Kentucky Football Countdown: No. 34 Jordan Jones

We’re just over one month until kickoff at Kroger Field, BBN — 34 days to be exact. To celebrate, we’ll look at a recent Wildcat that many of you will remember.

No. 34 Jordan Jones

Jordan Jones was born in Columbus, Ohio, and was destined for athletic success. He started his high school career at Reynoldsburg High School in Columbus, where he would stay for two years. He competed on the track and basketball teams as well, but the football field was where he really thrived.

After his freshman and sophomore seasons, Jones decided to transfer to the infamous Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown. That probably sounds familiar to you — and it should. Both Mark Stoops and Vince Marrow graduated from Cardinal Mooney, as did former Wildcat standouts like Lynn Bowden and Courtney Love.

Though he played running back at Reynoldsburg, Jones switched to linebacker and tailback after his arrival in Youngstown. He was pretty good at them both, too. Jones started every game his junior and senior seasons and earned a spot on first-team All-Ohio Division IV both years.

He ended his junior season with 123 tackles (27 for loss), 10 sacks, and five fumbles, three of which he returned for touchdowns. Not too shabby, right? Senior season was even better. He racked up 185 tackles in his final season with the Cardinals, along with five forced fumbles and four fumbles recovered.

His impressive years in Youngstown earned him respect and heavy attention. He was considered a high-level three-star prospect, according to the On3 Consensus, and a top-25 player from the state of Ohio. Jones had around 20 major-conference scholarship offers but chose the Youngstown duo of Stoops and Marrow.

From Youngstown to Lexington

After graduating a semester early, Jones enrolled at UK in January of 2015. It didn’t take long for him to start making an impact, either. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound linebacker racked up a career-best 19 tackles against Southern Miss as a sophomore. He led the team and ranked third in the SEC in tackles per game with 8.4 that season, as well.

His junior and senior seasons were similarly successful. Jones ended his career at UK with a total of 251 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, and 7.3 sacks. He had 10 or more tackles in six career games as a Wildcat. Thanks to an injury sustained at Missouri in 2019, he played his final four games with a broken right hand.