Born in Houston, Texas, Jones grew up playing soccer and did not try out football until his junior year at Cypress Woods High School.
[2] He started as a defensive end and posted 17 tackles in 2016, before also playing offensive lineman as a senior in 2017; he was team captain in his last year and was first-team all-district.
[2][3] A three-star recruit, he committed to play college football for the Texas Longhorns after having flipped from the SMU Mustangs.
[7] Jones then started all 13 games in the 2022 season and was named honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference after helping Bijan Robinson run for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns.
[8] He returned for a final season in 2023 and started all 13 games, being named honorable mention all-conference and second-team All-Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.