WR Darren Jones emerging as a high-level national 2019 prospect
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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Darren Jones is listed on his high school roster at 6-foot-8.
“More like 6-9,” Jones said Friday night after his San Bernardino (Calif.) Cajon team dispatched Palm Springs, Calif., 48-6, in the first round of playoffs.
What’s one inch when you’re so tall, and so dominant?
The 2019 wide receiver is a physical specimen, imagine a skinnier version of Kevin Durant, except not on the basketball court and instead dominating defenses as an outside receiver who is nearly impossible to slow down.
Cornerbacks press him and Jones is surprisingly strong. Give him any space and he catches everything. Excellent speed down the field, think about someone who’s 6-foot-9 as a deep threat with excellent hands. Tackling him is like watching a skyscraper topple over.
Through 11 games, Jones has 64 receptions for 1,450 yards and 20 touchdowns. He averages more than 22 yards per catch. Yep, unstoppable.
For Cajon coach Nick Rogers, he admits he catches himself sometimes not just lobbing the ball up to Jones’ outstretched hands on every play. Like, every single play.
“I did that in a game a couple weeks ago,” Rogers said. “They were pressing him at the line and I said, ‘Let’s go up top right now.’ We did on the first play and we just kept doing it. The problem is he gets mugged so much because of his size and at times I worry they’re going to hurt him because it gets to where it’s almost unfair at times.”
Jones, who is also a standout basketball player, is in the infancy of his recruiting process with offers from Texas A&M, Utah and Nevada so far. He said USC, Washington, Oregon, Oregon State and Colorado have been showing interest.
It would be hard to fathom Jones won’t be a high-level national recruit soon.
“If I have to be a deep threat, I can be a deep threat,” Jones said. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to win.
“If the cornerback comes up and says, ‘You’re not going anywhere,’ and tries to challenge me they can try but I don’t think any corner can really stop me. They don’t think I can run somebody over or block, but I can do it.”
As for which schools stand out this early, Jones does not seem to know. He thinks Texas A&M is interesting, especially since the Aggies have targeted tall receivers for years. There seems to be significant interest in USC.
But the 2019 receiver is more focused on dominating through Cajon’s playoff run. The Cowboys are 10-1 and don’t seem to be slowing down.
Jones is a huge reason why.
“He’s a real good teammate,” Rogers said. “What he does blocking for us, we could throw it to him every time and he will make plays. He takes pride in blocking and setting up other guys as a decoy so he’s a great teammate.”