Nov. 3rd (official visit). I like the style of the offense and I know the atmosphere is crazy. I want to take an official there and get a better feel.”
OKLAHOMA STATE: “I have been down there a couple of times. I know the coaches are real good people because they care about you as a person not just a player. I saw them at homecoming when they lost to Texas A&M and the atmosphere was cool.”
TEXAS TECH: “I am going there on an official this weekend. I love their style of offense, because it is pretty much wide open. I love the chance I have at getting to start. They only have two running backs so I have a real chance to do that.”
OKLAHOMA: “They are a good program and I like their offense. They know how to use their players well. They are also young and I like that too.”
VIRGINIA TECH: “I know that they like to use a running quarterback and that is what I am best at. They haven’t told me when I am visiting, but it is supposed to be sometime this November.”
In the end a comfort level with the coaches, depth chart, and the system will be the deciding factors for Jones.
“I will sign with the team that shows more interest in me as a person and not a player,” Jones said. “I also want to see where I am most interested in as far as the atmosphere and the coaches.”