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2018 Intro: Micah Jones
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Ryan Easterling
10/21/2014
Micah Jones of Gurnee (IL) Warren is one of the state's top freshmen on the gridiron. Get to know the 2018 receiver, including the early status of his recruitment.
Micah Jones may just be a freshman, but the Gurnee (IL) Warren Township receiver is already generating a lot of buzz. But behind the 2018 prospect is a supportive father who has helped Jones early in the process.
"It's been nice," he said. "My dad has been a lot of help through it all. He's been to a lot of this stuff with me."
Jones is only playing on the junior varsity team right now, but come playoff time, he knows he might move up and add another pass-catching threat for Warren.
"I think I have a pretty good chance of getting called up," he said. "I've been playing pretty good this season, so I think if we do make the playoffs I could get called up and have a lot of fun and a lot of experience on the varsity team."
Jones has been a matchup problem for other teams this year. And even despite all the attention, he still manages to be productive and win battles against the defense.
"They always have to double or triple cover me," Jones said. "It's hard but it's also fun to play against two or three defenders and still catch a lot of balls and all that."
He continued, "I think I have the ability to get separation. I have long legs and big arms and can go up and get the ball. I can run away from people too. I think I have a pretty good chance against any defender out there."
For a freshman, Jones is already a fairly skilled receiver, but he has the next three years to refine and improve his abilities.
"Footwork is my main focus right now," he said. "I need to get my routes down and work on my catching, but right now I want to work on my footwork. That and route-running."
Age hasn't played much of a factor in Jones' recruitment so far. The 2018 prospect is already hearing from some major schools both in the Midwest as well as farther from home.
"Right now I'm hearing from Illinois, Northwestern, Old Dominion, Miami, and Eastern Michigan," Jones said. "It's awesome and a great experience to be hearing from all these people even with how young I am. It's a long process, but I'm looking forward to it."
Of those schools, Jones has already gotten the low-down from senior teammate and Illinois commit Caleb Reams.
"Caleb's told me a lot about Illinois," he said. "He's told me about the academic prestige and the history of their sports and all. I like their academics most of all."
Jones frequently emphasized the importance of a strong academic reputation of a college. Academic and program stability will both be key factors as Jones' recruitment progresses.
"Mostly I'll look at academics and the coach turnover rate," he said. "I want to be with a coach that's going to be there for my four years and be there for me. And I want a good position coach like my dad."