Syracuse Football: Cuse brings in Mikel Jones, 4-star Linebacker

The Syracuse football squad continued their hard work on the recruiting trail with another huge linebacker commitment in Mikel Jones.

Just hours after the Syracuse coaching staff got word on the Lee Kpogba commitment, Mikel Jones pledged to enroll at Syracuse University. Jones is a 4-star linebacker out of the powerhouse, IMG Academy. IMG has produced the likes of Chris McCullough on the hardwood, and Andre Cisco and Juan Wallace on the football field.

Jones became the third linebacker commit in the 2019 class joining Kpogba and Canadian Geoff Cantin-Arku. Jones is a big time recruit drawing offers from the likes of Auburn, Clemson, and Georgia. Growing up as a Florida kid, many thought Jones would choose an in-state power, but instead the Syracuse coaching staff won out his recruitment.

According to 247sports.com, Jones is a 4-star recruit and the 367th best player in the class of 2019. In addition to that, they rate him as the 19th best outside linebacker in the country. Give credit to Syracuse DB’s coach Nick Monroe, who is in charge of mining the Sunshine state for future Orange talent.

Jones announced his commitment last Wednesday via twitter:

Let’s take a look at Jones’ highlights:

The first play that I want to look at occurs at the :25 second mark of the film. Here, Jones proves that he can fill the void and take on the responsibilities of being a traditional run-stopping linebacker. He shows good discipline and vision to locate the ball carrier coming up the A-gap, and delivers a big time hit.

At the 1:04 mark of the tape Jones shows off tremendous speed for a linebacker. He is rushing the line of scrimmage on a blitz and does a good job of waiting and disguising that he is attacking the line of scrimmage. As soon as the ball snaps, he shows off the ACC speed at linebacker that Syracuse has lacked to have in the past, and gets the quarterback on the ground.

The 1:59 mark is when Jones shows off maybe the most important aspect of playing linebacker in the Tampa-2 defense. On this play, he picks up the slot receiver who was in motion. He makes a great break on the ball and knocks it away to the ground before the receiver can get his hands on it. This is an impressive break on the football for a linebacker and one who weighs 210-pounds.

The final play I want to look at occurs at the 3:00 mark of the film. Jones is lined up at almost a defensive end position, and is right on the line of scrimmage. When the ball is snapped, he takes on a double team, and sheds the the two, bringing down the ball carrier for a minimal gain.

Syracuse is getting two big-time players in Kpogba and Jones. Those two bonded during their official visit and should man the linebacker position in the Dome for years to come.