Mikel Anthony Jones (born October 11, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

High school career

Jones was born on October 11, 2000, in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, and attended Champagnat Catholic School and Mater Academy in (

Hialeah Gardens, Florida Hialeah Gardens is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 23,068 at the 2020 US census, up from 21,744 in 2010. The population density is mostly ...

. In August 2017, Jones transferred to

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a University-preparatory school, preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. The organization is set across over 600 acres (243 ha) and features programs consisting of sport ca ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...

for his senior year of high school, where he helped lead the ''IMG Academy Ascenders'' to a 7-1 record in 2018 and a top-5 national ranking. He was rated a consensus four-star prospect, one of the top 25 outside linebackers in the Class of 2019, and was recruited by

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, and Syracuse, where he ultimately enrolled.

College career

As a true freshman at Syracuse in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Jones played in 12 games with four starts and had 38 tackles. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, he started 11 games and recorded 69 tackles along with four interceptions, the most in the ACC and fifth nationally. In

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, Jones was a first-team All- ACC selection. He led the ACC with 60 solo tackles and had 110 total tackles. He also recorded four sacks. Syracuse head coach Dino Babers called him the "quarterback" of the defense for the Orange, as Jones led the team and the conference in solo, assisted and total tackles. After the strong showing in junior season, he was recruited by other programs and explored NFL Draft options, but decided against the jump and returned for another year. In the 2022 season, Jones was named one of the team captains. He was named to several pre-season All-ACC and All-America teams, as well as watch lists for the

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

, Nagurski Trophy, and

Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player of the year in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and profess ...

. He was named one of 15 semifinalists for the

given to the top linebackers. After Syracuse's surprising 6–0 start, Jones penned an article in the Players' Tribune titled ''"Syracuse, Why Not Us???"''. In December 2022, Jones declared for the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

, forgoing his final year of eligibility.

Professional career

Los Angeles Chargers

Jones signed with the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2023. He was waived on August 29, 2023.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 3, 2023, Jones was signed to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

practice squad. He was released on October 23.

DC Defenders

On May 28, 2024, Jones signed with the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

of the United Football League (UFL). His contract was terminated on August 20, 2024, to sign with an NFL team.

Tennessee Titans

Jones signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

on August 20, 2024 and was waived six days later.

References

External links

Syracuse Orange bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Mikel Anthony 2000 births Living people American football linebackers Players of American football from Miami IMG Academy alumni Syracuse Orange football players Los Angeles Chargers players Dallas Cowboys players DC Defenders players Tennessee Titans players