This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #45 Jonathan Jones

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about all of them. One Foot Down’s player profile series will take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2018 season. Today we’ll take a look at linebacker Jonathan Jones.

#45 Jonathan Jones

Hailing from Ocoee, FL, Jonathan Jones was one of Kelly’s favorite recruits in the Class of 2016. Intangibles were the name of the game for the smallish linebacker, and Coach Kelly made sure that Jones wouldn’t be underestimated.

Now entering the 2018 season, Jonathan Jones is the primary backup behind incumbent starter Tevon Coney. While there isn’t likely to be a “1” next to Jones’s name on the depth chart, his role shouldn’t be understated. Should Coney go down or need a breather, Jones will be the first man up. And from all accounts, he will be ready.

3 Things About Jonathan Jones

1. Jones’s stature certainly didn’t hold him back on the recruiting trail. He chose Notre Dame over the likes of Michigan, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, and Stanford. Not too shabby.
2. He was a member of the U.S. Under-19 National Team in 2016.
3. Jonathan Jones is majoring in Design. Not only is he a brute on the football field, he also has an artistic side.

YouTube Hot Fire

In this video, you see Autry Denson and Mike Elston harp on those intangibles that Jonathan Jones brings to this team. While he hasn’t had much of a chance to prove it on the field yet, it certainly doesn’t hurt our hopes to hear this praise from the staff.

Country, Condiment, or Canon

Identifying the player as either a country, condiment, or member of the Star Wars Canon.

BB-8.

I assure you, this is not a joke about Jones being undersized.

Okay, maybe it’s a little bit of a joke about him being undersized.

But that’s not the only correlation. BB-8 is by no means the star of the show, but it plays a valuable role in the two most recent films. It definitely plays second fiddle to many of the cast members, but it certainly has its place. Jonathan Jones, too, is not the “star” of this Notre Dame defense. However, he is of high value to this staff and will undoubtedly have an impact during this upcoming season.

2018 Forecast

Unless something goes terribly awry with Tevon Coney, Jonathan Jones should not see the field in an overly-impactful capacity. He will back Coney up, and most likely get his fair share of playing time, but I think it is in this team’s best interest that Jones remain in non-starting role for another season.

Should he be thrust into position to be the starter, Jones will indubitably be able to fulfill his duties adequately. There shouldn’t be any concerns about his ability in that regard. However, we should all hope and expect to see him backing up Coney in 2018 for the sake of this defense.