The Transfer Portal has changed the landscape of college football. So at Rivals we bring you the Transfer Tracker, where we analyze players entering the portal and rate them on what kind of impact they could make at their new home.
Next up in the tracker: Maryland defensive back Deon Jones.
AS A RECRUIT
Jones saw his recruitment come down to a battle between Clemson and Maryland and he elected to stay close to home with the Terps, committing during the summer prior to his senior year.
AT MARYLAND
Jones redshirted his first year on campus and played 197 total snaps in 2018, mostly as a reserve. This past season he got a chance to really contribute, starting in six of the 10 games he played and logging 447 total snaps according to Pro Football Focus. Over his two seasons of playing time he had 51 total tackles. Despite looking like a potential starter for Maryland in 2020, Jones elected to enter the portal late last week. Jones is a graduate transfer and has two years of eligibility remaining.
POTENTIAL LANDING SPOTS
One school that has been floated as a possible landing spot for Jones is Boston College, where former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is taking over and is looking for experienced players to plug into the lineup. With starting experience in the Big Ten and two years of eligibility remaining, he will have plenty of suitors.
FARRELL'S TAKE
“Jones was a highly regarded safety prospect out of high school who also had a chance to be a cornerback in college. He had good size and excellent closing speed and I liked the way he tackled. He had some very nice games at Maryland and with two years left of eligibility I think he can bring a lot to the table for a Power Five program. Anything less than Power Five would be a disservice to his talents." -- National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell
Impact Rating: 8.2 out of 10
IMPACT METER
The Transfer Portal continues to change the way college football programs recruit and mange their rosters so we here at Rivals.com continue to evolve our coverage. Each time a player of note enters the portal, we will examine their potential impact on the college football landscape and assign an impact rating, both when they enter the portal and when they choose a destination. The scale is from 1-10 and the description below explains the scoring scale.
1.1-4.0 — Not a big impact expected, likely a non-starter and down the bench depth player.
4.1- 6.0 — A solid impact can be expected in the right scenario and has the potential to battle for a starting job.
6.1-9.0. — A high impact player who won’t change a program but will certainly be a very good contributor and starter.
9.1- 9.9 — A very high impact player who should start the moment he steps on the field and will change the outlook of a program immediately.
10 — A franchise transfer who has a chance to be an All American and one of the elite players in college football.
