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Brandon Jones is in his second season as the run game coordinator and offensive line coach at Cal in 2016. Jones made an immediate impact in his first season at Cal in 2015 as the team’s run game coordinator and offensive line coach to help improve a record-breaking Cal offense that has been among the nation’s best over the past three seasons under the direction of head coach Sonny Dykes and former offensive coordinator Tony Franklin.
“Brandon is one of the best offensive line coaches in the country, head coach Sonny Dykes said. "He is very demanding and there’s a level of accountability that he coaches with but at the same time guys love playing for him. He’s a really good communicator as well and the players really understand what he wants. He sets expectations and he’s very clear about them. He’s also played in this offense and has a lot of credibility. I think the players can relate to the success he’s had both as a coach and a player. Our offensive line is one of the most improved positions on our football program, and I look forward to it being one of our major strengths this year.”
Cal will have four starting offensive lineman returning from 2015 that have a combined 84 career starts in right tackle Steven Moore (36), left guard Chris Borrayo (29), center Dominic Granado (13) and left tackle Aaron Cochran (6). The offensive line played a major role in the Golden Bears 8-5 record in 2015 that was the team's first eight-win season since the 2009 squad was also 8-5 with only 29 teams since the beginning of Cal football in 1882-83 winning eight or more and only 17 either nine or 10. Cal capped its 2015 season with its first bowl victory since 2008 in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl with the spot in postseason play its first since 2011.
Cal's offense set numerous records in Jones' first season in 2015 including single-season school marks in passing yardage (4,892), passing yards per game (376.3 ypg), passing touchdowns (44), total offense (6,879), total yards per game (529.2 ypg), total touchdowns (63), total points (493, modern-era record), first downs (341) and first downs passing (201) after all the marks had been previously set in 2013 or 2014.
Cal ranked third nationally in passing offense, eighth in total offense and 17th in scoring offense in 2015, with all of the numbers second in the Pac-12.
Cal's 2015 offensive line was led by Borrayo and senior Jordan Risbee. Borrayo was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection of the league's coaches and third-team pick of Phil Steele while Rigsbee started all 49 games of his collegiate career and signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers following the 2016 NFL Draft.
The offensive line was responsible for protecting quarterback Jared Goff, who broke a pair of Pac-12 single-season records when he passed for 4,719 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2015 when he ranked third in the nation in both passing touchdowns and passing yards. He was also second both nationally and in the conference in passing yards per game (363.0) among 10 categories in which he ranked among the top three in the conference and top 20 nationally.
Goff was the first Cal quarterback to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors since Rodgers in 2004, a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and Cal’s Most Outstanding Player in a Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl victory over Air Force.
Cal was the only team in the nation to have six receivers with 40 or more catches in 2015 and also became the first college football team in recorded history to have six players with 40 or more receptions and three 500-yard rushers in the same season with each of three rushers returning in 2016 in Khalfani Muhammad (87-586, 1 TD), Vic Enwere (106-505, 8 TD) and Tre Watson (89-504, 3 TD).
CAL PLAYERS ON BRANDON JONES
“Coach Jones is a humble family man who works his hardest every day to help us get better on the field and in the classroom. He came here to help us win games and he shows it every day he comes into work.”
– Senior OL Chris Borrayo
“Coach Jones is a really smart coach who works hard to make us better both mentally and physically. He does everything he can to get us in the right positions during the game.”
– Senior OL Dominic Granado
“We have really improved as an offensive line and Coach Jones is a huge reason why. I'm looking forward to all of bonding together even more and having a great season.”
– Senior OL Steven Moore
Jones has been a member of seven bowl staffs during the first nine seasons of his coaching career including four out of five campaigns prior to his arrival at Cal as the offensive line coach at East Carolina (2010-14). The Pirates' offense broke multiple school records and consistently ranked among the nation’s offensive leaders during his tenure in which he produced seven all-conference offensive linemen.
During his final season at East Carolina in 2014 the Pirates posted an 8-5 record and reached the Birmingham Bowl led by an offense that ranked third in the nation in passing offense (371.9 ypg), fourth in first downs (378) and fifth in total offense (533.0 ypg), setting single-season school records and leading the American Athletic Conference in all three categories. East Carolina was also 22nd nationally in scoring offense (35.8 ppg).
Center Taylor Hudson was a first-team all-conference selection for the Pirates in 2014, while guard J.T. Boyd and tackle Ike Harris were second-team picks in the Pirates’ inaugural campaign in the second season of the AAC that formerly operated as the Big East Conference. The offensive line protected quarterback Shane Carden, who was the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and ranked second in the nation with a single-season school-record 4,736 passing yards.
Jones coached three offensive linemen to All-Conference USA honors on a 2013 squad that finished 10-3 overall for the second-most wins in school history and posted a victory over Ohio in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. Guard Will Simmons was a first-team all-conference selection, while guard Jordan Davis was a second-team pick and tackle Adhem Elsawi an honorable mention choice, with Elsawi also picking up first-team Capital One Academic All-District 3 honors and a second consecutive selection to the Conference USA All-Academic squad. The offense established a single-season school record with a scoring average of 40.2 points per game that was eighth nationally, as well as then-school marks for first downs (346, No. 10 NCAA), passing offense (328.1 ypg, No. 11 NCAA) and total offense (468.2 ypg, No. 25 NCAA) that were eclipsed in 2014. The offensive line also helped Carden earn Conference USA Most Valuable Player of the Year honors as he passed for 4,139 yards to give ECU its first 4,000-yard passer in school history.
Simmons (second-team) and Elsawi (honorable mention) both earned All-Conference USA honors for the first time in 2012 when East Carolina’s offensive line played a pivotal role in an 8-5 season that culminated with a trip to the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and allowed Carden to pass for 3,116 yards, which was the third-most in school history at the time.
Jones coached an offensive line in 2011 that, despite featuring seven players that made their first collegiate start during the campaign, helped the Pirates finish 20th nationally in passing offense (286.1 ypg).
In his first season at East Carolina in 2010 that was capped by an appearance in the Military Bowl, Jones was part of a coaching staff that installed a new spread scheme and finished the campaign ranked eighth nationally in passing offense (318.7 ypg), 16th in scoring offense (36.8 ppg) and 25th in total offense (437.6 ypg). Jones coached a trio of returning starters in first-team All-Conference USA selection Willie Smith, Cory Dowless and D.J. Scott that anchored the offensive line along with Conference USA All-Freshman pick Grant Harner.
Jones also spent one campaign coaching running backs and tight ends at Sam Houston State (2009) after two seasons as an offensive assistant at his alma mater Texas Tech (2007-08), where the Red Raiders led the nation in passing offense in back-to-back years and rolled up records of 11-2 (2008) and 9-4 (2007) to earn trips to the Cotton Bowl and Gator Bowl, respectively. The 2008 team was ranked No. 12 in the final AP Top 25 and USA Today Poll, while the 2007 squad finished as high as No. 22 in the AP Top 25.
In between his positions as an offensive assistant at Texas Tech and his first full-time coaching position at Sam Houston State, he was briefly a graduate assistant on the offensive side of the ball at Oklahoma State in 2008 along with current Cal offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital.
Jones earned his bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Texas Tech in 2006, playing for Dykes when the current Cal head coach was the Red Raiders’ co-offensive coordinator (2005-06) during the final two seasons of Dykes’ seven-year stay in Lubbock. Jones started 22 career games at center and earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors as a 2005 junior. He was a Rimington Award candidate as the nation’s top center as a 2006 senior, while adding both the school’s E.J. Holub Double Tough Award and Most Improved Player honor.
Jones was a first-team All-State choice on both the offensive and defensive lines as a 2001 senior at McNary High School in Keizer, Ore., helping lead the Celtics to the state title.
Jones was born in Wichita, Kan., and grew up in Texas prior to moving to Oregon for his final two years of high school. He is married to the former Latoya Daniels of Ft. Worth, Texas. The couple has one daughter, Jordyn.
Brandon Jones File
Birthdate: December 13, 1983
Hometown: Dallas, TX
High School: McNary HS (Keizer, OR)
College: Bachelor in Communication Studies
Family: Wife, Latoya; Daughter, Jordyn
Coaching History
Season: Team – Position
2007: Texas Tech – Offensive Assistant
2008: Texas Tech – Offensive Assistant
2009: Sam Houston State – Running Backs/Tight Ends
2010: East Carolina – Offensive Line
2011: East Carolina – Offensive Line
2012: East Carolina – Offensive Line
2013: East Carolina – Offensive Line
2014: East Carolina – Offensive Line
2015: Cal – Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
2016: Cal – Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line
Bowl History (7 Games)
Season: Team – Bowl
2007: Texas Tech – Gator Bowl
2008: Texas Tech – Cotton Bowl
2010: East Carolina – Military Bowl
2012: East Carolina – R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
2013: East Carolina – Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
2014: East Carolina – Birmingham Bowl
2015: Cal – Armed Forces Bowl
*Season in which bowl game was played
Last Updated
July 8, 2016
