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Football Recruiting

Carl Jones on commitment to Syracuse: ‘Everything just happened so fast’

Courtesy of Carl Jones

Carl Jones is the fourth player to commit to Syracuse since Dino Babers was hired as the next head coach.

By Paul SchwedelsonSenior Staff Writer

Carl Jones walked down the hall and into his coach’s office. He had only briefly heard that a Syracuse assistant would be visiting St. Edward (Ohio) High School on Wednesday and didn’t even know he was there for him.

“I was just walking to the coach’s office and there he was waiting for me,” Jones said of the Orange’s Tom Kaufman. “So that’s how that happened.”

Last Saturday, Jones helped St. Edward win a state title. After meeting Kaufman on Wednesday, he took an official visit to Syracuse from Friday to Sunday. And now, a day later, he became the 14th member of the Orange’s evolving 2016 recruiting class. Jones was the second player to verbal to SU on Monday, joining offensive tackle Liam O’Sullivan, and the fourth in the Dino Babers era.

Jones hadn’t been in contact with any of SU’s coaches while they were still at Bowling Green. All of the interaction occurred in the past week.

“Everything just happened so fast,” Jones said. “… My head was all over the place. Just being offered by a Power 5 school just really opened my eyes. It definitely caught my attention.”



The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Jones only received offers from Army and Air Force, as well as interest from FCS schools. He only started playing cornerback, the position Syracuse coaches recruited him for, in his senior season. Jones was previously only a wide receiver but played both ways this year.

He said the reason he picked the Orange is because he could see himself being comfortable at the school for four years, regardless of football. What also helps Jones feel more comfortable, he said, is that former high school teammate Troy Henderson is a freshman linebacker at SU. He hosted Jones this weekend and shared insight on what Syracuse is like.

Jones has a couple friends at Bowling Green who played for then-BGSU secondary coach Nick Monroe. Now, Monroe will be SU’s secondary coach, and Jones said he’s excited to play for him and the rest of Syracuse’s new staff.

Said Jones: “I’m looking forward to getting up there and working my tail off and trying to be part of a class that could turn that program around.”





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