After a tumultuous season where a 1-4 start led to a bowl win, the Arkansas State football team poised itself to repeat its success through not only their offseason preparations and recruiting but also through their culture.

Unity under one goal

Throughout his press conferences and interviews leading up to the 2026 college football season, coach Butch Jones continuously brought up a word of Buddhist and Hindu origin: mudita, the idea of finding joy in others’ merit and success.

“That’s been the word we’ve studied all offseason,” Jones said. “As much as they’re competing, they’re the first to encourage each other.”

For this Red Wolves season, the foundation of their culture and brotherhood surrounds this thought. 

Over the summer, battles for starting positions in the roster raged on while the offense and defense clashed. At the end of the day though, their competitive nature which pits teammates against one another coincides with a bond uniting the team under one identity. 

In the current landscape of collegiate athletics and the transfer portal, chemistry between teammates is a major concern. However, Jones said he does not see that issue with his squad. 

“Everyone talks about building that connection and building that trust, but that’s something we started right when they walked in the doors,” Jones said.

The head coach said he believes that the key factor to this team’s success is the chemistry he has pushed to develop, and the lineup’s coordination with each other will determine the trajectory of A-State’s season. 

However, Jones said he still is uncertain of the fruits of their culture. 

“You really don’t find out about your football team until they go through the natural adversities of a long football season,” Jones said. 

Jones said the ties between teammates is one of the pillars of the team. The team’s connection was one of the traits that Jones saw last season and wanted to carry over into the next as it was what helped bring out the players’ peak performances. 

“(It’s) the overall connection, the character, the ability to suffer and go through the natural adversities of a long season,” Jones said. “I thought our team was able to stay together, and at the end of the season, we were actually playing our best football.”

The offseason work through the blistering cold and sweltering heat pushed his team to their limits, but the shared adversity helped foster an environment and bond between players that will form a more cohesive group. This is a vital aspect of football to this team and continues to fuel A-State’s progress. 

“The culture, the connection, everything is non-negotiable,” Jones said.

Fresh faces up front

In the wake of multiple coaches’ departures, A-State found qualified leaders who will continue to grow the Red Wolves’ culture while guiding the team to victory.

The newest coaches to join the staff are offensive coordinator Garrett Altman, special teams coordinator Kody Schexnayder, running backs coach Kenny Hill, defensive ends coach Malcolm Robinson, and strength and conditioning coach Ben Armer. 

In his search, Jones specifically kept an eye out on different programs around the country to learn from them and scout out the new hires.

“I wanted individuals that had really overachieved and come from programs that had high expectations of what they developed themselves,” Jones said. 

Altman, Schexnayder, and Armer joined A-State from Power 5 programs coming off of successful seasons: Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, and Duke respectively. 

Since joining the staff, Altman and Armer have gained high praise from Jones. 

Jones said Altman’s experience as both a quarterbacks coach and a former offensive lineman at TCU gives the offense a new look.

“I think he brings a unique perspective because I think he’s able to see the full gamut of offensive football,” Jones said.

Altman’s experience at the line of scrimmage shows in his philosophy about the offense as well. He said he believes the offensive lineman will be key to sparking ball movement, specifically on the toughness and physicality of those players. 

“Everything’s built up front, and I believe in that group,” Altman said. “The system’s proven and so I’m just very, very passionate about that.”

With the foundation built, Altman said from there, their point of attack will be balanced, with an emphasis on riding the rhythm of the game with a good mix of running and passing.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to win,” Altman said. “If we’ve got to throw it 85 times, we’ll do it. If we’ve got to run it 85 times, we’ll do it.”

Along with building a formidable attack, Jones said he expects Altman to bring more adaptability to the offense.

“We want to have the ability more to control the tempo of the game, whether it’s going no huddle or huddling or being able to change things up,” Jones said.

However, without the proper conditioning and training, the toughness Altman wants from this group won’t be there. This is where Armer’s work comes in.

In Armer’s case, Jones said he has been the most important hire this offseason. The biggest hole that Jones saw in the team was their lack of a strength and conditioning coach.

“When we talk about the pillars and we talk about your principles and values and your culture and everything that you stand for, your strength coach becomes very, very important,” Jones said. 

Armer said his most important focus of the team’s training has been the development of culture, lining up with Jones’ priorities as well. But first and foremost, his job is to push his players to perform at their physical peaks. 

Throughout his short time at A-State so far, Armer said he has managed to build a foundation for these players to become faster and stronger. The training set the team up to hopefully handle the strain and stress later in the season.

“The average guy in our program was putting on over 12 pounds in about seven to eight weeks’ time,” Armer said. “Once we had that, now we knew that we could pick the volume up.”

While these two coaches backed up their resume with success at major football programs in the nation, Schexnayder had the connection to A-State which helped him return to Jonesboro. 

From 2021 to 2022, Schexynader was a special teams analyst for the Red Wolves and helped coach multiple legendary A-State players, such as kickers Dominic Zvada and Blake Grupe. Grupe later cited him as one of the most influential people in his development at A-State.

Schexnayder’s connection to the university and his work with multiple successful special teams players here made him the perfect candidate for the job.

Each of the new hires have a history of accomplishments backing up their skillset and have something to offer to this team. From maintaining the Red Wolves’ culture to building the strategies to win games, this coaching core is something to be excited about this season.

New kids on the block

While good coaching is key to success in any sport, it all comes down to the players. 

When searching for players to complete his roster, Jones said he looked for production over potential, reviewing film to see what they had to offer. The other major quality he looked for in his recruits was their character and background, questioning their values and motivations.

“What’s their why? Why do they play football? Do they truly love football? What do they want to get out of this?” Jones said. “That’s probably the biggest challenge for anyone is really doing a deep dive into what makes them who they are.”

For his recruits this year, Jones said he had to fill quite a few needs, especially on defense.

“We had to basically replace everyone up front in our defensive front and our defensive line,” Jones said. “We had to basically rebuild an entire position room there, then we were looking to add competitive depth across the board at the other positions on defense.”

As for another one of the team’s necessities, Jones said creating quality depth at each position was one of his biggest concerns. For example, the wide receiver room has plenty of talent with Chauncy Cobb, Hunter Summers, Jalen Benelli, and Nana Burris. However, Jones said his biggest concern is near the back of the rotation. 

If one receiver goes down, who’s going to step up to take that spot? 

“That’s an extremely youthful and young wide receiver core. We’re going to need to stay healthy there as the season progresses,” Jones said.

The importance of depth will come as the team has a streak of eight games in a row this season, testing the endurance of each position room. 

While Jones has focused on creating a deep team, one of the most glaring roster needs was the void at quarterback. 

Following the Xbox Bowl win last season, quarterback Jaylen Raynor entered the transfer portal and followed former offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf to Iowa State. With his veteran presence gone, it left the offense without a leader.

In response, Jones went after quarterbacks from major Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams: Trey Owens from Texas and Jeremy St-Hilaire and Drew Dickey from Vanderbilt. Each of these players played for decorated programs this past season and learned under some of the best coaching staffs in the nation.

At the time of publication, Jones declined to declare a starting quarterback. He said the competition for the role may end up going into warmups for the first game. 

“I’ve learned from doing this a long time that you never put a timeline on it,” he said. “It has to organically and naturally happen.”

Even after picking up three quarterbacks in the portal each with their unique skill set for the upcoming year, Jones said the position still lacked one major aspect.

“The missing piece in that room is just overall experience,” Jones said. “No quarterback in our program took a snap last year in college football.”

It isn’t just the quarterbacks that struggled with a lack of experience though. 

With all of the incoming players, the team found itself searching for a new identity. It was a similar situation last year where the team hadn’t figured out their style of play until midway through the season. Jones said the individual growth of each player posed a challenge to this as they continue to evolve as a person and part of the team.

“I think this is a football team that’s been extremely eager and very willing,” Jones said. “But now we have to learn how to take the next step with some toughness things and moving forward and playing together.”

What the veterans have in store

Growth for the new guys may prove difficult, but the veterans on the team pledged their help to the incoming players. 

Cobb has been one of Jones’ most talked about veterans this offseason and part of that is because of the leadership skills he has developed. He is the longest tenured wide receiver, so in the wake of Corey Rucker Jr. joining the Las Vegas Raiders, he stepped up to become the new mentor of the position room.

“I’m trying to get the young guys on the same page as the older guys so they can play well,” Cobb said.

Even as the most experienced receiver, Cobb is still a young player, having only gained starter experience last season. A pattern appeared in the locker room where a lot of the veterans who have stepped up are still somewhat inexperienced themselves. Jones said while they are younger, their development into pillars of the locker room has been outstanding.

“I think they’re very prideful of what we’ve built here, and they’ve been a big part of that,” Jones said. “They’ve been doing a great job of creating that culture, but also protecting that culture every single day.”

Along with Jones, the incoming players took note of the culture the veterans developed at A-State. Cornerback Dontrae Henderson, a transfer from Indiana University, said he saw the difference here compared to his previous school.

“That energy we bring on the sidelines is completely different,” Henderson said. “It allows us to go out there and play fast and connected.”

Working towards creating team unity was a major focus for the veterans during the summer, but that doesn’t mean they let up on their individual work. 

Linebacker Joe Drew earned praise from multiple coaches for his progress, gaining fifteen pounds of muscle mass over the course of the offseason and making the jump to his current position from safety. While working on his body, Drew said he focused on learning offensive schemes to improve his football IQ. 

“(I was) learning what offenses do, different formations, different motions, so I can make my game easier and I can read stuff faster,” Drew said.

While Drew focused on learning to dissect the opposing offenses, running back Kenyon Clay found his improvements in providing opportunities for his teammates. After having a breakthrough year with 523 rushing yards on 139 carries, he said he shifted his focus to pass protection to help his teammates.

“What are you willing to do to win? If you’re not getting the ball, what are you doing without the ball?” Clay said. “There’s times where I might have the block that ends up letting another player score. It’s all about whatever I can do to help the team.” 

Whether it’s building their character or improving their game, the veterans came back from their training better than ever and ready to take their play to the next level.

The importance of the student body

With all of the developments from training, A-State created a team worthy of climbing to the top of the Sun Belt Conference. But there is one last aspect of a college football program they need to succeed: the students. 

Last season, Jones called out the student body for their lack of attendance at games. 

“I’m really appreciative of everyone’s efforts for getting here and coming out, but I’ll be very transparent with you, I’m disappointed in our student body,” Jones said. “We built a college football program here that we’re the fourth-winningest program in the Group of Five over the last two years. How can you not be proud of the effort that this football team continues to give week in and week out?”

Jones said he acknowledges it’s on the team to create an experience and performance that’s worth being proud of and he’s worked to bolster the home field advantage this season. For example, the student section and deck will be moved around in an attempt to improve the game day experience. 

“(We’re) really (trying) to make game day Saturdays a destination place to be in Jonesboro, and it’s on us,” Jones said.

While the bleachers and field will be separated on game day, Jones said he wants the team and the university as a whole to be as one. 

“I’m up to anything and everything,” Jones said. “Anything I can do to support our student body, anything I can do to support our university, being visible out there (to make them) feel like they’re one of us.”

Jones and the A-State football team worked hard this offseason in an effort to create a competitive football team, from building up their culture to their brutal training camp workouts. The potential and unknowns of this team together help form a product that A-State students can truly take pride in. 

The Red Wolves open their season at home on Sep. 12 against West Georgia following a free concert featuring country-music star Lauren Alaina to close out “Paint the Town Red” week. 

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