Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Junior TE Alize Jones Alize Jones, Gorman junior tight end, introduces himself, and talks about the upcoming year.

Alize Jones’ first football scholarship offer came last year when he was a sophomore.

Within six months, the Bishop Gorman High junior tight end had double-digit offers, being recruited heavily by some of the nation’s most storied programs.

But the five-star recruit only wanted to play for one university. It’s the one that was first to offer — UCLA.

Jones announced today on Twitter that he verbally committed to UCLA after an unofficial weekend visit, picking the Bruins over the likes of Notre Dame, Georgia, Nebraska, Tennessee and Baylor.

For those closest to the 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end, his commitment won’t come as a surprise. He has family in the Los Angeles area and has always been a UCLA fan.

“My whole family was excited for that (scholarship offer),” he said last spring. “They are big Bruins fans. It was exciting for us.”

Jones is ranked by multiple evaluating services as the No. 1 tight end for the class of 2015. Verbal commitments are nonbinding and not official until a letter of intent is signed — something Jones won’t be able to do until February 2015.

Jones has 31 catches for 541 yards and nine touchdowns in 2013, including catching a pair of touchdowns against New Jersey’s Bergen Catholic in one of Gorman’s signature wins this season. He grabbed the game-winner in the corner of the end zone with less than a minute to play.

Jones burst onto the scene during last year’s state championship game in scoring two touchdowns, including a 78-yard catch-and-run before halftime. He showed the skills that make him so attractive to recruiting on that play, outracing the defense and scoring untouched.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.