Swainsboro High School upcoming senior and varsity football standout, DeMello Jones, was recently in Los Angles, California. Jones was not there to mellow around on the beach or out in Hollywood but was there to showcase his talent and football abilities. The small-town athlete was invited to California with an elite group of the top players in the country. These elite players gathered for the Overtime Seven on Seven Finals. Jones not only held his own against the top players in the country, but he was also singled out as one of the top performers in the four-day event. Below are some of the comments from the national recruiting analysts who were in attendance.
Sam Spiegelman On3 National Recruiting Analyst
“Demello Jones, who Georgia loves at cornerback, was pesky and covering a ton of real estate at safety and inside at nickel. He’s physical and position-versatile, which was certainly made visible.”
ANDREW IVINS 247 Sports
“Demello Jones, on the other hand, produced a nice takeaway of his own on Friday and got his hands on a few balls Sunday. He has spent much of his prep career working on the offense but has all the tools to make an impact in the secondary.”
COOPER PETAGNA
“DB Demello Jones, Swainsboro (Ga.) High, Georgia commit: The Georgia pledge showed up a few times late on Friday evening, pulling down a contested 50/50 ball down the field while helping his team 24K seize some momentum. Listed at 6-foot-1 and a 175-pounds plus, Jones’ reactionary athleticism and speed was evident at first glance. A physical prospect that likes to get handsy at the line of scrimmage, Jones figures to fit in well at a program that knows a thing or two about playing physical football.”
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time Jones was unranked and had four offers going into his junior season. Today he has a 4 out of 5 stars ranking and offers from every top college football program in the country. This comes as no surprise to some of us. Jones saw his recruitment explode in late November. Jones committed to the University of Georgia in March but that has not stopped the other schools from pursing him. He has been very busy since November with recruiting, basketball, and track. Jones will have a few weeks of down time with the recruiting dead period approaching. In the meantime, Jones and his SHS teammates are preparing for the 2023 season. He also gave an in-depth statement of how football has changed in life in such a short period of time:
“To have the opportunity to even play football is a blessing first and foremost. Having the opportunity to play at this elite level is great. I had the opportunity to fly to California and play in a national tournament for 7v7 which was fun and almost competitive. It was good for me to go out and show off my skills with other top elite players in the country from all age groups in high school playing against the best of the best. Even though we were there to play football it was also for us young kids to explore the world and make the most of it. Every time you have the chance to do something that you’ve never done before take advantage of it. Coming from a small town in Georgia that was big for me and my community to have that chance and also being one of the top performers at the national event but overall, I had a fun and great experience playing!”
