Ricardo Jones
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for two head coaches across three seasons and two programs. The first one came in 2025: All-ACC. One game to point at: 8 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against NC State — Week 3, 2026.
36 tackles · 0 sacks
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
36 tackles. 4 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Vanderbilt | 36 | 23 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 4 | -- |
| 2025 | Clemson | 39 | 25 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 6 |
| 2024 | Clemson | 20 | 10 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- | 1 |
| Career | 95 | 58 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 7 | 7 |
Last game (Wk 8): 4 tackles.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 28-9vs Austin Peay | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-26vs Delaware | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 35-31vs NC State | 8 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 15-21@ Auburn | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | L 14-38@ No. 2 Georgia | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-52vs No. 9 Ole Miss | 6 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-31vs Arkansas | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 8 | L 17-34@ No. 12 Kentucky | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 36 | 23 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 4 |
Oct. 24 · L 17-34 at Kentucky, play by play
4 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play: 3 of his 4, sacks included.
His game this year: coverage — 4 passes defended in the 8 games with play by play.
How Vanderbilt’s defense played that day
4 tackles, including 2 passes broken up, tied for 10th-most passes broken up in FBS that week.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 7 for him; the box score credits 6.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
6 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
8 tackles, including 1 more for loss, 1 pass broken up. His pass breakup on 4th and 7 ended NC State’s drive (downs).
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. It places 9 for him; the box score credits 8.
Broke up a pass on 4th and 7. Fourth quarter, down 31-28. Ended NC State’s drive (downs).
2 tackles, including 1 pass broken up. He hurried the quarterback once.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
3 tackles.
Each small tick is one of his tackles on the play-by-play. His sacks are drawn as sacks.
Week 3 · 2026
W 35-31
vs NC State
1 tackle for loss · 8 tackles · 1 pass breakup
Edged out NC State at home in a shootout.
Ratings of the games shown run from -12 to +27 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
11%4 pass breakupsTackle volume
36tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%1 TFL36 tackles · 1 for loss · 4 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Road3g | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 4.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Clark Lea
Pass share
51.0%
253 pass / 243 run
Plays / game
62.0
8 games
Team sack rate
5.0%
281 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
2026 is in progress.
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-ACC
All-ACC mention (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2025)
ACC Defensive Back Player of the Week
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Dabo Swinney and Clark Lea.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to Vanderbilt
