As you walk through the halls of Cape Coral High School, one of the first faces you will encounter on the scholarship walls is that of senior Darrion Jones with an astounding $208,000 scholarship from the University of Kansas.
Jones was recently signed on to play football at the University of Kansas, earning himself a four-year scholarship. Jones has spent two years as a Seahawks player for the football team. Jones has been playing football since he was eight years old when he was part of the Tiny Mite Lee County football team.
“Darrion has been playing football since his Pop Warner years, all through elementary and middle school which led up to him playing in high school,” said Tiffany Jones, Jones’ mother.
Cape High also hosted a signing event for Darrion as well as multiple other students who were getting recruited to a university for their athletics. This event occurred at the school and allowed Darrion’s supporters to come out and celebrate his accomplishment.
“We feel so proud that our son has been officially signed and offered to attend the Kansas Jayhawks,” said Tiffany. “The signing ceremony was breathtaking.”
Tyler Murphy, head football coach, agreed and said, “When he did that signing, he was awesome, because a lot of guys on the team got to be there to support him, his family, friends, faculty, and staff. So I think he’s a perfect example of what it takes to help raise children and young men of the community and we’re looking forward to what he does at Kansas and representing Cape Coral High School.”
Darrion represents the Seahawks well both on and off the field. “He’s a leader, big time, for sure, he’ll push you- like he’s one of the guys where coach doesn’t have to look at him,” said Junior Jaden Boyd, who has known Jones for three years. “He’s doing his thing. He’s doing it the right way. He’s doing the amount of reps that he needs to do. He’s never cheating, never cutting corners.”
Even though he was considering other options such as the University of Miami and Ole Miss, Darrion ultimately chose the University of Kansas due to their overall interest and treatment.
“[Getting signed on] was actually a great process,” said Darrion. “Every day they called me. They checked up on my grades, saw how I was doing with my mom. It just felt like- it was just a lot of love coming from Kansas. So that’s why I really chose them, because I know I had a lot of love coming from them.”
Prior to choosing Kansas, Darrion attended football camps in Florida, giving him opportunities for colleges he might not have otherwise had. He later got multiple school offers based on his performance at these camps, one of these being from Kansas University.
Although he began his career playing cornerback he ultimately switched to safety due to the needs of the team. “He does what the team needs him to do, not many people are open to that,” said Murphy. “So for him to make that sacrifice at such a young age for the betterment of the team, it really sets them apart from a lot of grounds, and so hopefully a lot of people will take his example, and trust that coaches will put him in the right position to help them succeed.”
Darrion hopes to play football professionally in the NFL and is ready to start playing for the Kansas Jayhawks. “[I’m looking forward to] just getting on the field, getting playing time,” said Darrion. “I just want to go up there, do what I got to do, and just get on the field.”
Darrion has a high football IQ, meaning he exhibits a deeper understanding of the game, being able to anticipate certain moves before they occur based on motion, formation, or movement.
Throughout his journey, Darrion has encountered obstacles of his own. “Even before I came here, I was at Dunbar,” said Darrion. “There were times I wanted to quit, I wanted to stop playing football, but I had to really think about what I really wanted for me and my family, so most definitely, I had to work on a lot of things to get where I’m at now. It was hard.”
Getting signed on to a college team typically occurs during the senior year of the student and this also has a larger positive effect on other students at Cape High wanting to play sports professionally.
“Anytime you have one guy that can go off and play college football, now, schools will start to look at Cape Coral High School to see their other talents, and he’s reopened and repaved that way for guys to come after him, to hopefully have an opportunity to go to college, and possibly college paid for,” said Murphy. “We’re forever in debt to him, as a coach, I’m very appreciative.”
