By Tim Gardner
Appalachian State University head football coach Eliah Drinkwitz has hired Jeff Jones as Director of Athletic Performance for the Mountaineers.
Drinkwitz announced Jones’ appointment on Thursday.
Jones’ career has included being part of championship football teams at Auburn (2013 Southeastern Champion and national runner-up), Arkansas State (2012 Sun Belt Champion) and Boise State (2006, 2008 and 2009 Western Athletic Conference Champion; 2007 and 2010 Fiesta Bowl Champion).
Jones joins the Appalachian State program after serving as the director of athletic performance at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, since 2016. While at Luther, he was responsible for the design and implementation of athletic performance programs for all of its 19 varsity sports.
Prior to working at Luther College, Jones served as an assistant athletic performance coach at Auburn, working specifically with football from 2012-16. He helped design the offseason training program for the Tigers and implemented programs for National Football League (NFL) combine preparation and NFL Pro Days.
He served at Arkansas State in 2012 as the director of athletic performance for baseball and head assistant of athletic performance in football. He also worked as an assistant director of athletic performance at Boise State from 2007-12. In addition to working with the Boise State football teams, Jones had primarily responsibility for the strength and conditioning of the gymnastics, men’s and women’s tennis and softball teams there.
Jones earned his Bachelor of Arts in exercise science-health promotion from Central College of Pella, Iowa in 2006 and obtained his Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction in foundational studies from Boise State in 2011. While at Central College, he was a four-year member of Dutch football teams that captured two Iowa Conference titles and compiled a 28-13 record.
A member of the National Strength Coaches Association-Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists (NSCA-CSCS), Jones is a certified speed and agility coach.
He and his wife, Rachael, have one son, Colt.