Red Wolves continue to prep ahead of season opener

A- State set to take on in- state rival UCA this Saturday

A-State Media Relations JONESBORO — Less than a week remains before the start of Arkansas State University’s 107th football season and the debut of the 31st head football coach in school history.

Saturday’s season opener against Central Arkansas will also be Butch Jones’ 139th game as a Football Bowl Subdivision head coach, and his first since leading Tennessee against Missouri in 2017. Jones spent the last three seasons at Alabama as an offensive analyst and then special assistant to the head coach.

When asked after Monday’s practice, Jones indicated he hasn’t given much thought to the fact that next week’s game will mark his return to the sideline as a head coach.

“Even at Alabama, I prepared as though I was the head coach,” Jones said.

“That’s one of the luxuries that Coach (Nick) Saban allowed me to do in that role the last year and a half. From management of the game, time management, all those things, that was still done through those three years of actually not being in that role.

“I haven’t had time (to reflect). Everything is about getting our players and staff, everyone, ready to play our first game and for a long season. I think the other thing that I’ve said is the ability to manage the natural adversities that a football season brings about, the mental toughness. All my focus has been there and really the structure of a day, so you really don’t have much time to think about that, nor will I.”

With game week approaching, the Red Wolves are rehearsing next week’s preparations as they turn their attention to the Bears. Jones said ASU would follow next week’s walkthrough script on Friday and treat today like a game day as they go through all the pregame details, starting preparations at the hotel as they will next Saturday.

The Red Wolves are becoming accustomed to that level of detail from Jones, whose previous stops as a head coach included Central Michigan and Cincinnati as well as Tennessee.

Senior center Jacob Still said Jones is running this program like a Power Five, SEC, pro program.

“Everything is detailed throughout the day. Our whole foundation is based off of discipline, just from the technique, and it’s all about trusting the process,” Still said. “You might get the result, but throughout the process of getting that result, it might have been bad, like I remember one time on film, I made a great block, but my technique wasn’t there. You have to have it all together.

We’re not result-oriented, we’re process-oriented.”

Jones described ASU’s position battles as ongoing, later adding that the only timetable involves who takes the field when the game starts.

While much of the attention has been focused on the quarterback competition between sophomore Layne Hatcher and Florida State junior transfer James Blackman, Jones pointed to linebacker when asked about position battles.

“We just need to continue to create consistency there and everyone has a role on this football team,” Jones said. “I think that’s the most critical thing.

Everyone on this football team can help us win in their role, whatever it is. I think our look teams, our scout teams, have been really good. Our defensive scout team is the best scout team to date that I’ve had anywhere I’ve been, and that includes all the places.”

Caleb Bonner has consistently drawn praise when Jones discusses linebackers. A fifth-year senior with 26 career starts, Bonner has 136 tackles in his career.

Others who have caught Jones’ eye include sophomore Anthony Switzer, second- year redshirt freshman Dane Motley and Cam Jeffery, a freshman from Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“From day one Caleb Bonner has been an individual (to count on) just with the knowledge and expectations. Anthony Switzer has done a really good job, he’s done some good things for us,” Jones said, discussing linebackers. “Dane Motley has done some good things for us. I think that’s ongoing. We’ll continue to move people around. Cam Jeffery is an individual who has played some, a really talented freshman out of Tuscaloosa. He’s done some really good things.”

Motley, who played in three games last fall, said the competition at his position has been intense.

“We’re a really deep linebacker corps and every day, if you don’t bring it that day, you’re going to get your spot taken. That’s what we need,” Motley said. “I feel like Butch has really brought that standard from ‘Bama over to Arkansas State, and I think it’s really improving our team. If you don’t have a good practice, you want to mope around, they don’t have to play you. Next guy in, next guy up.”