Career Day For Tony Jones Jr.

It was a career day for Notre Dame running back Tony Jones Jr.  The junior carried the rock 17 times for 118 yards, but he also caught two passes for 56 yards. 

The 19 touches were the most for Jones in his career, and it had the 5-foot-11, 220-pounder feeling good following the 22-17 win over Vanderbilt. 

“My first 100-yard game,” laughed Jones. “It feels good.

“I feel like I’m in high school again. A lot of carries and rapid carries. Next week and the week after I’ll do the same.” 

Life was easier for Jones as the Notre Dame offensive line came to play and opened up holes for him and the Irish backs to run through against a pesky Vanderbilt defense.

“They learned from their mistakes last week,” Jones said of his offensive line. “Our whole team executed. We did very well in the run game. It was better than last week.” 

Jones hadn’t started the first two games, as sophomore Jafar Armstrong got the start, but there weren’t any hard feelings from the Florida native. 

“Jafar and I are really good running backs,” stated Jones. “I wouldn’t worry about us starting or whoever is starting. It felt good to start, though.” 

The wheel route was also deadly for the Irish offense on Saturday as it led to big plays from Jones in the passing game. 

“Lots of man coverage, so we're getting the wheel, drive, big combination,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly stated. “So if you do a good job defending him, then we're creating space on the drive route coming back, so they're really easy complements for us versus man coverage.” 

Quarterback Brandon Wimbush also deserves some credit for opening up the run game for Jones. Wimbush ran 19 times for 84 yards and a touchdown on the day. 

“He spreads the defense out more,” said Jones. “We kept them on their heels a little bit, so it was good.”