Dismissal of WR Jones adds to Gophers' bowl-week challenge

ORLANDO – The Gophers celebrated a recruiting coup two years ago, when Donovahn Jones, a multitalented athlete from Georgia, flipped his commitment from Missouri to Minnesota on national signing day.

Jones converted from quarterback and showed potential as a true freshman wide receiver last year. But he couldn't match that promise as a sophomore. With the Gophers preparing to play Missouri in Thursday's Citrus Bowl, they dismissed him from the team for an unspecified violation of team rules.

According to a team source, Jones was with the team in Orlando on Thursday but was on a plane home to Georgia by Friday morning. Jones couldn't be reached for comment Sunday, and the team said coach Jerry Kill would address the issue Monday, in his next media session.

Jones' high school coach said his former player had grown frustrated that he didn't have a bigger role with the Gophers and called the parting mutual. But a team source indicated that Jones was in fact dismissed.

"Donovahn's a good kid, and Coach Kill and [wide receivers coach Brian] Anderson are good people,' " said Terry Herrod, Jones' former coach at Dutchtown (Ga.) High School. "… It's really just a young kid who's frustrated about his role on the team, and that's really the bottom line."

Jones' absence will leave the Gophers thinner at receiver against Missouri. Drew Wolitarsky will be back after missing the past four games because of a sprained ankle, and they have Isaac Fruechte and KJ Maye. But no other wide receiver on the team has more than one reception.

The Gophers have had trouble building depth at wide receiver in recent years, with departures from the program including A.J. Barker, Andre McDonald, Devin Crawford-Tufts and Jamel Harbison.

Herrod said the Gophers will give Jones his release, which will free him to play anywhere outside the Big Ten or for a team that will appear on Minnesota's schedule the next three years. Jones will need to sit out a year if he transfers to an FBS school, but he'll still have two years of eligibility remaining.

"Coach Kill and Coach Anderson have been very honest and very supportive of Donovahn," Herrod said. "And Donovahn's very appreciative of Minnesota and the opportunity they gave him to play. But he's just looking forward to moving forward and getting back in school at somewhere where he's going to probably be in an offensive system that's more tailored to his skill set."

Herrod wanted to be clear that he wasn't criticizing the Gophers' play-calling, noting how successful they've been with a run-oriented offense. Jones just wasn't the right fit.

He started nine games for the Gophers this year, making 11 catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't play against Ohio State on Nov. 15 after getting sick, but Kill also said he had planned to sit Jones for two series that game because of a minor disciplinary issue. Jones had missed a class.

"We have high standards," Kill said that day. "I run my program that way, and I might get fired for doing it, but that's the way I am."

Jones had offers from 28 FBS schools, including five from the SEC, coming out of high school, but he wanted to play quarterback, and most schools wanted him to play receiver. The Gophers had a connection: Anderson knew Jones' father from their time growing up in Rockford, Ill.

Jones began fall camp as a quarterback with the Gophers last year, but by late in camp, he had enthusiastically moved to wide receiver.

"They were honest the whole time [during his recruiting]," Jones said in November 2014, adding that he'd like to stay at wide receiver.