TAMPA, FLA., JAN. 16, 2026 – South Florida Football Head Coach Brian Hartline has announced the addition of
Keith Jones Jr. to the Bulls staff as defensive line coach.
Another young, rising coach with NFL coaching experience joining the Bulls staff, Jones joins the Bulls' after coaching the defensive line at Appalachian State in 2025. He helped the Mountaineers earn a berth in the Birmingham Bowl and guided defensive linemen Kevin-Abrams-Verwayne and Rondo Parker to All-Sun Belt honors. Abrams-Verwayne led Appalachian State in sacks (five) and forced fumbles (four) while ranking third on the team in TFLs (6.5) from his edge position.
A former standout defensive tackle at UT Martin, prior to arriving at Appalachian State Jones Jr. assisted coaching the New England Patriots defensive line for two seasons (2023-24) after previously working with the Patriots in the 2022 training camp.
Jones Jr. has also worked assisting the defensive line groups in graduate assistant roles at Arkansas (2022) and Arkansas State (2021).
Following an award-winning playing career in college and the Indoor Football League, Jones got his coaching start overseeing the defensive tackles at Missouri Southern State University in 2020.
He was named first-team All-IFL and won a league title while playing for the Iowa Barnstormers in 2018. He spent the 2019 season with the Tucson Sugar Skulls.
Jones Jr. graduated from UT Martin with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance in 2016.
USF Football 2026 Coaching Staff
Brian Hartline Head Coach 1st at USF
Josh Aldridge Defensive Coordinator/Inside LBs Coach 1st at USF
Tim Beck Offensive Coordinator 1st at USF
Chad Creamer Special Teams Coord./Outside LBs Coach 4th at USF
Elijah Brooks Running Backs Coach 1st at USF
Mike Hartline Quarterbacks Coach 1st at USF
Keith Jones Jr. Defensive Line Coach 1st at USF
James Rowe Cornerbacks Coach 4th at USF
Danny Verpaele Safeties Coach 1st at USF
Mike Sollenne Run Game Coord./Offensive Line Coach 1st at USF
Myles White Wide Receivers Coach 1st at USF
Sean Binckes Tight Ends Coach 1st at USF
Antonio Turner Head Strength & Conditioning Coach 1st at USF
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ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 29th season in 2025. In 2025, Bulls went 9-4, earned a third straight bowl appearance, made the program's first College Football Playoff ranking appearance, and were ranked four times in the weekly AP Top 25 poll. USF completed construction on a new $22-million Indoor Performance Facility in 2023 and a $349-million on-campus stadium and football operations center broke ground in the fall of 2024 and is slated for completion by 2027. The Bulls have posted 18 winning seasons, earned 16 All-America selections (including two consensus selections, the last coming in 2021), as well as 35 first-team all-conference honorees. USF has had 30 players selected in the NFL Draft while the Bulls have made 13 bowl game appearances (going 8-5), which is tied for the third-most in the first 25 seasons of a program's bowl eligibility. USF posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016, while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program-record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and reached as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings during the 2007 season.
– #GoBulls –
