Arthur Jones, Syracuse’s standout defensive tackle, said he will return to school for his senior season, and delay a chance to go to the NFL.

Jones, reached by phone on Tuesday, told The Daily Orange he made his decision on Monday after meeting with new SU head coach Doug Marrone four or five times.

‘I have faith in this new coach,’ Jones said.

Jones said he spoke with numerous agents and scouts who told him he could be a second-round pick in this year’s NFL draft. That, he said, can wait.

‘The NFL isn’t going anywhere,’ Jones said. ‘This gives me a chance to get my degree.’

Jones, the only Syracuse player chosen first-team all-Big East, had 60 tackles and 13 for a loss in 2008, a year after recording 17.5 tackles for a loss as a sophomore. He is sixth on Syracuse’s all-time tackles for a loss leaders, 19 behind Dwight Freeney’s school record of 50.5.

But Jones said his decision was made with Syracuse in mind. He said he has spoken with his teammates and the general consensus is positive after the hiring of Marrone and the staff he continues to bring in.

‘He seems like he’s very confident that he’ll get it turned in the right direction,’ Jones said. He also said he noticed that Marrone made it a priority to lock his talent defensive tackle up.

A communications and rhetorical studies major, Jones hails from Endicott, N.Y. His younger brother, Chandler, is a freshman defensive end, and the two brothers live together.

‘I just signed my first recruit,’ Marrone said in a statement. ‘My goal when I arrived was to make sure the juniors wanted to be part of this plan to win. My plan is not to rebuild. My plan is to win. The only way we will win is to reach the players here on campus. We are not going to win this coming season with the first recruiting class, we are going to do that with the players who are here in this program.’

Jones said he was already ‘sick’ of the process leading up to the NFL draft and that he wanted to ‘finish what he started’ at Syracuse.

‘I know,’ Jones said, ‘in my heart, I love Syracuse to death.’

Adkins hired as O-line coach, recruiting coordinator

Marrone continued filling out his staff on Tuesday by hiring former Tennessee offensive line coach Greg Adkins to fill the same role at Syracuse. Adkins will also serve as recruiting coordinator.

Adkins spent the last six years at Tennessee. In 2007, his offensive line unit allowed the least sacks in the nation (four). For three years, he also served as Tennessee’s recruiting coordinator. He coached with Marrone at Georgia in 2000. He spent two years at Troy as well.

Although Marrone said his priority was to hire assistants with Syracuse or Northeastern ties, his hiring of Adkins doesn’t bring those credentials.

‘Greg is someone we are going to use in recruiting nationally,’ Marrone said in a statement. ‘He has had great success recruiting. We never want to limit ourselves to the areas that are going to be our foundation. We also want to be sure to recruit great players around the country.’

Marrone still must hire a defensive coordinator and coaches for the running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.

magelb@syr.edu

Published on January 7, 2009 at 12:00 pm