Top 10 Illinois defensive players for 2024 HS football season
4. Braeden Jones, Jr., Mount Carmel
Illinois鈥� Class of 2026 features several talented defenders with plenty of upside and one of those is Jones who could be in line for a breakout year at Mount Carmel. Jones was a key contributor as just a sophomore while helping the Caravan win their second consecutive Class 7A state championship. Jones has terrific size at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds and has good agility and strong hands at the line of scrimmage. That should allow him to make even more of an impact this fall after Mount Carmel graduated several of its star players from last season. Jones鈥� performance at various showcases over the past several months has also moved him up the recruiting rankings as he is now rated as a four-star, with Power 4 offers from Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Tennessee, among others.
Four-star DE Braeden Jones () was very good at Under Armour in Ohio yesterday. It's early but Notre Dame is standing out early. Auburn, Florida and others pursuing hard. /
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithRivals)