Reviewing the Redshirts is an off-season series meant to resurrect discussion around the current Irish freshmen who did not play in 2016.

There were 11 players who retained a year of eligibility this past year and today we look at a multi-dimensional running back having a terrific spring.

RB, Tony Jones Jr.

Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida
Height: 5-11
Weight: 224

247Sports Composite Ranking:

4-star, No. 13 RB, No. 44 FL, No. 320 USA, 0.8926 score

Need at Position: Mild

Expected Spot on 2017 Depth Chart: Decently Used 3rd String

We’re almost finished with the Reviewing the Redshirts series but the career of Tony Jones is just starting, and judging by this spring, about to take off soon. While the veteran Josh Adams has been entrenched as the number one back on the team this spring has seen Jones continually push backup Dexter Williams.

Jones came to us from IMG Academy where he finished his final two years in high school with 1,285 rushing yards on just 144 carries and 25 overall touchdowns. He’s a bigger body back with really nice feet (and thanks to a solid baseball career) a nice set of hands.

So far this spring Jones is looking so much like the athlete we saw in high school–a transition that doesn’t always take place for recruits, especially early in their career. Coming out of the prep ranks I was a little concerned about Jones’ ‘baseball body’ and worried about him getting too big for a running back. I also never loved the power back label bestowed upon him.

Jones has only gained 8 pounds and sits at a robust 224 pounds which should be an excellent playing weight for him throughout his career. During the spring, Jones has dazzled with his quick cutting ability, acceleration through the hole, and natural comfort catching the ball out of the backfield.

There’s no doubt that Jones will play this year the only question is how much? If he remains the third back the history under Kelly suggests there won’t be many snaps available. The only change would be if there’s an injury (obviously) or somehow a decent uptick in the ground game emphasis. This is all the more true since the staff are likely to ride Josh Adams as the #1 tailback so it’s unlikely to be a situation like 2013-14 when there was never an established favored running back.

However, there’s always a chance that Jones moves past Dexter Williams as the number two running back. Brian Kelly has praised Jones quite a bit since last spring and his hands and blocking ability are always among the most coveted characteristics of a Kelly back. If he’s able to use his big body in short yardage situations it wouldn’t surprise me to see Jones used heavily on third downs in 2017.

There’s no denying that Jones is the future at this position so I would hope at minimum he’s getting 40 touches this year. Both Adams and Williams are heading into their 3rd years of eligibility and you never know how long running backs are going to stick around or if they’ll come back as seniors. We might see Tony Jones Jr. as the starter much quicker than we think.