Signing Day Capsule: OL Luke Jones
LUKE JONES – OFFENSIVE LINE
ISD: 3-star
Composite: 3-star
Little Rock, AR (Pulaski Academy)
6-foot-4, 290 pounds
Recruiter: Chip Long
Recruitment Rundown: Jones committed to the in-state Razorbacks during the summer, but Notre Dame was able to get him on campus for a visit during the fall. At the time, Jones said it was strictly to see a football game, but the Irish certainly took their shot and impressed him. About a week after the close of the early signing period, Jones flipped his pledge from Arkansas to Notre Dame. Arkansas and others made one last pitch when Harry Hiestand left South Bend for the Chicago Bears, but Jones was locked in by that point.
Pulaski Academy HC Kevin Kelley: “Luke is an extremely intelligent football player. I think he picks things up quickly. He learns from his mistakes quickly. He realizes immediately – even before a coach tells him a lot of times – what he did wrong on a play if he makes a mistake.
“I think the other thing is his feet. He’s got tremendous feet for a guy his size. He probably came by that playing basketball as he grew up. He’s done a good job using his strengths and working on his weaknesses. I think Notre Dame is getting a heckuva player.”
ISD expert Jamie Uyeyama: Jones is going to need some time to get acclimated to college football and get to where he needs to be from a strength and technical perspective. I believe he will redshirt and may take another year or more to truly get in the mix for playing time. However, I know that others believe that he is closer to playing early than most think. Notre Dame is very high on him because of his experience playing at a high level in Arkansas and his athleticism. That athleticism made me project him as a potential swing candidate, but he may get a shot at center as well.
For the long term, I think he is a good pickup. He is an athletic fit for the offense and someone that can be a high-level pass blocker. The fact that his high school coach speaks so highly of his intelligence and his ability to learn is going to help in a big way as well.
I think he has a chance to be a very good player given the right amount of time to develop and he is going to be intriguing to watch a couple of years down the road for the Irish.