Better Know a Buckeye: Dre'Mont Jones

Our look toward the upcoming football season continues with our Better Know a Buckeye series profiling the incoming freshman comprising the 2015 recruiting class. This week's subject is Dre'Mont Jones, a strongside defensive end prospect from the St. Ignatius program in Cleveland.

Jones' recruitment started much later than other top prospects in his class. His first offer came in February after his junior year. What followed was a brief, but intense, recruitment that brought in heavyweights like Michigan and Notre Dame. Jones decided to stay in-state with his commitment in June of last year. I retell his recruitment in the next section.

Thereafter, I proceed with the usual breakdown. I discuss his strengths and what he needs to address at the collegiate level. I project a redshirt in 2015 for Jones as he recuperates from an injury and offer highlight film for you to watch.

HIS RECRUITMENT

Dre'Mont Jones is the state's sixth-ranked prospect, yet only received his first scholarship offer in February of last year. The offer came from Iowa. How could the state's sixth-ranked prospect start his recruitment so late?

We can answer this question by reference to his high school program. St. Ignatius is one of the elite football programs in the state, regularly producing Division I football prospects. The extent of St. Ignatius' talent makes cracking the field as an underclassmen more difficult. Absent game film, a prospect from St. Ignatius may go unnoticed until he's able to crack the rotation himself as an upperclassmen.

As a result, Jones didn't receive his first scholarship offer until the first week of February last year. The offer came from Iowa. Understandably, the first scholarship offer is an exciting one, let alone one from a Big Ten program. Jones wanted to take a visit to Iowa City sometime shortly afterward.

While Iowa was the first offer, Ohio State had been in touch. Stan Drayton, Luke Fickell, and Urban Meyer had all been in touch and had encouraged Jones to take an unofficial visit to Columbus. On Feb. 25 of last year, Ohio State coaches sweetened the deal by giving him just his second full scholarship offer. Jones grew up following Ohio State football. It was safe to say the offer from Ohio State made the Buckeyes the clear leader for his services. A month later, Jones tweeted the following during an unofficial visit in Columbus.

I shook Archie Griffin's hand today,I will never wash my right hand again lol

— Dre'Mont Jones (@TheOfficial_80) March 22, 2014

A tweet like that qualifies any in-state prospect with a scholarship offer as a "lock" for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State may have been the leader and a lock for Jones' commitment, but it also attracted additional attention for Jones from other noteworthy programs. Michigan followed suit a month lader and was able to entice Jones to visit Ann Arbor. MGoBlog was able to interview Jones regarding his visit and the Michigan offer. In that interview, Jones said Ohio State was his outright leader.

Ohio State is my straight up leader right now but I’m still very open to other schools. That’s the reason why I haven’t committed anywhere yet.

Jones had other scholarship offers come, including from Kentucky, Michigan State, and Notre Dame. However, the interest was all in Ohio State. Jones returned to Columbus for its 2014 spring game. He did make a trip to Lexington to see Kentucky's campus, but nothing came from it. Jones' recruitment was all-Ohio State until a visit to Ohio State for a camp ended his recruitment.

HIS COMMITMENT

On June 18, 2014, Dre'Mont Jones tweeted that he had committed to Ohio State as the seventh member of its 2015 recruiting class.

I'm announcing today i have just committed to The Ohio State University

— Dre'Mont Jones (@TheOfficial_80) June 18, 2014

For Jones, Ohio State was the obvious choice from the beginning. However, he kept an open mind and entertained other options like Kentucky and Michigan. In the end, Jones chose the "childhood dream school" over those Kentucky and Michigan offers.

WHERE HE EXCELS

Dre'Mont Jones projects as a strongside defensive end at Ohio State. His frame is ideal for the position. At 6-foot-3 and over 260 pounds, Jones has the frame and size to thrive in a college conditioning program that maximizes his athleticism.

His athleticism is his greatest attribute right now. Jones is explosive off the line of scrimmage. He's fast in pursuit. He thrives in run support, hitting through the ball carrier.

His overall control of his body is impressive. Defensive line is a position for which body control is mandatory. Those who do not have an innate sense of balance are not long for the sport, certainly not the position. Jones moves around the field almost effortlessly. In other words, Jones should be a joy to watch as an upperclassman at Ohio State. On athleticism alone, he has the potential to be a first-team All-B1G selection.

MUST WORK ON

Jones might be the rawest prospect in this recruiting class. Athleticism is his virtue, but mechanically he's behind the curve. This is nothing new for position coach Larry Johnson, who made a name for himself turning coal into diamonds at Penn State.

Watch Jones' highlight film carefully. Most of the plays he makes are plays in which he's unblocked. Credit Jones for being situationally aware on zone read plays; he doesn't bite on the play-action as a knee-jerk reaction. However, his ability to get off blocks is unknown right now. In fact, the area in which he most needs to improve is his hands. Jones has the arm length, size, and strength to thrive in the position, but it starts with "violent hands" off the line of scrimmage. Jones doesn't have them now. He'll need to learn them from Larry Johnson.

Jones has no real "get-off" moves I have seen. This might be more an issue in pass rush. Jones rushes inside each time. He's strong enough to get pressure inside, but it also makes him one-dimensional for college coaches better able to prepare for that. He struggles to get outside his man on a pass rush.

REDSHIRT?

I thought Jones was a likely redshirt in 2015 when he signed with Ohio State. Regrettably, he tore his ACL during a high school basketball game earlier this month. Jones will redshirt in 2015.

HIGHLIGHTS

Jones' junior year film is available for viewing.

You can also watch an interview with him on Signing Day, courtesy of the Plain Dealer.