Official Cayleb Jones Appreciation Thread

[BearDown89]

He's earned it. Surprised it doesn't exist already. The Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week visits with Bonnie Bernstein on Campus Insiders:

http://campusinsiders.com/videos/arizon ... rys-impact

[Gladiator Cat]

Yes 89, thank goodness we have Caleb in the mix. The kid is a player!

[splitsecond]

Jones is going to be a gamer in the NFL.

[wyo-cat]

Cayleb is going to be special for a couple of years - he's a RS Soph, right?

[azcat49]

As DC said RR said, "the best thing Connor Brewer did was bring Cayleb Jones". He certainly was correct in that statement. I think this is why stars matter because wasn't he like a 5 star guy?

[whatisee]

yes and yes

[Spaceman Spiff]

Cayleb is going to be special for a couple of years - he's a RS Soph, right?

We're gonna be stacked at WR for Anu's whole tenure. If we could hang on to Cayleb until he's a senior, imagine him, Grant, Neal, etc with a junior Anu and Wilson.

[azpenguin]

If you'll recall dc saying more than once that Jones was making jaws drop every day on practice... yeah, he just may have been onto something there.

Something that became clear during Nevada and then confirmed against Cal is this one simple rule: When it doubt, throw the ball to Cayleb Jones.

[btfd16]

Cayleb is going to be special for a couple of years - he's a RS Soph, right?

We're gonna be stacked at WR for Anu's whole tenure. If we could hang on to Cayleb until he's a senior, imagine him, Grant, Neal, etc with a junior Anu and Wilson.

As much as I'd love to see that happen, with the pace things are going now I just can't see that, which is a good thing. But we can reevaluate after he goes up against legit NFL corners like Ekpre-Olomu etc. Can't wait to see what my dude has in store.

[Puerco]

Should throw a hail mary on every play. I'll put Jones, Hill, and Griffey up against just about any secondary in that game.

[Chicat]

CJ was easily the best player on the field in that Cal game. All the credit in the world to Austin Hill, Anu Solomon, and Scooby Wright, but Jones won that game for us even if he didn't catch the Hail Mary.

[splitsecond]

As DC said RR said, "the best thing Connor Brewer did was bring Cayleb Jones". He certainly was correct in that statement. I think this is why stars matter because wasn't he like a 5 star guy?

4 star, but top five in his position

[Puerco]

As DC said RR said, "the best thing Connor Brewer did was bring Cayleb Jones". He certainly was correct in that statement. I think this is why stars matter because wasn't he like a 5 star guy?

4 star, but top five in his position

5 star on Scout

[Reydituto]

I don't think there's anyone in the Pac-12 that can cover him, and that includes Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, who gives up 5 inches.

He caught 13 passes against Cal and I thought they should have thrown the ball more to him.

Best thing is, the cat's out of the bag, which means opposing DCs will roll coverage towards Jones and away from Austin Hill, Samajie Grant, Davonte Neal, Nate Phillips, Trey Griffey, David Richards, Tyrell Johnson ...

Enjoy him while he's here, I doubt he's in college playing his RS SR year ...

[Salty]

Is he eligible after this year?

[Gladiator Cat]

Salty,

I'm not sure why he wouldn't be eligible next year, if his grades are in order.

If we have a surprise special year that most of us are not really expecting, that probably means Caleb has put up monster numbers and will elect to go to the NFL early.

I'm saying it now, by the end of this year Caleb Jones will very likely wind up being;

1st team All PAC-12 selection at WR
Finalist for PAC-12 Offensive player of the year.
1st or 2nd Team All American nationally as voted by various publications.
There is probably some other stuff you could throw in here as well.

I simply shutter to think what an additional year of the Anu and Caleb maturation connection would bring to the football table.

[Salty]

I meant eligible for the NFL draft

[Puerco]

GC, I don't think he'll get that much recognition, for the reasons that Rey mentions above. Coordinators are going to have to start game planning for him, which means that the other guys will get more attention from Anu. I think we're too talented and too deep for one guy to stand out that much more than the others.

[Gladiator Cat]

I meant eligible for the NFL draft

My apologies Salty, I thought we were talking about the UofA.

As for the NFL, I'm with you, I'm not sure either.

[Gladiator Cat]

GC, I don't think he'll get that much recognition, for the reasons that Rey mentions above. Coordinators are going to have to start game planning for him, which means that the other guys will get more attention from Anu. I think we're too talented and too deep for one guy to stand out that much more than the others.

Its very possible you may be correct my friend, and that may well result in a good thing. The passing yards wealth spread out will ultimatley make us must more of a threat overall.

But, I think Caleb is so good and Anu relies on him so much that a 2nd team all PAC-12 slot is the lowest down side for him. I'm sticking to 1st team all the way.

Either way its all good for us!!!!!!

[azpenguin]

I meant eligible for the NFL draft

My apologies Salty, I thought we were talking about the UofA.

As for the NFL, I'm with you, I'm not sure either.

He is draft-eligible after this year. The NFL rules require you to be three years out of high school, so juniors and redshirt sophomores are fair game. Manziel was a redshirt sophomore last year.

Gut feeling is he stays at least another year. You leave if you're a guaranteed first two rounds pick, or if you don't stand to improve your draft stock by staying. (Ka'Deem fit the second category; as good as he was, one more year wouldn't have gained him much of any ground in the draft and the extra carries would have made GMs nervous. They were already wary of how many carries he'd already had.) As good as Jones is, there's a lot of very good WRs every year in the draft. One solid year is not likely to get you a top 2-3 rounds draft pick as a sophomore.

Next year Jones is the big dog at WR. Austin Hill will be done. Even with the group of damn good WRs here already, Jones will be well positioned to establish himself next year as one of the absolute best in the country. U of A is likely to get a lot of media attention next year. RichRod is well liked by a lot of national media folks and the Cats are going to be putting up crazy numbers that will be impossible to ignore. Solomon will have a year under his belt and Jones is going to be his go-to guy. Jones will see the best cornerback on every team the Cats play, but you can't double him because there will be 3 or 4 very good receivers running free.

[ANGCatFan]

Here is a 2012 document from the NFL covering eligibility. Most players enter either after college graduation or by applying for special eligibility like Ka'Deem did. Here is the special eligibility rule:

No player shall be permitted to apply for special eligibility for selection in the draft, or
otherwise be eligible for the draft, until three NFL regular seasons have begun and ended
following either his graduation from high school or graduation of the class with which he
entered high school, whichever is earlier.

Cayleb will be 3 years from high school graduation after this year and will be eligible for the special entry rule after this season.

[Zona_Soccer10]

I hope to God Cayleb hangs around a bit longer. The dude is an absolute stud.

[ANGCatFan]

Steve Rivera with a story on Jones and Neal.

[azgreg]

[UAEebs86]

On Jim Rome in a few minutes (11:00 AM PDT/MST):

1290 AM Stream:

http://player.streamtheworld.com/_playe ... /?sid=3067

[UofAlum05]

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/10/09/ ... =/99/103/

His brother getting in on the action as well

[UofAlum05]

http://jimrome.com/2014/10/07/cayleb-jones/

[ANGCatFan]

Cayleb getting a lot of appreciation from Chantel Jennings at espn's PAC 12 blog.

This question, then, is up for debate: Who assumes the role of alpha dog among Pac-12 receivers now that talents such as Agholor and Strong are gone? Here’s our stab at it:

When I sat down to look at which wide receiver I thought could become the alpha dog in the Pac-12 in 2015, I thought about what criteria had made other receivers that “top dog” in recent years. Many of those receivers had several (if not all of) the following four things:

A returning QB

A real rushing threat to keep defenses honest

Another WR threat to make sure the defense didn’t just key on said player

A team that won enough games to give them legitimacy

So, let’s look at that when evaluating my choice -- Arizona wide receiver Cayleb Jones, the Wildcats’ top returning wide receiver from 2014.

Now, I believe that Spruce is the best receiver in the conference. The kid was money last year and he did it as Colorado's only real receiving threat.

It's hard to argue with Chantel's analysis that Cayleb has everything going for him to have a huge year. Cayleb's size and hands are going to be a huge match up problem for other teams and if they focus too much on Cayleb they are going to get burned by Grant, Richards, Phillips, Griffey, Johnson or, who knows, even possibly a tight end.

Bleacher Report also has Cayleb and Samajie Grant list as the #4 receiving duo in the country after they combined last year for 118 catches for 1,737 yards (14.72 YPC) and 15 touchdowns.

Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez wants quarterback Anu Solomon to take the next step in 2015, and these two talented junior receivers might be keys to making that happen.

The 6'3" Jones, a former transfer from Texas, led Arizona in receiving yards and touchdowns in his first season of eligibility with the Wildcats. At almost 16 yards per catch last season, Grant is a speed demon on both the inside and outside for the Wildcats and already has two years of starting experience. ESPN's Kevin Weidl nailed his game perfectly by calling him "pint-sized, but lightning in a bottle."

After an offseason of improvement for Solomon and the receiving corps, Arizona's entire passing game has the chance to become one of the best in the country, so keep your eyes on Jones and Grant.

[ANGCatFan]

Wow, Scout ranks Cayleb as the top wide receiver in the P12. I would have picked Spruce just because he always finds a way to get open even when being bracketed by the defense. If Cayleb is covered we just throw it to someone else (like Samajie Grant who should also be on this list). Also, I hope Cayleb stays a little more focused this year. Last year he not only led the receivers in catches, but also in being off sides and penalties.

1) Cayleb Jones (Arizona)

Jones is coming off a giant 2014 season, catching 73 passes for 1,019 yards and nine touchdowns. This red-shirt junior from Austin originally signed with Texas before transferring to Rich Rodriguez and the Wildcats. This turned out to be a great move for this 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver. Going into the 2015, he’s the top dog at this deep and talented position from top to bottom in the Pac-12. Arizona has the making of an outstanding offense this fall behind quarterback Anu Solomon and a terrific run game. Jones is the Wildcat go-to-guy. He can get behind the secondary, body defenders and is terrific in the air.

[ALASKACAT]

That play in your gif will be illegal this upcoming season due to offensive linemen downfield.

[FightWildcatsFight]

That play in your gif will be illegal this upcoming season due to offensive linemen downfield.

Yeah that was the first thing I noticed. It'll be hard to run out of the zone read option stuff if the linemen have to stay back so Anu can legally pass.

[ANGCatFan]

Gimono on Jones. Read it! If you are not excited about football, take a shot of tequila and read it again.

I've already found myself being hyperbolic about the potential of Arizona Wildcats receiver Cayleb Jones this season, but I'm going to have to get in line to be president of the fan club.

"He's a combination of Megatron and Dez Bryant," said UA quarterback Anu Solomon. "That guy is something special."

OK, so Solomon is setting the bar ridiculously high for his good buddy with the comparisons to the Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson and the Dallas Cowboys' Bryant. But the fact is, Jones did look ridiculously good as he reported to fall camp earlier this week -- up to 220 pounds, he said, on his 6-foot-3 frame.

That's a physical NFL body.