Over five years ago, Anthony Jones was an emerging edge recruit out of Liberty High School in Nevada on a path to be the next premier pass rusher for the Washington Huskies.
Since the Huskies offered the former three-star defender in late November 2020, much has changed for both the program he first committed to and Jones himself. Jimmy Lake, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, and tight ends coach Derham Cato were the first Pac-12 coaches to formally offer Jones a scholarship as a rising junior from The Silver State, just as the program completed a 3-1 season during the COVID-shortened season.
Less than a month later, Jones accepted the opportunity by announcing his verbal commitment to the school. UW had just signed four-star Bishop Gorman
wide receiver Rome Odunze, the No. 2 prospect from Nevada according to 247Sports in the 2020 cycle, and had several other prospects looking to the Pacific Northwest as a potential future home with Lake at the helm.
Over half a decade removed from his first commitment to the Huskies, Jones is now at his fifth school after the pass rusher began his college football career at Oregon following a last-minute flip from Texas in December 2021.
In the past five-plus years, Jones has made 44 career appearances combined at Oregon, Indiana, Michigan State, UCLA, and now Nebraska, with just 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss to his name with at minimum five games left on his college eligibility clock.
After a great phone call with @CoachK_UW and @CoachCato1 I am very excited and blessed to say that I have received my first Pac-12 offer to play at @UW_Football!!! @CoachLakeUDUB @RJRobbinsDahlin @HowlinHusky @LarsHanson @muraco_lhs #BowDown x #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/VK8Vl7xTZ0
— Anthony Jones (@anthonyjones015) November 26, 2020
However, after starting the Huskers' first seven games in 2026, Jones played through a broken foot in Nebraska's 17-14 loss at Oregon before last week's bye week and isn't expected to be featured in Saturday's game against the Huskies.
Jones was in the backfield to stop the Ducks' second-year running back Jordon Davison short of the line to gain on fourth-and-1 with 38 seconds left in the game, but was unable to hold the talented tailback from ultimately securing a narrow win for Dan Lanning and UO at Autzen Stadium two weeks ago.
"We had a Thursday morning meeting, and Anthony Jones got up there and put on for the team—the day after having surgery—the last play of the game and was like, 'I should've knocked that ball out of that quarterback's hands'," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said during his weekly press conference on Monday.
Without the well-traveled edge rusher against the Huskies, a number of other defenders are expected to step up in Jones' absence, including second-year Jeremiah Jones and fourth-year Cameron Lenhardt, who have combined for 2.5 tackles for loss this season in Nebraska's first seven games this year.
Although the first college head coach Jones pledged his future to is now employed in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams, there's still a glimpse of optimism that after this week, the Nevada native could join Lake at the highest level next year.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Former Washington Commit Anthony Jones Found A Home at Nebraska
