Oregon Ducks To Lose Five-Star Recruit To SEC School?

Jones, who hails from Mobile, Alabama, attends St. Paul's Episcopal High School and is a dual sport athlete. The five-star EDGE recorded 84 tackles,18 tackles-for-loss, and 16 sacks in his junior season campaign. Jones spoke with Pat McAfee after announcing his commitment to the Ducks and had praise for Oregon and Ducks coach Dan Lanning.

“It’s a great place for me, I know it’s unique, it’s different. I know it’s going to be far away but it’s somewhere I can grow so I can be a better person, a better man. I feel like they’ll prepare me for life,” Jones told McAfee.

On3 has recently reported that Alabama and Auburn will attempt to sway the No. 1 recruit in the state of Alabama and change his mind with both schools attempting to bring Jones on campus for a game-day visit in the fall.

New Intel Suggests Auburn Could Join The Mix For Jones' Commitment

Oregon ultimately came out on top for the race for Jones’ commitment, but they had to battle geography to do so. The Ducks are a distant 2,654 miles away from Mobile, Alabama. A separate wrinkle that could complicate Jones’ commitment is his childhood. Jones famously grew up a Crimson Tide fan, and attended games as a fan growing up.

The latest reports suggest that Auburn will also attempt to host Jones on a game-day visit. Jones had Alabama, Oregon, and Texas A&M in his final three schools, with Auburn noticeably absent from his list. 

Jones De-Committing From Ducks Would Follow Troubling Pattern

If Jones was to de-commit from the Ducks, it would be a huge blow to the Ducks No. 3 recruiting ranking in the class of 2026. It would also follow an unfortunate pattern that has occurred this summer for Oregon. Five-star offensive tackle Kodi Greene, who is the No. 4 offensive tackle recruit in the 2026 recruiting cycle, flipped his commitment from Oregon to Washington back in April. 

Five-star EDGE rusher Richard Wesley made waves on social media when he jumped in a pool with Lanning to celebrate his commitment to the Ducks. Wesley would de-commit 17 days later and eventually committed to the Texas Longhorns.

If Jones should take game-day visits to Auburn and Alabama, it could very likely just be a formality on the five-star recruits part. Can Lanning and the Ducks hold onto Jones?