A three-year starter and team captain at Westminster School in Atlanta, Georgia, Jones had offers from all of the top Ivy League schools and interest from a half dozen others. He enrolled at Harvard in 2018, appearing in just three games as a true freshman.
Jones burst onto the scene as a productive contributor in 2019, recording the second-most sacks (6.5) in the Ivy League that season. He worked his way up to become the 148th team captain in Harvard football history during his senior campaign, which saw him earn a unanimous First-Team All-Ivy League selection.