With plenty of family support and no pressure, Highland Park quarterback John Stephen Jones signs to play at Arkansas

There were plenty of smiles, and a few tears, at Highland Park High School as quarterback John Stephen Jones put the ink to paper and signed his letter of intent to play college football at the University of Arkansas. It's become a family tradition for the family. His grandfather, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, won a national championship with the Razorbacks in 1964 and his father, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones, was a 4-year letterman who started in the 1987 Orange Bowl for the school. However, when it came time for his son to make a decision, there was no added pressure from Stephen to choose Arkansas. "At the end of the day when we were sitting in there Saturday night and again Sunday morning, he asked me what I thought and I said, "what I think is I want you to be happy,"" Stephen said, holding back tears. "He understood that, and it was strictly his decision. "That's what his mother, Karen, wanted, that's what I wanted, that's what Jerry wanted; for him to go play football where he wanted to and he had options. At the end of the day, he wanted to be a Razorback. That's what he dreamed to be." While the decision is one close to the family, it will put the youngest of four children hours away, something his mother said will take some getting used to. "He's my last one, and I'm going to miss him," Karen Jones said. "I'm very, very close with him and nobody's perfect but to me, he's been a perfect son." Karen said the high school experience of winning two state championships in the house that his grandfather, Jerry, built has been "surreal." "Who could have ever dreamt that all of this would play out the way it did?" Karen said. "As a family, it was just the icing on the cake." With the bow tied on his high school playing career, John Stephen reiterated his father's point that the family history at Arkansas wasn't "a big deal," saying it was the football fit that led to his decision. "He [Chad Morris] is an incredible coach," John Stephen said. "He's a super humble guy. We really made a connection when he was in Dallas, then when he went to Arkansas it got me even more pumped because we were already really close. Just to go up there and play for him is going to be awesome." At Arkansas, SportsDayHS's 2017 All-Area Offensive Player of the Year said he is expects there to be doubters. "I'm going to do my thing," John Stephen said. "I don't think of any of the outside noise. people are going to doubt me, people are going to think I'm going to do well. I'm just going to do my own thing. I'm going to attack each day and try to get better every day." He certainly did that in high school, as he threw for 4,911 yards and 61 touchdowns, with only four interceptions, this season and adding 10 rushing touchdowns. However, despite the gaudy stats and multiple state titles, Jones was the No. 60 recruit on SportsDay's top 100 recruits in the class of 2018, with five quarterbacks ahead of him.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Highland Park High School Athletics

WITH PLENTY OF FAMILY SUPPORT AND NO PRESSURE, HIGHLAND PARK QUARTERBACK JOHN STEPHEN JONES SIGNS TO PLAY AT ARKANSAS

SAAD YOUSUF

SportsDay HS | 2/8/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Rosa Baca