Cleveland's Keegan Jones (21) gets past two Bradley Central players during a game at Bradley in September 2017. After enrolling at Navy this past summer before asking to transfer, Jones signed as a receiver Wednesday with UCLA.A long and winding recruiting road officially came to an end for former Cleveland High School football standout Keegan Jones on Wednesday.
The speedy receiver signed with UCLA and will enroll in early January.
"I've never seen anything quite like his recruitment," Blue Raiders coach Scott Cummings said. "It's amazing really. Keegan is an outstanding kid. He was just one of those players that got overlooked originally by the bigger schools, but once they saw what he could do they came around, and I'm really happy for the kid to get the chance to prove himself."
Cleveland's Keegan Jones (21) escapes Ooltewah's Elijah Wigfall during a game at Ooltewah in October 2017. An all-purpose player for the Blue Raiders in high school, Jones signed with UCLA as a receiver on Wednesday.At least six other Chattanooga-area players signed Wednesday. Five of them are from Georgia schools - Calhoun tight end Davis Allen and receiver Brannon Spector both signed with Clemson, while former Coahulla Creek defensive back Darius Miller signed with Kennesaw State via Dodge City (Kansas) Community College, Dalton kicker Ivan Mora signed with Wake Forest and North Murray offensive lineman Luke Griffin signed with Missouri. From Alabama, North Jackson running back Lee Witherspoon signed with Mississippi State.
After Jones' senior season in 2017, his list of college offers consisted mostly of Football Championship Subdivision schools, but he signed a national letter of intent with the U.S. Naval Academy, a Football Bowl Subdivision program. Not long after enrolling at the Annapolis, Maryland, school this past summer, he realized he was not suited for the Navy lifestyle and asked for a transfer.
Not only was it granted, Navy assistant coach Ashley Ingram distributed highlight video of Jones to other FBS programs. Within weeks, the 5-foot-9, 175-pound Jones had been contacted by several coaches and offers came in from Baylor, Michigan and UCLA, among others.
"The coaches that I spoke to couldn't believe that I hadn't been recruited more out of high school," Jones said. "I told them that it was just because I was from a small town and hadn't gotten the exposure of some other players.
"I always felt I could play at this level. It was my dream. Once I made my visit to UCLA, I knew that was where I wanted to be. The campus is beautiful, the coaches and other players were really nice and I just feel like I will fit in well in Coach (Chip) Kelly's style of offense. He wants a lot of speed on the field, and that's something I know I'll bring."
Also a track and field standout, Jones won a state championship in the 200-meter dash this past spring with a time of 21.10 seconds and finished third in the 100 (10.57) and the long jump (23 feet, 1/4-inch). He turned in a time of 4.44 seconds in the 40-yard dash at a University of Tennessee camp the summer before his senior season.
"Jeremy Pruitt called me back in the fall and said he was livid that he didn't know about Keegan before then," Cummings said. "He said they needed a guy with top-end speed to get vertical, and after watching him, he knew that's what Keegan brings. By then it was too late because Keegan had pretty much made up his mind that he was going to UCLA.
"I've had fast guys in my career, but what Keegan has is something special. He has an athleticism, great vision and the ability to make a cut and get back to top speed that you just don't see."
Jones, who committed to the Bruins on Aug. 1, took this semester off to train before enrolling. He will make the move of more than 2,100 miles before classes begin Jan. 7 in Los Angeles.
The Bruins went 3-9 this year, their first under Kelly, who was 46-7 with three Pac-12 titles in four years at Oregon (2009-12) before coaching the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to '15 and the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.
"This season was the first time since I was a little kid that I didn't play football, so it was tough watching some of my friends play and knowing I had to wait," Jones said. "But hopefully now everyone back home will get to see me play on Saturdays.
"I know I'm blessed that God has given me the opportunity to play at this level. Going through the process the way I did, I think it will make me more appreciative. Some people have an easier road, but my story has taken me a different route."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.