Covington Catholic senior Aiden Jones signed his National Letter of Intent with Army on early signing day Wednesday.
Jones was the Colonels second leading tackler in the 2022 season, collecting a team-high 18 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. He forced two fumbles and recovered one, also recording a receiving touchdown.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end made his commitment to West Point in June and held firm ever since. He also held an offer from Eastern Kentucky, had interest from Miami (Ohio) and made a visit to Missouri.
Jones’ family has a history of military service, his grandfather a retired Army Ranger and great uncle a Navy Seal.
“The military impact had a big impression on me,” Jones said. “I’ve been anxious for this day for a while. It feels good to finally sign and become a member of the Black Knight family.”
Jones will be the second Covington Catholic grad on the Army roster, sophomore kicker Trey Gronotte also with the Black Knights, someone Jones has been in contact with during the process.
“He’s texted me with any questions I had. As I start to get closer to heading there, we’ll be in contact quite a bit,” Jones said.
He’s recruited as a defensive end. After a visit in March, Jones was impressed with the campus, coaching staff and facilities.
“Coaches were great to me, facilities were top notch. The campus is beautiful, historic and is a place I feel I can fit in,” Jones said.
Jones is a three-year varsity letterman for the Colonels. Over the course of his high school career, he collected 198 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. He also forced two fumbles and recovered three others, one of them for a touchdown. He is also the starting center for the 8-0 Colonels in basketball, ranked No. 2 in the latest AP poll. Jones is averaging 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
“I’m definitely going to miss high school football. Three years on varsity, made a lot of memories, built a lot of bonds. I’ll miss my brothers, there’s nothing like high school football,” Jones said. “Basketball the goal is to hopefully win another state championship.”
While Jones main focus on the football field was to get after the quarterback and cause ruckus in the backfield, on the basketball court it’s the screen setter and the guy to go secure rebounds.
“It’s not too hard to switch up roles, I just do whatever is best for the team. I know what it takes to win games and know the coaches put us in best position to win win games,” Jones said.
He plans on taking an official visit up to West Point after basketball season.
Black Knights defensive line coach Sean Cronin was a part of Jones’ recruiting. Cronin and Colonels head football coach Eddie Eviston were college teammates and roommates at NAIA Georgetown.