Dwight Jones has decided to play football at North Carolina and will join the program on Saturday, his mother, Deborah, said this morning.
Jones, who is attending Valdosta State in Georgia, decided yesterday to return home and play for UNC. He learned earlier this week that he was academically eligible for NCAA Division I-A play because of a mixup in applying the NCAA academic rules.
Mrs. Jones said she considered the turn of events a miracle and was glad that her son would be closer to their Burlington home. Valdosta State is an NCAA Division II school.
"I guess he feels like I do: I'm still pinching myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming," Mrs. Jones said.
"He said he worked hard for it. He said he was coming back to claim what belongs to him."
UNC athletics officials said that they could not immediately confirm that Jones will be in the program.
Jones, a 6-5 receiver, was ranked the No. 1 senior in the state after the 2006 high-school season by SuperPrep, a football recruiting magazine. The magazine ranked him No. 11 nationally among receivers.
He caught 112 passes for 2,315 yards and 20 touchdowns in his last two seasons at Cummings High School. As a senior he caught 67 passes for 1,396 yards and 12 touchdowns in leading Cummings to the Class 2-A state title.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement