Getting serious with Demetrius Jones

Rumor. Pressure. Speculation.

For Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park four star ranked dual-threat quarterback prospect Demetrius Jones (6-foot-3, 185 pounds), all of the pressures surrounding his football recruiting world just melted away in the Chicago heat and humidity at least for a few hours on Monday. Jones and the Mustangs opened up it's first day of team camp on Monday.

"It's time for us to get ready as a team this summer," Jones said. "I've had a smile on my face all day today because we started our team camp. It just felt great to get out on the field as a team. We have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, but I'm confident we'll be ready. We seem to have a great team bond, and I'm really excited to get things going."

Jones filled us in on his latest recruiting news and thoughts.

"I've been hearing the streets talking again (in reference to various rumors about his recruiting) and the streets couldn't be more wrong. I've basically been just taking it easy on the recruiting stuff for now. I haven't been text messaging anyone and I haven't been calling any coaches this summer. I haven't committed to anywhere yet, and the more I look at things the longer this process could go for me. I'm really looking at making my decision now before the start of the season or even longer if I need to."

Jones explained why he's stepping back on his self-imposed earlier time frame for making his final college choice.

"I'm really trying to focus on the schools more than the coaches involved in this process. The perfect example to me was when Coach Cutcliffe stepped down at Notre Dame. I feel really bad for him and his situation and I'm praying for him. It just tells me that coaches can come and go for whatever reason, and no matter which school I wind up going to, I need to want to be at that school and enjoy that school no matter who the coaches are now or 3-4 years from now."

"The more I look at things, the more I realize that I have time on my side right now. I know that the coaches want me to make an early decision and why, but I'm also going to take as much time as I feel I need. I want to be 100 percent certain of my final choice. I also want to see how some of these schools play this fall. That's another big part of the equation for me in my decision making. I want to see at least a spark of progress from these schools this season. I want to see how things are working out on the field and what I can expect down the road. I want to see how some of these school develop this fall on the field."

Jones is also looking to make a few one-day camps and unofficial visits this summer.

"I'm definitely going to check out a few one-day camps and I'm also going to make some unofficial visits soon. This Saturday I'm heading to Illinois. I'm also looking to do one-day camps at Purdue, Tennessee and Notre Dame. In late June/early July I have a family reunion in California, so I might make an unofficial visit to USC. I was thinking about going to Oregon for a camp for the Elite 11, but the dates really don't look like they will work out for me. The first camp date is this Saturday, and the last available date is the last day my team finishes the Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp."

For now, Jones just wants to focus on what really matters to him the most.

"Right now I want to just focus on getting my team ready for the season. I want to focus on doing well in school this fall, winning a state title and enjoying myself and having a good time in my senior year. Recruiting is definitely important, but I find myself getting too wrapped up in all of the drama at times. I want to have some fun right now and enjoy just being a kid, and I'll really focus in on everything in due time."