Press Conference: Jason Jones and Kevin Wright

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University football safeties coach Jason Jones and tight ends coach Kevin Wright met with the media on Sunday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Below is a partial transcript of the press conference.

Tight Ends Coach Kevin Wright
Opening Statement…
"Hey guys, my name is Kevin Wright and I am excited to be back home in Indiana. I grew up in Indiana. My father is still coaching in his 54th year at the same high school, which I think might be a record at any level at any place. Most of my family is here. I was hired last week, I think I spent 36 hours in Bloomington, and going back to south Florida for some recruiting. I got in last night, and I am excited to be here."

On coaching goals…
"I was at Western Kentucky 10 years ago as the offensive coordinator, which is where I played. I was at Warren Central and we had great success. I spent a year at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I spent a year there and went straight to Western Kentucky as the offensive coordinator right as we were transitioning from FCS to FBS for a couple of years and ended up going back to Carmel. I got the job at IMG five years ago, which is kind of a combination of a little bit of everything. We train 8-year olds, we have the high school team, combine training and some NFL guys. When Coach Allen called, it was exciting to get back to something at this level. Coming back to Indiana University, my wife graduated from here, my wife's family and my family are both here. It was a goal, but it was one of those things that it had to be the right fit for the right person at the right place. I left a pretty good situation. It is still 75 degrees and the sun is still shining down there. It was unique because I got the opportunity to kind of build something. When I got there, it was only semester three of the program. This is just a great opportunity. My daughter is graduating from IMG this semester, and my son is going to be an eighth grader, so the timing for us was great."

On relationship with Coach Allen…
"It probably goes back even further than I remember. He told me that he was at Marian High School as the defensive coordinator when I was at Noblesville High School. I just remember when he was at Ben Davis High School and I was at Warren Central. That was a big-time rivalry in the early 2000's. We used to give him a hard time on our sidelines because we thought he would hurt somebody, jumping around and doing all those things. He is still doing it. It goes all the way back to that. There is a respect for one another and great respect for high school football in the state of Indiana. We both want to do something at Indiana University with those types of kids, the type of kids that are sometimes under the radar. We have a Junior Day going on right now and that is a very, very impressive group of Indiana high school football players. It is probably the best group I have seen in 20 years. We go way back and we have stayed in touch. We talked that if it were ever a good opportunity, a good fit, that we would try to get together. I appreciate him giving me this opportunity."

On Coach Allen's program being the right move…
"The core values and the fact that Coach Allen is one of the good guys in college football right now. Having known him for so long, you kind of know what a guy is about. As you follow someone's career, you run into each other through the years, either they change as they climb the ladder or they do not. I have three kids here that played for me at Carmel, a kid here that played for me at IMG, and I have talked to those kids. It is the same guy, the same culture. Now he has an opportunity on a bigger stage. I knew a lot of the guys on staff. Coach Ballou, who is the strength coach, and Dr. Rhea were both with me at IMG. That makes you feel good. I run into this guy (Jason Jones), we had never met, we were not supposed to know each other. He came from Lauderdale and I came from Tampa and we met in Atlanta. In an hour and half, I felt like he was one of my brothers. We really, kind of, hit it off. That is what Coach Allen is putting together, those types of people, bringing them all together."

Safeties Coach Jason Jones
Opening Statement…
"I'm happy to be here. I'm thankful to Coach Allen for allowing me be a part of his staff and a part of such a great coaching staff. I came from Florida Atlantic University last year. I've known Coach Allen since 2013 when we worked together at Ole Miss. He's an outstanding football coach, but he's a greater man the way he cares about the players and the things that he's done and the direction he's taken the program in. I'm just fortunate and excited to be a part of something special. I came in with Kevin (Wright), been here about 10 or 11 days. Got here, did our paperwork and hit the road recruiting. I think both of us flew in yesterday. We have a Junior Day going on right now and as soon as they leave campus, we'll fly back out to finish this last week of recruiting."

On what about a Tom Allen-led program made him feel comfortable about coming to Indiana…
"For me, I've known Coach Allen since 2012. He was at Ole Miss and I was at Oklahoma State at the time. Both of us recruited the Dallas area, so we always bumped into each other in Dallas and we were at the same high schools. When you sit down and get a chance to talk to him and you get to know him, like Kevin said, he's a great man. As a coach, when you have an opportunity to work for not only a good football coach, there's a lot of good football coaches, but when you have that opportunity to work for a great man that's going to win football games and there's also going to be a family atmosphere where your kids are going to be allowed to come to practice and be around the players and be around the team and your wife, it's like a win-win. In 2013, it's one of the reasons why I ended up leaving Oklahoma State and going to Ole Miss. I worked with him three or four years there. I think the world of him, and just like Kevin said, he's never changed. You see him in 2012 and he's the same guy today. And in the coaching world, just talking that's what you appreciate as a coach. And I also know a lot of guys on staff, Coach (Grant) Heard, he was with us at Ole Miss, Coach (Kane) Wommack was with us, Coach (Lee) Wilbanks, Coach Dwike (Wilson). I was familiar with a lot of the guys, so it's a great situation."

On what he learned from working with Coach Allen previously and what he's looking for in safeties…
"One of the things when I worked with Coach Allen, the biggest thing you learn is that he is passionate. He's passionate. Every day when he comes to work, he's full of energy. You see him on the practice field, he's bouncing around, and like Kevin said, he'll get excited. I've seen him grab guys, tackle them, jump on their backs and coaches and things like that. He brings that energy every single day. I've seen him really pour into the lives of his players. When we were together at Ole Miss, we had a linebacker that was a good player that was struggling with some things and I've seen Coach Allen just put his arm around him and bring him into his office and just work with that young man. His whole life changed from the time he got in as a freshman until the time he left as a senior. So that's one of the biggest things that I remember. As far as safety standpoint, you want athletic guys that can run. You want guys that are physical and don't mind coming down and mixing it up and making tackles. Of course, length is always good, if you can find a guy six foot or better, 190 to 200 pounds or so. And a guy with a high football IQ. Our safeties are like the quarterbacks of our defense. They line up and they help everyone else line up. They make the checks, they direct traffic and make all the adjustments. Those are the things that we're looking for as we're out recruiting and trying to find the right guys."

On what he's seen at his previous stops and why IU is in a position to be successful…
"The biggest thing that I've seen in the programs that I've been a part of that have been able to go to bowl games is it's a team and everybody buys in to the team. You don't have a lot of guys chasing the individual goals. And so if you put the team first, you'll get your individual goals as the team wins and that's the biggest thing that I've been a part of with the teams that have been successful. And that's what I see here. Just being around the guys and talking to the guys here, there's no egos. Nobody's trying to push themselves or promote themselves over the team. They're more concerned about the team being successful and the team doing well. And I think that's because of the foundation that Coach Allen has created. That's what he preaches and that's why we're going to end up being successful."

Indiana University Athletics

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