Chris Jones was completely raw for sure but that dude was a beast day one.
I remember the high school all star game the year Jones came to State out of HS. They had the coaches mic'd on the sideline and every time a big play was needed on the defense, Steve Marucci (49ers) was mic'd up and coaching Chris Jones' team. Marucci was screaming for Joneseee on every big play and Marucci was screaming with approval every time. He knew who the best player at that all-star game was Chris and that his team would only go as far as Chris could take them. I will say he never even lifted weights until... Well, certainly not in HS. He just put on a uniform and dominated everyday. Technique nor training was required for him to do it in HS and he was a beast day one at College. Yes, he had to train to be all he could be and he had to learn a lot, but you can't teach what he possessed walking in the door day one.
Mullen does not get some great credit for finding him either. A friend of mine that is a big supporter of State sports called the coaches at Starkville after seeing him in person. Mullen would not even drive the 45 minutes to see him at Houston nor would he even send someone. Instead they said bring him to a camp. If my buddy had not taken him, then a lot could have been different as Houston barely had any coaches at that point and the Houston team sucked. No one was paying any attention to anyone on that team.
It was undeniable the talent Chris possessed once you saw him live. Any idiot could have seen it, no great coaching insight required. Sure, he was raw as freak as the coaching he had received before getting to Starkville was practically non-existent. I think that is why so many players from Mississippi go elsewhere to end up riding a bench. The HS coaching here has been horrible at some of these smaller schools in MS.
