Sports

Rebel with a cause

• Westover linebacker Jason Jones chooses to play college football for the Ole Miss Rebels.

Scott Chancey

ALBANY — Jason Jones had been practicing his signature on a college football scholarship since middle school.

And as the star Westover High School linebacker and John Reynolds Award winner actually inked that letter with Mississippi on National Signing Day on Wednesday, the culmination of blood, sweat and tears had finally paid off.

“It feels good, setting a goal and achieving it,” said Jones, who helped lead the Patriots to the GHSA Class AAA quarterfinals last season. “It was good to finally put the signature down and make it official.”

After making 154 tackles, including 16 for loss, three sacks, recovering two fumbles and intercepting three passes, new Rebels coach Houston Nutt has a playmaker on his hands.

Westover coach Jeff Caldwell, however, feels there is a lot more to Jones than that.

“As I told every coach that came here, he’s an even better kid than he is a player,” Caldwell said.

Jones’ decision ended a wild recruitment which began with his heart set on following former teammate and starting defensive back Aairon Savage to Auburn. Then, he shifted his focus to a strong push by South Carolina and then, finally deciding to rest in Oxford, Miss.

“It’s a big day for him,” Caldwell said. “He’s been a very focused man for a long time, and this is the culmination of the focus he’s put in to be the best player and person he could be.”

Now that he will be playing for an SEC school, that in itself means a lot to Jones. After all, it was all about realizing his dream. And although he wore a suit to Wednesday’s signing, he had on his Westover jersey beforehand, as did his other Westover senior teammates.

“We got our jerseys at last Thursday’s banquet, and we were going to wear them Monday, but that didn’t work out, so we all wore them Wednesday to show unity,” Jones said Although Jones celebrated with his Westover squad after signing his letter, he also knows it will soon be time to bond with his new teammates at Ole Miss.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time,” he said. “For my family to be here, my teammates, I’m happy that they’re here. (But) I’ll be (meeting plenty of new people) at Ole Miss) in the summer.”

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