National Signing Day 2014: WR Chris Jones signs with Wisconsin

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Wisconsin brought in two recruits from powerhouse DeMatha Catholic in Maryland this year. Wide receiver Chris Jones followed teammate Taiwan Deal, who committed to the Badgers in June. Jones was down to Wisconsin and Maryland, and it was UW wide receivers coach Chris Beatty that brought him to Madison, according to 247 Sports:

"It was down to two schools, Wisconsin and Maryland," DeMatha Catholic head coach Elijah] Brooks told [247Sports national insider Steve] Wiltfong. "He loved them both. But from day one, Coach Beatty, the position coach from Wisconsin has shown how valuable Chris can be to the Wisconsin program. That connection made Chris want to make his decision so he could move forward with the season."

With Jared Abbrederis gone, Jones is one of five wide receivers in UW's 2014 class that will have to step up -- regardless of who the quarterback is. He's also hailing from a recruiting region that's becoming dramatically more important with the additions of Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten.

"He's a disciplined route runner," Beatty said. "He comes from an established program. He has loose hips and he can take the top off (get behind the defense). He's got good size and he's going to grow and and be a bigger guy than he is right now.

"I like the guys who have been coached hard and come from programs that are used to winning, so they know exactly what you're asking, as far as winning and losing."

Rankings

Rivals:  5.3 (No. 66 WR; No. 16 MD)
Scout:  (No. 145 WR)
ESPN:  74 (No. 159 WR; No. 154 regional; No. 24 MD)
247:  88 (No. 67 WR; No. 13 MD)

Verbally committed on Sept. 18, 2013

Jones had an official visit to Madison scheduled for the Oct. 25 bye week, but ended up committing a month earlier. That's one apparent difference between Gary Andersen's philosophies and those of former head coach Bret Bielema, who wouldn't accept commits unless they had visited Madison.

Highlights

Statistics

Senior: 16 receptions, 291 yards, 1 TD; 1 rush, 5 yards

Junior: 22 receptions, 355 yards, 1 TD; 3 rushes, 33 yards

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