When Butch Jones was brought to Jonesboro in 2021, he made several aspects about his approach to football clear. For example, he loathed body fat. After working with SEC programs for nearly a decade, he understood what college athletes should look like, and he wasn’t seeing it in the Red Wolves locker room. He went to war on carbs and emphasized commitment to the weight room. To this day, if you asked Butch Jones about an athlete in his program, he will mention the player’s physical condition.

What coach Butch Jones didn’t mention specifically (though he underscored by his actions) was his deep-seeded hatred for turnovers. He never said “I hate turnovers,” but you could tell that Layne Hatcher’s freewheeling approach to quarterbacking made him all sorts of nervous. Turnovers are the enemy of clock management and field position – two staples of Butch Brand™ football. When Jones brought in James Blackman, it wasn’t to heave 50-yard bombs (something Blackman liked to do) but to manage the game. When Jones recruited JT Shrout to Jonesboro, he expected the same managerial style. The nonvocal message was clear: do not turn over the ball.

Jaylen Raynor altered the deal. He was just too good to sit, even if Raynor often conflicted with Butch Jones’ managerial approach to offense. Raynor could run. Raynor could improvise. Raynor could throw deep. Raynor could scramble when the pocket fell apart. And sure, Raynor wasn’t infallible. He could throw a pick or two.

But Jones adjusted. And so did Raynor. Jones was never going to remove the office manager from his psyche, and Raynor was never going to be a company-man pocket quarterback, but the two seem to have compromised, with Jones accepting a small measure of recklessness and Raynor committing to mitigating disaster by accepting more conservative play calling. This seemed clearly evident from Saturday night’s win over the Troy Trojans, when Raynor and the Red Wolves offense battening the hatches after steamrolling to a 17-0 first quarter lead.

Butch Brand™ football isn’t always fun to watch, but it firmly keeps in mind the most entertaining aspect of the game: winning. After a disappointing and arguably disastrous five games to open the season, the Red Wolves have won four straight (including two on the road), is one game above .500, one win from bowl eligibility, and one victory from assuming first place in a messy Sun Belt West. The defense, which was once the most horrendous unit in all of football, has transmogrified into the 1985 Chicago Bears. The offense, still struggling, has averaged a respectable 25 points per game. The Red Wolves helped send Texas State to its inglorious exit and squeezed the bellows on its long-simmering rivalry with Troy.

That’s enough excitement. At least, it’s enough excitement to bring Red Wolves fans to Centennial Bank Stadium on Saturday morning, smelling like Waffle House and Maxwell House, howling loud in opposition to an upstart foe that requires a humbling. Butch Jones has committed the crimes of losing to Arkansas and ULM, but he is redeemed by this moment – meaningful November football, with a Sun Belt Championship on the line. Meet me in Jonesboro on Saturday morning, Red Wolves fans. We got business.

IMAGE: A-State Athletics