One of the most frequent visitors to USC over the last couple of recruiting seasons has been CB Davion Jones (6-0 175) of Cornelius, NC. Shane Beamer, Clayton White, and Torrian Gray have long made Jones a high-level target for their secondary.
Saturday, Jones was back in Columbia with his parents to watch the Gamecocks practice, and to chop it up some more with the Gamecock coaches.
“I’ve been on campus so many times, I’ve got to see the same people and see the same stuff,” Jones said. “I had a great talk with Coach Beamer, Coach White, and Coach Gray. Practice was good. Everything was good. The environment was good. The people were good to me. Me and my family were just really glad to get back up.”
Beamer and his staff are so close to Jones that they may have been tempted to run him into the practice Saturday, had that not been against the rules.
“They kind of treat me like I am already there,” Jones said. “I have a good relationship with some of the players, so I’m kind of like the little brother. I’m definitely welcomed like family there.”
Having been to USC so often, Jones has seen a lot of the Gamecocks in action, both in practice and in games. And he’s seen the results of Gray’s good work with the secondary.
“They call it DBU,” Jones said. “Coach Beamer, the way he’s run his program has been great. They send a lot of guys to the league at my position. Coach Gray, outstanding guy. I love that guy. They need guys. They need guys from the ’27 class. They need two corners and a nickel, basically what I play. That’s really been the biggest selling point.”
So, with all that said, it’s no surprise Jones has the Gamecocks among his favorites as he starts to look ahead to his official visits.
“South Carolina has always been high on my recruiting thing,” he said. “I would say they are still pretty high on my board. You’ve got LSU, Georgia, Clemson, Auburn, Tennessee.”
Jones visited Auburn earlier in the week. He was at Clemson for the Tigers’ Elite Retreat on March 7th, and the Tigers can not be discounted.
“The biggest thing for me at Clemson was the PAW Journey,” Jones said. “I really like what the people and the players had to say about the PAW Journey, and how the PAW Journey has helped so many guys in so many ways. And they need guys like me who are versatile, who can change a game in a play. That’s really been the biggest thing.”
Jones said he will not be taking a visit this coming week, but he will visit LSU on April 11th. He is still in the process of deciding on his official visits, with South Carolina and Clemson both in the mix for those. He said he does not have a commitment date.