Nebraska’s 2022 recruiting class grew Thursday with a surprise announcement.

Three-star wide receiver Victor Jones Jr., a pass-catcher out of Orlando, Florida, announced his verbal commitment via social media, doubling the size of the Huskers’ fledgling class.

Jones, listed at 6-foot-2, said he picked Nebraska after heavy recruiting from a host of coaches, including head coach Scott Frost and offensive coordinator Matt Lubick.

Three observations following Victor Jones Jr.’s commitment to the Huskers

As key Husker DBs get healthy, Fisher says he ‘couldn’t be more proud’ of the group. He’s got a competition on his hands, too

“Coach Frost and Lubick, along with the rest of the coaching staff, (have been) supporting me and talking to me day after day and getting to know me personally, along with telling me how thrilled they would be for me to come to Nebraska so we could air it out,” he told the Journal Star in a message on Thursday.

Jones’ verbal pledge came as something of a surprise to the recruiting community — nobody had written anything recently tying Jones to NU and none of the recruiting services had any prognostications logged for where he might end up — though that’s happened more frequently since the pandemic began. He has not taken a known visit to Lincoln yet, but the Nebraska coaching staff thinks highly enough of him that they were happy to take his commitment and made their feelings known via social media after his announcement.

Maybe that should come as a surprise, considering Jones told the Journal Star that Frost first began recruiting him all the way back when he was the Central Florida head coach.

“Then Nebraska offered me when I was in 10th grade and they haven’t lost contact since,” he said.

As a junior, Jones caught 36 passes for 663 yards (18.4 per reception) and eight touchdowns for Olympia High in Orlando. He’s considered a three-star prospect by 247Sports and by Rivals.

Jones in May 2020 told the Orlando Sentinel that he ran the 200 meters in 22.4 seconds and that he’s impressed college coaches with his speed despite being a long, lanky receiver. He picked the Huskers over numerous other options, including hometown UCF, Maryland, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Louisville and others.

Nebraska, of course, has several staffers who are very familiar with the Orlando area, including Frost and UCF graduates in tight ends coach Sean Beckton and secondary coach Travis Fisher, among others. 

Jones described himself as, “big, fast, elusive, aggressive and strong-willed.”