Finally got a chance over the holidays to watch the tape of Highland Park-Manvel UIL Class 5 Division 2 state championship game played at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.
It featured at least two 2018 prospects Arkansas is involved with in Highland Park QB John Stephen Jones Jones and Manvel WR Jalen Preston.
Both would be great pick ups. Jones has a blue shirt offer and Preston - committed to Texas A&M - plans to visit Arkansas in Jan.
Highland Park won 53-49 in just a great high school game. Kind of resembled the Georgia-OU semifinal game.
Jones led his team back from a 49-39 deficit with just three minutes left.
He finished the night 37-of-58 passing for 564 yards and four touchdowns.
Preston had 5 catches for 220 yards with three touchdown catches of 95, 69 and 7 yards
Dudley,
I’ve been wanting to ask this. Given we are going to have a tough time filling up a good class this year with the coaching change, why give Jones a blue-shirt and end up taking a scholarship from the next class when he gets it? Won’t scholarships be at more of a premium next year once the staff has had an entire year to recruit? I may be missing something so apologize if an obvious answer.
There is indeed a very obvious answer.
John Stephen’s family is not lacking for money.
They won’t do anything to take away a scholarship from a need position.
Don’t overthink it.
There have been so many players up here who people thought were on scholarship that weren’t as their parents or grandparents helped out.
They should offer him a scholarship, and then he could have a ceremony and say he is choosing to walk-on.
Plus it puts him in the running for the Burlsworth Trophy for walking on
And let’s be honest. Is the university really gonna “charge” a kid whose family name is decorating a couple buildings?