Football: Timber Creek's Jones commits to Rutgers

By Phil Anastasia

Inquirer Staff Writer

Naijee Jones knew Rutgers was right for him.

He saw no reason to wait.

Jones, a junior defensive back at Timber Creek, committed to Rutgers on a football scholarship on Monday.

He is the Scarlet Knights' first commitment in the class of 2017.

"I wanted to stay close to home," Jones said. "I've been up there a lot of times and I knew it was the place for me."

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Jones said he felt a good rapport with Rutgers coach Kyle Flood as well as some of the Scarlet Knights' assistant coaches.

In addition, he said he felt comfortable in that two former Timber Creek players, redshirt junior defensive lineman Quanzell Lambert and lredshirt sophomore defensive lineman Myles Nash, are members of the Rutgers program.

Jones said he has been a Rutgers fan for most of his life. Jones spent his first two seasons at Eastern and transferred to Timber Creek before this season.

Jones has helped Timber Creek advance to the South Jersey Group 4 title game Dec. 6 against Shawnee.

Jones said he wasn't stressed about the recruiting process but felt no reason to wait for additional offers.

"I could have waited but I knew I wanted to go to Rutgers," Jones said. "It feelt good to get the decision out of the way."

-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com

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