SBC Football: Butch Jones Interviewed Major Applewhite At SBC Media Days

Joe Londergan | Jul 27, 2024

Arkansas State Red Wolves head coach Butch Jones coaches against the Northern Illinois Huskies in the Camellia Bowl at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday December 23, 2023. / Mickey Welsh / USA TODAY NETWORK

Conference Media Days give college football coaches the opportunity to showcase a bit more of their personalities than fans and national media get to see during the course of the year.

Butch Jones of Arkansas State and Major Applewhite of South Alabama took advantage at Sun Belt Media Days in New Orleans this week with a friendly conversation on-air with The Ticket Radio Network based out of Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Major Applewhite: "Is this really happening?"
Yes, Coach. Yes it is.

Audio: https://t.co/nsWWw5pX4w https://t.co/r2yMEpK9et

— Kara Richey (@Kara_Richey) July 24, 2024

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Jones asked the former Houston head coach and newly promoted South Alabama offensive coordinator what he learned from his previous experiences and what changes he was expecting.

"Honestly, I thiknk you're the same way: we learn from anything and anybody...the two things that jump out obviously is the transfer portal and the NIL. You had to wait for a guy to sit out a year and you couldn't pay him six years ago. Now, you can get him here tomorrow and start paying him when he plays. So that's changed the game from a recruiting standpoint."

Applewhite went on to say that while those factors have changed the job off of the field, coaching the actual game still feels the same.

The new Jaguars coach also spoke to how some of his previous mentors such as Nick Saban and Mack Brown have influenced his current style. The two coaching veterans then shared their thoughts on building a winning culture at their respective programs.

The full conversation is available here.