The Commitment: UVa added another piece to its 2024 defense over the weekend, landing linebacker Dorian Jones on Saturday. Jones spent last year at Cincinnati after four years at Louisville (three years playing plus a redshirt year in 2019), and chose the Cavaliers after a brief commitment to UTEP earlier in the transfer window. He is UVa’s second transfer addition in the spring, joining Dartmouth lineman Ethan Sipe who chose the Hoos earlier in May.
Jones was a three-star recruit in the 2019 class, playing at American Heritage in Plantation (FL). He signed with Louisville over offers from K-State, Indiana, USF, Syracuse and others, and was actually committed to the Hoosiers before flipping to the Cards. Jones followed Louisville coach Scott Satterfield to Cincinnati, where he had the most-productive year of his career last fall.
What it means for UVa: The addition of Jones should have an impact on UVa’s 2024 defense and might just close the book on offseason additions to the roster.
UVa is right at the 85-scholarship limit now, and Jones’ addition was seemingly out of the blue but certainly not unintentional on the staff’s part. The coaches had looked at a few linebackers after the conclusion of spring ball and ultimately opted to bring Jones in to compete for playing time.
Nothing is a given, of course, but Jones was more productive at Cincinnati last year than most of UVa’s linebackers from last season, so he should have a chance to play a significant role on the 2024 team. He also has one year of eligibility remaining, so his addition shouldn’t dramatically alter their long-term plans at the position.
On a side note, Jones’ addition might be the first recruiting win for new linebackers coach Mike Adams, who was added to the staff just before spring practice got underway in March.
What he brings: The most-obvious quality that Jones brings is experience. The Sunshine State native was part of an ACC program for four years before starting eight games in the Big 12 last year.
Virginia has leadership across the defense, but linebacker isn’t the team’s oldest position group, so Jones could be a quality leadership addition. The former Cardinal and Bearcat also brings solid productivity to Charlottesville. He recorded 48 tackles in 2020 with the Cardinals, 34 the following year, and a career-high 56 tackles last year with the Bearcats. Jones also registered 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack, as well as an interception in Cincinnati’s road win at Houston. Jones has 13.5 career TFL’s, and five sacks. He had his best game to date in last year’s loss at Oklahoma, recording a career-high 13 tackles.
Jones has played middle linebacker and while he isn’t the tallest linebacker at 6-foot, he has good strength at 230 pounds. If Jones does work his way into the rotation, or even becomes the starter, it would allow UVa to get a bit more creative with Kam Robinson and James Jackson, two projected starters who are quality athletes that could help the pass rush and cover in space.
The Projection: Jones is a quality addition to the roster who can, if nothing else, provide depth to the linebacker room. He’ll likely end up being somewhere between a fringe starter and a backup, and that’s no knock on him, but rather because it seems unlikely the staff will want to keep Robinson or Jackson off the field too much. He can also make an impact on special teams, given his history playing on the ‘third side’ at Louisville.
Jones also has a lot of experience in college locker rooms, and has played at two power-conference programs, so he shouldn’t have too steep of a learning curve, either.
