A former Clemson and LSU linebacker is reportedly headed back to Baton Rouge – this time, as a member of the Bayou Bengals’ staff.

Mike Jones Jr. has been hired by LSU as an analyst, according to multiple reports.

LSU and Clemson, of course, will meet to open the 2025 season at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30.

Jones played two seasons at LSU (2021-22) after starting his career at Clemson (2018-20).  A 2020 Clemson graduate, he transferred to LSU in the summer of 2021 and was named a permanent team captain prior to the start of the 2022 campaign.

Jones appeared in 27 games for LSU (nine starts) and tallied 55 tackles with one sack and three tackles for loss in his two seasons in Baton Rouge. At Clemson, he played in 28 games and recorded 52 career tackles (eight for loss), five pass breakups, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and 0.5 sacks.

All seven of the games Jones started at Clemson came for the 2020 team that made the College Football Playoff and lost to Ohio State in the CFP Semifinal at the Sugar Bowl. That season, he registered 30 tackles, four tackles for loss, four pass breakups, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a half-sack.

A Nashville, Tennessee native, Jones finished his high school career at IMG Academy in Florida, where he was a teammate of fellow former Clemson defender Xavier Thomas. Following his college career, Jones signed a free agent deal with the Atlanta Falcons in April 2023 after that year’s NFL Draft.

Although he ended up transferring to play for a different Tiger, Jones said back in 2021 that Clemson would always have a special place in his heart and he has a lot of great memories from being there, from being a part of a national championship team in 2018, to playing for another national title in 2019 and to winning three straight ACC Championships along the way.

His fondest memory came in the 2020 season opener at Wake Forest, when he made his first career start and notched six tackles.

“I think it would have to be my first game starting against Wake Forest,” Jones said. “That was something I dreamed about since I was a little kid and will never forget.”