Rivals and another site are reporting that Melvin Jones, LB from Washington Marion HS has committed to LSU, becoming the 17th member of the 2013 Class. Great pickup and welcome to Tiger Town Melvin! http://lsu.rivals.com/
i'm liking the 246-pound size of this guy 247 Sports: 4-star, #4 ILB, #148 on the Top 247 Scout: 4-star, #8 MLB Rivals: 4-star, #16 ILB ESPN: 3-star, #67 ATH SEC offers: Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Miss State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt other offers: Nebraska, Oklahoma State, TCU, etc
last year as a junior, he was First Team 4A All-State as a LB (other LSU players named to that same 4A-State team as seniors were Derek Edinburgh and Travin Dural... so were Alabama LB Denzel Devall, Texas DE Torshiro Davis, Miss State DB Quadry Antoine, Texas A&M commit Noel Ellis, etc) and he was also named both the 4A District 4 OFFENSIVE MVP and the DEFENSIVE MVP. he was also named All-District at four different positions: QB, LB, ATH, and KR from an article on the Washington-Marion vs DeRidder regular season game last year: "I think Superman changed his uniform and it’s No. 17 for Washington-Marion,” said DeRidder coach Eric Parmley on Melvin Jones. "The kid is pretty special. To be that big, that strong, that physical and that good of an athlete. He ran the ball extremely well. My best analogy would be that he is the Cam Newton of high school football. He’s a big boy that picks his way through there." Jones finished the game with 244 yards rushing on just 22 carries with two touchdowns and averaged just over 11 yards a carry. from an article on the first-round of the 4A Playoffs last year: "Washington-Marion came in with a simple strategy on Friday. Run with quarterback Melvin Jones. Then do it again and again...For much of the first half, the Indians lined up in a shotgun formation, only to have Jones run quarterback draws the majority of the time. The Green Devils couldn’t stop it. Jones ran for 125 yards on 21 carries and two scores" in Washington-Marion's 35-8 victory from a 247 Sports article on Jones: "Melvin Jones can almost do it all. The linebacker from Lake Charles (La.) Washington-Marion High School is one of the most unique athletes that you’re going to find anywhere. At 6-4, 250 pounds, he’s one of the top inside linebackers in the country but as a junior he played as much quarterback as he did linebacker. But that’s just the beginning. Jones throws the shot-put and javelin in track, he can play four positions for the basketball court, he has played every position on the baseball field. Washington-Marion head football coach Freddie Harrison could play him at almost every position on the football field and say it with a straight face. "Melvin can play any position on the football field," Coach Harrison said. "He can play center, quarterback, running back. You’d be surprised how soft his hands are. He can play tight end, receiver. The only position I would not put him at is cornerback. I’d put him at any position on the field but cornerback." At his frame, Jones can run away from defenders with his 4.6 speed and when you add his testing numbers, the package only gets more impressive. He squats 600 pounds, he power cleans 265, he can put up 315 on the incline and he bench presses 335. And he’s more than just raw numbers. "He runs sideline to sideline," Harrison said. "He knows the angles at linebacker. He has so much natural instincts to where he makes it easy to coach." ... "The option is nothing to play with," said his coach. "This kid picked up the option in like three days. He picked up the zone read like it was nothing. He knows when to pull and when to give. It’s just natural instincts. I’m not going to sit here and say we did a hell of a job coaching." ... After a 3-3 start, Jones was given an increased role as quarterback for his team and they didn’t lose again until the second round of the playoffs. "It was crazy," Jones said of the season. "I didn’t know I was going to do all that. I didn’t know he was going to put me in at quarterback. We had talked about it during the summer and then we were down during the St. Louis game and he called my number and I went in. We had run a few plays in practice but it was just natural." That late season run along with the post-season release of his highlight film is what saw Jones’ recruitment blow up. ... he is fielding more calls than he can count. "It’s crazy," he said. "Every day I get a call. Coach calls me and there’s somebody on the phone for me. It’s shocking. I’ll be like ‘this is really for me?’"
This one was expected and look for Desean Smith to follow shortly if their plan is still intact. Both wanted to commit to the same school around the same time. However, hearing he may wait to officially announce at the Army All Star game.
along with OL Ethan Pocic, Jones is the only other LSU commit that was named to the MaxPreps 2011 U.S. Air Force Junior All-American Football Team he was one of 10 LBs that made the team. the other 9 were: 1st Team --Alabama commit Reuben Foster (Rivals 5-star, #1 ILB, #2 on Rivals 150) --Southern Cal commit Su'a Cravens (Rivals 5-star, #1 safety, #8 on Rivals 150) --Auburn commit Trey Johnson (Rivals 4-star, #2 ILB, #42 on Rivals 150) --Florida State commit E.J. Levenberry (Rivals 4-star, #3 OLB, #21 on Rivals 150) --Demarkus Lathan (too small: only 5-9, 180 lbs, was Texas 5A Defensive Player of the Year with 188 tackles) 2nd Team --Matthew Thomas (Rivals 5-star, #2 OLB, #11 on the Rivals 150) --South Carolina commit Larenz Bryant (Rivals 4-star, #3 ILB, #56 on Rivals 150) --Tim Kimbrough (Rivals 4-star, #6 ILB, #137 on the Rivals 150) --UVA commit Micah Kiser (Rivals 3-star, #20 ILB), had offers to Florida, Oklahoma, Penn State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Stanford, etc
Lee Brecheen, publisher of Louisiana Football Magazine since 1996, said this about Jones: he "runs a 4.55/40 and looks every bit of that as a LB on defense when he’s not a QB for his High School team in Lake Charles. Melvin Jones is the Louisiana version of Donta Hightower of Alabama (265-pound LB, 1st Round pick by the Patriots in the 2012 Draft, consensus first-team All-American in 2011). He’s a kid that will weigh 260 in college and run a 4.6/40 and stay at LB because he’s so gifted. He’s my # 1 player in the state for 2013. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a LB this size from a Louisiana High School run and hit like this kid does every play. It’s just flat out off the charts." fellow All-American and First Round pick Alabama LB Rolando McClain, said this about Hightower: "Dont'a [Hightower] can play any position on the field. He's a freak to me. He’s amazing. I can’t explain it. ... the way he just takes it and they move him to (outside) one day and back (inside) the next day."
Definitely a huge get kids got serious size and speed. Can't teach instincts and his are there. Looking for big things from Him in the future
This is great news. Keeping the defense strong. With last years linebackers, and now Jones and possibly Beckwith we should be set for years to come.
