In the first year of Harry Hiestand returning as offensive line coach for Notre Dame,
he helped put together a very talented five-man class for the 2023 recruiting class.
That haul included Charles Jagusah, Sullivan Absher, Sam Pendleton, Joe Otting and Christopher Terek.
Notre Dame landed one of the best hauls in the country, and now Hiestand is tasked with landing a class that is just as good,
but ideally one that is even better. It's not a great year for offensive line recruits nationally,
so Hiestand and the Irish staff will need to hit at a high rate in order to make that happen, but the prospects are on the board to do so.
Notre Dame has five players on the roster from the 2021 class, four from the 2022 class and five will show up from the 2023 class.
Notre Dame isn't really in position where numbers are as important as high level talent, and landing a specific type of player.
Right now Notre Dame only "needs" three offensive linemen, but it would get to four, or even five,
if the right players wanted to join the class. Getting to five might also need to coincide with some attrition from the current roster, but four is a comfortable number.
The 6-5, 290-pound Pennsylvania blocker currently mans the right tackle position for Malvern Prep and does have the length to project there.
The better projection for him, however, could be inside at guard where his combination of power,
hand usage and body type could be a tremendous asset for the Irish line.
Jones brings a tremendous baseline as a football player.
He is exactly the style that Coach Hiestand has succeeded with so often before.