Terrell Jones headed back to his old home state last weekend with every intention of making it his home again.

The Hoover (AL) three-star defensive end spent almost a decade living in Virginia before relocating to Alabama about five years ago. He returned for a visit to UVa, the football program that had ramped up its recruitment of the one-time Illinois commit following last month’s coaching change.

“I went into the official visit wanting to commit already,” Jones admitted to CavsCorner.

Clint Sintim originally started recruiting Jones midseason last fall, when Sintim was the defensive line coach for former UVa coach Bronco Mendenhall and Jones had not yet committed to Illinois (Jones committed to the Illini in November and decommitted following a December official visit). Sintim was the lone defensive assistant retained by new UVa head coach Tony Elliott.

“He showed Coach Elliott my film,” Jones recalled, “and Coach Elliott immediately wanted me on board.”

Sintim, now the UVa linebackers coach, offered in December. During his weekend official visit, Jones got to meet in-person with the rest of the new defensive staff, which includes coordinator John Rudzinski, defensive tackles coach Kevin Downing, defensive ends coach Chris Slade and defensive backs coach Curome Cox.

Jones pulled the trigger on his commitment Sunday morning, while he and his mom were meeting with Elliott.

“It’s really dreams coming true, honestly,” Jones said of the decision. “I knew I wanted to play ball at the next level but I never really thought I would make it to P5, only playing one official year of starting and at end, and making it this far. So I’m really excited for years to come to see what Coach Elliott and Coach Downing and Coach Slade got for me.”

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Jones went in-depth with CavsCorner to discuss his decision to commit to UVa:

What was it that clinched it for you this weekend?

JONES: Leading up to it, I knew I wanted to go to UVa because I used to live down there as a child. The energy, and the way that Coach just speaks from the heart. He explains stuff to us during a meeting, and it was just, some coaches wouldn’t explain in detail personal information about their lives, and why the way they coach and why the way they are today.

I take pride in that, because here at Hoover, our coach always open-heartedly wanted to see us grow as men more than winning. Coach Elliott really steps the blocks, and he continues to talk about faith and love and growing as a person. That’s really just what I wanted to hear, and I want to be coached by somebody like that.

What are your memories of college football in Virginia growing up?

JONES: It was big. When I was good, people were telling me, ‘You’re gonna be playing for the Cavaliers.’ I never really understood what they were talking about. I knew it was between Virginia Tech and the Cavaliers, but growing up my coaches were Cavalier fans. I knew it was something big at the time but I didn’t understand what it really was. I just knew I wanted to continue playing ball, really.

What prompted you to decommit from Illinois?

JONES: It just didn’t feel like a person-over-player type deal like it does at Virginia. The D-line coach, Coach Jamison, I could feel the energy between him and me. He truly valued me. But when it came to the DC, he wasn’t talking to us, wasn’t talking to me and my mom. He wasn’t really answering our questions and stuff, and I really take that into note.

How was the visit this weekend?

JONES: It was amazing. Great energy. Great campus. Well, we call it Grounds over there, so great Grounds. I really enjoyed it. My host was [Olasunkonmi Agunloye]. Crazy energy. Loved it. We went over to his house with his other teammates. It was great energy all around.

They never lied to us. It was straight true. Any question we had, they would completely tell us the honest truth. We’d ask them, ‘Are workouts pretty hard?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s tough but it’s what you need to be at this level and change this program around.’ I really took notice into that and how they told you the honest truth. When you go on an OV, some people might just tell you what you want to hear to get you to come here. But they were truthful with you.

How would you describe your game at defensive end?

JONES: I really like to play fast and long; athletic technically. I’ve got long arms, and then I have really good bend that I train with with my trainer, Mike McCoy. We train with my bending. So I like to bend around tackles. And then we do a whole bunch of stunts at Hoover, which plays a lot into my athletic role. I used to play basketball. And luckily at Virginia, that’s what we’re going to be doing.

How do they envision you fitting into the scheme they want to implement?

JONES: They envision me at end, and if I do end up growing a little bit bigger I’ll be playing end and 3-technique. But starting out I’ll be at end so I’ll be with Coach Slade, and they envision me straight off the edge as a 5-technique, switching it up, going to 4-technique, stuff like that. Stunting with A gap, stunting with linebackers. Really just like at Hoover, stuff that I really enjoy doing.

What do you think of Coach Slade?

JONES: Oh, Coach Slade is amazing. Knowing that he used to play there and came back to coach there, some people really wouldn’t do that but that just shows how much he truly loved it, so I take note of that. He’s a chill guy; he loves to work, though. He’s gonna push me hard and that’s what I need.

How does it feel to have this all decided and be able to turn your attention toward getting ready?

JONES: It feels amazing. It was getting stressful for me, and then my mom was getting really stressed. I just wanted her to understand; this whole process, my mom didn’t really understand but I wanted to go somewhere where I’m gonna be the best person and get the greatest education, and also get the chance to play and stuff like that.

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