LSU picks up commitment from St. James DE Saivion Jones
LSU picked up its second commitment of the week late Wednesday.
St. James defensive end Saivion Jones pledged to the Tigers and became the 12th commitment in the 2021 class. On Monday, Georgia safety Khari Gee picked LSU over Clemson.
"First of all I want to thank God for all of my blessings. I want to thank my mother for sacrificing so much to provide for me and my siblings. Although my recruiting process was altered by Covid-19, I want to thank all of the colleges who expressed interest in me. I will cherish (the) relationships that came out of this process. I pray that we can play next season, so me and my brothers can DO IT AGAIN. They make me better. So grateful for my coaches and our community in St. James," he said in a message posted on Twitter.
"I always wanted to further my education and football career at a place where my heart led. Where I felt like family, and where my family and friends are a part of my journey. With that being said, I am committing to the LSU Tigers. Represent the Boot!!!! Dedicated in memory of my Nanny JeNaiya!"
The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder has a great relationship with the LSU coaching staff (Ed Orgeron, Mickey Joseph and Bill Johnson), as does his head coach Robert Valdez. He has become a priority due of his versatile; he can play standing up or hand in the dirt. At one point, the Rivals250 DE racked up 26 sacks in 17 games (33 sacks total in last two seasons), but he's also good at stopping the run.
"(Saivion) wanted to get into summer without having to worry about (his recruitment)," Valdez said Wednesday night. "LSU did a great job of constant communication and it was family decision."
Jones echoed what his coach said and discussed calling Orgeron to tell him the good news: "I wanted to get this out of the way. I don't know if (Coach O) knew this was coming, but when he did he was very pumped."
Just in 2020 alone, he picked up offers from Florida State, Oklahoma State, Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Baylor and Texas A&M.
Jones is considered the seventh-best prospect in the state for 2021 and the No. 10 weakside defensive end in the nation, per Rivals.
Here's what Tigerdetails publisher James Smith previously said about Jones:
"Jones continues to improve and has a really high ceiling. He has tremendous length and fluidity, bends well and has a good get-off, which should only improve as he grows into his body and becomes more explosive. He is young, so there are some technique issues he needs to work on, but the upside is there to be a premier performer at the next level."
