Ducks Digest

Former Washington Commit set to Visit Oregon

The Ducks are ready to hit the ground running should the recruiting dead period officially end.

Max Torres

In the midst of a recruiting dead period that has spanned more than a year, recruits are ready to board planes and scatter throughout the country to check out programs that have offered them a scholarship. The Ducks have sent out offers to tons of recruits, and are placing a particular emphasis on expanding into the Southeast, evidenced by elite linebacker TJ Dudley, announcing his plans to visit Eugene in June. 

Closer to home here on the West Coast is Anthony Jones, a 2022 recruit out of Liberty High School (Las Vegas, Nevada), who will also be visiting Oregon in June.

The 6-foot-4, 243-pound athlete shared the news on Twitter. 

Ducks Digest caught up with him about where Oregon stands in his recruitment. 

The Ducks coaching staff has been in frequent communication with Jones, and it's not just one coach. He speaks with Joe Salave'a, Tim DeRuyter, Mario Cristobal, and Don Johnson Jr., who's taken the lead as his primary recruiter.

"We text like every day. We’ll hop on a Facetime or Zoom call like once a week," he said. "We usually talk just about the campus, their workouts, they text us every morning what workout they have planned. We talk about Mo who’s up there."

Oregon freshman Moliki Matavao and also attended Liberty before the tight end enrolled early. Jones was recently with Matavao while he was home on spring break and it looks like he's doing what he can to talk up the Ducks.

"He was just telling me that he loves it over there. It’s amazing, they treat the players really good," Jones said. "He’s been telling us to give Oregon a chance and come out and see it."

Jones has already completed a virtual visit to Oregon which he says he "Liked pretty much everything about." He's now ready to breathe in the crisp Eugene air and see what all the buzz is about. 

"I wanna go see the Marcus Mariota Center. I wanna see the weight room. I feel like it's a different energy there when you actually go."

The Ducks got a lot of praise for their Pac-12 championship season, but what stands out most to him is the attention to detail in preparation.

"How they work out," he said. "I know every college program does really intense workouts. I know only Oregon and Alabama do the fourth quarter workout. That shows you something not many programs are doing. A winning team like Alabama is doing it, must be something right."

Jones had been committed to Washington since December, but chose to reopen his recruitment last month.

"I just thought that I committed too early and I didn't give other schools the opportunity to build relationships with me and I hadn’t seen other campuses. I didn't want to do that while I was committed. The best decision was to de-commit so I could see other schools and talk to other coaches."

So far in his recruitment, there's been a heavy Pac-12 flavor in the schools he's hearing from the most. 

"USC, Oregon, Texas, Miami, Arizona, and Washington."

Jones doesn't have any other visits scheduled, but mentioned USC and Arizona as schools he could see himself visiting. He doesn't currently have a timeline for a decision.

Watch highlights

Evaluation from SI All-American's John Garcia Jr.

Anthony Jones is about as fascinating as it gets in our business, the prospect projection biz. At 6'5" and near 250 pounds, we should be talking about him in the trenches when looking at the next level -- really without much hesitation. But seeing him in person, as we did at the Battle Miami 7v7 event, makes the possibilities expand. There was an effortlessness about him moving in space along with even better ball skills and competitive nature as a pass catcher. Then in talking to Jones, he's open to lining up on the edge, with his hand in the dirt or even as a stand-up player. This is the blank canvas college coaches from coast to coast covet.

There are basketball traits at play and it makes it easy to throw him into the tight end conversation based on the slew of success stories that have shared athletic traits. But it comes down to projection preference, in the floor versus ceiling argument. If it's about where the prospect is today (the floor), Jones looks like a contributor on the edge and a potential star as a hybrid tight end. But if it's about the long play, especially given a frame that looks like it can carry more weight, the front-seven capabilities are a bit too enticing to ignore. It doesn't take too much imagination to see the movement and natural athleticism pairing with a larger build up front, as an interior pass rusher with the versatility to play outside on early downs -- that's something every program wants regardless of level, scheme or roster composition.

More Oregon Ducks Content 

Oregon football adds 2022 commitment 

Elite 2022 linebacker schedules Oregon visit 

Oregon football recruiting hot board

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Max Torres
MAX TORRES

Max Torres is the publisher and lead editor of Ducks Digest. He's covered the Oregon football and recruiting beats for four years. He's based out of Long Beach, CA and travels around Southern California and the country covering top high school football prospects.

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