Jones excited for big season
Long Beach (Calif.) Poly has a new coach this season in former NFL linebacker Antonio Pierce and 2016 prospect Jack Jones is excited for his junior campaign.
The offseason has been great and Jones is excited about having the opportunity to play both offense and defense this year for one of the top teams in California.
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"It's been pretty good," Jones said. "I really like this coach. He's on us and he's not letting us slack at all. Preseason has been going good. Every high school team we did passing league against we beat them pretty badly so we're doing good.
"Offensively, I will be playing slot, mostly going across the middle or down the sidelines a couple times. I get the ball thrown to me a bunch of times. On defense, they have me playing nickel, mostly safety right now and I'm still working for that spot."
Jones, a 5-foot-11, 160-pound four-star athlete who had a strong showing at the UCLA camp this summer, has told the coaches at Poly he will play anywhere and only wants to contribute whether on offense, defense or special teams.
"I tell them I'll play any position," Jones said. "I just want to get on the field."
That should be no problem for Jones, rated as the No. 20 athlete and the No. 198 prospect in the 2016 class by Rivals.com.
UCLA, Boise State and San Jose State have already offered the 2016 prospect. He said in recent weeks his recruitment has been slow but he's hopeful USC gets much more involved as his junior season gets underway. Other Pac-12 teams have reached out early on as well.
"They've been showing a little interest but not too much," Jones said of USC. "I went to their camp but I haven't talked much with the coaches yet. I'm looking forward to that offer. I want to get it."