Here’s more on the process that led to Ernest Jones committing to the Gamecocks…
Having closely followed both recruitments, Jones’ process reminds me of one from the 2017 class in Sherrod Greene. The latter was a three-star backer out of North Carolina who had a nice Power 5 offer list, but was still relatively undervalued and came with little hype attached. He did participate in one of Rivals.com’s camps in the spring prior to his senior season and an uptick in interest from colleges during that spring evaluation period had his name out there a good bit. Still, South Carolina’s coaching staff believed he had a tremendous workout during its summer camp session later in the year, and he became a big-time target for the Gamecocks. USC was plenty fine with the fact that Greene’s name did not blow up and that he was not prolific on the camp scene.
Jones is similar in that he had several substantial Power 5 offers, and he was even less visible with camps and visits than Greene. He whittled his list to Duke and South Carolina, with the pull of the Blue Devils’ academics (it’s a bigger recruiting draw with certain types of prospects than some observers may believe) giving him something to think about. Jones’ mother actually favored Duke because of academics for a while, but the family fell in love with USC once they took an in-depth trip to the campus. At the end of the day, Jones was more comfortable in Columbia, wanted to play in the SEC and the family was sold on Will Muschamp’s track record of defensive development.
The three-star backer actually informed Muschamp of his decision around two weeks ago and kept it under his hat until decision day. Jones set his decision date for May 5, and that just so happened to be the birthday of linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler. Jones informed Hutzler of his choice around 2:00 p.m., a several hours in advance of his public announcement in front of family and friends. Tight ends coach Pat Washington has Jones’ school on the recruiting trail, but as the position coach, Hutzler had the most involvement in the process of any coach on staff. Will Muschamp, as he always is with top targets, also remained in consistent contact with Jones.
Having closely followed both recruitments, Jones’ process reminds me of one from the 2017 class in Sherrod Greene. The latter was a three-star backer out of North Carolina who had a nice Power 5 offer list, but was still relatively undervalued and came with little hype attached. He did participate in one of Rivals.com’s camps in the spring prior to his senior season and an uptick in interest from colleges during that spring evaluation period had his name out there a good bit. Still, South Carolina’s coaching staff believed he had a tremendous workout during its summer camp session later in the year, and he became a big-time target for the Gamecocks. USC was plenty fine with the fact that Greene’s name did not blow up and that he was not prolific on the camp scene.
Jones is similar in that he had several substantial Power 5 offers, and he was even less visible with camps and visits than Greene. He whittled his list to Duke and South Carolina, with the pull of the Blue Devils’ academics (it’s a bigger recruiting draw with certain types of prospects than some observers may believe) giving him something to think about. Jones’ mother actually favored Duke because of academics for a while, but the family fell in love with USC once they took an in-depth trip to the campus. At the end of the day, Jones was more comfortable in Columbia, wanted to play in the SEC and the family was sold on Will Muschamp’s track record of defensive development.
The three-star backer actually informed Muschamp of his decision around two weeks ago and kept it under his hat until decision day. Jones set his decision date for May 5, and that just so happened to be the birthday of linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler. Jones informed Hutzler of his choice around 2:00 p.m., a several hours in advance of his public announcement in front of family and friends. Tight ends coach Pat Washington has Jones’ school on the recruiting trail, but as the position coach, Hutzler had the most involvement in the process of any coach on staff. Will Muschamp, as he always is with top targets, also remained in consistent contact with Jones.
