Sophomore tight end Alize Jones will not be able to compete in 2016.
On Wednesday evening it was reported that sophomore tight end Alize Jones will not be able to compete in 2016 due to the fact that he was ruled academically ineligible. This just comes days after head coach Brian Kelly said that there was no injuries or academic issues heading into fall camp.
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We saw flashes of greatness in 2015, and was set to be a pretty big part of the offense this upcoming season. The loss of Jones is a pretty big, but not fatal, blow to the Irish offense.
The Irish have a ton of depth at the wide receiver, a spot where Jones was going to see some action at this season. Jones was going to be a Tyler Eifert-type where you could split him outside. Since he won’t be available some of the young receivers (Miles Boykin, Chase Claypool and Javon McKinley) will all get their shot at some playing time.
The Irish also have a pretty decent stable of tight ends as well. Durham Smythe was already going to see his fair share of action this season. Smythe is a player thats been overshadowed by Jones, but Smythe is a quality football player. He’s no slouch.
Nic Weishar’s role just got that more important. He’ll have the opportunity, now he just needs to take advantage of it. The loss of Jones makes the return of Tyler Luatua that much bigger. Jake Mutuska also switched from defensive end to tight end this offseason, so the Irish still have some depth at the position.
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Yes the loss of Jones does hurt. Theres no doubt about it, but from the way I see it it’s not the end of the world. There is still loads of talented pass catchers on the roster, now they’ll just need to take advantage of this opportunity. As Kelly always says, “next man in”