Ohio native has grown from pits of IU football, takes 'personal' Big Ten title game

BLOOMINGTON — Isaiah Jones committed to Indiana for moments just like this one.

The London, Ohio, native was a three-star prospect in 2022, per 247Sports, who also claimed offers from Minnesota, Wake Forest, Duke and Cincinnati, among others. He was considered the No. 20 player in Ohio in his class, and top-60 at his position.

“It was,” Jones told Peegs.com soon after he announced his June 2021 commitment, “just about making sure I fit them as much as they fit me.”

More than four years later, Jones is a pivotal piece of one of the nation’s best defenses, leading Indiana into an undefeated 1-vs-2 showdown with Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.

So much of what Jones dreamed that day in 2021 might come true has, with him playing a prominent role in undoubtedly the greatest era in IU football history. The path to this moment, though, probably hasn’t looked anything like those dreams.

“You never know what the ceiling is, and you never know where rock bottom is, as a player or as a team,” Jones said Tuesday night. “A different journey, for sure.”

Why Isaiah Jones came to IU football under Tom Allen

Recruiting services rated Jones among the headliners for a class that eventually settled at No. 30 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings. It included four four-star prospects, All-Americans at multiple positions, players who would leave Indiana and come back, and even one standout high school volleyball player.

The bulk of the class came together off the back of Tom Allen’s 14-7 run between 2019 and 2020, which saw the Hoosiers land regular-season wins over Penn State, Michigan State, Purdue, Nebraska and Michigan, and appear in back-to-back January bowl games.

Perception said IU football was on the rise. Instead, it plummeted, losing 10 of 12 games — and not very gracefully — in 2021. In total, Allen would post a 9-27 record across the three seasons preceding his firing in November 2023.

A databased list of Indiana’s high school and junior college signees in that class includes 23 players. Only eight (Jones, Carter Smith, Omar Cooper Jr., J'Mari Monette, Bray Lynch, Jamari Sharpe, Kaiden Turner and Louis Moore) remain on roster. Moore left IU for Mississippi last season, before transferring back and earning first-team All-Big Ten honors at safety this fall.

“When I committed, obviously you want to play in the big games. That was part of the reason I chose here,” Jones, himself named third-team All-Big Ten this week, said. “Never expected a big coaching change or all that.”

How Isaiah Jones found Indiana home without leaving campus

When Indiana turned over from Allen to Curt Cignetti, many of the classmates that hadn’t already dove for the portal.

Jones took a long look instead.

“Obviously, I looked into Cig and I saw his winning record,” Jones said. “I had talks with (defensive coordinator Bryant) Haines early on, when they first got here, before we even went home for the December break. I kind of looked at his track record, how his linebackers played and the freedom they played with, and seeing where he’d been before and watching that tape.

“Having conversations with them, I just felt this would be the right spot for me.”

Jones told the Bloomington Herald-Times in an October interview he was one of the only Hoosiers to seek a meeting with Haines before that semester break. He’s glad now that he did.

A redshirt junior, Jones has become as indispensable as he is interchangeable between Indiana’s primary linebacker positions. In fact, so productive has the trio of Jones, Aiden Fisher and Rolijah Hardy been, Haines often pivots to three-linebacker sets no matter the opposing team’s personnel.

In an era of spread offenses and plays in space, Haines trusts linebackers that play like safeties and hit like their position coach demands. No one harder than Jones — his 12 tackles for loss are tied for sixth in the Big Ten this season.

On Saturday, the Ohio native will get a fresh crack at his in-state school. Jones admitted the Hoosiers’ forthcoming Big Ten title game appearance is “personal” to a roster, players and coaches, still smarting from the heavy defeat Indiana took in Columbus last season.

Jones will try to seize that opportunity Saturday night, and hand Indiana its first Big Ten championship since 1945. These were the moments he envisioned when he committed to Indiana.

The journey has taken some unexpected turns. The destination, it turns out, remained. “Where I am now, I’m really happy,” Jones said. “I’m proud to call myself a Hoosier.”

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Isaiah Jones saw Indiana football at its worst, built it to its best