In-state talent says Muschamp compared him to one of the most productive Gamecocks ever
Myrtle Beach wide receiver JJ Jones reached another milestone in his recruiting Saturday. He landed an offer from South Carolina, giving him one of the two offers he most covets. The other, of course, would be from Clemson, and he’s in conversation with the Tigers. The Gamecocks recently intensified their recruiting of Jones and it all came to a head when he got a text message from Will Muschamp Saturday asking him to give him a call.
“A head coach doesn’t just text out of nowhere and say hey, call me,” Jones said. “When Coach Muschamp told me to call, I thought something good was going to happen or something bad is going to happen. Something good happened. I was just relieved that all the hard work I’ve put in finally paid off.”
Jones said he and Muschamp chatted for a few minutes after the offer was delivered, and he liked what he heard from the Gamecocks’ head man.
“Coach Muschamp was telling me how much he liked my film, he likes who I am as a person,” Jones said. “He said I remind him of a young Bryan Edwards with my size, my skill set and the fact that I’m from the Grand Strand area. Being able to get this in-state, home-school offer, is monumental. It’s something I’ve been working on for a long time now.”
Jones has been working with a leaders list of Louisville, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Arkansas, West Virginia, Coastal Carolina, Duke, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Virginia, NC State, Penn State and Wake Forest. And now he’s added USC to that group.
“It definitely puts them in my top schools,” Jones said. “All my options are open right now, but the Gamecocks are definitely up in my top schools.” And it will certainly work in the Gamecocks’ favor that Jones’ former quarterback, Luke Doty, is a freshman QB at USC.
Jones plans to take several visits once traveling is allowed again, and then he’ll narrow his list to his official visits. From that he’ll make his decision.
Jones began his career as a defensive back at Socastee before transferring to Myrtle Beach and shifting to receiver. He’s now rated a three-star prospect in the 247Sports composite and ranked the No. 84 receiver in the country and the No. 4 prospect in South Carolina.
Note:
▪ South Carolina is in the top 12 with three-star cornerback Javon Bullard (5-foot-11, 165 pounds) of Milledgeville, Georgia. The others on his list are West Virginia, Auburn, Boston College, NC State, Vanderbilt, Pitt, Tennessee, Stanford, Georgia, UCF and Purdue. Bullard is ranked the No. 54 corner nationally in the 247Sports composite and the No. 54 prospect in Georgia.