The 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver from Central Gwinnett High School (Lawrenceville, Ga.) has yet to pick up his first scholarship offer, but it’s not for a lack of effort. Still, the senior-to-be sees some of his teammates scooping up offers left and right, including 2013 linebacker prospect Trey Johnson.
“Every time I come to school, we hear about Trey or our running back George Morris getting scholarship offers,” said Jones, whose brother is current Notre Dame wide receiver TJ Jones. “I stay humble and I know my time is coming and I know all of this hard work is not being missed. I plan to get a couple offers soon and if not, the first three games of the season will speak for themselves.”
When he attended Notre Dame’s Junior Day in February, the Irish coaches told Jones they would be keeping an eye on him and they have.
Irish assistant Chuck Martin has been by Lawrenceville, Ga., a couple of times and was back on Tuesday to watch Jones and his teammates practice. Martin expressed an interest in the receiver through Central Gwinnett head coach Todd Wofford.
“Coach Martin said, ‘He’s a Jones, we’d take him in a heartbeat,’” said Wofford. “‘We just want to see his first three games and see if he can do what we think he can do.’”
Jones has had the chance to speak with Martin on the phone and met with receivers coach Tony Alford when he took in the Irish’s Junior Day.
“They said I’m on their board and that they just want to see more vertical explosion on my film,” said Jones. “I plan to definitely give that to them once the season starts.”
But that’s not the only thing Jones has been working to improve.
“He’s been working on everything,” Wofford said. “He’s working on getting off jams, speed, route-running. That’s one of the things we work on on a daily basis. One of the advantages TJ had growing up was that he was already polished as a route-runner. Anybody can run down and catch a fade route, but to be a real receiver, you’ve got to be able to create space and get yourself open.”
Jones has also been in the weight room trying to become a more aggressive blocker, another thing Alford said he wanted to see.
Jones will be attending Notre Dame’s one-day camp next month and plans on spending some extended time beforehand with his brother to see what life is like in South Bend. Wofford said the brothers do have their differences and that Malachi is bigger.
“He doesn’t have necessarily the secondary speed or quick-twitch explosion like TJ, but he’s bigger,” Wofford said. “He has big hands, runs good routes like TJ. They’re two different kinds of receivers. TJ is built for the slot and Malachi is more of an outside guy.”
Jones transferred to Central Gwinnett after leading Wesleyan High School with 45 receptions for 638 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. He is excited to play his final season of high school football for the same man who coached his older brother.
“Where he was, they didn’t actually throw the ball that much,” Wofford said.
Jones couldn’t be happier about the change.
“It’s a great thing,” he said. “He was my mentor for my first two years of high school and he coached TJ. There’s not a better person I’d want to be coached by right now because he’s taught me everything I know.”
