12:45 PM EST.
That's when Doug Marrone found out Mike Jones was quitting the SU football team.
"You know, I don’t understand it," Marrone said when asked if Jones had given a reason. "I think he’d be better off commenting on that. Like I told you, the time frame of it – 12:45. It was a shock."
These things happen, I suppose. Odd that Jones had all off-season to make this decision and waited until 15 minutes before the first spring practice kicked off.
Jones was the designated starter at one of the receiver slots and had clearly impressed Marrone last season. Even players like Derrell Smith were caught off-guard.
"I mean, obviously you have to move on," Smith said. "That was a big loss. Yeah, so it was like a shock to me when I found out this morning. But the team has to go on. We lost one player."
This seemingly opens the door for Aaron Weaver, the Hofstra transfer whom Marrone seems very high on. Weaver was behind Jones (and ahead of Marcus Sales) on the depth chart so for the time being, he's the guy. He's also got a solid nickname going already as well.
"Weav’s a vet," Nassib said. "He’s been around the league playing ball for a long time. He’s got some skills that not a lot of receivers have. He’s our only senior receiver, and you know, he has been around the game and he has a lot to offer to the team as well as some of the other guys."
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