Marcellus High School senior Cordell Jones-McNally (front row, center), the kicker for the Wildcats’ football team, signed a National Letter of Intent to play football for the University of Michigan as a preferred walk-on next season. Flanking him are (clockwise from left to right) Jones-McNally’s father Garrett McNally, kicking coach Derrick Mitchell, Marcellus football coach Nathan Davies, and Jones-McNally’s mother Chris Jones.
By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
MARCELLUS — In front of a packed gymnasium full of family and friends Wednesday, Marcellus High School history was made with one stroke of a pen.
Cordell Jones-McNally, the senior kicker for Marcellus’ football team, officially signed his National Letter of Intent to play football for the University of Michigan Wednesday. With his signature on the dotted line, he will become the first player in Marcellus history to sign with a Division I Big Ten school.
“It feels amazing, and it’s a big relief,” Jones-McNally said. “Recruiting was very stressful, and this is a big relief to sign.”
Jones-McNally committed to the Wolverines back on July 18 this year, and has been offered a spot on the Wolverines’ roster in the 2023 recruiting class as a preferred walk-on. Other Division I schools recruited him, including Indiana, Purdue, Louisville, Missouri and Kansas, and they were looking at him for a good reason.
This season for the Wildcats, Jones-McNally was a key part of the offense. He was 3-for-6 on field goals on the year from 28, 29, and 30 yards, with one of his attempts blocked and a 60-yard attempt that just missed. He hit on 30-of-35 extra points and had 36 touchbacks in the kicking game as well. As a punter, he averaged 43 yards a punt, with three downed inside the 20-yard line and two downed within the 10.
Jones-McNally also received a number of awards, including being named the Southwest 10’s Eight-Man All-Conference punter and kicker, and being named an all-state specialist by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association. In his junior year, he was also an all-conference defensive back.
Head Coach Nathan Davies said having Jones-McNally in the kicking game was beneficial to his team.
“He almost kicked a 60-yarder this year, missed it just short, and extra points, he didn’t miss many. Definitely being able to go, ‘hey, we’re going to go for one [point]’ and knowing we can get the one was pretty important for us, but knowing once we got across the 40 and sometimes past the 45, we knew we had a shot to get three on the board,” Davies said. “The weapon he was kicking it into the end zone and putting a team at the 20 every single time was massive for us. It definitely helped.”
Jones-McNally has been a regular at different kicking camps the last few years, including the Kohl Professional Football Kicking Camp and the Hammer Kicking Academy, in order to get exposure for college coaches. As previously reported in July, Jones-McNally received a direct message on Twitter earlier this summer from Wolverines Special Team Analyst J.B. Brown, asking him if he wanted to come to campus for a visit.
“I went there for a visit and he then invited me to return for Michigan’s summer camp to see how well I could kick. I performed well enough and they offered me a preferred walk-on opportunity,” Jones-McNally said in July.
The newest Wolverine didn’t start out as a football player, but rather he was a soccer player before the freshman’s kicking caught the eye of Davies in physical education class.
“We were doing indoor soccer, and he was actually physical. He was a physical player, and I said, he could do more than play soccer. Not to talk against soccer, but I saw there was a lot of potential there. I said, man, what if we could get him to play some football or give it a try,” Davies said.
Davies said Jones-McNally’s parents were a bit hesitant to have their son play football, but Davies convinced them he should give it a try. On the first day of practice, he said, he knew he had something special on his hands.
“One of those first days we had practice, we were working on kicking and special teams stuff, and when he kicked it, you heard the thump,” Davies said. “I was like, huh, I might have something here.”
Davies remarked on the historical nature of Jones-McNally’s signing, saying he was proud of his kicker.
“What a great thing for a kid from Marcellus to be able to go in-state to a Big 10 school, to a Division I program and be able to kick for them is remarkable,” Davies said. “It shows what someone can do if they put in the work, put in the time, and if they have a good baseline of skill, what they’re able to accomplish.”
Jones-McNally received some national attention this past weekend, participating in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. He played on the East team, handling both kicking and punting, and was the lone player from Michigan on either roster. Jones-McNally’s East team lost 20-13, but in the game, he was 2-for-3 on field goals, hitting from 52 and 39 yards, and having another attempt blocked from 53 yards out.
“It was so fun. I met so many great people that played at the highest level,” Jones-McNally said of his experience.
At the signing ceremony, many family members and mentors gave praise to McNally and his work ethic, as well as the history being made with his signing.
“He has had a lot of opportunities, and he definitely has worked hard to get to this point. He has definitely worked his butt off,” Marcellus Athletic Director Don Price said. “I hear the stories he tells me about getting up at 5 a.m. and kicking at The Dome a few times a week and going all over and working to get to the point where he’s at.”
Jones-McNally’s father, Garrett McNally, said this was a “huge deal” for their family and their son.
“I’m very proud of him. He’s just a fantastic kid, and he hasn’t gotten here by himself. He’s put in a lot of work,” McNally said. “This is just the beginning of a fantastic journey.”
Jones-McNally’s kicking coach was Derrick Mitchell, a former Western Michigan University kicker and part of the 2016 team that made it to the Cotton Bowl. He spoke about how his protégé got started under his tutelage and how he grew over the last few years, saying he was proud for how far he’s come.
“I got an email three years ago saying, hey, we’ve got a kid out here that played some soccer and he wants to try kicking, see what you can do. I said, sure, we’ll get together, and sure enough we did. He had no clue about the fundamentals of kicking, and I go, eh, he’s got a chance to be a good high school kicker, and I don’t know if there’s anything past that,” Mitchell said. “Man, did he prove me wrong. He kept calling saying, hey, let’s keep putting in the work, and then it was showing up to the Schoolcraft Dome, putting in his own work, working out, getting kicking in after that, and that’s when I knew he got a real opportunity. I could only give him so much tool-wise, but it was his work ethic and determination that’s gotten him to this point so far.”
Looking ahead to next fall, Jones-McNally said he’s looking forward to wearing the famous maize and blue.
“I’m looking forward to getting down to Ann Arbor and putting in some work,” Jones-McNally said.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@threeriversnews.com.