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Leighton Jones commits to Iowa

Offensive lineman Leighton Jones announced his commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes today.
Offensive lineman Leighton Jones announced his commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes today.

After picking up a scholarship offer from the Iowa Hawkeyes this week, it did not take long for Leighton Jones decide. Today, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound offensive lineman from Brownsburg, IN made it official and announced his verbal commitment to the Iowa coaching staff.

"It was a no brainer," Jones told HawkeyeReport.com. "My relationship with Coach Barnett and Coach Bell throughout the whole process was terrific. They were 100% honest and transparent the whole time. Another thing that made me comfortable was how Iowa is known to develop guys into NFL-ready players and All-Americans."

"On top of that, I'll have an opportunity to play in the Big Ten and even play for Big Ten championships," said Jones. "I feel like the culture there and the way the program is run just fits perfectly into what kind of player I am and what kind of player I want to be."

A three-star prospect, Jones chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Purdue, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Ohio, Kent State, Miami-OH, Toledo, Western Michigan, Eastern Kentucky, and Illinois State.

"I didn’t want to wait on other offers because honestly I was waiting on Iowa," Jones said. "After that, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern and Illinois were all in contact quickly along with Purdue that offered right away."

While some schools early on recruited Jones at defensive end, the Hawkeyes project him on the interior offensive line at center in college.

"I love the idea of playing center and being a part of such a great tradition of amazing offensive linemen," said Jones. "Mauling people and being held to the highest expectations in the program is a thing that would benefit me greatly."

Finishing third at the Indiana State Wrestling Tournament at heavyweight as a junior, Jones is an accomplished prep wrestler, which has often been the case with past Iowa offensive linemen including Tyler Linderbaum most recently.

"Leighton is a special football player and a nationally ranked wrestler as well," said Brownsburg head coach John Hart. "Leighton is one of few players that played both ways at tight end and defensive line full-time for us. Weighing between 255-265, our goal will be to have him play near 275 this fall and hopefully between 280-290 before arriving at Iowa."

"Iowa has a strong record of taking wrestlers with defensive line bodies and making them into a center that is powerful and mobile," Hart said. "Leighton's mobility and power, as you will see from his film, make him a special player."

Over the past year, Jones has been to Iowa City three times and will be visiting campus again on March 5th for a junior day and then during spring practice for the Hawkeyes as well as he gets ready for his college career.

"It feels like such an relief," said Jones. "Ever since my freshman year, Iowa has been my top school. so being able to lock in on one school and now recruit some other guys to be able to play with me is something I wanted to do as well."

Overall, Jones is the sixth commitment for Iowa, joining quarterback Marco Lainez, wide receiver Alex Mota, defensive tackle Maddux Borcherding-Johnson, defensive end Chase Brackney, and linebacker Ben Kueter in the Class of 2023 for the Hawkeyes.

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See highlights from Jones' junior year at Brownsburg High School in the video below.


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