Cats a standout school for elite DB
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Mike Jones Jr. is a bit of a specimen. Only a Class of 2018 prospect he's already got the look of a college safety.
Lebanon (Tenn.) Friendship Christian School is home to Jones, a 6-foot, 200-pound safety that's still only a high school sophomore.
Kentucky has already offered Jones. Clemson, Ole Miss, North Carolina, NC State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt have offered, too. Expect many more to offer in the next couple of years.
It's far too early to try and project where Jones will end up three years from now, but he did post a message relevant to UK on Twitter this week.
I know I don't have offers from all these schools but these are my favorites. Not in order pic.twitter.com/aCTLYsft4e— Mike Jones Jr (@skyzthalimit7) October 9, 2015
Although Jones noted all of those schools have not offered, Kentucky has offered.
But that's not the only reason for his interest in the Cats.
"Whenever I came up for my visit in the spring I just loved Coach (Derrick) Ansley and the staff and the facilities," Jones told Cats Illustrated this week. "And I liked seeing the players interact with each other during the scrimmage. That was showing me how much fun they had."
Although Kentucky didn't have a spring game this year the program did have a well-publicized scrimmage that was meant to serve in its place. Jones said that was the event he visited for.
The facilities weren't close to being finished but Jones did like the plans at the time.
"I went into the practice facilities and the locker room. It was great," he said.
Ansley made an impact on Jones because he was asking questions about his family. Actually, Jones was with a couple of family members and they gave UK a strong endorsement after the trip.
"I went with my dad, my uncle and my cousin," Jones said. "They all loved it, especially my uncle and my dad. The drive wasn't bad at all. It was a real quick drive and I liked that. I liked having it be that (distance) from home. I really liked that about it."
Jones didn't slow down after that trip to Lexington. He camped at Clemson and Alabama this summer.
"During the rest of the season I'll most likely be visiting some schools," Jones said. "I'll probably be going to Kentucky soon. I want to go to Ole Miss soon. I'll visit Clemson and North Carolina State. I want to visit everybody that's offered."
The Class of 2018 prospect said his "numbers aren't as crazy" as last year because opponents know about him, but he said that's freeing up his teammates to make a lot of plays. Friendship Christian is 3-3 through six games.
