1/14/2002 - Football
Keith Jones Named Secondary Coach
Links associated with this release:
0
0
0
ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Naval Academy head football coach Paul Johnson announced Monday that Keith Jones has joined his staff as the secondary coach. Jones comes to the Naval Academy from The Citadel where he has coached the last five years.
"Keith is an excellent football coach and recruiter and is a key addition to our staff," said Johnson. "I have always been impressed with the job he did at The Citadel and I am pleased that he is joining our staff at Navy."
"I am excited to be here and I look forward to being here a very long time," said Jones. "I have known and coached against Coach Johnson for the last five years and I have always been impressed with the type of offense he runs and the type of team he puts on the field."
Jones, a 1975 graduate of The Citadel, returned to his alma mater in 1997 and has served in defensive capacities as secondary coach and was the defensive coordinator in 2000. He saw three Bulldogs -- Deedrick Reese, Kevin Smith and Chris Webb -- earn All-Southern Conference honors over the past four seasons. Last year, The Citadel ranked eighth in the nation in pass efficiency defense (92.93) and 14th (153.4) in pass defense.
Jones was a member of The Citadel's football team in 1973, playing defensive back and on special teams.
He began his coaching career at Charleston's Bishop England High School (1975-78) and then worked with the legendary Willie Jeffries at South Carolina State where he coached the defensive secondary. He spent one season at North Carolina A&T as the secondary coach before moving to Murray State, where he served in the same capacity from 1981-85 and as defensive coordinator in 1986.
In 1987, Jones joined Frank Beamer's staff at Virginia Tech and was the secondary coach for the Hokies until 1993 when he left to become the head coach at Potomac High School in Dumfries, Va. for three seasons. Jones returned to college coaching in 1996 as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at North Carolina A&T.
During his career, Jones coached 10 players who went on to play professionally, including Dexter Clinckscale (Dallas Cowboys) and William Judson (Miami Dolphins).
Jones, who turned 49 today, earned his undergraduate degree in physical education from The Citadel in 1975 and a master's degree in counselor education from South Carolina State. He and his wife, Bernadette, have two girls, Kristin, 19, and Kourtney, 15.
