Michigan Recruiting: Reuben Jones Commits -- Profile

Michigan Football Recruiting by GBMWolverinePosted at 3:15pm — 1/25/2015

Michigan Wolverine Recruiting: Reuben Jones Commits — Profile

GBMWolverine Readers: Here is an overview of recent verbal commitment Reuben Jones.

Well, across the country some are saying, “Wow, Harbaugh reeled in a three-star commit; same ol’ Michigan.” Maybe this uniformed quick conclusion is incorrect.

Reuben Jones does not have ideal size: he is not tall, not bulked up sufficiently for college ball, but Reuben Jones may just be a football player. He is listed at 225 pounds, but should in two years be in the 245-250 range. And remember, if a guy is fast enough to bypass a block, weight is less of a factor.

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Jones has identified strengths: great twitch first step, plays like a maniac, and is stronger than he looks. He will, of course, need to bulk up as teams love to run at undersized defensive ends. He is all over the field in his high school film, but is listed as a strongside defensive end. It may be most accurate to list Jones as a high three-star player with future growth potential; yes that dreaded word (to some) potential. But the raw truth is there are probably five or so plug and play impact defensive ends each year that are can’t miss candidates, like Clowney. A coach must have vision when assessing an underdeveloped talent, especially if the player has one overriding gift, in this case, raw speed off the ball.

Reuben had plenty of offers, including of course Nebraska, but also Louisville, Michigan State, Iowa and West Virginia. A total of seven Bit Ten schools offered, but the mega-powers of college football, with the luxury of going after and landing “bigger fish” did not offer. His size has implied he could be used as a hybrid type in Coach D.J. Durkin’s defense. Again, it should be stated, Coach D.J. Durkin clearly had Jones targeted.

Reuben Jones
Height: 6’4
Weight: 225
Number: 44
Current Position: Defensive End
Future Position: Defensive End / Outside Linebacker
City/State: Lakeland, Florida
High School: Lake Gibson
Head Coach: Keith DeMyer
Recruiter: D.J. Durkin (DC/LB), Greg Mattison (DL)
Official Visit: 1/23/2014
Committed: 1/24/2015
Top 5 other Offers: Iowa, Missouri, Michigan State, Nebraska (former commit), and West Virginia.
Visited: Nebraska (9/19/14), UCF (10/24/14), Michigan State (11/8/14), Louisville (1/16/15), and Michigan (1/23/15).
40-Time: 4.89
Shuttle: 4.78
Power Throw: 30′
Vertical: 30.7″
SPARQ Rating: 57.66
GPA: 3.5
Class: 2015 Michigan Wolverine Recruiting Class (Verbal Commit).

Follow Reuben Jones: on Twitter

Rankings:
24/7: 3-star.
ESPN: 3-star.
Rivals: 3-star.
Scout: 3-star.

Note: Stars do matter, but are not absolute in predicting success within a football program. So, with that in mind the GBMWolverine Staff has cleverly come up with a new system of ranking. We are using footballs instead of stars, how can one argue against a system that clever? Below are the interpretations of football power predicted way too boldly long before it matters. In other words, we will give informed opinion with the crystal ball and let the players determine what will happen through years of hard work.

Criteria: Raw talent, athleticism, position of need, intangibles.

GBMWolverine Rankings:

10 footballs: Instant impact player.
9 footballs: Three or four-year starter at a high level.
8 footballs: A starter with all league potential.
7 footballs: A meaningful starter at some time during a career.
6 footballs: A spot starter or special teams player.
5 footballs: Not in the two deep after a two years.
4 footballs: Never made it.
1-3 footballs: See the above.

Reuben has great potential and somebody to look out for once he is in a college program.

Remember just as we did during the season with grading positions or groups we are very tough graders and expect a lot out of those positions or players so this is no different here.

Overview:

Jones is uber quick and an explosive defensive end prospect. He moves around for his high school team, playing multiple positions. At times Jones even lines up in a two-point stance, GBMWolverine likes him better with a hand on the ground. Reuben recorded 64 tackles and 9 sacks as a senior. He is a good student with a reported 3.5 GPA.

Strengths:

The first thing that stands out is effort and hustle. Jones plays the game full throttle, perhaps recklessly fast at times! He gets off the ball well, shows good burst, and closing speed. He also uses his hands and long arms to get offensive linemen off balance. Reuben moves his feet well and shows both rip and spin moves.

Michigan Wolverines /

Michigan Wolverines

Concerns/Needs Work:

Obviously Reuben will need to add weight and get stronger, but he is stronger than he looks. Also he needs to play with a bit more discipline and under control. We will take this trade off any time as it is much easier to slow down intensity than develop it!

Red-shirt or play his Freshman Year?

GBMWolverine believes he will likely red-shirt his first year. Most likely, there are some depth concerns (may see some guys move to defensive end) but could see the field as a third down pass rusher.

Reuben Jones reminds the GBMWolverine Staff of — Former Michigan and Western Illinois Football Player — David Bowens — who played Defensive End.

High School Coach Comments:

A little side note here. Ricky Barnum coaches the offensive line at Lake Gibson and sees Reuben Jones every single day going up against his offensive line.

Video Highlights:

National signing day for football is February 4, 2015 and a lot needs to happen for Michigan to land the fifteen to seventeen scholarship prospects in the next 11 days that they have available for this 2015 recruiting class.

Michigan currently has eight recruits at this time with Brian Cole (WR/S), and Alex Malzone (QB) already on campus. Then we have committed recruits Andrew David (K), Tyree Kinnel (DB/S), Grant Newsome (OL), and Jon Runyan Jr. (OL). The new additions to the recruiting class are obviously Reuben Jones (DE) and Zach Gentry (QB).

Final Thoughts:

We welcome Reuben Jones to Michigan and hope he has a successful career on and off the football field as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

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