JONESBORO -- Calling Butch Jones and Hue Jackson friends would be an inaccurate characterization.
Colleagues? Sure, yet the Arkansas State and Grambling State head coaches have operated in different spheres for much of the past two decades. By the time Jones reached the Division I level as an assistant at Central Michigan in 1998, Jackson was on the verge of his first NFL gig.
Jones' Red Wolves and Jackson's Tigers meet today at Centennial Bank Stadium in the season-opener for both teams.
From 2001-2018, Jackson filled just about every offensive coaching role with six different franchises, including stints as head coach with the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns.