South Florida pass rusher, FSU legacy recruit, is headed to play for Georgia in the SEC
Florida State's tough National Signing Day isn't getting any better.
Legacy recruit and top 10 overall talent in the class of 2022, Marvin Jones Jr. just came off the board to Georgia. The 6'5", 245-pound prospect announced his intentions on ESPN, confirmed by the Bulldog football department soon after.
The Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage pass rusher took two trips to Athens this year, including over the weekend with his mother alongside.
"Athens is a great place, from what I've seen," Jones recently told Sports Illustrated. "The team is a bunch of dogs, they really work hard...They let me know they have a lot of guys leaving, I think four, at the position. Basically, they really need me, honestly.
"It means a lot coming from the number one defense in the nation, that they want me to help keep that going."
Florida State, Alabama, USC, Miami and others chased one of the top edge rusher's verbal commitment for years, but the time around Kirby Smart and his staff stood out even despite the Dan Lanning move to Oregon within it.
Ranked as the No. 3 edge recruit in the country and top 10 regardless of position in the class of 2022, Jones becomes the second-highest ranked recruit in Georgia's class behind fellow Floridian Jaheim Singletary.
The Bulldogs, holding one of the biggest classes at 27 verbal commitments as of Wednesday afternoon, are in the running for the top recruiting class both in the Early Signing Period and beyond.
SI All-American Evaluation
Jones exhibits impressive nuance to his pass rush with multiple entry points. Will play chess with his matchup, flashing his hands to get the tackle to punch or stop their feet. Shows he can keep mobile quarterbacks wrangled by rushing to the back shoulder of the passer. Lean, linebacker type body with excellent pursuit skills. Takes proper angle along the line of scrimmage defending the run. Bend is elite. Jones is lightning quick and is capable of flipping his hips to chase scrambling quarterbacks or assignments out of the backfield. If he can play lower off the snap, Jones is even more dominant. Fantastic foot-fire as he bends the corner into the pocket. Will benefit from additional weight to play the run and could then project as a classic defensive end type.