Jones-McNally commits to Michigan
Cordell Jones-McNally has not played organized football for very long.
Despite the short length on the gridiron, it’s obviously paid off for him. Jones-McNally, who will be heading into his senior year at Marcellus High School this fall, recently committed to the University of Michigan to continue his academic and football pursuits.
“It was stressful, crazy at times, but now it’s finally paid off,” he said.
Jones-McNally was offered a preferred walk-on spot from Michigan, a place he knew he wanted to not only play for, but attend college. His family are big Michigan fans and have ties to the school as well.
There were other universities which showed interest in Jones-McNally as well, including Purdue, Indiana and Missouri. But Michigan was the place Jones-McNally wanted to be.
His summer months have been spent kicking plenty of footballs. Jones-McNally took part of the Kohl’s Kicking Camp, which highlights both kickers and punters from across the country in several competition events. Jones-McNally is currently listed as a five-star kicking recruit by Kohl’s and is listed as the 17th-best kicker in the entire country for the class of 2023.
“The camp circuit has been a busy one, it felt like we were only home for a week in June,” Jones-McNally said. “You just have to keep yourself in the right frame of mind and keep yourself motivated to keep going and doing your best.”
Marcellus competes in 8-player football and played to a 4-5 record last season. Jones-McNally earned First Team All-State honors for his season, connecting on a handful of field goals while also making nearly all of his extra points for the season. He also played in the field as well, spending a lot of time on the defensive backfield. Jones-McNally also ran back multiple kickoffs for touchdowns for Marcellus.
Not bad for a player who just started playing football as a sophomore. Jones-McNally said he wants to study Kinesiology once he gets situated in Ann Arbor next year, but he’s also looking forward to being a senior at Marcellus.
“Honestly, I had no idea I was going to be doing this, I wasn’t even playing football until I was a sophomore in high school,” Jones-McNally said. “I thought I was just going to play soccer and all that, but I’m glad I found football.”
Jones-McNally credits his coaches for his success to this point in his career. They were the ones who gave him the nudge to try football and now here he is, a preferred walk-on at Michigan.
The senior-to-be said he enjoys both kicking and punting, but he thinks he’s a better kicker than punter.
“I like doing both, but honestly I think I’m a better kicker,” he said. “It’s something I’m good at.”
Jones-McNally and the Wildcats are looking forward to the upcoming season as well. Now that he knows where he’s going to school, everything else will take care of itself.
The stresses of recruiting are now in the rearview mirror for Jones-McNally and he can enjoy his final year in high school.
“I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “I’m excited to be with my teammates this year and just be a senior.”
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Jones-McNally commits to Michigan
