Hd Sports News: Four-star offensive weapon Miles Jones commits to Husker football

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Unlike a football he’s so comfortable holding, Miles Jones had been carrying around a secret all week. And was it ever eating at him.

Only last month, the offensive playmaker from Plantation, Florida, thought his future was set. He had been committed to Vanderbilt since March and wasn’t looking elsewhere. But a Dec. 13 offer from Nebraska intrigued him enough to take an official visit last weekend.

By the end of his three days in Lincoln, the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Jones couldn’t hold back any longer. In a final meeting with coach Scott Frost and offensive coordinator Troy Walters, the recruit ended the session by telling them they could count him a Husker.

“Coach Frost asked me when I was thinking about making my decision and I told him I wanted to make it right now,” Jones said. “Then I picked Nebraska.”

Rated a three-star athlete by the 247Sports composite, Jones decommitted from Vanderbilt on Tuesday. After a planned visit from Frost, Walters and special teams coach Jovan Dewitt at his Fort Lauderdale-area school and home Thursday, he made his choice public that night on Twitter with a two-minute video featuring some of his highlights and audio clips from announcers. He dons a red Nebraska visor at the end as a “Committed” and “All N” graphic over him fades to black.

Nebraska now has 18 known commits in the Class of 2018. Rivals rates Jones a four-star recruit and the No. 17 athlete nationally while ESPN and 247Sports each give him three stars.

“I mean, I’m ready to go now,” Jones said. “If I could go now, I would. I’m pumped up, I’m excited. I just can’t wait to get into this offense and see what we’re going to do.”

The official visit thoroughly convinced Jones that Nebraska was for him. He liked how coaches and players interacted. He liked his one-on-one meeting with Walters, when he learned he would be a running back who motions out of the backfield to run routes while also taking handoffs. He liked the personal touch of meeting Athletic Director Bill Moos and President Hank Bounds.

As an aspiring video-game designer, he even liked being in “Silicon Prairie” and the prospect of internships in that sector later on.

Hugs came from coaches when Jones broke the news. Then a picture with the entire staff, many of whom he built relationships with during their time at UCF.

The explosive runner — who flashes impressive change-of-direction skills on his highlight film — held more than a dozen offers from the likes of Georgia, Mississippi State, Oregon State and Wisconsin. He took unofficial visits to schools like Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama and Miami.

Nebraska, though, had the kind of creative offense and opportunity for playing time he was seeking.

“I have a chance to start early,” Jones said. “They’re bringing in this new system that everybody has to learn. They’re saying it’s not that hard to learn; they had a lot of freshmen last year run it at UCF. So I’m excited about it.”

Jones’ prep team, American Heritage School, finished 14-0 last fall, while Jones contributed with 695 rushing yards (11.4 yards per carry) and 401 receiving yards to go with 16 total touchdowns (two on kickoff returns). But practices might have been toughest, considering he often ran routes against uncommitted five-star senior corners Patrick Surtain and Tyson Campbell. Anthony Schwartz (four-star wideout and Auburn commit) and Nesta Silvera (four-star defensive tackle and Miami commit) were teammates as well.

Former big-time talent has also helped mold Jones, including American Heritage coach Patrick Surtain — a former NFL All-Pro defensive back who spent 11 years in the league with Miami and Kansas City — and trainer and mentor Arturo Freeman, who logged six NFL seasons as a DB with Miami and New England.

Jones, who plans to arrive in Nebraska in early June, has verified times of 4.62 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 10.7 seconds in the 100 meters. His vertical jump measures at an elite 37.9 inches.

“I wouldn’t say I’m blazing fast, but I’m fast enough that I don’t think you’re going to catch me,” said Jones who drinks a bottle of raspberry tea before games. “I would say I’m more sudden, I have sudden quickness. I always make the first guy miss, sometimes the first two guys.”

Nebraska has five other scholarship running backs currently in the mix. That includes returning seniors Devine Ozigbo and Mikale Wilbon, junior Tre Bryant and sophomore Jaylin Bradley along with December junior college signee Greg Bell.