Hokies lure top prospect Thursday, January 25, 2001
roanoke.com
If tailback Kevin Jones plays as expected, Tech football fans will continue to get thrills from No. 7.
By RANDY KING
The Roanoke Times
Suddenly, the pain of losing star quarterback Michael Vick to the NFL doesn't hurt so much in Hokie Nation.
Thirteen days after being stung by Vick's decision to turn pro early, Virginia Tech's football program received a soothing injection of cure-all Wednesday when it landed the top-rated high school prospect in the country.
Running back Kevin Jones, whose combination of size, strength and speed has led some to compare him to Herschel Walker, ended months of suspense Wednesday afternoon when he orally committed to Tech in a news conference at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pa.
Jones, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound back with sprinter's speed, chose Tech over Penn State. In a juke move that must have been cruel for the home folks, Jones picked up a Nittany Lions jersey before speaking, only to then peel off his sweatshirt and display a Tech jersey underneath.
"I just felt more comfortable at Virginia Tech and I thought it was the best place for me," Jones said following the news conference. "I'm just happy the whole thing is over with and I can chill out. It's like a gorilla off my back."
Jones, whose 5,878 yards rushing ranks second all time in the Philadelphia area, is far and away the top national prospect ever landed by the Hokies. Bryan Randall, a quarterback from Williamsburg's Bruton High School who committed to Tech four weeks ago, was the Hokies' previous highest-ranked national recruit, ranked 15th.
Jones is the 19th player to commit in what easily has been Tech's greatest recruiting year. The Hokies' haul includes a program-record five SuperPrep All-Americans: Jones, Randall, defensive back DeAngelo Hall of Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, running back Cedric Humes of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, and defensive back D.J. Walton of Hylton High School in Dumfries.
Jones' decision ended a ping-pong recruiting battle between Tech and Penn State. In the past few weeks, both schools took turns swapping the lead in the battle for the services of a blue-chipper who can bench press 300 pounds and run at warp speed. In a mid-July camp run by Florida State, Jones was clocked at 4.26 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
"He's the best high school football running back I've ever seen," said George Stratts, Jones' coach at Cardinal O'Hara.
Despite missing two games with a sprained ankle, Jones ran for 1,270 yards and 18 touchdowns last fall.
"He's very fast, he's nice-sized and he's very strong. Talent-wise, he's head and shoulders over so many other kids. He runs like a Terrell Davis, I think."
Stratts said Jones was torn between Tech and Penn State. Both schools had made frantic, late pushes in the battle. Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno visited Jones' home last Thursday. On Tuesday night, Tech coach Frank Beamer reportedly spent two hours with Jones and his parents. Beamer was joined by assistants Billy Hite and Lorenzo "Whammy" Ward, who has been courting Jones for months.
"I think the deciding factor was Kevin felt more comfortable with their coaches," Stratts said. "I can't tell you when he made his decision. It was last night. Or maybe it was 8:15 this morning."
Stratts said Jones was under a lot of pressure to pick Penn State. "There was some disappointment because this is such a strong Penn State area," Stratts said. "Really, though, he couldn't go wrong with either school."
Stratts said Jones, perhaps unlike some others, viewed Tech as being as big a marquee name as Penn State.
"As far as he was concerned, Virginia Tech is a national program," Stratts said. "They competed for the national championship two years ago. And they have a good team coming back even though they lost Michael Vick."
Stratts noted another factor that weighed in Jones' decision was the Hokies' track program.
"I think the kid has in the back of his mind also that he wants to run track," Stratts said. "If he gets that opportunity, Virginia Tech has a better track program, I think, than Penn State. That and Coach Beamer and the rest of the coaching staff had a big influence on him."
Jones wore No.7 at Cardinal O'Hara, the same number Vick wore at Tech. Fittingly, a No.7 jersey will await Jones on his arrival in Blacksburg this August.
Jones said he was a huge fan of Vick, who announced Jan.11 he was bypassing his final two seasons of eligibility at Tech to head to the NFL.
"Vick leaving early really doesn't change anything at all," Jones said. "If I were him, I would have done the same thing."
Will Hokies fans see Jones run this fall? If he isn't redshirted, Jones, combined with record-setting Lee Suggs of Roanoke, could give Tech the most dangerous tailback tandem in the nation.
"They said I'll be playing [this fall]," Jones said of the Tech coaches.
Count on the Hokies doing so. As they discovered with Vick, guys wearing No.7 in Blacksburg have to play. They have to play immediately, if not sooner. |
