4-star QB Emory Jones flips from Ohio State to Florida, giving the Gators an elite dual-threat

Four-star class of 2018 quarterback Emory Jones is changing his commitment from Ohio State to Florida, he announced at a ceremony Wednesday.

Jones is the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. The Heard County (Ga.) star committed to Ohio State in July 2016 shortly after attending a Buckeyes camp. But his recruitment didn’t end there.

Urban Meyer’s staff has spent a year and a half trying to make Jones’ commitment stick. For a while, it worked. Sort of.

Jones told SB Nation’s Bud Elliott in April that he was “110 percent” committed to the Buckeyes, even as he took visits to Southern powers like Alabama. The Tide, Florida, and Florida State have kept pushing for him. Pretty much every power program’s done that, with particular interest from a lot of the SEC.

“I’m 100 percent committed to Ohio State,” Jones said then. “It’d be a lot to change that but I just think for myself it’d be better for me to take some more visits to make sure I pick the right place.” He has remained one of the country’s most in-demand QBs.

Jones is listed at a sturdy 6’3 and 200 pounds, with the strong, athletic build to log lots of miles as a runner. It’s not wrong to classify him as a dual threat, just like the majority of Meyer’s Ohio State quarterbacks. He’ll run frequently in college.

But what makes Jones special is his rocket launcher of a right arm. Jones throws a harder football than nearly any high school quarterback I’ve ever watched. He was outstanding at a Nike regional camp in Charlotte on May 7, flashing an arm that stood out even next to the country’s No. 1 overall recruit, Clemson commit Trevor Lawrence.

Jones sees himself as a pocket passer who can run if things break down around him. In Dan Mullen’s offense, he’ll be asked to run a ton and throw off play action. He should play early.