SEC teams in hot pursuit of QBC champ Mac Jones
BALTIMORE –- Mac Jones threw an errant pass Sunday at the Rivals Quarterback Challenge, turned away and said something best left off our website.
The four-star quarterback and Kentucky commit strives for perfection. Every pass must be on point. Every competitor must be bested, even when his arm feels like a spaghetti noodle.
Jones, from Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles, had a fun time going through all the drills, laughing with the other quarterbacks and cracking jokes on his bad throws, but make no mistake –- he was at the Rivals Quarterback Challenge to win it.
He did so in convincing fashion, running away with the most points. Second place was not even close.
“I compare him mentally to a Josh Rosen-type,” Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell said. “The physical attributes (of Rosen) are not there and I don’t think he takes it to that extreme level, but he definitely has that swagger to him.
“Watching him on Sunday where we thought his arm might be dying and he started getting frustrated with himself and cursing to himself and then he sprung back from that and finished as strong as he started is definitely impressive. He’s a cocky kid, he’s a confident kid and he thinks he’s going to win every time he goes out there, which I like a lot.”
There was a rumor going around that Jones designed a football-style obstacle course to practice the QB Challenge at home, knowing some of the drills from the regional event. It was said he even bought an Under Armour football to get comfortable with it. He wanted to be as prepared as possible to win this thing.
When asked if it was true, Jones laughed and walked away, neither confirming nor denying it. That’s the kind of kid Jones is -– funny, brash, cocksure. Just the type of player an upstart like Kentucky needs.
This is where things get really interesting, however.
The Bolles standout has been committed to Kentucky for a while and loves the environment and the coaching staff there. But since his pledge, his recruitment has taken off.
Alabama has offered, others are involved and there is talk Florida could join the list, too.
Jones says -– at least for the present time -– he’s sticking with the Wildcats and feels he could build something special in Lexington.
“It was early (to make a commitment), but I felt a connection with coach (Mark) Stoops and it was one of those things if I could commit early and kind of build up a class and help out the program,” Jones said. “That was my idea behind it.
“The coach that was recruiting me got fired, coach Shannon Dawson, but they did a good job of bringing in a good staff. I really like the new staff.”
Early in the recruiting process, Jones quickly built a good relationship with Stoops and that could be important as the four-star wades through the next few months.
Alabama and other SEC powers will push. Jones could be one of the top quarterbacks nationally, which will draw even more attention. But Kentucky is presenting the idea for Jones to do something special there and he seems to be buying in.
“I’m going to evaluate every offer,” Jones said. “Not everybody can say Alabama offered. I respect them all. The thing about Alabama and those big schools is you can go there and do really well and you might go to the NFL, but it’s also good to see it from Kentucky’s perspective where you can go there and be the superstar for the whole state. That’s definitely appealing.
“The conversations we had went really well, so I felt it was really awesome and that I could come in there, try to learn and whenever I’m ready to play, they’ll put me in. if something good happens, then I could be the hero.”
That’s a role perfectly designed for Jones.