Jayson Jones’ time at Auburn isn’t quite over, the rising senior defensive tackle announced in a social media post Monday afternoon.

Instead of foregoing his senior season on The Plains to enter the 2024 NFL Draft, Jones, a native of Calera, will be returning to Auburn for his third season back in his home state.

Jones’ return in 2024 will come on the heels of a season that saw him appear along the defensive front — primarily at nose tackle — in each of Auburn’s 13 games in 2023.

During his junior campaign, Jones tallied 20 total tackles with his most productive game coming early in the season as he recorded four total tackles against Cal on Sept. 9. Jones’ also notched three tackles against New Mexico State on Nov. 18.

In 2022, after Jones transferred in from Oregon, he tallied 28 total tackles and a fumble recovery for the Tigers.

Throughout the 2023 season, Jones split time with Justin Rogers, who accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl on Dec. 27. However, it remains unclear if Rogers, who transferred in from Kentucky, intends on declaring for the NFL Draft as he too has one year of eligibility remaining.

Regardless of Rogers’ decision, however, the return of Jones is good news for the Tigers’ defensive front, which learned Dec. 12 that defensive lineman Marcus Harris would be foregoing his final season and heading to the 2024 NFL Draft.

In 2024, Jones is set to lead a room of defensive linemen which will feature Zykeivous Walker, Kansas transfer Gage Keys, Quientrail Jamison-Travis, Keldric Faulk, four incoming freshmen, a fifth redshirt freshman in DJ Reed and possibly Rogers.