DL Jonah-Ajonye's stock is on the rise
Defensive lineman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye has seen his stock really pick up of late, with offers pouring in from all over the country. One of the more recent offers came from the University of Texas after Jonah-Ajonye made his way to Austin for a Longhorns junior day in late January.
“I got the offer two days after the junior day. I came to the junior day and then got the offer on Monday,” Jonah-Ajonye recalled. “Junior day was great. I felt like the highlight of that day was getting to meet some of the players at Texas. I met Bijan Robinson, talked to him for a little bit. I met one of the O-linemen, talked to him about the whole process of moving from high school to college. He said you have to change your mindset because everybody is a four- or five-star guy.”
Jonah-Ajonye followed up the Texas visit with a trip to College Station the following weekend. He picked up an offer from Jimbo Fisher while on that visit and said he liked what he saw at A&M.
“I loved how they treated me like a five star. They treated me like a five star, even though a three star,” Jonah-Ajonye said. “I loved their weight room. I got to talk to Jimbo Fisher. He’s the one who offered me. He’s a super cool guy. His vibe is a lot like coach Sark’s vibe.”
At 6-4 ½ and 260 pounds, Jonah-Ajonye is a versatile defender that can move up and down the line of scrimmage. He feels his versatility is one of the features that has so many colleges in hot pursuit.
“I feel like I bring my speed, power, a high motor and my IQ to the table,” Jonah-Ajonye said. “I can definitely improve on some techniques and staying low.”
Out of Conroe Oak Ridge, Jonah-Ajonye is up to 23 scholarship offers. That figure should continue to grow as Jonah-Ajonye is only scratching the surface of his potential. He’s still fairly new to the game of football after moving to America from Nigeria in 2015. He didn’t start playing football until his freshman year of high school, so he’s still figuring out some of the nuances of the game.
“When I first moved to America, (my uncle) put me onto football, taught me everything about the game. I didn’t want to play it at first, wanted to play basketball. I started playing my freshman year, so I’ve been playing for three years now,” Jonah-Ajonye said.
The plan is for Jonah-Ajonye to take his official visits in the summer and then likely commit some time during his senior season. He already has one official visit set up with Texas Tech for June. He said the others will probably go to Oregon, Texas and A&M, with a fifth to be decided later.
Jonah-Ajonye is ranked as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com. Along with Texas and Texas A&M, he holds offers from programs like Oklahoma, Florida State, Notre Dame, Auburn, Nebraska and USC, to name a few.