By Kevin Connelly

kconnelly@vindy.com

Hubbard High School senior Matt Jones has always been a big kid.

He grew up playing on the Little Eagles where his father, David, was a coach. The only problem was Matt had trouble staying under the team’s weight limit.

David wasn’t going to make his son start shedding pounds early in his childhood, but Matt was insistent.

“I told him, ‘I want to play, so I’m losing weight,’” Jones recalled.

This season, the Eagles’ leader along the offensive line played at 300-plus pounds — filled into his 6-foot-4 frame — but never forgot the struggle of his youth. That’s why he started lifting weights in the seventh grade. Add in a little jump rope routine — one that Jones still does to this day — and it’s no wonder why he became one of the most sought-after offensive linemen in the state.

Thankfully for him, the decision of where to continue his football career was easier than cutting weight.

“West Virginia offered me the summer between my sophomore and junior year and I committed when I was there for junior day,” said Jones, who gave a verbal commitment Feb. 1 last year.

The Hubbard senior class will be well represented on National Signing Day, as Jones will be joined by running back Larry Scott, athlete Isiah Scott, linebacker Tyler Taafe, and lineman Zack Hover in signing national letters of intent.

But before he put pen to paper, Jones took one more trip to Morgantown last weekend.

“Now it’s just starting to get to know your future teammates,” he said. “I was nervous at first, because I didn’t really know any of the guys.

“This weekend really helped clear up all those nerves, so I’m pretty excited to get down there.”

The next time he’s on campus, he’ll be battling for a starting job along the offensive line. Offensive line coach Ron Cook told Jones they project him at guard or center.

“Whichever one puts me on the field the quickest,” Jones said.

Both Mountaineers starting guards from last season are graduating, leaving holes along the line. Jones believes he could be a candidate to fill one of those vacancies.

“My main goal is to start as a freshman,” he said. “That’s what I plan on doing, or at least give a shot at.

“I want to come in the best shape I can and take one of those spots.”

Jones certainly wouldn’t be the first Youngstown-area player to find success in the trenches. Boardman graduate Corey Linsley was All-Big Ten at Ohio State before starting as a rookie center for the Green Bay Packers this season. Austintown Fitch’s Billy Price just wrapped up a championship run with the Buckeyes as a redshirt freshman.

“It just goes to show that football runs through the Valley,” Jones said. “I know Corey is a hard-nosed guy and Billy is a hard worker.

“And I consider myself that way, too.”

National Signing Day is Wednesday.