VIEW THE MOBILE ALPHA VERSION OF THIS SITE

Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of East Carolina
Daily News & Features from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

Mobile Alpha Roundup Daily Beat Recruiting The Seasons Multimedia Historical Data Pirate Time Machine SportByte™ Weather

 

 

 

 

 
Put your ad message in front of 1,000's and 1,000's of Pirate fans. Call 252.637.2944 for flexible options & rates.

 

 
 

 

Tracking the Stars of the Future

Football Recruiting Report
February 3, 2009

By Sammy Batten

THUMBNAILS:  2006  •  2007  •  2008  •  2009

Kentucky's loss is East Carolina's gain

By Sammy Batten
©2009 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

Recruiting Links

BVL: Pirate Football Recruiting Thumbnails
Batten: Kentucky's loss is East Carolina's gain
Batten: 4.4 'glider' ready for offense or defense
Batten: Speedy power back enlists with Pirates
Batten: Early offer to James pays off for ECU
Batten: Swift wideout runs into Pirates' arms
Batten: Ex-tackle found his calling at tight end
Batten: ECU O-line gaining more stature
Batten: First instinct held true for N.J prep star
Batten: Wayne destined for Pirates' RB corps
Batten: There's no place like home for Booth
Batten: Mom's motivation pays off for Price
Batten: Simmons savors war in the trenches
Batten: Terry evokes déjà vu for coach
Batten: Pirates lure Georgia "bone crusher"
Batten: Lexington LB steeped in football
Batten: ECU's football culture impressed QB
Batten: ECU recruiting effort picks up speed
Batten: Cumberland Co. pipeline still flowing
Batten: '09 recruiting starts with lithe lineman

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.

Recruiting Links

BVL: Pirate Football Recruiting Thumbnails
Batten: Kentucky's loss is East Carolina's gain
Batten: 4.4 'glider' ready for offense or defense
Batten: Speedy power back enlists with Pirates
Batten: Early offer to James pays off for ECU
Batten: Swift wideout runs into Pirates' arms
Batten: Ex-tackle found his calling at tight end
Batten: ECU O-line gaining more stature
Batten: First instinct held true for N.J prep star
Batten: Wayne destined for Pirates' RB corps
Batten: There's no place like home for Booth
Batten: Mom's motivation pays off for Price
Batten: Simmons savors war in the trenches
Batten: Terry evokes déjà vu for coach
Batten: Pirates lure Georgia "bone crusher"
Batten: Lexington LB steeped in football
Batten: ECU's football culture impressed QB
Batten: ECU recruiting effort picks up speed
Batten: Cumberland Co. pipeline still flowing
Batten: '09 recruiting starts with lithe lineman

“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.''

Send an e-mail message to Sammy Batten.

Dig into Sammy Batten's archives.

02/03/2009 03:22:22 AM

 

©2001-2002-2003-2004-2005-2006-2007-2008-2009-2010-2011-2012-2013 Bonesville.net. All rights reserved.
Articles, logos, graphics, photos, audio files, video files and other content originated on this site are the proprietary property of Bonesville.net.
None of the articles, logos, graphics, photos, audio files, video files or other content originated on this site may be reproduced without written permission.
This site is not affiliated with East Carolina University. View Bonesville.net's Privacy Policy. Advertising contact: 252-349-3280; Editorial contact: editor@bonesville.net; 252-444-1905.