Texas Tech made headlines over the weekend when they unexpectedly released offensive line coach Lee Hays after four seasons. Texas Tech made headlines again on Tuesday afternoon when they swiftly hired former California offensive line coach Brandon Jones.
Some in the industry have viewed the hiring of the young Jones as a “home run” for Kingsbury and his staff due to how quickly Jones has risen up the ranks and the impressive units he has put together at each of his previous stops (He spent four years at East Carolina before spending the last two seasons at Cal).
Jones definitely has the chance to be a very good pickup for Kingsbury’s staff, but you don’t have to take my word for it, however. RedRaiderSports.com recently caught up with former Texas Tech standout offensive guard Brandon Carter, who had the experience of not only playing with Jones at Texas Tech, but also learning from Jones when Jones took on a graduate assistant role during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
We talked with Carter to get his perspective on Jones as a player and how his player attributes have helped him become the successful offensive line coach he is today. From a player perspective, one thing will always stick out to Carter about Jones.
“I think his knowledge of the game was his biggest asset and something all the young guys looked up to when I came in. Shawn Byrnes, Louis Vasquez, all those guys, we kind of looked up to Brandon. He was the guy to go to if we ever had a question. What do I do in this situation, what do I do in that situation because at the time he was the center, so he had to know the offense inside and out.
“As a player, he brought so much to the offensive line just because of his knowledge. He was a physical player, but his biggest asset was his knowledge of the game.”
Sometimes, you get a player on the field and they become a different person. In his playing days, Carter was definitely one of those players as he brought a mean streak whenever he stepped onto the field. Carter recalls that Jones maybe didn’t have that “nasty streak” in him, but he was very physical, knowledgeable, and seemed to always handle the guy in front of him.
“He was a cool-headed guy. He was a very physical player and played the game like it should be played as an offensive lineman in my opinion. Again, being a young kid, he was one of those guys that was going to be the one to pull us back if we ever stepped out of line. More than anything, his knowledge and leadership was something we all followed and something he was very good at.”
“He was always a football guy and very football-minded. It was all about football with him, it was all about business. There were many times he would easily handle the guy in front of him, or do something where you knew not to mess with him. He was the guy that if he had to turn up the tempo, he was going to do so.”
Jones, started his junior and senior seasons at center for Tech in 2005 and 2006. Jones was rewarded for his efforts at center by being named to the Rimington award watch list before the 2006 season. While Jones got some time in the system before being asked to start, Brandon Carter didn’t quite have that luxury. Carter vividly remembers his very first game as a Red Raider during his redshirt freshman season, in large part due to the help of Jones.
“It was my first start, I believe, at Texas A&M. I was just a young cat at the time, and I was having trouble with this guy named Red Bryant. Brandon Jones helped me out quite a bit with him. Truth be told, I think I was the one maybe helping him out, too. We got him (Bryant) a couple times, and it was the next year where we really stonewalled Bryant. I do remember that one like the back of my hand because it was my first one. He was a huge, HUGE part, because he saved me quite a few times because I had to ask him what to even do. Again, he was that guy if anyone needed help, he was there.”
After finishing up his Tech career in 2006, Jones joined the Texas Tech staff as a graduate assistant under Mike Leach and offensive line coach Matt Moore for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Both the ’07 and ’08 seasons were two of Carter’s best as a Red Raider. In fact, Carter attributes a lot of the OL’s success during those seasons to the help of Jones.
“Even with the amount of knowledge he had as a player, he brought even more to the table as a graduate assistant. Typically if you had an issue or a question, you were going to go talk to Brandon Jones because he was more accessible than Matt Moore at times due to Moore being on the road or at meetings. Most of the time if you ever had anything, it was go talk to B. Jones. His office might have well have been the entire offensive line’s office. Every time you turned the corner, there was someone in there talking to Brandon. He was either breaking down film or finding small kinks in a defense’s game we were playing that week or something. His mind was very brilliant in regards to football, and it has been awesome to watch over the years.”
In his past three seasons as OL coach, Jones has produced OL units that ranked 47th in 2014, 39th in 2015, and 26th this past season. Carter has been excited to watch Jones’ career trajectory and is very happy to see what he can do at Texas Tech, an offense he is very familiar with.
“I’ve followed his career, and it has been quite exciting just to watch his progress everywhere he has gone. His progress at East Carolina under Ruffin McNeil, taking a brand new scheme that he wasn’t as accustomed to. He was more used to the Air-Raid offense of Texas Tech and the wide-open schemes and just watching him mold and kind of work throughout their division. It was always exciting to see. He has just blossomed. He has done fantastic everywhere he has gone. He has altered lines that pre-Brandon Jones weren’t even anything to talk about. He has made great offensive lines and cohesive units. It has been really exciting to see his progression as he has gone one. I think this is probably going to be his best role that he could possibly be in. He is so acclimated, and he knows this offense. It will be exciting to see him in this role.”
Every year since becoming a full-time offensive line coach, Jones’ units have improved. Jones saved his best coaching performance for his most recent season as Cal’s unit was tops in the Pac 12 in a variety of categories. In fact, they were near the top in the country in both sacks and tackles for loss allowed, a very good feat for a team that passed as much as the Bears. It’s easy to see that Jones’ units play hard for him and Carter feels like he knows the reason, due to the fact that he experience it firsthand when he played for Jones.
“I think he is just one of those coaches that you want to play for. He is one of those coaches that you respect and that you know that he isn’t going to grind you in the dirt, and he isn’t going to put you in a bad situation. He is going to put everyone in the best situation to make you successful. He has always been like that, and he has that personality to bring people together. If there are problems that arise, he is that cool-headed guy – like I said when he was a player – that can kind of bring everyone down and say, ‘Hey, we got this.’ He is just that coach that you want to play for. I’ve had many coaches over my years and there are just some coaches that you don’t really get along well with and players don’t get along so well with. Then there are coaches that come along like Matt Moore, like Brandon Jones and you just respect and you love to show up to work and work for them every single day. He’s just got that personality and leadership to demand that from his players.”
