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Notre Dame Football Recruiting

2018 FL ATH Enjoys Midwest Swing

January 28, 2017
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2018 American Heritage (Fla.) athlete Miles Jones was planning on making it to the Midwest a few weeks ago for a few unofficial visits, but those plans fell through at the last minute. However, the 5-foot-9, 175-pounder made it the trip up to see Notre Dame and Ohio State this weekend.

“It was really good,” Jones said of his visit to Ohio State on Saturday. “I got a chance to talk to a few of the position coaches on Saturday. I also saw the facilities and some of the camps, so it was really good.”

With the Buckeyes coming off of a second playoff appearance, Jones liked the energy coming out of the program, but he also got some time around the offensive staff in Columbus.  

“I got some good vibes from the program,” explained Jones. “The receiver coach said they liked me and I got to watch some film with him. He was giving me tips on what they like to do with their routes and stuff. It was a nice talk.”

Jones arrived in South Bend on Friday and he immediately realized he wasn’t in South, but he quickly met up with a fellow Florida native who attended Notre Dame.   

“It was really cold,” laughed Jones. “It was really nice and the campus was very nice. I got to talk with Coach Denson for about 45 minutes. He said they liked my film.”

Denson isn’t the only contact familiar with Notre Dame that Jones knows. The American Heritage star knows former Irish receiver Corey Holmes and former cornerback Cody Riggs’ step-father coached Jones in track a few years ago.

While the academics are hard, they still graduate 93 percent of their players and that’s more than a lot of schools in the country. - 2018 ATH Miles Jones
However, the conversation with Denson was a positive one and Jones felt a lot of similarities between his high school and Notre Dame.  

“The way Notre Dame uses its running backs is very similar to how my high school uses me,” he stated. “They like to use backs out of the backfield and get them the ball in space. I liked that a lot.

“Coach Denson said they are looking at me, but I think I could get an offer after they see my transcripts.”

The football side wasn’t the only aspect that impressed Jones. The academic side of Notre Dame was just as impressive and Jones knows he would be comfortable in the setting the school provides student-athletes.  

“I loved the campus and the school,” said Jones. “What stood out for me at Notre Dame was the academics. While the academics are hard, they still graduate 93 percent of their players and that’s more than a lot of schools in the country.”

“They give you a lot of support when it comes to academics and how to maintain a schedule when being a student-athlete. I liked the structure a lot.”  

All in all, Jones was happy he got a chance to see both programs this weekend.

“Both facilities were top notch,” stated Jones. “Ohio State’s campus was bigger and have more students, while Notre Dame is much smaller. I don’t have a preference in terms of size of school, but I didn’t get a chance to see Ohio State’s weight room, because it was under construction.

“I liked both programs and both are great programs. They compete with each other really well.”

Jones, who holds offers from Georgia, Mississippi State, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Wisconsin, will head to Texas tonight for another visit on Sunday.  

“My flight leaves tonight, so we can get down to TCU for Junior Day,” Jones said. “I am just trying to get a chance to speak with the coaching staff because I haven’t spoken with them much. I am just trying to see what TCU is about.”


 
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