Derek Jones Joins University of Tennessee Football Staff as Cornerbacks Coach
Woodruff native Derek Jones, who led the Wolverines to the 1991 state title game, has joined Josh Heupel's Tennessee staff to coach the secondary.
Derek Jones, a Woodruff native who led the Wolverines to the 1991 state championship game, has joined the University of Tennessee football staff under head coach Josh Heupel to coach cornerbacks and the secondary. He comes from Virginia Tech, where he coached from 2022 to 2025, after a 26-year career that also includes Duke (2008–2019), Texas Tech, Memphis, Tulsa, Middle Tennessee State and Murray State.
Jones told the Times that Knoxville, about two and a half hours from Woodruff, is the closest he has coached to home. He described his recruiting approach as relationship-first, and said he wants to represent his hometown well and show young people in Woodruff what hard work can make possible.