Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING catching the ball out of the backfield and has the ability to develop into a strong pass blocker. TONY JONES JR. Bradenton, Fla. • IMG Academy Measurables: Listed at 6-0, 212 pounds. Rankings: Rated as a four-star prospect by ES- PNU, Scout.com and 247Sports … Ranked No. 187 nationally by Scout.com and No. 290 in the country by ESPNU … Listed as the No. 11 running back na- tionally by 247Sports, and No. 12 by Scout.com … Scout.com ranks him as the No. 1 running back in the state of Florida. Statistics/Honors: Rushed for 771 yards (11.7 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns as a junior for a 10-1 IMG Academy squad … Ran for 1,145 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore at St. Peters- burg Catholic in Tampa … Chosen to participate in The Opening in Beaverton, Ore. Recruitment: Committed to Notre Dame on March 22, 2015 … Had offers from Florida, Ken- tucky, Mississippi, Mississippi State, North Carolina and South Carolina. BGI's Take: Notre Dame needed a power back in this class, and Tony Jones Jr. gives them just that. His lack of carries as a junior kept his numbers down, but as more people see his film and see him at camps his stock continues to rise. Jones is a powerful, downhill runner with a strong frame at 212 pounds. The IMG back gets downhill in a hurry, using his strong lower body and leg drive to churn out extra yards. Jones has the traits Notre Dame looks for in a running back. He is able to properly combine patience with decisiveness, he shows good vision behind the line and he had excellent anticipation in the open field. For a big back, Jones shows surprisingly good athletic ability. His speed is underrated, and he uses it to attack the perim- eter of the defense far better than most backs his size. Jones also has the ability to rip off big runs if he gets a crease. He is agile for his size and light on his feet, and possesses sudden change of direction skills. His ability to cut and elude in space is that of a smaller player.