Recruiting season is in full swing in and around Boone Pickens Stadium with camps and visits picking up.
Three-star defensive lineman Carlon Jones took an official visit to Oklahoma State this week. From Bay City, Texas (between Houston and Corpus Christi), Jones is the No. 675 player in the 2024 class. Listed at 6-foot-3, 270 pounds, he picked up an OSU offer in April and also holds offers to Nebraska, TCU, Texas Tech, Cal, Arizona State, Utah and others.
As a junior with Bay City in 2022, Jones recorded 102 tackles, 29 tackles for loss and 13 sacks as the Blackcats went 8-4 and made it to the second round of the Texas 4A-DI playoffs.
The Cowboys have six players committed in their 2024 class, but none are defensive lineman. In-state edge rusher Will Smith decommitted from OSU last month. As of writing, the Cowboys’ class ranks 43nd nationally and fifth in the Big 12 (247 still lists the Big 12 with OU and Texas but without UCF, BYU, Cincinnati and Houston). Jones’ 247Sports Composite score of 0.8750 would make him OSU’s third-highest ranked commit if he pledge to the Pokes.
Jones spoke with PFB after his visit to discuss his recruitment and Oklahoma State.
PFB: How’d the visit go?
Jones: “It went well. I feel like there was pretty good energy, and I got to bond with the players on the team.”
PFB: Who were you hanging out with? Who was your host?
Jones: “It was Collin Clay. He was a pretty cool dude. He matched my energy very well, more than others visits I’ve been on.”
PFB: What did you like about him?
Jones: “It really wasn’t much more to know, but it was just a vibe. I just knew he was just my type of guy because he was quite similar to me.”
PFB: What was your favorite part of the visit?
Jones: “When I got to ride the horse. It wasn’t scary, nah, because I was from the country, but the last time I had rode a horse was when I was like young, young.”
PFB: Did you attend camp while you were up here?
“No, I wasn’t at the camp. I was usually with one of the coaches, DJ Linton. He was hosting me the whole time, keeping me occupied.”
Jones: “No, I wasn’t at the camp. I was usually with one of the coaches, DJ Linton. He was hosting me the whole time, keeping me occupied.”
PFB: You’ve already been to Nebraska and OSU. What does the rest of your visit schedule look like?
Jones: “I have TCU [on Thursday], Cal next weekend and Georgia Tech, and then I’ll be done for my official visits in June.”
PFB: Do you have a timeline on when you’d want to pick a program?
Jones: “The middle of July or late July.”
PFB: Where is OSU in that? Were you impressed this week?
Jones: “Yeah, I was impressed. I was very impressed, actually. They’re definitely one of the top of my list.”
PFB: You mentioned hanging out with Coach Linton. What do you like about the staff?
Jones: “It was a great environment overall. I enjoyed the staff. They had a lot of energy, and I got to get a lot of information that I didn’t know about the team. Got to go over a little bit of the defense. Coach G-Rich, Coach Richmond, he is a good defensive coach. He would be my D-line coach if I was there. He was great dude. Got to go over the defensive a bit.”
PFB: How did they tell you that you would fit into the defense?
Jones: “I would be a 5 [technique], they said.”
PFB: Do you like playing 5 technique?
Jones: “Yeah, I’m a versatile D-lineman, so I’ll be able to play all over. So yeah, I’m fine with that.”