Jones Talks Commitment

All summer long Owls Insider has kept you up to date on the recruitment of San Antonio (TX) East Central quarterback Jeremy Jones who has spent the entire summer trying to narrow his options down to one school.

Jones picked a top five, then a top three and then it was down to two, the Rice Owls and New Mexico Lobos.

On Wednesday, Jones made his decision that he would attend Rice University and play for head coach David Bailiff and staff.

Owls Insider caught up with Jones following his decision to get his thoughts on his commitment and more.

One of the key factors for Jones throughout his decision process was two-way communication between him and the coaching staffs and honesty from both sides.

"The main thing for me throughout the entire process was honesty, whether that was me being honest with the coaches or them being honest with me, "the 6-foot-6 playmaker told Owls Insider. "A lot of schools told me they were waiting on me before they offered another quarterback or took a commitment from another quarterback so I was honest and up front with everyone and when I decided I wasn't going to go to a school, I made sure I told that school I was no longer interested."

Rice has been considered a favorite for Jones for quite some time, though he wouldn't openly say it. It wasn't until just a few days ago that he knew 100-percent without a doubt that he wanted to attend Rice.

"When I took my second visit to Rice and got to interact with the players that really did it for me," the three-star quarterback said. "That and having an opportunity to learn more about the offense was a big factor but I didn't really know for certain that I wanted to go to Rice until probably the 27th of July."

Jones' unofficial visit to Rice appears to be where they separated themselves from the rest of the pack.

"I was really sold on that visit," he said. "Seeing the offense, talking to the players and being in Houston in a professional sports town right in the back yard of the Houston Texans, there will be NFL Scouts coming through there and I feel like at the same time I can make a big impact on the Rice football program and help them get things to the next level."

His relationship with offensive line coach Ronnie Vinklarek and the rest of the coaching staff played a major role in Jones' decision as he really enjoyed the close knit atmosphere he saw first-hand during his visit.

"I would say coach (Ronnie) Vinklarek and I have built a pretty good relationship," the talented gunslinger said. "He's been recruiting me for a long time and he came to my school before spring football even started. We've kept in touch a lot. Coach (David) Bailiff called me during the open period and I talk to coach (Billy) Lynch a lot and when I visited and saw how the players interacted with the coaches, it's a really good family atmosphere."

With Jones' pledge the Owls now sit at 20 verbal commitments for the class of 2014 and now that his decision is behind him, Jones will focus on getting better for his senior season and the years ahead at Rice.

"I'm always working on getting better and one thing I've been working on all summer is getting better at utilizing my check-downs. I'm always trying to make the big play and I want to work at getting better at using my check downs to make the smart play sometimes."