Ever
wonder what actually occurs on an official visit? Wide receiver Marvin Jones was kind enough to
enlighten us. Here’s his journal entry from his trip to Cal-Berkeley back in
2007 (article by George Dohrmann).
SATURDAY, 5 AM: Jones and his father, Marvin Sr., depart their house in Fontana
to catch a flight out of Ontario International Airport.
9:30 AM: They are met at Oakland International Airport by Cal recruiting
assistants Andrew McGraw and Kevin Parker and driven in a Suburban to the
Claremont Hotel in Berkeley. After checking into his room, Jones is taken to
the Doubletree Hotel near the Oakland marina, where the Cal players stay the
night before home games.
10:15 AM: Jones meets wide receivers coach Dan Ferrigno, and they walk along
the marina. “We were looking across at the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate
Bridge, and Coach Ferrigno was just telling me about himself and where he’d
coached before,” Jones recalls.
11 AM: After a brief chat with a wideout, Jones joins the Bears for their
pregame meal in one of the hotel ballrooms. “Man, it was a lot of good food,”
Jones says. “Chicken and pasta and potatoes.”
NOON: At a team meeting, coach introduces Jones, the only visiting recruit, and
shows a video. “It was meant to get everyone hyped,” Jones says. “It was all
the big plays and big hits from the season.”
1 PM: Parker drives Jones to Memorial Stadium. On a balcony above the entrance,
they watch fans greet the players as they walk from the bus into the stadium, a
tradition at Cal known as the March to Victory.
1:45 PM: Jones visits the equipment room, where a manager has laid out on a
table all the gear that a Bears player receives – and each piece of this equipment
is branded with a 3, Jones’ number. The manager describes to Jones the new
jersey design that Cal will wear next year. “A mix of old school and new
school,” Jones says. “Real nice.”
2:30 PM: Parker gives Jones a tour of the library, then brings him to the
stadium in time to hear the coach’s pregame speech. The coach’s message: Don’t
underestimate Oregon State.
5:15 PM: Jones watches the first half from the 6th row of the stands opposite
the Bear’s bench. At halftime he visits the coach’s private skybox, where he
meets athletic director Sandy Barbour and eats -in order- chicken, steak, a
chicken kabob, steak, shrimp, cupcakes, and candy. He returns to the stands for
the second half.
7:45 PM: After the unranked Beavers hold off a last-second attempt by Cal to
send the game into overtime, upsetting the #2 Bears 31-28, Jones visits the
locker room to hear the coach console his team. Jones then meets his
player-host, freshman wide receiver Michael Calvin.
8:15 PM: Jones and Calvin relax in the player’s dorm room. “It’s important that
the rooms aren’t too small,” Jones says. “These rooms were big. It was more
like an apartment.”
10 PM: The two meet a group of Calvin’s friends at a dorm party with the theme
All Black, meaning that everyone had to be decked out in that color. “I was
wearing a black shirt, which was just luck,” Jones says. “It wasn’t a big
party, but it was cool.”
SUNDAY
1:30 AM: Jones arrives back at his hotel and goes to sleep.
9:20 AM: Ferrigno wakes up Jones and takes him to the stadium. They go to the
coach’s video room and review footage of Cal’s pass routes and talk about how
Jones would fit into the offense “Coach Ferrigno talked about things I could do
now to make myself better,” Jones says.
10 AM: Jones and his father meet the coach in his office. He speaks about the
value of a Cal degree; they talk about what Jones is looking for in a school.
Afterward, the following conversation occurs.
Tedford: “When are you thinking about making a decision?” Jones: “In my mind, I
know the decision. I want to come here.” Tedford: “So, when are you going to
make a final decision?” Jones: “I just made it.” Tedford: “Is this a commit?”
Jones: “Yes.” Tedford: “Wow, That just made this weekend a whole lot better.”
10:30 AM: Tedford leads Jones out of his office and announces to the waiting
Farrigno, “We got a Bear here!”
11 AM: Jones returns to the hotel, eats brunch (“Seven hours later I was still
full from that meal,” he says) and meets with Mark Jensen, director of football
student-athlete development. “We went over my grades and talked about what I
needed to do to make sure I could get admitted to Cal,” Jones says. “Mark
played at Cal, so he could answer questions I had about being a student and a
football player there.”
1:30 PM: On the way to th airport, Parker stops at a Cal university store,
where Jones buys 3 sweatshirts, 3 t-shirts, sweatpants, and a bumper sticker.
2:05 PM: Jones boards his flight, arriving home at 5 pm.
Lasting Impression: “I visited Oregon and I like it, but it rains a lot there
and it’s farther away from my family. Cal just felt like home. It was where I
felt like I could have a good relationship with my teammates and with Coach
Ferrigno.”
