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football Edit

Analysis of A&M's newest commit

Hezekiah Jones

With the commitment of Stafford WR Hezekiah Jones Friday afternoon, Texas A&M picks up a receiver with a skill set that could make him dangerous at the next level.

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Jones has a reputation for being a burner at wide receiver, but it wasn't really his speed that caught my attention (more on that in a minute). Instead, a few other things stood out, and that's good news if you're a fan of the Aggies.

Watching his highlights, which you can see here, the thing that stood out to me was his ability to adjust while the ball is in the air. There are numerous instances of him making big plays because he instinctively finds the ball in the air and reacts to it better than the defenders. Some of that comes from knowing his quarterback and a lot of practice, but it's also a gift. In his case, it's an extremely impressive gift.

Another thing I really liked was how he uses his hands to go out and grab the football. There are a couple of plays where he jumps over defenders to make a catch, and he's not going to do that if he waits for the ball to come to him. When you're a fast guy, there's a habit to take off down the field before you've gathered the ball in, but Jones seems to have the patience to wait and make sure he has the ball secured before he takes off.

Jones isn't a big guy at 5-foot-11 and 193 pounds, but he's tough to bring down. He's very elusive and his short, choppy strides allow him to change direction in a hurry. Again, he's got a gift: most players aren't able to stop, elude a player, change direction and get back up to speed quickly. He can.

This may sound a little odd, but one area where I think Jones can actually get better is with his speed on the football field. There are several instances where he's taken down from behind in his highlight clips, something you wouldn't necessarily expect. We know he has the speed, however, so it's probably just going to be an issue of becoming more comfortable running as a football player instead of a sprinter.

The biggest thing Jones will have to do is tighten up his route running, which is something a lot of high school receivers have to do at the next level. Once he does, though, he'll be extremely dangerous. When he plants his foot and changes direction, he almost automatically causes separation. When he starts running sharp routes, he'll give corners fits.

Jones is a guy who is a mid-term enrollee, so he'll be at A&M for spring ball. I wouldn't be surprised to see him competing for playing time, probably as an outside receiver, right away.

Rivals' Take:

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