Vandy impresses Rivals250 DE

Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson defensive end Jarontay Jones, a member of the Rivals250 watch list, was pleasantly surprised during last weekend's visit to Vanderbilt.

"It was way better than I expected," Jones said. "There are great things going on up there. The new head coach is going to do a great job at Vanderbilt and get them on the right track."

According to Jones, who made the trip to Nashville with several of his teammates, he will seriously consider the Commodores.

"The best part of the visit was being with them and seeing the difference we can make if we all go to the same school. Before we left, they got us all together with the coaches and showed us the difference we can make. After the visit, I really am considering Vanderbilt. I can come in and contribute and make them better. There's so much there. And they've got great academics. If some of my teammates do decide to go to Vanderbilt, it will boost them up."

Right now, Jones continues to have two programs on top.

"It's still Auburn and Florida," Jones said. "But Clemson is knocking on the door."

Thus far, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Jones has visited both the Tigers and Gators. But he has not yet been to Clemson. A planned visit there last month was postponed because Jones had a scheduling conflict.

"I really want to try to get there," Jones said. "I want to try to make it back to Florida, also. And somehow, I want to get to Virginia Tech.

Jones has no visits scheduled for this weekend. Instead, he will compete in the Rivals.com/VTO Sports Elite 100 camp in Marietta, Ga.

"I've been looking forward to that," Jones said. "I've been getting ready for it all week."