Who is the top recruit in 2003
At first glance, the class of 2003 appears to be a very good one for football talent in the state of Tennessee.
Yet no star shines brighter than that of Steven Jones, the 6-foot-6, 291-pound blue chip defensive end at Brentwood high school in Brentwood, Tenn.
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Jones, the son of nine-year NFL veteran Mike Jones, has high hopes for himself as he prepares to enter into his senior season.
"I want to get better," Jones explained. "I want to be All-State, All-American and I eventually want to play professional football."
If the early word on the street is any indication, Jones has the ability to reach those lofty goals.
"I think he's the top player in that state," one college coach said last week. "It's still early, but we haven't seen anybody better at this point."
Jones says it's not just his imposing size that college coaches and opposing teams see. He thinks something else gives him an edge.
"Football is fun to me," he said. "You get to go out and hit people and compete with other people and see who is the best."
"I love football and I know I'm going to keep working hard at it - that's kind of my game."
Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Memphis have already offered Jones a scholarship.
He's going to try to go to a few one-day camps this summer at Tennessee, Auburn and Memphis.
Clemson, Georgia Tech, Michigan and North Carolina are also in the hunt, but Jones says it's too early to name a leader among the schools he is considering or even eliminate any other possibility.
This upcoming season, as Brentwood undergoes a coaching change, Jones will be expected to also spend some time at offensive tackle.
It's an opportunity he relishes.
"The more time I'm on the field, the better. You get more of a chance to make an impact that way."
A year ago, Jones recorded six sacks and more than 80 tackles a year ago as a defensive end.
Sure, Chris Russell of Nashville, Vince Redd of Elizabethton and several others will fight with Jones over the tag of the state of Tennessee's best prospect for the class of 2003.
But it looks like the talented and hard-working Jones may already have the inside track.