Brad Jones – Canton McKinley HS
Class of 2005
Recruiting now for the Bearcats starts so much sooner than what it did back in 2005, but Brad Jones believed early in what Mark Dantonio was looking to do at Cincinnati and jumped on board in September of 2004.
Jones was the second commitment for the Class of 2005 and while I’m sure he would have loved to been on the field early he learned and grew as a player and person for having to wait his turn behind others.
The first time I got to meet Brad came at the DI State Championship game as his McKinley team played Colerain. With future Bearcats on both sides of the field the game was a great one to watch and an early chance to see what laid ahead for the Bearcats. I still remember the look in Brad’s face holding the runner-up trophy after the game. It was there I learned that Brad Jones was a winner and didn’t take to losing well. That helped him stay competitive during the time he waited for his chance.
When I talked with Brad before he signed his letter of intent he told me he would miss the tradition of Canton McKinley the most when he took his game to Cincinnati.
Well guess what? Brad, you’re a major reason the Bearcats tradition has grown stronger in the past five years than at any time in the programs history.