Want to attack every day with the latest Georgia football recruiting info? That’s the Intel. This rep has the latest with 4-star LB Kristopher Jones. He ranks as the nation’s No. 9 and the No. 125 overall prospect for 2024 on the 247Sports Composite ratings. The On3 Industry Ranking has him as the nation’s No. 10 and the No. 121 overall recruit.
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Kristopher C. Jones is a player we’ve been studying for a while in the class of 2024.
The 4-star LB out of Virginia has a strong all-around background. He’s the son of a minister and he has a tireless work ethic.
He took an impactful three-day visit back in March that certified the fact that the ‘Dawgs were going to get an official visit.
Well, that official visit just took place over the weekend.
The LB board for the ‘Dawgs feels like a soap opera so far this cycle. The Bulldogs signed one of the best hauls that any school will ever assemble in the 2023 cycle with All-Americans CJ Allen, Troy Bowles and Raylen Wilson.
That has made the 2024 recruiting crop at that spot a little ... complicated.
Sammy Brown chose Clemson. Joseph Phillips chose Auburn. JaMonta Waller was a target for a time.
5-star LB Demarcus Riddick remains committed and yet plans his final recruiting decision on his mother’s birthday on July 26. That sounds like the script to “Days of Schu’s Life” or something like that.
Kristopher C. Jones has also been at the top for awhile. Especially after his three-day visit back in March. Prospects that do that aren’t messing around.
There was a time when the Florida Gators tried to swoop in and gain some momentum. A lot of the recruiting analysts online still have their projections, predictions or tarot card readings in for the Gators with Jones.
This past official visit weekend reaffirmed a lot of those good vibes the Jones family felt about UGA from those three days in March.
He’s seen Florida, Georgia and Michigan State on official visits this month.
“They are all great schools,” Jones said. “Just sitting with my parents I’ve kind of been weeding stuff off. All three schools I went to for official visits. They were nice, but I feel like Georgia has the top spot as of right now.”
Georgia leads. This recruitment might not have a lot of time left in the hourglass.
“Florida did have a big spot in this recruitment but this past visit Coach [Glenn] Schumann and coach Kirby Smart just showed us a lot this past weekend,” Jones said.
The ‘Dawgs let him know that he has a place in the nation’s top-ranked class.
“Yes, sir,” he said. “Most definitely. They said that spot is open so any day that I want to commit there, then it is open.”
When he heard that from the ‘Dawgs this weekend, it hit home.
“That just means a lot,” Jones said. “Especially from the back-to-back national champions of Georgia. It just means a lot.”
What does he like the most about the chance to play in Athens now?
“Just the development and the knowledge I would get under Coach Schumann,” Jones said. “That’s it.”
He enjoyed getting to talk to all the coaches more and getting to know the recruits in town with him. Jones also enjoyed the chance to interact with the current team. His player host, CJ Allen, was fun to get to know.
“Just Coach Smart being honest is one thing that really hit me and my family,” Jones said. “They are honest. They are going to tell you straight-up what is going to happen.”
What type of honesty was he talking about there?
“Just about the players that they have,” Jones told DawgNation. “They are not going to promise any playing time. But they do promise if you work hard, then you are going to have a spot here and they also were honest about the NIL stuff as well.”
Kristopher C. Jones: What’s next for this talented LB?
Jones has taken officials to Florida, Michigan State and Georgia. That is going to be enough for him.
“I’m done with officials,” he said. “Right now I’m just talking with my family and trying to get a commitment date going.”
That will require a little more discussion with his parents and his trainer. He’s not set on the date yet. He’s also not decided on the lucky school.
He will figure out the school first and then go set the date.
“This is most definitely a lot to think about,” Jones said. “I just like Georgia a lot. Coach Schumann is always a good guy. Knows his football. I know I can get developed there.”
Schumman left a clear message with Jones on that OV.
“Just how I will be developed as a player if I choose to commit to Georgia,” Jones said. “The development there is just different than any other school. That’s the message he left me with.”
The Team Jones highlights from the weekend were getting to know more about academics, getting the chance to sit down with Schumann and seeing the support system in place for student-athletes in Athens.
He wants to major in kinesiology. The right school will have to fit that major. Georgia has that. That’s one of his boxes to check.
The other two key areas in what he is looking for are categories the ‘Dawgs set up well for.
“How well I will fit into the defensive system and also my relationship with the coaches,” he said.
Georgia sees him as a hybrid. The staff likes how he can blitz off the edge and play as a stand-up linebacker. He weighed in this weekend at 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds. That’s not too far away from an SEC-ready frame.
Jones brought his parents, his brother and his trainer with him this past weekend for his official.
“They were just amazed,” he said. “They love Georgia.”
He aims to have his commitment made by the beginning of August.
“This [recruitment process] is a blessing but sometimes it is hard just breaking away relationships that you have built with some of these coaches,” Jones said. “It does get a little stressful at times, but at the end of the day, it is still a blessing. Not everybody gets a chance.”
Kristopher Jones: Checking out the film here for a top 10 LB
The Mountain View High School standout (Fairfax, Va.) holds a 3.5 GPA in the classroom and will enroll early.
His junior film offers up a lot.
This young man is active. And everywhere. And he can play.
It starts with a sack coming off the edge. Then another QB takedown on a blitz up the middle. He chases down a QB from the backside with a decent little Travon Walker impersonation in that No. 44 jersey.
There are a lot of hits. Filing the gap. Making plays in space. Flashing a swim move to get past a tackle for another sack. TFLs. There’s some good pursuit down the line of scrimmage for more TFLs. There’s a clip of where he drives his blocker upfield and then is able to redirect and come back to drop the QB in the pocket.
He’s hitting guys so hard that their eyelids probably hurt afterward. That’s just the first two minutes.
“I like contact,” Jones said. “That’s how I get into the games.”
Scan for the Pick-6 at the 2:20 mark below.
“I had to set off a block and get out to the flats and wind up catching a one-handed pick and taking it to the house,” he said.
He can help out a defense in a lot of ways.
“They see me more as an inside guy but they believe like on third downs I can be up on the edge and help rush the quarterback,” Jones said.
That nails it. Positional versatility is a plus here for Schumann and the ‘Dawgs.
“He just likes how physical that I play,” Jones said. “I can run sideline to sideline. I’m just a very rangy linebacker and he feels like I would be a great fit in that defense.”
The best tools in the toolbox here are his football IQ, footwork, strength and overall speed.
“I feel like I can drop back in pass coverage a little better,” Jones said. “I feel like I get a little lazy on that but that’s most definitely something I will get better at.”
Jones was even wildly productive as a sophomore racking up 142 tackles and 26 stops for losses. He won’t embarrass himself in coverage and can read and react to what he’s seeing in the middle of a defense.
SENTELL’S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
