Oscar Smith lineman Caleb Jones commits to Navy

Oscar Smith lineman Caleb Jones grew tired of hearing college coaches say he is “too small” to play major college football.

But one program stuck with him from the beginning: Navy.

And on Thursday, Jones verbally committed to the Midshipmen.

“A lot of colleges didn’t offer me because of how tall I was. They didn’t think I was tall enough to compete at that high level,” said Jones, who is 6 feet and 315 pounds. “But Navy believed in me from the start. They were one of my first offers, and they followed the plan. I felt like I had to go there. There wasn’t much of a choice.”

It also helped that his mother, Cassandra, also loved Navy. His father, Darrell Sr., died in 2020 from COVID-19, and Jones wanted to make sure Cassandra could make it to see him play.

“She was very excited about Navy,” said Jones, who also had offers from East Carolina, Rice, Villanova, Campbell, Dartmouth, Army, Georgetown, Southern Mississippi and Morgan State. “So when my mom got excited, I was 100% behind it. That fact that it was close and she could go made it big, too.”

Jones was rated the No. 9 prospect in Hampton Roads in the Class of 2022.

During the abbreviated recent spring season, he had 56 tackles — including 37 for loss — and 12 sacks in helping lead the Tigers to the Class 6 state title. The two-time All-Tidewater selection constantly draws double- and triple-teams from opposing teams.

Jones said he knew Navy was right for him the moment he visited, and he didn’t get bitter about not getting scholarship offers from Power Five programs.

“When I got there, they really showed me love, more than the other colleges did. They made me feel at home,” said Jones, who has a 4.0 grade-point average. “I felt like I couldn’t pass up this opportunity that Navy is giving me, that other colleges can’t give me. It feels great. I can’t wait to get up there and get to work.”

In another college decision, Western Branch linebacker Desmond Cook committed to William & Mary. Cook, 6-1 and 215 pounds, is the second-leading tackler in Hampton Roads this season.

Larry Rubama, 757-446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com Follow @LHRubama on Twitter.