Syracuse football: Mikel Jones named top ACC linebacker of week 2

For the second straight week, the Syracuse Orange had a player honored by the ACC for their play over the weekend. After Duce Chestnut received a co-rookie of the week nod in week one, things stay on the defensive side in week two.

Mikel Jones was named the conference’s top linebacker for week two, despite the team’s 17-7 loss to Rutgers. But as discussed post-game, the defense had little to do with the defeat. For his part, Jones led the team with 11 tackles on the day. He also tacked on a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss for the swarming Orange D, which had a field day against the Scarlet Knights’ front for much of the afternoon.

As the ACC itself points out too, Jones is one of the top 10 players in the country right now with 11 tackles per game, and SU’s defense looks to be one of the best in the country in terms of getting stops through two games — though obviously some caveats come in there for opponents. The team is 11th in the country in TFLs per game with nine, and Jones’s efforts generating heat are a big part of that.

Congrats to Mikel. And hopefully these defensive honors start leading to wins again for th Orange....