4-Star OT Recruit Delivers Bad News to Two Major College Football Programs

Four-star OT Li'Marcus Jones is Boulder-bound, and the recruiting trail just got a little lonelier for Mississippi State and Purdue.

Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby looks on before the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Davis Wade Stadium | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

On Sunday, May 24, Rivals reporter Hayes Fawcett broke the news that four-star offensive tackle Li'Marcus Jones has committed to Colorado, announcing the pledge to Fawcett.

Jones chose the Buffaloes over Mississippi State and Purdue, marking yet another marquee acquisition for Deion Sanders' Buffaloes.

Rivals lists him at 6-foot-5 and roughly 300 pounds. Jones is ranked No. 171 nationally by 247Sports and plays at Brentwood Academy in Tennessee, where he'll suit up for his senior season.

As a junior at Callaway High School in Jackson, Mississippi, he played both right and left tackle and even recorded 37 tackles, six tackles for loss, and three sacks as a defensive lineman.

According to 247Sports scouting director Andrew Ivins, Jones has the raw tools and frame to develop into a dominant presence, a natural drive blocker with an explosive stance and a build that projects well beyond 300 pounds with time.

Jones had pulled in offers from Georgia, Alabama, Texas A&M, Oregon, Tennessee, and others, and even committed to Ole Miss in March 2025 before reopening his recruitment in June, saying he felt he'd committed too early.

Yet, while more than two dozen programs had their eyes set on Jones, Colorado was the school that called to him the most.

Colorado offered Jones a scholarship back in July 2025, then got him to Boulder on May 15 for an official visit, and while Jones said his college decision was extremely difficult, the visit to Boulder made a huge difference.

"It was very close," he said. "Once I narrowed it down to my final three, they were all coming at me hard."

Jones had even visited Purdue in April and had a Mississippi State trip scheduled for June, a trip that is now officially dead on arrival.

“Colorado felt like the place where I could become the best version of myself,” Jones told Rivals. 

BREAKING: Four-Star OT Li’Marcus Jones has Committed to Colorado, he tells me for @Rivals⁰⁰The 6’6 285 OT chose the Buffaloes over Mississippi State and Purdue

“Colorado felt like the place where I could become the best version of myself.”https://t.co/TvKffqNULd pic.twitter.com/lYuW67SVMX

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 24, 2026

A look at Colorado's 2027 class

Jones becomes the first offensive line commit and the eighth overall member of Colorado's 2027 recruiting class, and the third four-star prospect Sanders has landed, joining quarterback Andre Adams and safety Gabe Jenkins.

For context, Colorado signed just one four-star prospect in their entire 2026 class, linebacker Carson Crawford.

Rivals currently ranks Colorado's 2027 class No. 40 in the country and No. 3 in the Big 12.

Apr 11, 2026; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the start of the spring game at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Jones' commitment came during a Memorial Day weekend in which Colorado also landed Houston cornerback Prince Washington, making it five new verbal commitments in the span of a single week.

For Colorado, Jones' commitment immediately makes him one of the highest-rated hard commits in the class. It directly addresses a position the Buffaloes have aggressively prioritized after losing former five-star Jordan Seaton to LSU in the transfer portal.

For Mississippi State and Purdue, though, two programs that invested real time and effort into recruiting Jones, the loss stings.