A productive first season in South Bend portended great things for Notre Dame’s Alize Jones in 2016. Unfortunately, said greatness will have to wait another season.
Head coach Brian Kelly confirmed earlier Wednesday that Jones “will not play for the Fighting Irish this fall.” The tight end will, however, be permitted to practice with his teammates throughout the 2016 season.
While the school didn’t specify why Jones will be sidelined, the player did on Twitter, revealing that academics triggered his season-long timeout. “With this opportunity comes academic responsibility, and unfortunately, I didn’t meet that responsibility,” a portion of the tweet read.I will be back stronger #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/bOJyoFUK46
— Alizé Jones (@AlizeJones8) August 3, 2016
The 6-4, 240-pound Jones was a four-star 2015 recruit, rated by 247Sports.com as the No. 1 tight end in the country.
As a true freshman, Jones started five of the eight games in which he played. He caught 13 passes for 190 yards, with five of those receptions going for a first down.