Most visitors for Stanford’s Junior Day need to take a plane or sit through a long car ride. For Bishop O’Dowd’s Austin Jones all he had to do was cross a bridge from one side of the Bay Area to the other.

What he found at Stanford was eye opening from the aesthetics of the campus to his conversations with the coaches. Even though Jones lives nearby it was the first time on campus for Rivals’ No. 59 overall 2019 recruit. He was only able to stay Friday because he had a track meet Saturday, but that day included an important introduction.

“When I talked to Coach (David) Shaw he wasn’t talking about me as a football player,” Jones said. “He said he knew I was a great football player, but he talked to people about me and asked about me … and he was proud of me that I was a good person.

“I really liked him. I liked talking to him. He went into his background and we were just talking it up. He’s a really cool dude and down to earth. He’s somebody I think I would play for.”

Jones has spent the most time communicating with Ron Gould and he spent about “90 percent” of Friday with the running back's coach.

“I had a great time with Coach Gould just talking and making some jokes here and there,” Jones said. “He was a fun person to be around. I really liked talking to him and that was pretty awesome being there all day with Coach (Gould). It was pretty cool.”

And it definitely caught Jones’ attention the names that Gould could drop in a conversation about running backs he coached, especially at Cal. Gould told Jones he wanted to take two running backs in the 2019 class and that he had plenty of experience finding carries for multiple talented backs.

One pairing Gould talked about was Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett, who were in the same recruiting class at Cal. After J.J. Arrington graduated in 2004 after 2,000-yard season, Lynch gained 1,246 yards and Forsett had 999 during their sophomore years.

“He said Justin got his carries and so did Marshawn,” Jones said. “They were interchangeable. He said if you’re the best player you’re going to get on the field regardless of your age. As long as you’re doing what what you need to do in the classroom and on the field, he said you have an opportunity to play.”

It has been about a month since Jones was offered by Stanford, and now after his visit Friday his thoughts about the program have changed “a lot.”

“After talking to the coaches and having a sit-down with Coach Shaw it changed my perception of them a lot,” he said. “The more and more I talk with the coaches and visit more … it’s up there for me, for sure.”

Jones doesn’t have a timeline in mind to make his decision, but he and his parents are firm that they want whatever decision Jones makes to be final. There won’t be any de-committing from one school to another. Jones wants to be thorough and take official visits, but he also said if he reaches a point where it’s right to commit he’s willing to cut short his visit schedule.

Jones wants to get back to Stanford soon for either the spring game or earlier to “get that second day in” that he missed due to his track meet Saturday.