Texas prospect makes decision
It has been deadly quiet on the recruitment of Spring receiver Daryl
Jones. For good reason.
Advertisement
Jones, who has 18 Division I offers, had an all-star season for the Lions
with 11 touchdowns and over 600 yards receiving. Schools from across the country,
including Texas A&M, Stanford, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Georgia Tech just to
name a few, coveted the speedy receiver.
He covets something else.
"I've decided to go ahead and commit to Rice University," he said. "To play
baseball. It was a hard decision but if I really want to be a professional
baseball player, I need to completely focus myself on it."
While Jones was a blue chip football player, he's the 83rd overall Major
League Baseball prospect by Baseball America.
"I used to be 22 in the country as a sophomore before I injured my shoulder,"
he said. "I've missed most of the past two seasons with a torn labrum and
rehabbing, but I'm fully healthy now."
Jones plays centerfield for the Lions, which is also home of Florida Marlin
pitcher Josh Beckett.
"I came to Spring from a private school before my sophomore season because I
wanted to play for both programs," he said. "They develop baseball players
here and throw the ball a lot in football. It was a good fit. You never know what
is going to happen between your sophomore and senior season, so I wanted to
see which sport would pan out."
If Jones does end up being a high draft pick this spring, he will be weighing
the option of even going to college at all.
"I'm just going to see if the money makes sense," he said. "It's a win-win
situation I'm in. If I don't get drafted high then I go to school and get a
great education and try to get drafted three years from now."
Jones never took an official visit but did take several unofficial visits
around Texas.