A North Carolina high school football player completed his senior year as one of the nation’s top student-athletes. With a 4.1 GPA, the young man received acceptance letters from top colleges such as Princeton, Dartmouth, Duke, North Carolina A&T, Morehouse, Navy Air Force and Army.
Joshua Jones (Screengrab @JoshuaJones1_)
Many of the acceptance letters came with full-ride offers, hoping to make their school the most attractive to the 6-foot tall, 190-pound quarterback.
While Josh Jones had his pick of several Ivy Leagues and NCAA Division 1 schools, he opted to study for his bachelor’s degree at one of his North Carolina’s 11 historically Black colleges and universities, North Carolina Central University.
He made the announcement on Twitter, writing, “First and foremost, I would like to thank the man up above for everything he has provided me with.”
“I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me throughout this journey also, it wasn’t easy but it was worth it.”
Then he thanked his coaches before announcing his choice, “Everything in order. It’s a great day to be an eagle!!”
Before locking in with NCCU, the recent Westover High School graduate was offered more than $3 million in total by schools across the country, but chose to stay in his home state for his undergraduate studies.
Before interviewing with ABC 11, the Varsity player had no idea just how much more he acquired in scholarship. He says he was focused on qualifying and filling out applications that he hadn’t paid attention.
“In the end when all was counted up I was shocked myself,” Josh said, adding, “I wanted to try and get every scholarship I could. All my offers that I did get were academic and athletic,” the quarterback boasted.
He also said he was cognizant of just how monumental receiving so many offers actually is, but has stayed humble by remembering where he comes from.
This sense of being grounded comes from having a solid team, like his dad, Redrick Jones, who is not just the patriarch in his life, but also his football coach and counselor.
As the assistant coach at Westover, Jones has had to figure out a system of balance for their relationship.
“The process of being a father, being a coach is always hard because there’s always two hats you’re wearing,” Jones said. “But you got to keep everything in perspective.”
The head coach at Westover, Ernest King, said he also saw the leadership qualities in Josh, saying he is probably the school’s “best leader.”
With that leadership mindset, Josh has one thing in particular he’d like to impart to other students coming up behind him. “Stay on the grind, keep your grades up, and know what you want in life,” he said.
