Minnesota QB makes a verbal

Simley High School (Minn.) quarterback prospect Marcel Jones (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) landed his first scholarship offer on Monday from the University of Minnesota, and last night Jones decided to give Minnesota and head coach Glen Mason his verbal commitment.

Randy Jones, the father of Marcel and the head coach of Simley High School, told Erik Lofdahl of MinnesotaPreps.com this morning that, "Marcel spent yesterday and the previous day meeting with the staff. The more he talked to coach Moe Ankney, coach Tony Peterson and head coach Glen Mason the more he felt comfortable about accepting the Gophers offer. He really likes how Coach Peterson coaches and teaches. He really likes what type of people the staff and coaches are. That was the biggest reason for his decision to accept the Gophers offer."

Any head coach would be thrilled to see one of his players accepting an early in-state scholarship offer from the Gophers, yet when it's your son that's involved, needless to say that Randy Jones is even more excited for his son. "What more could you want as a father. He has an opportunity to receive an education from the University of Minnesota and chance to play in the Big Ten. He's excited about staying in the Midwest. He's feels very good about everything. As a parent we couldn't ask for much more. The Minnesota coaches said that they'll be bringing in only one QB this year and that it's going to be Marcel."

Marcel Jones was receiving recruiting interest from several schools this spring, including Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Oregon and Louisville before deciding to verbal to the University of Minnesota.