Tag: Johnnie Jones

Blue-chip 2026 OT plans visit for Florida football’s season opener

Four-star offensive lineman Johnnie Jones will make his fourth trip to Gainesville for Florida’s season-opener against Miami.

The opening kickoff for Florida football’s 2024 campaign is a little more than half a month away and the list of recruiting visitors for the Gators’ first salvo of the season continues to grow.

Last week, four-star offensive tackle Johnnie Jones out of Tampa (Florida) Berkeley Prep confirmed with Gators Online’s Corey Bender that he plans to attend the game against the Miami Hurricanes in the Swamp. It will be his first time in Gainesville since the spring when he was offered a scholarship by the Orange and Blue, and fourth time overall.

While the 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pound lineman does not currently have a top schools list, Jones did offer that Florida is “one of the schools I like based off the skill and development of players” and that “the work ethic and knowledge from the O-line coaches is now rubbing off on the players.”

Jones’s relationship with Florida’s coaches

Speaking of the offensive line coaches, the blue-chip prospect has already forged a strong relationship with the Gators’ corps early in his recruitment.

“I’ll say the relationship with all the coaches is smooth and strong,” Jones noted. “I’m able to talk to them about anything. ”

And there is a lot of consistency in his connections with the staff, with two assistants leading the way.

“It’s coach Dre and (quality control – offensive line) coach Kaleb (Johnson); I talk to coach Kaleb pretty much on a day-to-day basis about how my day is going and how the workout is going.”

Co-offensive line coach John Decoster is also working hard to ensure the Gators stay on top of his coveted talents.

“The person I text most is probably Chirp (Decoster). We talk about what other schools are contacting and things I’m doing at my school. I can talk about anything I need to.”

Recruiting summary

Jones is ranked No. 189 overall and No. 14 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at Nos. 175 and 16, respectively.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Gators a 34.4% chance of landing Jones, followed closely by the Georgia Bulldogs (31.1%); the South Florida Bulls (2.3%) and Central Florida Knights (2.0%) trail well behind.

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Gators offered this 2026 blue-chip offensive lineman last weekend

Saturday was a big day for this high school sophomore standout.

Florida football hosted a handful of prep prospects this past weekend as the program held its first team scrimmage of the spring season. Representatives from multiple recruiting classes were on hand to witness the early practice game, including one big name in the 2026 cycle.

Four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Johnnie Jones[/autotag] out of Tampa (Florida) Berkeley Prep was on hand Saturday to get a gander at what the Gators are currently up to. The 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pound lineman was not only able to acclimate with the staff and get more familiar with the campus during his stay, but he also received a scholarship offer from the Orange and Blue.

“It means a lot,” Jones told 247Sports’ Donavon Keiser of the offer. “I’m from Florida, and I got some loved ones that go here and some teammates that have gone here.”

Talking with the coaching staff

“Coach (Rob) Sale and all the O-line coaches,” were the members of the program he spent the most time with. “They’re great coaches, and they know what they are doing. It’s important that I see with them, that all the time they are with their guys. They’re not all over the place. They are specifically with their guys.”

And there is more to it than just those coaches on the football field.

“Just the overall aspect of the school part. What they focus on the most with their players, and making sure that once they are done here, they’re successful in life.”

Taking in the team’s scrimmage

“It was amazing,” Jones gushed. “It was contact, it was everything I liked seeing. (Damieon George) stood out. He moved from right tackle to guard this year. He was able to move on his feet lightly, and make sure there was paths for the running back. Right before they went to the scrimmage, they did one-on-ones. Just them dominating and not letting the quarterback get touched.”

Recruiting summary

Jones is rated four stars and ranked No. 214 overall and No. 18 at his position nationally according to the On3 industry ranking while Rivals has him rated at three stars and ranked No. 34 at his position nationally; the 247Sports composite has no data for him yet.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Gators a strong 72.7% chance of landing Jones early on, followed by the UCF Knights (5.8%), Florida Atlantic Owls (5.0%) and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (4.1%).

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Tampa standout offensive lineman Johnnie Jones talks recent Rutgers football offer, offseason plans

Johnnie Jones reacts to being offered by Rutgers football.

Last Friday, Rutgers football offered Florida offensive lineman Johnnie ‘DJ’ Jones. The offer sees the Big Ten program get in early with a class of 2026 recruit who could and should develop into a national recruit.

Coming off a strong junior season at Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Florida), Jones is starting to gather some solid momentum in his recruitment.

Jones, at 6-foot-6 and 295 pounds, has great size to be a Big Ten offensive tackle. He holds a strong offer list that includes Power Five programs Boston College and Syracuse as well as Rutgers. On Sunday, South Florida offered Jones.

He talked with Rutgers Wire on Sunday about the offer from Rutgers.

“My football coach, coach Ciao called me down to his office and told me the information,” Jones told Rutgers Wire.

“I believe Rutgers is a great program and with the win over Miami in the Pinstripe Bowl they have something to build off of coming in for this year.”

Rutgers finished this past season with a 7-6 (3-6 Big Ten) record, their first winning season since 2014. They defeated Miami 31-24 in the Pinstripe Bowl.

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Visits for this spring and summer are currently being planned out with his parents. Currently, Jones is focused on his schoolwork and is certainly staying active.

“Playing basketball and working out with my dad before we start workouts for the team,” said Jones, he plays as a center or a power forward for Berkeley.

“I’ve been able to move faster and move people out the way more on the basketball court so I’ll hope to be able to translate it to the football field.”

Rutgers sends out a pair of offers over this past weekend

Rutgers football sends out two new offers on Friday.

Rutgers football continued to send out offers, with a pair of new recruits being officially extended over the weekend.

On Friday, Rutgers offered a pair of offensive linemen from Florida. Both recruits are in the 2026 class:

 

 

Rutgers has shown some good strength in Florida in recent years since the return of head coach [autotag]Greg Schiano[/autotag]. During his first rebuild of Rutgers, Schiano leaned on his Florida connections heavily to jumpstart the talent pool at Rutgers.

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And the Rutgers name has a bit of some cache in Florida right now. Six weeks ago, Rutgers defeated Miami 31-24 in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.

It was the first time in program history that Rutgers football has ever beaten Miami.

33 days until it is football time in Tennessee

Countdown to the season: 33 days until it is football time in Tennessee

Tennessee will kick off its 2023 football season in 33 days.

Johnnie Jones wore jersey No. 33 and played running back at Tennessee from 1981-84.

Jones became the first Vol to record 1,000 rushing yards in a season during the 1983 campaign (1,116). He recorded 2,852 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns at Tennessee.

The Vols will kick off its 2023 season Sept. 2 versus Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Kickoff is slated for noon EDT and ABC will televise the contest.

Tennessee’s home schedule has contests against Austin Peay, UTSA, South Carolina, Texas A&M, UConn, Georgia and Vanderbilt.

The Vols’ road schedule features games at Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri.

The 2023 season will be Tennessee’s third under head coach Josh Heupel.

PHOTOS: Tennessee running backs through the years

Tennessee’s 2023 football schedule

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