Listed Measurements: 5-foot-11 ½, 222 pounds
2018-19 year, eligibility: Junior with three seasons of eligibility remaining, including 2018.
Depth chart: Jones remains the presumptive backup to senior linebacker Te’von Coney, though Jones has a couple freshmen to contend with in early enrollees Bo Bauer and Jack Lamb.
Recruiting: A consensus three-star recruit, Jones chose Notre Dame over offers from Michigan, Stanford, LSU and Florida, as well as many others. Rivals.com rated him the No. 19 inside linebacker in the class of 2016 and the No. 66 prospect in Florida.
CAREER TO DATE
Jones preserved a year of eligibility as a freshman before becoming the fourth man in a three-man rotation at inside linebacker last year. While Nyles Morgan, Greer Martini and Coney split time, Jones got mop-up duty.
2017: 13 games; 10 tackles with one for loss against USC and one broken-up pass.
QUOTE(S)
Yes, Jones is an unknown, to put it gently. No, he does not have much of a track record of any kind. That made this spring a chance to prove his potential and validate the Irish coaching staff’s view of him.
“We have to leave this spring knowing [Jones] can be our No. 2 there,” head coach Brian Kelly said at the start of spring practice. “Can he back up Te’von Coney?
“We believe he can. He’s got to go now do it. He knows what his role’s going to be. He’s got to be a great special teams player for us, as well. We need a lot from him there. … Jonathan’s got to do a great job of being a guy that can give Te’von a blow when he needs one.”
Kelly echoed those comments later in March.
“Jonathan Jones has to be a guy that consistently shows up for us because he has to be able to step in there in a more active role.”
WHAT WAS PROJECTED A YEAR AGO
“Aside from time on special teams and in mop-up duty of blowouts, it is hard to see Jones getting much action this season. Morgan will play. It is as simple as that.”
2018 OUTLOOK
Kelly made it pretty clear: Jones will be a reserve again this season, but a reserve relied upon for some genuine snaps. Coney could probably play 80 solid snaps per game, but that simply begs for another defensive letdown in November. He will nonetheless be asked for that unless a capable substitute is available for 15-25 plays each weekend, and Jones will either be that backup or be supplanted by Bauer or Lamb.
If Jones plays behind Coney, he should end up with 20-25 tackles, some of which will likely come via special teams. Fitting a few running lanes without hesitation and making a few tackles behind the line of scrimmage would leave enough of a good impression to possibly keep Bauer and Lamb a line down on the depth chart next season, as well. In that regard, motivation should not be lacking for Jones, even as a backup behind an All-American candidate.
DOWN THE ROAD
There are two paths forward for Jones, both hinted at in the previous section. Either he stays ahead of Bauer and Lamb this season, meaning he will be the frontrunner to succeed Coney in the middle of the Notre Dame defense, or at least one of the freshmen will pass Jones this season and relegate him to career backup. In the first scenario, Jones could end up a two-year starter for the Irish.
The most-likely resolution falls somewhere between multi-year starter and career reserve. Bauer and Lamb both have higher ceilings than Jones, but neither is yet ready for the grind of a college football (true more of Lamb than of Bauer) and they have a full playbook to learn. Those advantages will keep Jones ahead of them for the start of 2018, if not its entirety. As Bauer and Lamb grow figuratively and literally, Jones’ opportunities will gradually be shared amongst the three.
If Jones handles that appropriately in the locker room and stays ready to play, he will never be phased out entirely. Using a rotation at linebacker to keep players fresh may not be as common as it is along the defensive line, but there is still value to it.
Jones can add proof to that concept as Coney did last season. His rise will almost assuredly not be as quick as Coney’s August-to-October jump from afterthought to tackling machine, but there is still time for Jones to become a consistent contributor, even if in a below-the-radar role in the long-run.
NOTRE DAME 99-to-2:
No. 99 Jerry Tillery, defensive tackle, senior
No. 97 Micah Dew-Treadway, defensive tackle, senior
No. 95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, defensive tackle, sophomore
No. 94 Darnell Ewell, defensive tackle, sophomore
No. 93 (theoretically) Ja’Mion Franklin, defensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 91 Ade Ogundeji, defensive end, junior
No. 90 (theoretically) Tommy Tremble, tight end, incoming freshman
No. 89 Brock Wright, tight end, sophomore
No. 88 Javon McKinley, receiver, junior
No. 87 Michael Young, receiver, sophomore
No. 86 Alizé Mack, tight end, senior
No. 85 George Takacs, tight end, early-enrolled freshman
No. 85 Tyler Newsome, punter and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 84 Cole Kmet, tight end, sophomore
No. 83 Chase Claypool, receiver, junior
No. 82 Nic Weishar, tight end, fifth-year senior
No. 81 Miles Boykin, receiver, senior
No. 80 Micah Jones, receiver, early-enrolled freshman
No. 79 (theoretically) Cole Mabry, offensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 78 Tommy Kraemer, right guard, junior
No. 77 (theoretically) Jarrett Patterson, offensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 76 Dillan Gibbons, offensive lineman, sophomore
No. 75 Josh Lugg, offensive lineman, sophomore
No. 74 Liam Eichenberg, starting left tackle, junior
No. 73 (theoretically) Luke Jones, offensive lineman, incoming freshman
No. 72 Robert Hainsey, right tackle, sophomore
No. 71 Alex Bars, left guard and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 70 (theoretically) John Dirksen, offensive lineman, incoming freshman
No. 69 Aaron Banks, offensive tackle, sophomore
No. 57 Trevor Ruhland, offensive lineman, senior
No. 57 (theoretically) Jayson Ademilola, defensive tackle, incoming freshman
No. 55 Jonathan Bonner, defensive tackle, fifth-year senior
No. 54 John Shannon, long snapper, junior
No. 53 Khalid Kareem, defensive end, junior
No. 53 Sam Mustipher, center and captain, fifth-year senior
No. 52 Bo Bauer, linebacker, early-enrolled freshman
No. 48 (theoretically) Shayne Simon, linebacker, incoming freshman
No. 47 Kofi Wardlow, defensive end, sophomore
No. 11 Freddy Canteen, receiver, outgoing transfer
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