Notre Dame legacy four-star receiver Julius Jones Jr. commits to Fighting Irish
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The last few recruiting cycles for Notre Dame have seen their fair share of legacy commitments and sons of former NFL standouts.
That trend continued on Monday, June 22, as St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) four-star wide receiver Julius Jones Jr., the son of former Notre Dame and Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones, announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish.
247Sports ranks the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder as the No. 124 player in the 2027 cycle as well as the No. 17 wide receiver and the No. 15 player out of Florida.
Jones Jr. played a pivotal role in helping St. Thomas Aquinas win its seventh consecutive state championship in 2025. He led the Raiders receiving corps with 58 receptions for 876 yards and 14 touchdowns.
In his three varsity season, Jones Jr. has 120 receptions for 1,843 yards and 24 touchdowns.
The younger Jones will have big shoes to fill once he gets to South Bend as his dad is still regarded as one of the best running backs for the Fighting Irish from the late 1990’s to early 2000’s.
In his four years with the Fighting Irish, Jones Sr. rushed for 3,018 yards and 26 touchdowns. In 2003 he rushed for 1,268 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Dallas Cowboys selected him in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft and he spent seven seasons in the NFL with the Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks.
Irish building a top three class with players from all corners of the country
Notre Dame has historically been a team that was unafraid of recruiting players from all over the country and this year’s recruiting class is indicitive of that.
Jones Jr. is the fourth player from the Sunshine State to commit to the Fighting Irish, joining his St. Thomas Aquinas teammate Zayden Gamble. The four-star safety committed to Notre Dame on April 25.
Currently, 247Sports ranks Notre Dame’s class No. 3 overall with 19 total pledges.
Of those 19 commitments, seven rank as top 100 prospects by the site and 10 are in the top 150. The class is headlined by five-star offensive tackle Oluwasemilore Olubobola and five-star edge Abraham Sesay.
Jones Jr. is Notre Dame’s highest-rated offensive skill position player in the cycle, coming in just above four-star running back Lathan Whisenton.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Julius Jones Jr. commits to Notre Dame, what it means for the Fighting Irish
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