Former Notre Dame LB Andre Jones Passes Away
Former Notre Dame linebacker and father of current Notre Dame sophomore wide receiver TJ Jones passed at the age of 42 on Wednesday after suffering a brain aneurysm.
Jones, a starter on the 1988 Notre Dame National Championship squad, played outside linebacker for the Irish under Lou Holtz from 1987-1990 before having a brief career in the NFL.
Notre Dame had more details on Jones’s career in an official release.
A four-time monogram-winner, Jones played outside linebacker for former Irish coach Lou Holtz from 1987-90. He played in 42 games overall, starting once as a rookie in ’87, four times during the ’88 championship run and nine times each in both 1989 and 1990. A 6-4, 225-pounder, he made 147 career tackles to go with 12 tackles for loss and three caused fumbles. His top season came as a senior in ’90 when he recorded 58 tackles (second on the squad behind team leader Michael Stonebreaker), after making 49 as a junior in ’89.
AdvertisementA seventh-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1991 NFL Draft, Jones was the 185th overall selection. He played for the Detroit Lions in 1992 and also for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
A former USA Today second-team prep All-American, Jones came from DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md. He received his degree from the College of Arts and Letters with a major in government (international relations) in 1997 and went on toearn a master’s degree in business from Georgetown. He served as CEO of APR Sports Management, an athletic representation business based in Atlanta.
The sudden passing of Jones certainly comes as a surprise and is a major blow to the Notre Dame family – especially with TJ Jones set to start his sophomore season after a successful rookie season in South Bend.
The thoughts and prayers of the UHND community are with the Jones family
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
I actually know Andre’s son Jahmai and they are really good people. He was so young and it is so sad to hear about his death. I wish the entire family bessing.