Notre Dame Adds Overlooked New York Linebacker Jamir Jones to 2016 Recruiting Class
Brian Kelly
Recruiting efforts for the Fighting Irish have picked up over the last week, as head coach Brian Kelly has added three more recruits to his 2016 class, the latest being Rochester, N.Y, athlete Jamir Jones on Tuesday.
Related: Notre Dame's 2016 Class Gets a Boost with Additions of Jalen Elliott and Kevin Stepherson
Jones is a do-everything kind of player, who lines up as a dual-threat quarterback on offense and a tough-nosed linebacker on defense for Aquinas Institute. The 6-3”, 230-pound, athlete picked up 715 yards passing with five touchdowns and ran for another 205 yards with another score in 2014 in a Wildcat offense, but also made his mark on defense. Jones was credited with 47 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, and had a pick-six in eight games played.
College coaches in the northeast have flocked to Rochester in hopes of forging a relationship with the two-way athlete. Boston College, Rutgers, Pitt, UMass, Old Dominion, Connecticut, Buffalo, and Syracuse have all dropped offers. Speculation was Jones was split between the Orange and the Fighting Irish before his verbal commitment to Kelly on Tuesday.
Notre Dame has hosted Jones on two unofficial visits, attending Junior Day on March 21 and during his visit yesterday when he received an offer and then promptly committed. Kelly and his staff have recruited Jones as a linebacker.
Jones joins wide receiver/cornerback Jalen Elliott and wide receiver Kevin Stepherson on the Fighting Irish commitment list this week. In total Notre Dame has nine commitments. Of the nine only two are from the same state thus far, Liam Eichenberg and Tommy Kraemer out of Ohio.
Notre Dame 2016 Verbal Commitment List
CB/WR Jalen Elliott, 6’1”, 175 lbs, Lloyd C. Bird HS, Chesterfield, Virginia
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CB Julian Love, 5’11”, 175 lbs, Nazareth Academy, LaGrange Park, Illinois
LB Jamir Jones, 6’3”, 230 lbs, Aquinas Institute, Rochester, New York
DE Julian Okwara, 6’4”, 220 lbs, Ardrey Kell HS, Charlotte, North Carolina
OT Liam Eichenberg, 6’6”, 290 lbs, St. Ignatius HS, Cleveland, Ohio
OT Tommy Kraemer, 6’5”, 305 lbs, Elder HS, Cincinnati, Ohio
LS John Shannon, 6’2”, 230 lbs, Loyola Academy, Wilmette, Illinois
RB Tony Jones Jr., 6’0”, 212 lbs, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida
WR Kevin Stepherson, 6’0”, 180 lbs, First Coast HS, Jacksonville, Florida
— Written by Ryan Wright, who is part of the Athlon Contributor Network and an established media professional with more than two decades' worth of experience. Over the years, Wright has written for numerous sites and publications and he recently started his own recruiting site, www.recruitingnewsguru.com. Follow him on Twitter @HogManinLA.
