Ex-Gators, Part II
By DARRYL MAXIE / dmaxie@ajc.com
Another Florida player is headed to Tennessee — but not to the Vols.
That which Florida coach Urban Meyer had said would happen has: Backup linebacker John Jones is transferring to Tennessee State.
“Kids leave for a lot of reasons,” Meyer told tampabay.com. “And if someone is not going to play, it’s probably best to go ahead, if you want to go play somewhere. But we have really good chemistry on our team right now. Guys want to be here.”
Because he’s stepping down from a Football Bowl Subdivision school to a Football Championship Subdivision school, Jones won’t have to sit out a year. He can play in the fall for the Tigers.
As Meyer alluded to in his comments, the 6-foot-2, 219-pound Jones said he was seeking the opportunity for more playing time. He consulted with a friend, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a former Tennessee State cornerback who also is from Sarasota.
“Dominique’s dad and my dad grew up together and then me and Dominique played against each other in high school,” Jones told the Tennessean. “I looked at the success he had at TSU and I felt like I could do the same thing there.”
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2011 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
31 comments Add your comment
Don't Tase Me Bro
June 4th, 2009
3:39 pm
Now borrowing your articles from the Tampa newspapers? Even better
Gator Growl
June 4th, 2009
3:40 pm
He is a good kid with outstanding talent and will be a star there. Left UF with good academic and athletic standing. I hope we don’t lose any more but the fact of the matter is that UF is so loaded this year in certain positions that a few very very talented players who could be starters elsewhere will rarely see the field…until next year when we will be losing alot…then they will step up and be the new stars. Urban is building an empire!
Diamond Dawg
June 4th, 2009
3:44 pm
The truth is he probably got in trouble like the rest of em
Kyle
June 4th, 2009
3:46 pm
you’re one to talk dawg
Diamond Dawg
June 4th, 2009
3:46 pm
Truth is he probably got in trouble like the rest of em. Well, in that case Kiffin would have picked him up at UT
Kyle
June 4th, 2009
3:47 pm
you’re just pissed bc the gators beat your butt every year and the pups have no chance as long as meyers there
The Grinch
June 4th, 2009
3:48 pm
Well, if nothing else Oscar Meyer has some new material for a chapter in his next book.
K-Town Dawg
June 4th, 2009
3:54 pm
I agree that the gators have beaten us fairly consistently for the last 20 years, but to say we have NO CHANCE is down right laughable. The game from 2007 comes to mind and if I remember correctly Urban was the coach then too.
dawgystyle
June 4th, 2009
4:06 pm
Who holds the overall record between dawgs and gators? Just checking, anyone, anyone, bueller? Maybe thats why you guys still wear jorts- they are the same pair you had back twenty years ago when you finally won a few against us.
Reality Check...
June 4th, 2009
4:09 pm
Kyle needs a reality check and read the papers… No one(knock on wood) has been arrested from UGA this year so far… Unfortunately the Gators can’t say the same thing…
gatorman770
June 4th, 2009
4:15 pm
John Jones was a good student and player, but he was still going to be 3 or 4th string this year. Some players are anxious and want to play instead of working hard in the classroom (to get a good education at a great university), competing in weight room, drills, etc. to get better, and waiting their turn. I wish him luck.
Burdell
June 4th, 2009
4:17 pm
Would love to see some T-bows under some Jorts this year in Jacksonville.
Tech sucks
June 4th, 2009
4:40 pm
Gators are going to implode this year. Even before they lose to UGA.
Maddog
June 4th, 2009
5:08 pm
gatorman770, it’s impossible to determine what’s inside of someone’s head or heart. You may be right about why he decided to leave.
We were pursuing Greg Reid, a huge talent from south Georgia, and part of his comments as to why he chose FSU was that he didn’t think he would have to “work as hard” to crack the starting lineup. WHAT!?!?!?! I don’t want to be one who says after the fact “I’m glad we didn’t get him”, but it did lessen my disappointment about him not selecting UGA. UF will be fine without this guy, pure and simple, and this is not knocking him.
Stoopid
June 4th, 2009
6:07 pm
Dont Tase Me Bro=Best Name Ever
ray
June 4th, 2009
6:29 pm
This is old news. It was announced last week that he is transferring. He is the only player to transfer since spring practice. Not bad, considering how many really good players won’t even get to see the field. Some guys would rather be part of a championship team than “showcase my talent”. There are lots of schools that seem to want selfish players, so more power to them.
TampaGator
June 4th, 2009
7:01 pm
John Jones was at Florida three years. The only time he saw action on the field was brief times on special teams. He was 4th string at middle linebacker. The kid wants to play some football. He will at Tennessee State. Last spring and again in the fall Meyer said, “It is time for John Jones to step up and challenge for playing time. He has been around here for a long time.” Well, he didn’t. When you don’t step up in Gainesville (also see DL’s Brown and Davie ), you step off the team. Brown and Davis also did not step up in the classroom. All are gone. You are either a championship type (that means going to class, working hard in the weight room, and practicing to the best of your ablity) at Florida or….see the door.
H.S. Coach
June 4th, 2009
8:03 pm
Can’t fault a kid who wants to play.
Nuggs
June 4th, 2009
8:20 pm
dawgstyle–
Series record smack talk? Maybe that’s why your so jealous you have to resort to such a petty meaningless statistic.
Overall series lead but yet still less National Titles than UF.
Let me also ask you what’s the series record in your lifetime? thats what I thought.
DawgsNow
June 4th, 2009
8:40 pm
How does florida get all these superstars–they have guys transferring that would start at most schools in the SEC. Meyer must be pulling something to get all these star players on one roster.
Me
June 4th, 2009
9:08 pm
This is probably a good thing all around. If a kid is not going to play then let him go some where that he can. UF freees up a scholarship in the process for some new talent for the future.
Series records
June 4th, 2009
9:09 pm
Dawgstyle,
I can’t help you with who leads the series record between you and the Gators but I’m assuming from the tone of your post that UGA holds the overall lead over UF. Being a Bama fan all I know is the series record that we have against everyone else in the SEC. And I’m not even going to go there cause everyone pretty much knows we lead head to head against everyone. No point braggin bout it
Me
June 4th, 2009
9:33 pm
Dawgs lead series 45, 38, 2
Flo-Ri-Duh!
June 4th, 2009
9:39 pm
Gators pulled his bonus money and his ride so he had to move on or starve.
Dawgtime
June 4th, 2009
9:49 pm
Who is heading up the recruiting department at the AJC? It has to be a teenage girl. Why are you constantly trying to create drama and gossip between schools? I have seen numerous articles on Lane Kiffin and his actions. Stick to football and leave the gossip to the gossip columns.
Gator Growl
June 5th, 2009
12:47 am
DawgsNow…Easy answer to your initial question: Because they are Florida. You’re starting to sound like an Auburn vs Bama fan with that second sentence though…
Rob
June 5th, 2009
11:17 am
He left because he got passed on the depth chart by 2 freshmen during the spring. UF is 3-deep at LB, especially after Jalani Jenkins shows up. It was probably a good decision on his part.
Go Gators
June 5th, 2009
2:07 pm
Dawgsnow,
only a mutt could say something that dumb…TIMEOUT…
LOL
June 6th, 2009
5:53 am
UTAH WHO???
LOL
June 6th, 2009
5:56 am
WHATS BAMA ALL-TIME VS THE UTES??? lol
Elliot Garcia
June 8th, 2009
7:25 am
I just saw a guy wearing jorts and a Dawgs shirt at a Kroger in Alpharetta….Dawgs love jorts!