Leavander Jones never expected this opportunity to come. Most football players in his high school do not get this chance. Jones is hoping to make the best of it.
He has the chance to play Division I football.
The wide receiver recently gave Syracuse a soft verbal commitment to play football next fall, according to Scout.com. He said that the education he would receive at SU put it above some of the other schools he was looking at. Coming from what his high school coach, Robert Weiss, described as "an inner city school," not many other players in his high school have the chance to play college football at a high level.
"It feels good knowing that I can go to school for free, especially a Division-I college," said Jones, who is from Atlantic City, N.J. "It's something I always wanted to do, and it feels good to know that I finally have the chance to do it."
Still, Jones' chance to play Division I football may be elsewhere. Like many of the other high school football players that Syracuse is recruiting this fall, the job status of head coach Greg Robinson is a concern for Jones. It wasn't the tenuous situation at the helm for the Orange that was keeping him from making a solid verbal commitment, but said that he would look at other schools if Robinson was fired.
"Not knowing who is coming in after him if he is to go, that changes my mind," Jones said. "They would still be at the top of my list, but I would probably start looking elsewhere a little more."
The only other Division I schools that offered Jones a scholarship are Buffalo and Akron. Jones said he watched Akron's 42-28 win over SU three weeks ago, but he didn't elaborate whether or not the upset would play into his ultimate decision.
The job status of Robinson seems to be the bigger tipping point. Robinson's presence off the field was one of the primary factors that peaked Jones' interest in playing for the Orange. Weiss said that Robinson exudes the aura of a winner.
Weiss said that at a coach's conference in Atlantic City during the offseason, Robinson outshone some of college football's most successful coaches, such as Louisiana State's Les Miles, when selling its programs to high school players.
"He looks like the kind of guy who is a winner, even though he might be struggling right now, I know he is a winner," Weiss said. "That is tremendous as a coach because that is showing that you have a lot of confidence, your self esteem is high, and you are working to get better."
At only 5-foot-10, 165 pounds, Jones will have to bulk up by the time he gets to college to compete with the other athletes on college football's highest level. Both Weiss and Jones recognize this fact and have made it one of Jones' primary goals during his senior year at Atlantic City High School.
"I'm a boney kid, I'm just fast," Jones said. "I know at the next level everybody is about 180 or 190 (pounds) so I have to get ready for those type of hits."
The soft-spoken Jones has some trouble identifying exactly what he is best at on the football field, but Weiss said, speed and versatility are his strengths.
Weiss even said he's contemplating putting Jones at quarterback for certain situations because of his ability to outrun most defenders. Jones, a two-star recruit according to Scout.com, is not looking to play under center at the next level, but he is looking to add to a depleted Syracuse wide receiver corps.
For Jones being part of a rebuilding effort does not turn him away from the chance to play big time college football. To come from where he grew up and play college football at its highest level is enough for him - wherever that may be.
"Not a lot of people from my area go to big time D-I schools out of public high school," Jones said. "Coming in I knew I could play college football, but I didn't know a school such as Syracuse would be interested in me, let alone give me a full ride to play for them."
jssutton@syr.edu
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