Jones still solid with the Buffaloes
The recruiting process never truly ends until signing day. San Jose (Calif.) Valley Christian defensive standout Akil Jones has been verbally committed to Colorado since late June but Oregon State, San Diego State and Utah State have tried to get him to change his mind.
Jones said Colorado fans don't have to worry. Numerous recent conversations and meetings with Buffs coaches, including Mike MacIntyre, Gary Bernardi, Klayton Adams and graduate assistant Patrick Williams, have helped keep him solid in his pledge.
“It has been a blessing to able to go through the process. Not a lot of kids get the opportunity to go on and play Division-1 football,” Jones said on Monday. “I enjoyed everything with recruiting, step-by-step, and now we are to the final step where I will be signing. Coach Adams will be coming by tomorrow delivering the letter of intent I'll be signing next Wednesday.”
Jones took his official visit to Colorado, along with 12 other recruits, during the weekend of Jan. 15. Ryan Severson, who was a senior at Valley Christian when Jones was a freshman, served as his player host.
“The official visit really does show you what your life will be like in college,” said Jones, who measured in at 5-foot-11, 220-pounds during his recent trip to Boulder. “I got to see how busy I will be when I get there. Between classes, meetings, practice and tutoring sessions, your whole schedule is basically planned out for you and you just have to go do it.
“It was really nice hanging around Ryan and a few other players. I asked them what they like about the program and what they wish was better. It was great being able to get to see the facilities because when I took my unofficial visit in the summer, it was still under construction. The facilities are pretty much all completed now and it looks amazing.”
What exactly did Jones hear back when asking questions to Colorado's current players?
“They are in a rebuilding stage right now but every player I talked to said they love the place and they feel like they are very close to turning the program around,” he said. “They feel like they are really close to going to bowl games. There wasn't really anything big that they want to change about it, maybe just some later practice times. But they said it is an amazing place to be.”
Playing primarily a hybrid rush end role for Valley Christian, Jones averaged more than a sack-and-a-half per game as a senior. He was named first-team all-Northern California by MaxPreps and first-team all-league by the San Jose Mercury News.
“Colorado said I will be playing inside linebacker for them. So it will be a new position for me but they believe I have the talent to move inside,” Jones said. “I am up for playing wherever I am needed and hopefully I will find a spot on the starting line-up.
“I am hoping when I get up there that I can bring a little bit of a motor to the program. I have a motor to my game, I always like to be high tempo. I don't want to let anybody get a jump on me and catch me being tired. So I just want to come into Colorado's program and maybe turn a few heads and be able to get the team to never quit on any play. I just want to try to be a spark to the team.”
