MHS Senior Cordell Jones-McNally made it official Wednesday, December 21, by signing a letter of intent to join the University of Michigan football team as a preferred walk-on. Joining Cordell were parents Garrett and Chris Jones-McNally.
The home of Wildcat Orange and Black transformed into a sea of Wolverine Maize and Blue Wednesday, December 21. Friends, family, classmates, media and the community turned out to show their support for MHS senior kicker Cordell Jones-McNally, who signed the official letter of intent with the University of Michigan. Jones-McNally has been granted preferred walk-on status with the Wolverines football team.
Just sign right here. . . Garrett McNally gives a helpful pointer to son Cordell as he signs the official letter of intent with the University of Michigan.
“While we’ve had many athletes sign with colleges,” Athletic Director Don Price says, “let’s face it, this one’s a little bit bigger. Cordell is the first athlete from Marcellus to sign with a Big Ten school. That’s pretty awesome.”
Price said the public ceremony was more than just a chance to witness Cordell sign his letter of intent, but an opportunity for his family to thank the many people who helped him get to this point, including football Head Coach Nate Davies, and Cordell’s kicking coach, Derrick Mitchell. Mitchell, a three sport standout at Paw Paw and former minor league baseball player, is also well known as the kick-off specialist – at age 30 – for WMU’s 2017 Cotton Bowl team.
“I got an email about three years ago,” Mitchell says, “about a kid who played some soccer and wanted to try kicking. When I met him, he had no clue of the fundamentals of kicking. I thought he had a good chance of being a good high school kicker. Man, did he prove me wrong. He put in the work and I could see he had a real opportunity. I could give him only so much tools-wise, but his work ethic and determination are what’s gotten him to this point.”
The signing ceremony capped off a busy week for Jones-McNally. On Monday, December 19, Cordell played in the Blue-Grey All American Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. He said the experience was a lot of pressure – pretty cool – but a lot of pressure. But, he says, “I just put it aside, cleared my head and kicked the football.”
(Watch the game on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FgdI43JoA7g – you will be so glad you did!)
Jones-McNally is headed to Ann Arbor in June. In many ways, so are all of us.
“The real work is still ahead,” Mitchell says. “We’re all looking forward to watching you on tv on Saturdays.”
And on those Saturdays, we can only imagine Marcellus coming to a standstill and shouting #goblue.
Congratulations, Cordell. Your hometown is behind you all the way. . .
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