Adrian Jones expressed disappointment over how Albany State coaches interacted with his players during a game this past Saturday, speaking on the HBCU Gameday’s D2 HBCU Football Matters podcast.
“If you’re going to talk that talk, you’ve got to walk that walk,” Jones said.
Jones added that the coaches remarks ignited his offensive coordinator, quarterback, and receivers. He noted, “I don’t mind coaches going back and forth, but I can guarantee you that when they played Valdosta State, they didn’t do that.”
According to Jones, the Albany State coaches suggested, “There’s no need for y’all to be throwing the ball; you might as well work on handing it off.” After the game, Jones said Albany State’s head coach did not shake his hand.
“The slap in the face is not shaking my hand after the game, regardless of win or lose,” Jones said.
Albany State head coach Quinn Gray Sr. responded to Jones’ comments on an episode of the Off Script TV program The Rebuttal, hosted by Kindric Hooks, also known as D2HBCUFootball. Gray said he did not intentionally avoid shaking Jones’ hand.
“It wasn’t because I didn’t want to shake his hand,” Gray said. “After the game, there was a situation where his team stormed across the field, and I was trying to make sure that my team stayed under control.”
Gray expressed disappointment that Jones chose to address the issue publicly rather than contacting him directly.
“If it got lost in translation that I didn’t shake his hand, then I apologize for that,” Gray said. “But at the end of the day, it is what it is. Like every other coach, he has my phone number. If we want to talk about professionalism, he could have called me, and we could have talked about it like men instead of going to these media outlets.”
The game ended with the Bears defeating Jones’ team 43-40, thanks to a game-winning touchdown by CIAA Player of the Week Christian Peters on a second-and-15 play with eight seconds remaining.
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