By JOHNNY J. BURNHAM

BRISTOL - Playing college football has never been at the top of Byron

Jones' list of priorities.

When he headed to St. Paul four years ago, making a name for himself on

the gridiron came in well behind that of earning a reputation as a good

student and a good classmate. Sure, he admits that there was never any

question of whether he'd be seen on the Falcons' athletic fields or not,

as sports run through his veins, but making his parents proud of the

young man he strived to become was first and foremost.

Fast forward four years and he has met those goals - and then some.

With those proud parents by his side Wednesday morning, the St. Paul

senior signed his name to a National Letter of Intent to play football

at the University of Connecticut. "I'm very excited. It was emotional

signing that letter. But I'm very happy," Jones, a New Britain resident,

said. "This never crossed my mind as a sophomore or freshman. But I've

always been compelled to work hard to try and achieve something. To be

able to get to play college football, it's such a great thing."

UConn, parents Donald and Garnette Jones said, is the perfect place for

their son. "Coming from a small school we wanted to make sure that he

wasn't going to get lost in the shuffle. He assured me that he

wouldn't," Garnette Jones said. "UConn really seemed to know what the

Jones' were about, and that's faith, family and education."

Jones was one of 20 high school student-athletes from 11 different

states to join the Huskies on Wednesday, National Signing Day. He will

join St. Paul alums and current Huskies Marcus Aiken and Derek Chard as

members of the program. Having Aiken there, Jones said, and being able

to talk to his former Falcon teammate about the process, the UConn

football program, classes, and life in Storrs in general only assured

him that he was making the right decision on where to spend his college

days.

The Huskies, however, knew they wanted Jones almost at first glance. It

took him only one day to make an impression on UConn coach Randy Edsall.

Over the summer, with a little push from St. Paul coach Jude Kelly and

the rest of the Falcon coaching staff, Jones attended Edsall's one-day

skills challenge camp. At the end of the day, the St. Paul student and

Edsall were already in conversation regarding plans after high school.

Just a few days later the Jones family received a call. The Huskies were

offering a scholarship. "I was kind of numb," Jones said. "Words don't

explain what I was feeling at that moment."

Kelly wasn't surprised then and, after a standout senior year in which

Jones helped lead the Falcons to the postseason for the first time in 33

years, he remained that way as he watched his pupil pen his name to the

National Letter of Intent. The St. Paul coach said there's many high

school kids that are either good athletes, good students or good in a

leadership role. But few manage to excel at all three. "It's tough to

get it all," he said. "But with Byron, he's a class act. We're happy and

we're excited. We're proud of him and the job that he has done to get to

this point." The development from his junior season on the gridiron to

his senior campaign is when, Kelly added, Jones elevated his status from

good to great. In 2008, he caught 23 balls for 425 yards and eight

touchdowns. A year later, those numbers grew to 51 receptions, 735 yards

and eight scores. He did so while drawing the attention of the

opponent's best defensive back game-after-game, play-after-play.