Texas A&M has added its 18th commitment in the 2025 class!
Boom x2!
Texas A&M added its 18th commit in the 2025 recruiting class in the last hour. Four-star edge Marco Jones joins three-star defensive lineman Chace Sims in head coach Mike Elko’s elite defensive haul just a month before the 2024 season.
The recruiting momentum started on Sunday afternoon when four-star linebacker Noah Mikhail, a California native, chose the Aggies over Oregon and USC. He became the second LB commit in the cycle alongside four-star Kelvion Riggins.
After landing three of the top five California prospects in the 2025 class, Elko and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman focused on Jones, the 11th-ranked prospect in the state. He made his official visit to College Station on June 6.
Standing 6 feet, 5 inches and 230 pounds, Jones recorded 166 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles and three interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns during his 2023 junior season at San Ramon Valley High School.
A versatile athlete, Jones could also pursue a professional baseball career if he so pleased. Texas A&M offers a baseball program that was one win away from its first college baseball championship. Something of note: Jones has already developed a close relationship with new Aggie baseball head coach Michael Earely.
According to 247Sports, Jones is the 122nd-ranked prospect in the cycle, the 14th-ranked edge and the 11th-ranked prospect in California.
🚨BREAKING🚨 4-star EDGE Marco Jones has committed to Texas A&M👍
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2025 4-star Edge Marco Jones will announce his commitment on Tuesday evening
Texas A&M’s 2025 recruiting class reflects new head coach Mike Elko’s future roster-building priorities, securing 16 commitments while the postion focus is clear, as 13 of the cycle’s 16 commits represent defense and the offensive line.
On Sunday, the class continued to rise in the rankings after four-star linebacker Noah Mikhail announced his commitment. Mikhail chose the Aggies over Oregon and USC after developing a close relationship with Elko and new defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, who also serves as the team’s linebacker coach.
Completely dominating the 2025 recruiting field, Elko has now landed commitments from three of the top 5 players in the state, and by Tuesday night, 2025 fours-star Edge March Jones could become the fourth 2025 prospect from the Golden State to make the Aggies his future collegiate home.
A versatile athlete, Jones could also pursue a professional baseball career if he so pleased, something Texas A&M could offer after the Aggies were just one win away from capturing their first college baseball championship after falling to Tennessee.
Standing at 6-5 and 230 pounds, Jones recorded 166 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and three interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns during his 2023 junior season at San Ramon Valley HS.
According to several 247Sports recruiting analysts, Jones is heavily favored to land with Texas A&M as soon as he announces on Tuesday.
According to 247Sports, Jones is currently positioned as the 122nd-ranked prospect in the cycle, the 14th-ranked Edge, and the 11th-ranked prospect in California.
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Top 150 prospect, Marco Jones is down to three schools in the battle for his pledge. Jones is a four-star edge rusher and ranked as the No. 15 player at his position according to 247Sports.
Jones has a visit scheduled to each of the schools in his top three starting with the Michigan Wolverines. He will visit Texas A&M in early June and then finish up with a visit with the Longhorns.
Per Isaiah Hole of Wolverines Wire, Jones really appreciated the Texas coaching staff.
“Obviously, Texas, as well, a really successful program,” Jones said of the Longhorns to Wolverines Wire. “And pretty much all the schools are all pretty similar in the same aspects — their coaching staff is really good, they have really good development at my position, specifically. But also, Coach Nanseen, Coach P.K., Coach Sark are three pretty historical coaches. So that’s big time for me as well.”
Read the full story to see what Jones had to say of the Michigan Wolverines and Texas A&M Aggies.
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#Michigan is in really good shape for him. #GoBlue
An elite edge rusher from the West Coast, Marco Jones is down to three schools in his recruitment: Michigan football, Texas and Texas A&M.
Jones has been to Ann Arbor several times, having visited the Wolverines most recently for the spring game and in May. Before the month is out, he plans to come back and get another look, indicating the seriousness of his consideration of the maize and blue. This time around, he’ll be visiting officially.
“I was just recently out there and we had a pretty jam-packed schedule,” Jones told WolverinesWire. “So we had a great time, me and my family, so we got to learn a lot on that trip. I feel like I have a really good relationship with the coaching staff and just getting to know them a lot more as well. And maybe just learn more about some of the players, as well, and kind of see their outlook on it.”
One thing he’s excited about is how defensive line coach Lou Esposito sees him fitting in to the defense. He sees him as something of a chess piece he can move around the defensive line, but who could also back off into coverage. That’s a factor of the Wink Martindale defense, of which, the Wolverines have run some version of the past three years.
Given Martindale’s NFL pedigree, he’s enticed by the idea of being coached by a longtime NFL defensive coordinator, and they’re starting to establish a solid relationship, to boot.
“Yeah, it’s definitely very appealing. I mean, it’s hard to to turn that down,” Jones said. “The best of the best there. When it comes to the coaching staff and the program as well, and the development and all aspects, they’re leading all aspects and I believe that they have the ability to take any player and make them a really good player. And also, make them a really good human as well . So Michigan’s in a great spot and I think coach Wink is doing a fantastic job obviously has done a fantastic job.
“And, we were up there for the spring game. And, getting to see him coach in action is really that was a really cool experience.”
In general, Jones is increasingly enticed by the Michigan coaching staff. Like their predecessors, despite them living and breathing football, they’re not solely about football. When interacting with Jones, they’ve made that apparent, that life is bigger than the sport and they’re there to be mentors beyond just the gridiron.
“I believe that they’re a really elite coaching staff and also they have different characteristics as coaches where you could talk to them as like regular people — it’s not always just about football,” Jones said. “So that’s a big thing for me I feel like and I think that that definitely is a big plus because I’m relationship-type of guy so I really like when we can just talk about anything. Sometimes football — football doesn’t need to be talked about 24/7. So it’s definitely a good thing that that they have.”
Jones will visit Michigan on May 31, Texas A&M on June 6, and Texas on June 21. With his senior season approaching two months after, he plans to have his choice made before then and will commit sometime in the mid-to-late summer once he’s concluded his visits.
One thing he’s looking for at the next level is somewhere he can also play baseball — something other schools are pitching. He’s spoken the the Wolverines brass about it but he’s yet to meet anyone on the baseball staff as of yet.
But what else is he looking for at the next level? A place where he can jibe with the coaching staff as well as a campus where he feels comfortable. He’s unsure of what he wants to study in college, but he’s leaning towards business at this juncture.
“I definitely think the relationship with the coaching staff, the academic factor, and also would I’d be interested in attending that school if I didn’t play sports, right?” Jones said. “It’s an easy way to look at it. I feel like when if you if you don’t really love somewhere if you didn’t play sports, and it might not just be the place for you. So I think that’s a big factor in my recruitment.”
Jones hails from Danville (California) San Ramon Valley and is a four-star, rated the No. 122 player in the country per 247Sports. He’s also the 14th-best edge rusher and No. 11 player in the state of California.
While the aforementioned covers the Michigan aspect, where do his other contenders stand? What does he see in them?
Texas
Tim Warner/Getty Images
“Obviously, Texas, as well, a really successful program. And pretty much all the schools are all pretty similar in the same aspects — their coaching staff is really good, they have really good development at my position, specifically. But also, coach Nanseen, coach P.K., coach Sark are three pretty historical coaches. So that’s big time for me as well.”
Texas A&M
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
“Coach Minter and coach Tony Jerod-Eddie, those two guys are like scientists. They really know their stuff. They’ve been recruiting me really hard and I feel like I have a really good relationship with them as well. And I feel like it’s easy to talk to them – football and baseball, everything like that. They also have a really good baseball program as well.”
Marco Jones, a four-star Div. I football recruit who had epilepsy as a kid, supported Helmets4Helmets at his inaugural youth football camp.
Marco Jones fits the recruiting profile of a high-level Division I program. At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, he has the versatility to play both linebacker and tight end for San Ramon Valley High School (Danville, Calif.). He’s described by recruiting experts as athletic with good instincts. He has played varsity baseball in both of the last two seasons.
But in one way, he doesn’t fit the description of the kid typically recruited by the likes of Michigan, Texas, and Alabama: Jones was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 3 years old.
He suffered grand mal seizures as a kid before his epilepsy cleared at age 13, according to CBS News Bay Area. But while the condition is behind him, Jones continues to help those who have epilepsy.
Last weekend, he hosted the inaugural Marco Jones Skill Camp for football players ages 8 to 13, per CBS. The camp on Sunday was dedicated to Helmets4Helmets, which raises money to provide kids with helmets that protect them from falls when suffering an epileptic episode.
According to the organization’s website, Helmets4Helmets was launched by brothers Brock and Bryson Thompson when they were 8 and 6 years old. Bryson began having seizures from epilepsy when he was 4, and his insurance would not cover the price of the prescribed helmet.
The website states, “This floored the family and the boys decided no one else should have to deal with this.”
Family friend Zach Strief, a former player on the New Orleans Saints, agreed to get them a helmet signed by Drew Brees to auction off and raise money to help buy helmets for other kids.
“Luckily I grew out of it,” Jones said to CBS. “But there’s some people who aren’t as lucky to grow out of it and so it’s a foundation that gives helmets — soft helmets — to kids with epilepsy to protect them if they have a seizure; protects their head if they fall.”
According to the outlet, at Jones’ camp, players did speed and agility drills and played dodgeball. The outlet said most participants did not have epilepsy.
His mother, K.C. Jones, told CBS that Marco inspires people with or who have had epilepsy.
“Now, if they see that someone like Marco — that everybody knows — says ‘Oh, I had epilepsy too,’ it makes them maybe feel a little bit more normal,” she said.
Thank you so much to everyone that came out to the camp yesterday! It was an awesome experience for me and my family as well. Big thank you to all of the sponsors that help make this camp possible and all of the coaches for coming and helping out! pic.twitter.com/mGevHjgY2i
Tennessee offered a scholarship to 2025 four-star linebacker Marco Jones.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound linebacker is from San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, California.
Jones is the No. 208 overall prospect and No. 19 linebacker in the class of 2025. He ranks as the No. 4 linebacker and No. 20 player in California, according to the On3 industry rankings.
Jones finished his sophomore season with 149 tackles, nine tackles for a loss, one sack, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and three pass breakups.
The Oklahoma Sooners offer 2025 linebacker prospect Marco Jones out of California.
The Oklahoma Sooners have been getting a jump start on the 2025 recruiting cycle in recent weeks, and their latest target is San Ramon Valley linebacker Marco Jones.
Out of Danville, Calif., the sophomore linebacker is an exciting prospect. According to Max Preps, in 15 games at the varsity level in 2022, Jones recorded 149 tackles, averaging 9.9 tackles per game.
Jones is a big player already at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds and he looks the part of a Power Five linebacker. He’s an explosive player off the snap. On the blitz, his quickness and speed allow him to get by offensive linemen before they can fully get into their pass set.
He’s a physical player who initiates contact with the ball carrier and would-be blockers. As an inside linebacker, he does a nice job of working through traffic to find the ball carrier to make the play.
Though unranked at the moment, it won’t be long before Jones is assigned four-star status. His size and athletic profile will make him a high-priority target for Brent Venables and other coaches at the highest level. He has just four offers at the moment, but as his career continues, his offer sheet will be a mile long. In addition to Oklahoma, he holds offers from Arizona, California, and Colorado.
