Linebacker Keandre Jones Transferring To Maryland

Ohio State has confirmed that linebacker Keandre Jones has left the program, and a report says he is headed to Maryland.

Tuesday, the Terps announced that Jones has enrolled in spring semester classes in College Park.

Jones is a native of Maryland, and chose OSU over the Terps and Penn State coming out of high school. He was ranked as a four-star prospect, and the No. 98 player overall in the 2016 class.

Jones was originally committed to Maryland, but flipped to Ohio State after the Terps fired head coach Randy Edsall. Jones and Dwayne Haskins both decomitted from the Terps on the same day.

But while Haskins turned into a star with the Buckeyes and is headed for the NFL, Jones never found consistent playing time in Columbus. The biggest highlight of his time as a Buckeye was a blocked punt for a safety against Nebraska in 2018.

He has one year of eligibility left. Jones played in five games as a true freshman in 2016, and then in every game in 2017 and 2018. Most of that action came on special teams.

He finished 2018 with just 10 tackles.

Jones was viewed as a team leader, despite not being a starter. His absence may be felt more off the field than on it.

The Buckeyes still have a loaded linebacker unit, including returning starters Malik Harrison, Tuf Borland, and Pete Werner. Backups like Justin Hilliard, Baron Browning, Dallas Gant, Teradja Mitchell, and K’Vaughan Pope were all ranked as four-star prospects or better coming out of high school.

The departure of Jones means the Buckeyes now have 83 scholarship players currently on the roster and signed for the 2019 class.

They are actively recruiting at least one potential transfer on the offensive line, as well as several linemen in the 2019 class. And they are likely to add a transfer quarterback as well.

They have to have no more than 85 players on scholarship by the start of fall camp in August.

You can see the full scholarship chart, broken down by class and position below.