Michigan Still in Race For Marshall Jones

Marshall Jones Profile

Westlake Village (Calif.) safety Marshall Jones (6-1, 190, 4.5) denies a leader, but said he favors Oregon, USC, Arizona, Michigan and Colorado—in no specific order. LSU, Mississippi and Tennessee have also offered the Scout.com four-star defender.

“I really like Oregon,” said Jones, of Oaks Christian High School. “They offered a couple of months ago. I went up there for a visit with my teammate Mike Ebbit last month. The campus is really nice and their facilities are amazing. They’re the nicest I’ve seen by far. The coaches are really cool. I’ve talked to Coach (Steve) Greatwood a few times and he said I have a good chance to play early there. I'm thinking about taking a couple more visits up there this summer.

“I’m seriously thinking about USC. I was totally surprised when Coach (Steve) Sarkisian told me they were going to offer. Then Coach (Pete) Carroll called my parents and told them I was getting the offer. I know there’s no guarantee of seeing early play time there. They produce a lot of good guys…I’ll have to compete to play. I don’t mind that though…a little competition will just make me work that much harder to be the best I can be.

“Arizona is one of my favorites too,” he said. “I took a visit down there with Duke Lemmens . I really liked the campus and facilities. The weather was nice too. I got a chance to talk with Coach (Charlie) Williams and he said I could play early. The whole coaching staff is really a great bunch of guys. They’re building a program that will be hard to beat.

“I’m looking at Michigan too. I don’t know a lot about the program. I’ve talked to Coach (Ron) English. He said he’s coming out here soon. I haven’t been to see the campus yet. I think I’m going to take a visit out there this summer.

“Colorado is my latest offer. I got it a couple of weeks ago,” Jones said. “Coach (Darian) Hagan came to my school earlier this week. He said I had a great chance of playing early there because 16 positions will be graduating in the next two years. I’ve heard that the campus is really nice. Boulder is supposed to be pretty cool too. I want to get out there for a visit soon…maybe this summer.

Marshall said he plans to make a decision by Thanksgiving. “Duke, Ebbit and I want to play together in college. Right now, we all have offers to Oregon, Arizona and Colorado. But we all know the most important thing is finding a program that fits each of us best...if that’s not the same school, then that’s okay."

Core GPA and SAT unreported.