'09 NJ WR/CB Leavander Jones (Syracuse Verbal)

[Bernini]

Leavander Jones

Atlantic City (NJ) Atlantic City

Ht: 6-0
Wt: 165
40: 4.4

Statistics: 26 catches, 405 yards, 8 TD's

Also a standout basketball player

Interest: Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Syracuse

Rivals $ 12/26: Opened eyes when his team almost beat the eventual state Champions. Will probably attend combines to raise his stock.

[GoRU]

Two Atlantic City football players commit to Division I schools

Leavander Jones and Jeff Whittingham, two Atlantic City High School football players who will be seniors this fall, have made early verbal commitments to attend NCAA Division I colleges to play football.

Jones, a 5-foot-10, 175 pound wide receiver-defensive back, has committed to Syracuse University, while Whittingham, a 6-2, 280-pound offensive and defensive tackle, has committed to Temple University. Both will receive full athletic scholarships when they officially sign in February.

"Leavander played a number of different positions for us this year," Atlantic City coach Bobby Weiss said.

"He was the key to our offense, after our quarterback (senior Todd Busler). Leavander had the most receptions, most yards and most touchdowns, and he runs a 4.45 in the 40 (yard dash). He's very coachable. He's a multi-purpose athlete, and a lot of schools are looking for that."

Jones committed during a visit to the Big East school on Saturday.

"I came up here once before and met with (assistant) coach Dan Conley," Jones said. "I talked with him and they offered me a full scholarship. The education you get here is one of the best, and it's always been a dream of mine to play D-I football. They want me as a wide receiver. When I came up here, I saw that they run a spread offense, and that's just like we run at Atlantic City. It won't be much different."

Jones is an all-purpose wide receiver, running back and kick returner who scored six touchdowns this past fall for the Vikings. Atlantic City started at 0-2, but then won five of its next six games.

[GoRU]

Daily Orange

Still, Jones' chance to play Division I football may be elsewhere. Like many of the other high school football players that Syracuse is recruiting this fall, the job status of head coach Greg Robinson is a concern for Jones. It wasn't the tenuous situation at the helm for the Orange that was keeping him from making a solid verbal commitment, but said that he would look at other schools if Robinson was fired.

"Not knowing who is coming in after him if he is to go, that changes my mind," Jones said. "They would still be at the top of my list, but I would probably start looking elsewhere a little more."

The only other Division I schools that offered Jones a scholarship are Buffalo and Akron. Jones said he watched Akron's 42-28 win over SU three weeks ago, but he didn't elaborate whether or not the upset would play into his ultimate decision.