Keeping up with Jones no easy job
Share with others:
Pitt freshman receiver Ronald Jones and Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen are from the same town and high school in Florida and McCutchen's father, Lorenzo, coached Jones in baseball and football.
But that is not the main reason McCutchen is one of Jones' favorite athletes -- it has more to do with the fact that he looks at McCutchen -- a small athlete who has used his blazing speed and great athleticism to rise to the top of his sport -- as inspiration.
Jones is 5 feet 8, 165 pounds and used to hearing people tell him he is too small to succeed in his sport. He also is used to proving them wrong. He appears to be at it again, quickly ascending the depth chart at Pitt and becoming a player whom head coach Todd Graham has called "a star in the making."
- Game: Panthers vs. Buffalo.
- When: 6 p.m. Sept. 3.
- Where: Heinz Field.
Pitt was the only BCS conference school to offer Jones a scholarship. He likely wouldn't have gotten an offer from Pitt, but Graham and his staff were hired in January, just weeks before national signing day, and they scrambled to attract scholarship players.
"You only need one opportunity," Jones said, "and I got it, so now it is up to me to make the most of it, and I intend to."
Jones played quarterback at Fort Meade High School, and was likely to accept a scholarship from Georgia Southern when Graham called Jones, told him he had watched tapes of him and asked Jones to visit Pitt's campus.
Jones quickly accepted the offer, but his addition to the recruiting class did not generate much excitement outside of the Panthers' offices.
The coaching staff, however, was thrilled, and nothing they have seen from him has changed their opinion that they landed a gem.
Jones will play a lot at receiver and figure prominently in the return game.
"Even though he was a quarterback, when I watched his film, his foot speed, change of direction, his quickness -- all the things you look for in a slot receiver, they were evident," said Pitt receivers coach Mike Norvell.
"He was overlooked because of his size, I'm sure, but, boy, we really liked what we saw and then we did some research and found out he played receiver as a sophomore, so he had experience.
"When I watched his highlight film, that burst and change of direction, boy, it got me excited. And in the two weeks since he's been here, he's just been really, really impressive in everything he's done."
First Published August 24, 2011 12:00 am
