When it comes to building a successful football program, Indiana first-year safeties coach Jason Jones knows this about Tom Allen.
“He’s not trying to be somebody that he’s not— he’s Coach Allen,” Jones said in a Zoom conference with the media this week.
Jones knows Allen from their days at Ole Miss. Before accepting the defensive coordinator position at the University of South Florida in 2015, Allen was the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator with the Rebels from 2012-14.
When the two first met in 2012, Jones was the cornerbacks coach at Oklahoma State University. Jones and Allen were both on a spring recruiting visit in Dallas, TX, when their friendship was born.
When a job coaching the secondary opened up the following year at Ole Miss, this was the first opportunity Jones had to work with Allen.
“Allen told Coach [Hugh] Freeze and we ended up working together at Ole Miss,” Jones said.
The football pedigree of Jones dates back to his playing days at the University of Alabama, where he was a defensive standout at the cornerback position. He stayed on to be a graduate assistant for his first coaching job under head football coach Mike Shula (2003-04).
Jones’ other stints in his 17-year coaching career include time at Tulsa (2005, 2007), Rice (2006), Oklahoma State (2008-12), Ole Miss (2013-18), and Florida Atlantic (2019), before taking the job as safeties coach at Indiana on Jan. 19.
Jones explained to the media in a Zoom conference earlier this week why he decided to join Allen’s staff.
“The person that he was as a position coach, he’s that same guy as a head coach even though he has more on his plate,” Jones said.
It’s not just Jones that sees special attributes in Allen— it’s the recruits he gets as well.
Wide receiver Rashawn Williams will be an incoming freshman in the fall for the Hoosiers. He chose Indiana over powerhouse football schools such as LSU and Michigan. At the time of his announcement to join Indiana was made, Williams was the highest-rated commit in program history.
“When they get a chance to talk to Allen on the phone, the thing that parents and recruits fall in love with is that he is a genuine guy. They know he truly cares about their son and it's more than just football,” Jones added. “That’s why recruiting has taken off and we’re having the success that we’re having.”
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