Recruiting is on the rise for NC athlete Jones

Matthews (N.C.) Weddington has an emerging jumbo athlete to watch in 6-foot-4, 215-pound Buck Jones. According to his coach, Jones is one prospect to keep an eye on.

"He was all-county and all-conference this past year," Weddington head coach Justin Hardin said of Jones. "He had 68 tackles, 14 for loss, 26 hurries and eight sacks.

"He has grown so much within the past year. At the end of his sophomore year he was 167-pounds and now he's 215. He's starting to look really good. He's got a big frame and can grow a lot more. I could easily see him being a 245 or 250-pound kid with his frame."

Jones comes from a heavy football background.

"His dad played linebacker at TCU and he's got two other uncles who played in college, one in the NFL with the Jets."

Meanwhile, Hardin went on about his ability.

"He loves football, he's very smart, coachable and by far our best defensive player," he said. "In our area he's the best defensive end in the county. He just can run, he's got a knack for making plays. He's long and rangy, and he's very technically sound. He's just one of those players you show him something to do and he naturally picks it up.

"He's so versatile in what he can do. He played some outside linebacker in a 3-4, but is more of a 4-3 defensive end. He can run as a tight end too and has good hands. He's the best basketball player on our team and him being able to play basketball has helped his hands. He does need to improve his blocking a bit though."

Off the field, Jones boasts a 3.75 GPA.

"He's very smart and that translates on the field," he said. "He's one of the top students in his class and he works his butt off in the weight room too."

Colleges are aware of Jones and looking out for him.

"I've told a lot of people to keep an eye on him cause I knew he'd hit that big growth spurt," he said. "I know he's going to Clemson on April 2nd and North Carolina on April 18th. After schools see him this spring they'll follow up and jump on him.

"I know Buck likes a lot of the state schools, Duke, NC state, North Carolina, TCU, South Carolina, Wake Forest and Vanderbilt. Hopefully some of these guys see him in person because now he passes the look test."

Jones isn't the only prospect to watch at Weddington as 6-foot-2, 190-pound quarterback Drew Podrebarac is starting to get looks as well.

"He's got a big arm and moves pretty well," he said. "He's a 4.65 guy that runs well, we probably should have run him more. In the last two or three games he had eight rushing touchdowns.

"He's a guy that's gotten some interest from Duke and a few others."

Podrebarac was an all-conference and all-county prospect that accounted for 2,196-yards passing, 22 touchdowns threw the air to nine interceptions.