Move Over Jimmy Clausen, There's a New No. 7 at Notre Dame

As I was watching the filmed portion of Notre Dame’s practice last weekend, one player caught my eye after only a few seconds.

He ran quickly and under control, making surgically fast cuts. He caught every ball thrown his way and showed an explosive step once the ball hit his hands.

But what caught my eye the most was the jersey number he was wearing:

Number seven.

No it wasn’t the departed Jimmy Clausen, but freshman wide receiver and early enrollee Tai-ler Jones.

If you haven’t done your homework on this kid, now is the time because Jones is going to be good, maybe even great.

A Gainesville, Georgia native and four-star prospect, Jones was rated as the 19th best wide receiver in the country by Rivals.

This past season as a senior in high school he posted 76 receptions, 1,399 yards and 18 touchdowns.

At 5’11” or 6’0” (depending on who you talk to) Tai-ler Jones doesn’t have ideal size, but he makes up for it with speed and deadly route-running. In fact, Jones has been rumored to already run a 4.4 in the 40 yard-dash.

If Jones was a little bigger, there is no doubt that he would have been ranked as one of the top five wide receivers across all of the recruiting services.

Nevertheless, he has gained some weight already and it is not out of the question that he will come into the fall at a sturdy 190 pounds or more.

Being an early enrollee, Jones is now profiting from the training and practice that will allow him to enter the Irish lineup relatively quickly.

The most exciting aspects of Jones’ game are that he is already refined with his route running and he has, with apologies to Michael Floyd, perhaps the best hands on the Notre Dame roster just days into his first spring camp.

His skill set makes him a mixture of Peter Warrick and Chris Carter, a shifty athlete with hands like glue.

I’ve been on this kid's bandwagon from day one and I think he’s going to make a huge impact on the program, sooner rather than later.

With his refined skills, speed and mastered fundamentals, it is hard to think that he won’t become a star in Brian Kelly’s offense.

Furthermore, Jones comes from a great family pedigree with ties to Notre Dame.

His father, Andre Jones was a defensive end at Notre Dame from 1987-91 and won a national title with Lou Holtz in 1988.

Also, his godfather is none other than Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, the former Irish flanker and one of the most electric players in college football history. That scores big points with me.

In summary, we haven’t heard a lot about Tai-ler Jones and maybe that is the way Brian Kelly would like it to be. I’m sure he will have no problems keeping Jones’ talents a secret from the outside world.

But eventually, people will start to take notice of the freshman, especially if he starts scoring touchdowns.

Look for Jones to be another weapon Brian Kelly will utilize in the slot. This kid is ready to contribute right away and could become a dependable third or fourth option in 2010.