The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them all. 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 2019 season.
#6 Tony Jones Jr., RB
Jones came to Notre Dame in 2016 as a four-star prospect out of Bradenton, Florida and IMG Academy, where he was always a solid baseball player. He chose the Irish over about 14 other FBS offers, including Cincinnati, Florida Atlantic, Miami, Vanderbilt, and Illinois. His major is film, television, and theatre.
Jones didn’t play his freshman season, but contributed as a sophomore playing in twelve games with three touchdowns.
Last year, Jones was an even bigger part of the running game totaling 392 yards on 83 carries with three rushing touchdowns. Jones also caught six passes for 157 yards and a touchdown, including a 51-yard catch and run for a score against USC that proved to be the game-winner.
The 5’11”, 220-ish pound rising senior is the leading returning rusher this season after splitting Dexter Williams’ leftovers with Jafar Armstrong in 2018. Total, he’s got 624 rushing yards to his name as a college football player.
Taylor Swift, Chicago, Bon Jovi
Let’s go with this one since “Have a nice day” is more or less what I said to USC fans after Jones scored that late touchdown against the Trojans last season.
Hey Dog Hey
Let’s go with a Boston Terrier since Jones already has one by the name of Chance.
Excerpt from “Meet the #DogsOfNDFB”, where Jones tells his favorite story about Chance:
“It’s not a good story, but I came home from workouts once and he had poop on his head. I don’t know how it got there.”
2019 Outlook
Jones has the capability to be THE guy in the backfield this season. With Dexter Williams off to the NFL, it will be between Jones and Jafar Armstrong who seem to remain in something of a position battle following the conclusion of the spring. Both have indicated they don’t particularly care who gets more carries, however, as long as the team is winning.
Armstrong looked strong in the spring game while Jones was held out while resting an ankle injury. Jones seemed to be dealing with lingering ankle issues in some form or another for a significant part of last season.
If he stays healthy, the physical tools are obviously there for him to be a valuable tool once again for Notre Dame’s offense. Whether the Irish go the “running back by committee” route or make Jones the feature guy, he is very important to the success of this team in 2019.