Revisiting a recruit they
thought they had lost paid dividends recently for the East Carolina
Pirates.
ECU fell out of contact
with 6-foot-8, 240-pound Justin Jones from Conyers, GA, after the tight
end-defensive end made a verbal commitment to Kentucky last June.
But a disagreement over an
official visit led Jones and the Wildcats to part ways in October,
according to Heritage High assistant head coach Andy Szatkowski, and
opened the door for the Pirates to re-enter the picture.
“(ECU assistant) Coach
(Steve) Shankweiler came down last spring and offered,'' Szatkowski
said. “But they (ECU) kind of disappeared when he committed to Kentucky.
Then they were off the radar a little bit.
“Then, last season, when
South Carolina was going to play Georgia, he (Jones) told Kentucky he
was going to visit. Kentucky called back and said if he went they were
going to pull his scholarship offer. That's not the right thing to do,
and he wasn't too happy with that. So he said he wasn't going to stay
there.''
The interest Jones was
expecting after withdrawing from Kentucky's class didn't materialize.
Szatkowski said Jones' options had come down to spending a semester at
Hargrave Military Academy before enrolling at Vanderbilt.
But that was before the
Pirates rushed back in to rescue Jones.
“It was about two weeks
ago when East Carolina kind of dashed back in and got him,'' Szatkowski
said. “They came back and said, 'We've still got something for you if
you're interested and want to take a look.' So he took a look up there
and loved it.''
Jones is the 20th known
commitment for ECU's Class of 2009, and the fourth tight end prospect.
Those players become official Pirate recruits Wednesday when they're
scheduled to sign binding national letters-of-intent.
Szatkowski said ECU is
getting a player in Jones who has made dramatic strides physically over
the last two years.
“He's only played football
two years,'' Szatkowski said. “Our (coaching staff's) first year here
was two years ago, and he decided he wanted to come out (for football).
You couldn't help but notice him because he's 6-8. But he was only about
215 pounds that first year. He was just a 6-8 beanpole.
“But he had a decent year
at tight end as a junior, and some college coaches started coming
around. I think he realized then that he might have a career as a
college player if he took it a little more seriously. So he worked hard,
got bigger and got a lot tougher.''
Jones needed those traits
even more when Heritage head coach Chad Frazier decided to shift him to
defensive end as a senior. He responded to the move by making 10 1/2
sacks and 22 1/2 tackles for loss. Jones had four tackles behind the
line in one game against Salem.
Szatkowski, who is
Heritage's defensive coordinator, said the highlight of the season for
Jones came against Apalachee High.
“Against Apalachee, on a
third-and-one play on the goal line, their offensive tackle went to cut
him,'' Szatkowski said. “But Justin jumped over him and tackled the
runner in the backfield. He stopped them again on the next play, but it
was pretty incredible to see him jump over somebody and make the play.''
Despite his impressive
skills as a defensive lineman, Jones is expected to start his career at
tight end for ECU.
Although he played only
sparingly at tight end as a senior, Szatkowski believes Jones will make
a quick transition back to tight end.
“He's got such long arms
and soft hands,'' Szatkowski said. “When he was a junior, we would split
him out wide and throw it up to him. Nobody could cover him.
“I think he can make the
transition easily. The thing that's going to be hard for him is he's not
used to going up against college superstars. I think East Carolina has
its entire defensive line back. They're good players. He's going to go
up against those guys in practice, and he'll have to do well if he wants
to get a sniff of the field next season. He's going to have to hit the
weight room hard.
“He'll really have to
commit himself to the weight room once basketball season is over.''
