California 4-star quarterback visits Hogs twice in one week

Like many players who have visited over the years, they all seem to leave blown away by the family atmosphere and culture Pittman has instilled since his arrival in 2020.

"The culture of the football program is super strong and you can feel the team unity," Jones said. "The resources are outstanding both for football and academics."

He has played two seasons for his Crean Lutheran High School team with appearances in 14 games while completing 90-of-122 passes for 1,069 yards, 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions at the varsity level.

Mostly considered a pocket passer, Jones can get out of trouble with his scrambling ability as he averaged 16 yards per carry as a sophomore in 2024 with two touchdowns.

With visits to Auburn, Arizona, UCLA and Arkansas completed, he plans to camp at TCU, Wisconsin and Washington to close out the summer.

Jones is one of the top available quarterbacks in the class of 2027 and is ranked No. 308 player nationally, No. 22 among quarterbacks and No. 31 in the state of California, according to 247sports.

Arkansas offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino has made a living off developing quarterbacks throughout his career.

"Coach Petrino is a legend at creating offensive football success and developing quarterbacks," Jones said. "Having an opportunity to learn from a coach that really teaches an NFL style system and that coached and developed Lamar Jackson is super intriguing to me and one of the reasons that makes me want to play at Arkansas."

With multiple stops across the board in his college career, the quarterback whisperer has elevated play of several college quarterbacks, including former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson at Louisville in 2016. 

Jackson became the youngest college athlete to ever be named a Heisman Trophy winner in 2026 at the age of 19 years, 338 days.

He led Louisville to a 9-4 season with 3,543 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions while tacking on another 1,571 rushing yards and 21 scores on the ground.

Other successful college passers under Petrino's leadership Stefan Lefors at Lousiville (2004), Brian Brohm (2006), Ryan Mallet (2010) Tyler Wilson (2011).

Led by first-year quarterback Taylen Green, the Hogs finished No. 3 nationally with 246 plays of 10+ yards while also being ranked No. 10 in total offense generating over 458 yards per game.

Arkansas goes into the 2025 season with just four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster in Green, Florida State transfer Trever Jackson, redshirt freshman K.J. Jackson and true freshman Grayson Wilson.

Obviously, defections happened within spring practice as freshman passer Madden Iamaleava left to join his brother at UCLA while Blake Boda and Austin Ledbetter opted to enter the transfer portal.

As for the future of the quarterback position at Arkansas, the Razorbacks have a commitment from Gaffney, South Carolina 3-star passer Jayvon Gilmore who's seen his stock rise over the offseason with offers from Arizona, Arizona State and North Carolina.

In the 2027 class alone, the Razorbacks have dished out around 30 offers to quarterbacks around the country with Benton, Louisiana's Malachi Zeigler (No. 96 overall), Fayetteville's Hank Hendrix (No. 178 overall) and Jones who seem to be near the top of Arkansas' board.

Jones said he plans to make a return trip to Arkansas this fall for a gameday visit.

"My family and I will definitely be back in the fall for a game," Jones said. "I want to stay an extra day and hangout in the town and around campus. I can’t wait to see how electric the atmosphere is in the stadium and watch the Razorbacks get a win."