Former South Carolina offensive line coach Lonnie Teasley did the Gamecocks a favor last summer by inviting OL Kendrayis Jones (6-5 290) of Loganville, GA to camp. Jones had not visited USC previously, and he went to the camp with a plan to show out to Teasley and earn a scholarship.
“I kind of knew I was going to get a South Carolina offer when I went to camp in the summer of my junior year,” Jones said. “I went and balled out at that camp. I didn’t lose but one rep. I was kind of expecting an offer when the camp ended. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as a I planned it. I just prayed on it. You know, God is never on time. He just blessed me with an offer at a later date, and I’m kind of cool with that. I kind of have to build a relationship with the new O-line coaches, and I’m really looking forward to that.”
Teasley won’t get the opportunity to benefit from his insight on Jones since he’s moved on to Nebraska. But new Gamecock offensive line coach Randy Clements has the chance to. He picked up on Jones recently and made the call to him with an offer.
“I think he’s a great coach,” Jones said. “Obviously, I have to see him in person to see how he coaches his other players. From the looks of it, I think he’s a great coach and a great person. When he called and offered me, he said he took a look at my tape, and he just called me out of nowhere. He was like, have you got an offer from the Gamecocks yet? I said, no sir. And he said, how about now? I was like, OK, I’m cool with that I guess.”
Jones said he will visit the Gamecocks for a spring practice on a date to be determined. He also plans spring visits to Georgia Tech, Auburn, Kentucky, Virginia, Virginia Tech, NC State and Pitt. He has not yet decided on official visits.
Jones also has offers from UCLA, Auburn, Memphis, Missouri, Colorado State and Wake Forest.