Notre Dame football rides 2027 recruiting momentum toward an early Fighting Irish legacy bump for the 2028 class
Notre Dame football just received another big commitment. This time it was an early win for the 2028 recruiting class.
It ended up being a massive day in Notre Dame football recruiting on Monday when they earned a commitment from 2027 Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas Julius Jones Jr. over Miami and Oregon. The good news didn’t stop there for the Fighting Irish. Less than five minutes later, head coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish received a commitment from Jones’ younger brother, 2028 Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas safety Andre Jones.
With the focus on the 2027 recruits who were on campus this past weekend on official visits, not many talked about the younger Jones also being there on an unofficial visit. Even before this past weekend, things had been trending in a great direction. Seeing his brother go through the process firsthand was a great help for him in landing on an early decision.
Jones is now the second commitment in the 2028 class for Notre Dame, joining Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy kicker Owen Davies. Based on some recent feedback, don’t be surprised if a couple more players come on board of the 2028 class for the Fighting Irish over the next several weeks. That could include another visitor who was in South Bend the last several days, as well.
Andre Jones’s recruiting background
When Jones was offered a couple of months ago, he had not yet been rated by any of the major recruiting platforms. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Jones is now rated as a four-star, the No. 315 overall player, the No. 29 safety, and the No. 45 player from the state of Florida for the 2028 recruiting class. Those rankings continue to trend upward.
Some of Jones’s top offers thus far include the Fighting Irish, Oregon, Texas A&M, Penn State, Indiana, Florida State, Kentucky, Pitt, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, UCLA, Purdue, Oregon State, and Cal, among others. You can expect many more teams to join that group over the next several months, especially during what should be a huge junior season.
As a sophomore in 2025, Jones put together a strong season for St. Thomas Aquinas. In 13 games, the 6-0, 170-pound defensive back managed to collect 37 total tackles, an interception, and four pass breakups.
As a part of one of the top defenses in the country last season, Jones played all over the place, including at safety, in the slot, in the box, and even some at outside cornerback. His versatility is a huge selling point to any program. It’s one of the major reasons why Notre Dame values him heavily early on.