Da’Mario Jones, Ex-Wolverine

Da’Mario Jones, Ex-Wolverine


February 29, 2016
Michigan wide receiver Da'Mario Jones (10) and teammates celebrate with fans in the student section of Michigan Stadium after an NCAA college football game against Penn State in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014. Michigan won 18-13. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

Da’Mario Jones (#10)

Rising senior Da’Mario Jones has left Michigan’s football program. He is rumored to be looking for a better playing opportunity elsewhere.

Jones moved around a bit in high school, so he was not on the local recruiting radar much before his senior year. He was committed to Central Michigan for a few months before the offer came from Michigan, which he jumped on almost immediately at the end of October in 2012. I initially gave him a TTB Rating of 79 (LINK) and I even bumped that up to an 81 after the recruiting cycle ended (LINK). He was the best receiver in Michigan’s 2013 class, and that seems to still be true (Csont’e York was booted out of the program, while Jaron Dukes has yet to play a meaningful down of football), but 81 was obviously a reach for Jones.

Hit the jump for more on Jones’s departure.

Jones burned his redshirt as a true freshman in 2013 to play on special teams. As a sophomore he saw his first action on offense and caught 1 pass for 11 yards. This past season he caught 1 pass for 2 yards. Despite being 6’2″ and 199 lbs., Jones was mostly a slot receiver at Michigan. He reportedly wants more playing time, and it was unlikely to come at Michigan. The Wolverines return every receiver from 2015, and they recruited five in the 2016 class. The writing was on the wall.

I still think Jones has some talent to be harnessed. I mentioned in his initial commitment post that he fought the ball a little bit, and that has been the word coming out of practices, too. The reason he struggled to see the field was because of too many drops, and of his three catchable targets at Michigan, he only caught two. As is often the case with local kids who can’t hack it at Michigan, I would not be surprised to see him end up in the MAC. Maybe he can return to the idea of playing at Central Michigan.

Michigan’s 2013 recruiting class included 27 scholarship signees. Jones is the eighth player to leave the program prior to finishing his eligibility, joining Kyle Bosch (WVU), Ross Douglas (Rutgers), Chris Fox (injury), Derrick Green (transfer TBD), Dan Samuelson (transfer TBD), Logan Tuley-Tillman (legal troubles, Washington State), and Csont’e York (legal troubles).

Michigan now has 89 scholarships allotted for the 2015 season (LINK). At least four more scholarship players must depart prior to this fall.

8 comments

  1. Comments: 26
    Joined: 10/14/2015
    Tanisr4
    Feb 29, 2016 at 11:53 PM

    Who do you think will be the 4 to leave and what would happen if they not able too get 4 to leave

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Mar 01, 2016 at 6:23 AM

      There’s not really an option to have fewer than four leave. However, two of those scholarships belong to Kenny Allen and Ryan Glasgow, who came to Michigan as walk-ons. If it came down to it, they would not get scholarships. Also, that number includes Dytarious Johnson, who has yet to qualify. Beyond that you just need one more guy to quit/transfer, and that’s not difficult to imagine after the spring ball depth chart shakes out.

      • Comments: 21
        Joined: 8/13/2015
        steweiler
        Mar 01, 2016 at 9:23 AM

        Would Glasgow’s scholarship really be pulled after his stellar season last year? I mean, he has the potential to be all-conference.

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Mar 01, 2016 at 6:32 PM

          I don’t see that happening, but technically, it’s a real possibility.

  2. Comments: 182
    Joined: 9/15/2015
    ragingbull
    Mar 01, 2016 at 2:55 AM

    guessing you meant to list logan tulley tillman not blake bars as the 8th departure from that 2013 class? bars arrived in 2012 (as you noted in bars’ exit post) and would be 5th year next fall

  3. Comments: 5
    Joined: 11/24/2015
    SGarv
    Mar 01, 2016 at 6:07 AM

    I thought the timing was interesting here, two leave right before going to Spring Break?

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Mar 01, 2016 at 6:19 AM

      Bars has been gone. I’m not 100% sure about when Jones left. So it’s not that they JUST left the program. It’s simply that it’s being announced now that the spring roster was released.

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