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CLEMSON –- Emory Jones, from Heard County High School in Franklin, Ga., is ranked by Rivals.com as the top dual-threat quarterback of the 2018 recruiting cycle.
Jones has been committed to Ohio State since last summer, and that’s no surprise given Urban Meyer’s long-standing preference for dual-threat quarterbacks.
But what is noteworthy is the offer that came just this week, from Alabama. Who knows what Jones will ultimately decide. But if he flipped and ended up in Tuscaloosa, it would mark three consecutive signing classes in which the Crimson Tide signed elite dual-threat quarterbacks.
In February of 2016 it was Jalen Hurts, who put forth a remarkable freshman season that fell just short of a national title. Last month it was Hawaii’s Tua Tagovailoa, ranked the No. 3 dual-threat nationally.
It is no news flash, or at least it shouldn’t be, that Nick Saban has evolved in his approach to offense in recent years. When the NCAA wouldn’t listen to his moaning about the dangers of tempo offenses, he adapted and started to incorporate more speedball and spread tactics after adding Lane Kiffin as his play-caller.
But the more interesting angle to this is Clemson’s role in causing a change in offensive thinking across college football. It doesn’t take a particularly exhaustive survey to conclude that the Tigers’ immense success with Deshaun Watson the past two years has been influential in leading some coaches to reconsider their approaches.
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