In three years of varsity football at Good Counsel, a private school in Olney in Montgomery County that has been a traditional powerhouse in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, Keandre Jones could play at all three levels of the defense. But he excelled as a pass-rushing linebacker.
In his final two high school seasons, Jones totaled 196 tackles, 13 sacks and two interceptions en route to being ranked as a top-10 recruit by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports.
“I know his specialty was coming from the linebacker position or strong safety and coming off the edge and getting to that quarterback real fast,” recalled Bob Milloy, who coached the Falcons for 16 years before retiring after the 2016 season. “He made things happen out there.”
After three relatively quiet seasons at Ohio State, Jones transferred to Maryland for his senior year and set career highs in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks last fall. And that performance has him poised to be selected in the NFL draft, which begins Thursday night.
Luke Easterling, the editor of Draft Wire for USA Today, ranked the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Jones at No. 13 among his top off-ball college linebackers in February. Jones, 22, said that he has heard projections of him being chosen in the fifth or sixth round, which he is taking in stride.
“I definitely wouldn’t say that I’m satisfied,” he said. “As a child and someone who has been so passionate about the sport, you obviously want to be a first-round pick. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what round you go or even if you go undrafted. It matters once you get on a team.”
In 34 games in three seasons with the Buckeyes, Jones compiled 29 tackles, 1½ tackles for loss, one sack and one pass breakup. After 2018, he elected to transfer to the Terps to be closer to his mother Lauren Middleton, whose health problems contributed to his decision to return home.
As the right outside linebacker in Maryland’s 3-4 alignment, Jones led the defense in tackles for loss (15), sacks (seven) and forced fumbles (three). He also ranked second in solo tackles (49) and third in total stops (74).
Terps coach Mike Locksley, who had recruited Jones in 2015 before leaving for Alabama, said that he relied on his previous knowledge of Jones.
“Moving him to outside linebacker was, to me, a natural transition for him because of his pass-rushing ability and just his ability to see plays before they happen,” Locksley said. “He came in here and was pretty well-coached from his time at Ohio State and playing in our scheme with our coaches [outside linebackers coach] Brian Williams and [defensive coordinator] Jon Hoke, they did a very good job of teaching him and developing his skill set as a pass rusher.
"He was a guy that came in as a one-year guy and became an immediate impact guy in our locker room as far as our culture and with how the game is supposed to be played. He didn’t come in with a lot of rah-rah, but the work ethic that you look for.”
Jones acknowledged the risk in transferring, but said that he never doubted himself.
“I believe 100% in myself and my abilities,” he said. “Other than that, I just let everything else play itself out. I know that over time, hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. So it was really an easy transition, and my mindset through it all was to handle my business and let everything else play itself out.”
Left out of the NFL scouting combine in February, Jones had been training with Calvert Hall graduate and Georgia wide receiver Lawrence Cager at Bommarito Performance Systems in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, before the coronavirus pandemic changed life for nearly every American. He has since returned to the home of former Good Counsel assistant coach and current Pallotti head coach Anthony Ashley, who lives in Howard County.
A typical day for Jones includes waking up at 7 a.m. and drinking a shake, working out with weights in the basement for about 90 minutes, studying film, participating in a yoga session, eating lunch, and either getting in an afternoon workout involving plyometrics or running some coverage drop and blitz drills in the backyard.
“With all this time on my hands, I’m a workout freak,” he said with a laugh. “That’s all I really can do to get my mind off this quarantine. I don’t watch TV often. So that’s what I do to kill time, just work out.”
The training has helped keep Jones occupied, but waiting for the NFL draft has at times left him wondering.
“You obviously question yourself,” he said. “What team? What round? But I’m more anxious than anything just to get back onto the football field and be in the locker room and be able to compete at this point.”
Milloy, the Good Counsel coach, said that Jones held his own with former teammates such as linebacker Dorian O’Daniel, who plays for the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, and cornerback Kendall Fuller, who plays for the Washington Redskins.
“He was right there in that same zip code,” Milloy said. “Even if he doesn’t get drafted, I would think that a GM of an NFL team would be crazy not to sign him as a free agent. He’s so fast, and that’s what they want. He can run, he can run like the wind. He gets there in a hurry.”
Jones said he is willing to play linebacker or safety for a team and pledged to contribute on special teams. Everything, he said, is pointed at reaching his objective of playing in the NFL.
“It’s going to be a dream come true,” he said. “Wherever I go, this is going to be a lifetime achievement for me because most people don’t get the chance to have this opportunity. So I’m going to take advantage while I can.”