Emory Jones explains what went into his decision to transfer to Cincinnati

Emory Jones is on his third school and heading into year No. 6 of college football. He played his standard four years at Florida but has used his extra COVID-awarded years to experiment at other power conference spots, including Cincinnati in 2023 and Arizona State last season, where he split time as the starter and passed for 1,533 in eight games played. So, in his final run around the sun at the college level, what made the Bearcats such an appealing spot?

He was asked that question at Big 12 Media Days on Thursday morning and provided the following answer:

“For me, just the people honestly, Coach Satterfield and his coaching staff,” said Jones. He then revealed that Satterfield actually courted him while he was still with Louisville.

“I was actually talking to them at Louisville, and then they got the job and they were like, “we’re going to Cincinnati.’ So I’m like ‘eh, I guess I’m going to Cincinnati too.'”

It’s all about Satterfield and the staff for Jones. But the opportunity to play and likely start at a program as strong as Cincy has been recently was attractive to him.

“But just the people, the community, you know. If you come to Cincinnati, you know you’re going to win, you know you’re going to get developed — and that’s all I’m looking for at this point in my career.”

As for what about Scott Satterfield made Jones think they’ve be a good fit, here was what the new Bearcat QB said:

“I mean, he’s a very laid-back guy, but very intense. He’s more of an offensive guy, so he’s more hands-on with me. You know, he calls the plays, calls the shots, so we gotta be on the same page at all times.”

Jones also answered that he has a similarly strong connection with new offensive coordinator Brad Glenn, who has ties with Satterfield that go back to their Appalachian State days 15+ years ago.

“Yeah, he brought in a lot of things from his old school in his past, some of the things I ran in the past,” Jones responded when asked about Glenn. “So we on the same page a lot, we talk a lot. He’s in our meetings a lot. So just having him in, I think, is going to impact the offense in a big way.”

It would be tough on a new coach and a new QB in a new conference to expect as strong an offensive unit as UC has had of late. But Emory Jones is a veteran and is already making that transition as easy as possible, at the very least. Whether he’s able to perform like Ben Bryant and Desmond Ridder remains to be seen.