A bittersweet signing day for Jones-Smith

The Saturday morning nudge from his father awakened 8-year-old Jaryd Jones-Smith around the time the sun was rising over his South Jersey home.

Along with Jones-Smith's younger sister, James Jones and his son would leave their Woodstown home for a weekly jog around a 3.3-mile route.

"At first, it felt like torture," Jones-Smith said. "But after a while, you got used to it and it became natural."

Now a hulking, 6-foot-7, 320-pound offensive tackle at West Catholic, Jones-Smith will sign a letter of intent on Wednesday, national signing day, to accept a football scholarship to Pittsburgh.

But his father will not be there. Jones, 58, died on Dec. 22 after a battle with brain tumors.

"It's been pretty hard on him, because he and his dad were very close. He wanted his dad to be a part of his signing day," said Jones-Smith's mother, Shirley Smith. Smith and Jones were not married.

Jones-Smith said his father would be "extremely happy" with Pittsburgh, a decision the senior made less than a month after his father's passing.

On Dec. 21, Jones-Smith sat bedside at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, as his father lay unresponsive with his eyes closed. When Jones-Smith returned home, he told his mother he would not visit the next day.

"I want to remember my dad for who he was," Jones-Smith told his mother.

Shirley Smith said she later received a call from someone who was in the room after her son left.

James Jones had opened his eyes, said he knew his son had visited, and heard what Jones-Smith told him.

"Tell him I love him," Jones said.

At Pittsburgh, Jones-Smith projects as an offensive tackle. The Panthers recruited seven offensive linemen, and Jones-Smith said he is not fazed by the possibility of redshirting.

His non-binding oral commitment failed to drive away other suitors, as Jones-Smith said Rutgers continued to press him.

But he and his mother felt comfortable at Pittsburgh. Jones-Smith plans to study architecture or business management.

Smith said she was swayed during their December visit when the Panthers' host player told her about the program's academic policy.

"His face just lit up," Smith said. "He was so excited to talk to us about that."

One of Jones-Smith's last memories shared with both parents was the Burrs' Senior Night in November, just a few weeks before his father was hospitalized.

While Jones-Smith was a key cog on West's offensive and defensive lines, his father cheered loudly from the stands. After the game, the three posed for a picture together on the field - the last photograph of Jones-Smith and his parents.

"He was always there for me, especially with football," Jones-Smith said.

On Wednesday morning, Jones-Smith will be joined by some of James Jones' four brothers when he signs his scholarship paperwork.

Jones-Smith said his uncles and godfather, Bobby Battle, have stepped up "big time" since his father's passing.

A single mother, Smith said any financial difficulties in raising her son were more than offset by the fact that he never gave her trouble.

"I told his father that the greatest compliment a parent could receive is how respectful and mannerly your child is when you're not around," Smith said.