Malvern Prep lineman Peter Jones has the University of Notre Dame in his future — and the desire to improve
Becoming a top recruit only made Jones work harder at his craft and think carefully about where to develop.
If you ask Peter Jones’ parents, Kevin and Jennifer, it was in eighth grade that they knew Peter had a football future.
“He was just absolutely dominant in that league,” Kevin Jones said of his son’s fourth season with the Chester County Crusaders. “He was, at that point, probably 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4, and he was just strong. He could literally take over games because they wouldn’t go near him because he was just so big.”
The Joneses were a football family, and Peter’s older brother, Kevin, is a senior offensive lineman at the University of Maine. The family wasn’t alone in noticing the younger Jones’ talent either.
Jones had attended a Malvern Prep youth camp run by Friars coach Dave Gueriera. What stood out to Gueriera was that the offensive lineman not only had size but was athletic. He started to build a relationship with Jones, staying in touch with the Coatesville native as he decided where to play high school football.
Several Inter-Ac schools reached out to Jones, but he ultimately decided it was at Malvern that he’d have the best chance to develop.
“I definitely had an immediate love for the sport, and that’s kind of what drew me to choosing Malvern for my high school,” Jones said. “As Coach Gueriera kept telling me, Malvern would be the best place for me to make [playing at the next level] happen.”
When Jones arrived at Malvern, the pandemic had limited Malvern’s preseason practices and training camp, preventing Jones from getting valuable reps at offensive tackle. His talent helped him avoid falling too far behind, and Jones saw time at offensive line off the bench in each of Malvern’s first four games that season.
Ahead of Malvern’s fifth game of the season, Gueriera named Jones a starter. Jones never got to suit up in that game, however, as the pandemic canceled the rest of Malvern’s season.
With no games to play, Jones shifted his focus to offseason training and preparing himself for his sophomore year.
“I looked to it as a perfect opportunity [to improve],” Jones said. “Coach Gueriera stressed that whole season, ‘You control what you control, but you don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring.’ … So I was just trying to make the most of what I could do and just really better myself.”
Said Kevin Jones: “That was a big part of Pete’s life too, where, again, he concentrated more on getting bigger, getting stronger, getting faster, [and] helping his other teammates. … To encourage them that ‘We’re all in this together, and let’s use this time for our benefit.’”
Part of Jones’ training included working with his older brother, Kevin, who was home in Coatesville after his college season was paused. The brothers would suit up in their shoulder pads and run offensive line drills in the backyard. Jones was able to pick up tips his brother had learned playing at the college level.
Jones’ offseason work paid off, and he spent his sophomore season as the Friars’ starting right tackle.
“His pass sets have improved tremendously,” Gueriera said. “As a tackle in high school, where you’re facing a lot of speed and speed-power combinations, you have to be able to get vertical, and you have to stay square. … His footwork improved tremendously in that regard.
“As far as run-blocking goes, he’s solid. He’s always been really solid there. I think where he’s also improved is his blocking in space, where he’s climbing to that second level, and he’s not chasing; he’s climbing.”
Those improvements to his game helped elevate Jones’ status as a blue-chip recruit. Jones had first gotten on the recruiting radar at the end of his freshman year, when he drew his first offers from Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky, among others.
After his sophomore season, Jones received offers from Penn State, Michigan, and Notre Dame. He also became a four-star recruit and currently is rated as the No. 5 player in Pennsylvania’s class of 2024.
“I kind of started looking at it like I have to live up to that,” Jones said. “You have to keep making sure that they were smart to offer you that.”
Said Gueriera: “What ensued was something I couldn’t explain, and that is he worked harder. He dug deeper. It actually fueled his fire even more than before he got his first offer. Our human nature is to take our foot off the gas. … Pete went the other way. He just wants to be great.”
As that summer progressed, Jones knew that he wanted to make his commitment before the start of his junior football season. Though his parents and coaches told him that he could wait until after his junior season, Jones didn’t want his recruitment to be a distraction.
Two schools had jumped to the top of Jones’ list: Penn State and Notre Dame. He made his commitment to Notre Dame on Aug. 7, and Malvern Prep has since started the season 6-0 heading into Saturday’s showdown against 6-0 The Haverford School.
» READ MORE: The Haverford School’s Matt Pante planned a path to the next level, and Cornell took notice of the O-lineman
Part of Jones’ reasoning for choosing Notre Dame was the appeal of joining the program’s storied history. Another factor: Jones built strong relationships with the Notre Dame staff and was confident that he’d be able to work toward his football goals in South Bend, Ind.
“The history with developing linemen was definitely another factor for me,” Jones said. “I know they always say, ‘You can’t choose a school for coaches,’ but I definitely felt a connection to all the coaches on the coaching staff.”