Cyrus Jones, Dorian O’Daniel in National Championship Game
There are two native Maryland high school football players who will be performing on opposite sides in the Alabama and Clemson National Championship Game on January 11th.
Both defensive backs, Cyrus Jones of Baltimore / Gilman will be in the Crimson Tide uniform as a cornerback and punt returner, while Dorian O’Daniel of Olney / Good Counsel will be in the orange of Clemson University.
As natives of Maryland, these players are of interest to our coverage on The Baltimore Wire, along with two other younger players also from Maryland, one on each side as well.
So let’s take a look at each of these Marylanders who will be having an experience of a lifetime in the National Championship Game.
Cyrus Jones – Alabama, #5 – from Baltimore / HS – The Gilman School
Senior Cyrus Jones (5-10, 196) is among the elite cornerbacks and punt returners in the country. In the Cotton Bowl he stopped a Michigan State drive with an interception, and he returned a punt for a touchdown that put a nail in the MSU coffin.
An All-SEC winner from 2014, Jones has 25 solo tackles with an additional seven assists this year. There have been two interceptions and seven passes defended.
Especially impressive is his punt return performance. He has 41 returns for 518 yards and four touchdowns — a number that is the best in the country. Jones did it twice in a game against Charleston Southern.
Jones had quite a career in high school. In his senior year in 2011, he was the Baltimore Sun 2011 Metro Offensive Player of the Year. Jones tallied 2,365 all-purpose yards with 24 touchdowns, also snagging five interceptions on the defensive side of the ball.
Dorian O’Daniel – Clemson, #6 – from Olney / HS – Our Lady of Good Counsel
As a linebacker for Clemson, O’Daniel is a 6-2, 219 pound redshirt sophomore. He has excelled on special teams.
For the 2015 season, O’Daniel has made 21 tackles in 14 games, with 13 assists. This ranks him as #8 in tackles on the team.
Dorian is the first Maryland signee and player at Clemson since 1991.
As a running back in high school who was “all-everything everywhere” as an offensive player, he had 1,307 yards on 190 carries and 18 touchdowns in 10 games as a senior.
Richie Petitbon – Alabama, #72 – from Annapolis / HS – Gonzaga
Petitbon is a 6-4, 315 pound offensive lineman who is yet to see action for the Tide.
If the name sounds familiar to some old-timers, it might be because his grandfather Richie Alvin Petitbon was a Redskins coach and defensive coordinator. And his father Richie Michael Petitbon was a linebacker for the University of Maryland.
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Petitbon sometimes goes by the name “RP3.”
Justin Falcinelli – Clemson, #50 – from Middletown / HS – Middletown
Falcinelli is a redshirt freshman who will be working his way up through the program. He is an offensive tackle at 6-3, 293 pounds.
His high school resume was of course very impressive, being a part of the powerful football machine at Middletown High School in Frederick County. Justin was an integral piece of three state championship teams that went a combined 41-1 over his 10th-12th grade years. He was a three-time Maryland All-State player for the Knights.