re: Class of 2018 Recruiting MEGATHREAD: So Long Old Friend Edition

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FRANKLIN, Ga. — Emory Jones was presented his Under Armour All-America Game jersey on Wednesday morning in front of a crowd of his classmates, coaches and family members.

Jones, a 4-star quarterback from Heard County High School, is Alabama’s likeliest signal-caller in the 2018 class, although that possibility of him flipping his commitment from Ohio State to the Crimson Tide remains a challenge for Alabama.

The Under Armour All-American has been committed to the Buckeyes for over a year now, but he has kept in touch with Alabama coaches and has watched their games this season. He was in attendance for the Tide’s opener against Florida State.

“I have seen some progress in their passing game,” Jones told SEC Country. “Jalen Hurts has definitely progressed as a passer. Last time I went there [this summer], I worked out with him and threw with him. I could tell that he progressed. He knows the offense and is more comfortable in the offense this year. That’s definitely good.”

The nation’s No. 3 dual-threat quarterback still says that Alabama is the only school other than Ohio State that he’s in contact with frequently. Jones said he talks to coaches at Auburn, Georgia and Florida State, too, but not too often. Those 3 schools are battling it out over the nation’s No. 1 quarterback in Justin Fields, so that could be a reason why they’re not all in with trying to flip Jones.

Alabama has been trying to get Jones on campus for its first two home games against Fresno State and Colorado State, but the Buckeyes commit didn’t make it. He did say that the only official visit outside of Ohio State that he is for sure taking is to Tuscaloosa, though.

“The coaches are telling me that they want me to get back to campus and get more comfortable with the coaches,” Jones said. “They want me to sit down with them to go over the playbook and watch some film. They think I could make a good impact on their offense.”

What’s interesting about Jones’ recruitment is that the Ohio State coaching staff wants him to completely shut down his recruitment and stop going on visits. He’s not doing that. He’s planning on taking additional visits because he says he wants that experience of visiting other schools he may never get the opportunity to see.

“I didn’t get to visit a lot of places before I committed, and I would like the chance to do so,” Jones said.

There has been some talk in the recruiting industry that there are some people in Jones’ family who want him to remain closer to home instead of going to Ohio State. Jones said that his grandma has expressed that opinion to him, but he doesn’t think she’s 100 percent serious.

“My grandma is always joking around with that,” Jones said. “She’s always telling me how she wants to choose a school closer to home so she can make it to all of my games. I know she’s kidding around. My mom told me before I committed to not worry about the distance. She’ll get to the games some way.”

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