D. J. Jones commits to Aggies
Not soon after his high school career came to an end, Denison running back D.J. Jones charted the course for his future playing football.
Wanting to stick with his word about waiting until after his senior season on his college choice, Jones made a verbal commitment to play for Texas A&M. Verbal commitments are non-binding. The first day national letters-of-intent can be signed is Feb. 3.
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Both Jones and Denison head coach Cody White confirmed the commitment on Saturday afternoon.
According to Rivals.com's rankings, Jones is a four-star recruit who is the 27th-best running back in the country and the 44th best player in the state of Texas for the Class of 2010.
Jones ran for 2,257 yards and 30 touchdowns on 268 carries and caught 30 passes for 431 yards and four touchdowns as Denison went 13-2 and reached the state semifinals before losing to eventual champion Aledo.
The senior was a second-team all-state selection after earning first-team all-state honors as a junior, when he ran for a school record 2,646 yards and finished with 39 total touchdowns, 35 of them rushing.
He will graduate as the school's all-time leading rusher with 5,518 yards and is second in rushing touchdowns -- 68 -- to Corey Robertson's mark of 73. Jones had 28 100-yard games, also a Jacket record.
Jones also holds the Denison single-game records for yards, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and points after his 434-yard, eight TD (seven rushing) performance in a 65-54 victory over McKinney last season.
Jones is the third running back as part of A&M's 2010 class. The Aggies also have commitments from Cedar Hill's Ben Malena and Mister Jones of Littleton, Colo. as part of their current 22-player class. Mister Jones made his choice last Sunday night after an official visit.
He had scheduled an official visit to College Station last weekend but the Jackets were preparing for their state semifinal game against Aledo and rescheduled his trip for January.
Texas A&M went 6-6 this season and made a bowl game for the first time in three years. The Aggies are trying for their first bowl victory since 2001 when they play Georgia on Dec. 28 in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
Sophomore Cyrus Gray and freshman Christine Michael have each run for more than 700 yards and 150 carries this past season as A&M's offense was ranked among the best in the nation after averaging 33.9 points and 465.3 yards per game.
"That's a good place for him," White said. "He fits what they do well down there."
A&M has 10 backs on the roster and only one will graduate.