No stranger to the University of Florida after a handful of visits to The Swamp over the past year, Madison Central tight end [autotag]Micah Jones[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Gators on Friday.
An official visit at the beginning of the month put Florida out in front for Jones. Several other SEC programs — Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss — were in the race before the Gators took a commanding lead.
The Bulldogs and Razorbacks got him on campus after the Florida visit, but those trips were more for Jones to guarantee he had no second thoughts.
“I think the program’s going up,” Jones said to On3’s Chad Simmons. “They had a couple of guys that were Freshman All-Americans. As those guys get older, they are going to get better and recruits are going to see that. I feel like Florida is coming up and in the next three-to-four years, Florida can be a contender for an SEC championship.”
Head coach Billy Napier and tight ends coach Russ Callaway played the biggest roles in this commitment. Jones noted a visit from Callaway on the opening day of the contact period helped solidify Florida as his No. 1 program.
Scouting Report
Jones is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, which is the right frame for a tight end in the SEC. He’ll need to transform some of that weight into muscle, but that’s what strength and conditioning programs are for.
He isn’t the receiver-esque Brock Bowers type, but Jones is a reliable pass-catching option for Florida. Some work on route running will do him much more good than trying to add speed. He can catch balls while in traffic and sneaky off the block. He’s a perfect fit for the two tight end sets Napier likes to run.
Micah Jones’ fit in Florida’s TE room
Jones is coming to Florida at a good time, barring the incoming transfer of a superstar at the position. Florida is set with [autotag]Arlis Boardingham[/autotag], [autotag]Hayden Hansen[/autotag] and [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag] next year, but all three will be draft-eligible in the offseason ahead of Jones’ freshman year.
Even if Boardingham and Hansen return, they are gone by Jones’ second season in Gainesville, opening the door for him to get some serious playing time. His main source of competition will be 2024 signee [autotag]Amir Jackson[/autotag], but Florida runs enough dual-tight end sets for them to both thrive in 2025-26.
Recruiting Summary
Jones is a consensus three-star talent ranked the highest by ESPN at No. 18 among Y-style tight ends in the class of 2025 — although, he was ranked No. 14 a month ago.
The On3 industry ranking considers all four major services and has also dropped him slightly from No. 486 to No. 501 nationally. Jones remains at No. 28 among players at his position on the industry ranking. The 247Sports composite has him at Nos. 556 and 28, respectively.
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