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Jones, standout prep receiver, will enroll at North Carolina
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Published: August 9, 2008
Dwight Jones has been cleared by the NCAA to enroll at North Carolina and play football this season without losing a year of eligibility.
Jones was the victim of an academic mix-up at UNC in determining his eligibility and has been practicing at Division II Valdosta State, where he had planned to enroll when classes started.
Jones, an All-America as a high-school senior at Burlington Cummings, plans on reporting to Chapel Hill today, his mother, Deborah, said. The team has an off day Sunday, but Jones -- who signed with UNC in February 2007 -- could practice on Monday.
Jones decided to leave Valdosta State on Thursday, after learning that the NCAA had ruled that he could play at UNC, his mother said. She also said that she and Dwight are elated at the unexpected turn of events.
"He said he worked hard for it," Deborah Jones said. "He said he was coming back to claim what belonged to him. I guess he feels like I do. I'm still pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.
"I know he's probably doing the same thing. It's really a miracle for him. I really can't believe it."
Jones decided in late July to attend Valdosta State after he was told that he had not qualified for a second time at UNC. However, UNC officials learned several days later that the wrong standards had been used for Jones in determining the required number of core-curriculum courses.
UNC officials used the 2008 NCAA rules, which require two additional core courses. They should have used the 2007 standards, because that's the year Jones graduated from high school. UNC officials said yesterday that they appealed Jones' status to the NCAA Eligibility Center on Aug. 1.
UNC officials worked with the ACC, the NCAA membership services staff and the eligibility center to resolve the matter. Jones normally would have to sit out a season because he transferred up in division. Although school had not started at Valdosta State, Jones was considered a student there because he had attended practice.
Deborah Jones said that Valdosta State coaches and officials understood Jones' situation and his desire to play for a team closer to his hometown and that they worked to make sure he could enroll at UNC.
"Dwight seemed to be all right with leaving Valdosta," she said. "I don't know if he feels he's betraying them for the help and support they gave him, but I know they have made him feel comfortable with it.
"They helped him with paperwork. They have verified everything themselves. They said they didn't want to throw Dwight to the wolves. They were not going to release him until they knew everything was right for him."
Valdosta State officials said they learned Thursday that the NCAA had granted Jones a waiver and that he would be leaving.
Jones could help UNC immediately at receiver, where a lack of depth concerns Coach Butch Davis. SuperPrep magazine ranked Jones as the No. 1 senior in the state and the No. 11 receiver in the country after the 2006 high-school season. Jones caught 67 passes for 1,396 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior to help Cummings win the NCHSAA 2-A title.
He had 112 catches for 2,315 yards and 20 touchdowns in his last two high-school seasons. He was not eligible to play at UNC coming out of high school and attended Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., last year to work on his academics.
Davis said in a prepared statement that he was excited about Jones joining the program.
"Our football staff and compliance office have worked very hard to make his enrollment a possibility, and his teammates and I look forward to welcoming Dwight to Chapel Hill," Davis said.
Note: Although UNC gained a player yesterday, it also lost one. Kevin Reddick, a freshman linebacker from New Bern, will not attend UNC in the fall, school officials said. He had not been approved by the NCAA clearinghouse for freshman eligibility and was at home awaiting a decision. School officials did not say what Reddick's plans are until he enrolls.
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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