Jordan Jones will not play in the Citrus Bowl

UPDATE

A school spokesman has confirmed Jordan Jones is ineligible to play in the Citrus Bowl, which means his collegiate career is over. The reason for his ineligibility, however, has yet to be revealed.

The Kentucky Wildcats are taking a big hit on defense for their matchup with the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Senior linebacker Jordan Jones is unlikely to play in the Citrus Bowl, according to KSR. The report also states that it is not a discipline issue for Jones, so perhaps it has something to do with academics or an NCAA violation.

Last year, Denzil Ware was suspended from Kentucky’s Music City Bowl matchup with Northwestern due to an NCAA violation, so this will be the second-straight year they lose a key defender in their bowl game.

Whatever the case is, this would be a sad way to see Jones’ career end. He finished the regular season with 68 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, four pass deflections, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Jones’ best season at UK was actually as a sophomore in 2016, where he racked up 109 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.

If Jones does indeed miss the bowl, expect to see DeAndre Square and Chris Oats step up in his place. They’ve both had promising true freshman seasons, but losing Jones will still be a big blow to this defense, which is one of the best in school history.

We will update this story if any more details come out.

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