JONESBORO -- More than a half-hour into his national signing day news conference, Arkansas State University Coach Butch Jones stopped and glanced down at his list of recruits.
He was going to do something he'd never done before and give a synopsis of each player in his 2023 class.
Jones acknowledged he didn't want to prolong things -- then went on a 13-minute monologue.
The Red Wolves' head coach spoke Wednesday afternoon at ASU's Centennial Bank Operations Center, highlighting his 29-player recruiting class -- a group that features 20 high school prospects and nine transfers while representing 12 different states and Germany. Not only is the Red Wolves' 2023 class already the largest in terms of scholarship players since 2015, but it's the highest-ranked among Sun Belt Conference schools and eighth among Group of 5 programs, per 247Sports class rankings.
"We knew coming in here that we needed to build a foundation and we were at ground zero," Jones said. "You lay the foundation with last year's class, you couple that up with another foundation of this year's class, and now you can see the growth and development of our program.
"We're still a few recruiting classes away, but again, I think it's doing it the right way."
By that, Jones means focusing on high school prospects and using the transfer portal to supplement the roster. Of the nine transfers, six will arrive in Jonesboro with multiple years of eligibility remaining.
The most notable of that group is quarterback Will Crowder. The Gardendale, Ala., native and former teammate of current ASU safety Justin Parks -- better known by his nickname, Goose -- was a three-star prospect in the Class of 2021 who spent the last two years at West Virginia.
Crowder attempted eight passes in that span and entered the portal shortly after it opened Dec. 5.
With James Blackman now gone, Crowder will be one of three scholarship quarterbacks on the Red Wolves' roster, joining Kernersville, N.C., native Jaylen Raynor -- ASU's first signee of the day at 7:14 a.m. -- and redshirt freshman Jaxon Dailey, one of the centerpieces of the last year's recruiting class.
"We knew it was an important decision for us," Jones said of identifying a quarterback in the transfer market. "When he came in here and he walked in the building, we kind of knew, 'This is the guy.' ... There's a lot that goes into [being] that CEO quarterback -- somebody that's going to embrace the team."
Six of the Red Wolves' high school recruits came out of Florida, the most of any state, but including Tennessee-Martin transfer running back Zak Wallace, five of ASU's signees were Arkansas-based, namely El Dorado's DeAndra Burns, Benton's Walker Davis, Little Rock's Brandon Greil and Stuttgart's Cedric Hawkins.
It was a point Jones didn't hesitate to hammer.
"When we talked about in this recruiting class that we're going to start in the state of Arkansas, we started in the state of Arkansas," Jones said. "[Five players are] the most signed by any school at [the FBS] level, so I want to make sure all the high school coaches know, the fans know, we're taking care of home."
There was mention of name, image and likeness Wednesday as well, with Jones noting that it's often become the decision-maker for prospects.
While adding that the Red Wolves have "been able to do a lot with nothing," Jones mentioned boosters who lent him private plans in order to be able to touch all parts of a wide recruiting footprint.
Even with such a diverse group, there was one common thread: 27 of the 29 signees helped their team to the state playoffs at the high school level. Nine of them played in a state championship game and seven took home a title.
For a program with just five victories in the last two seasons, winning mattered.
"We said it all year long -- we're learning how to win," Jones said. "How do you learn how to win? You recruit winners. ... And that goes a long way."
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NoneASU early signing period signees
POS.;NAME;HT.;WT.;HOMETOWN (COLLEGE/HS)
DL;Brian Alston;6-2;241;Birmingham, Ala. (Spain Park HS)
DL;Micah Bland*;6-1;321;Louisville, Ky. (North Alabama)
OL;Tobias Braun*;6-7;315;Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany (Ole Miss)
WR;Tennel Bryant;5-7;149;Cincinnati, Ohio (Archbishop Moeller HS)
WR;DeAndra Burns Jr.;5-10;154;El Dorado (El Dorado HS)
WR;Chauncy Cobb*;5-6;147;Clewiston, Fla. (Clewiston HS)
QB;Will Crowder*;6-2;217;Gardendale, Ala. (West Virginia)
WR;Clyde Curry;6-2;162;Gadsden, Ala. (Gadsden City HS)
OL;Walker Davis*;6-3;280;Benton (Benton HS)
LB;Wendell Davis Jr.*;6-3;240;Richmond, Va. (Northwestern)
TE;Kevin Diaz*;6-4;259;Houston, Miss. (NW Mississippi CC)
S;Brandon Greil;5-11;159;Little Rock (Joe T. Robinson HS)
DL;Timothy Gulley;6-1;294;Pensacola, Fla. (Pensacola Catholic HS)
OL;Hamilton Hall*;6-5;315;Atlanta (Ole Miss)
RB;Cedric Hawkins;5-7;173;Stuttgart (Stuttgart HS)
CB;DeAubry Hood;5-11;170;Harker Heights, Texas (Harker Heights HS)
WR;Courtney Jackson*;5-11;179;Monroeville, Pa. (Syracuse)
DE;Terrell James;6-3;219;Lake Wales, Fla. (Lake Wales HS)
DL;Ian Jeffries;6-4;274;Southaven, Miss. (Southaven HS)
S;Dontay Joyner;6-0;165;Lakeland, Fla. (Lakeland HS)
LB;R.J. Kelly;6-1;220;Lakeland, Fla (Lakeland HS)
WR;Takare Lipscomb;6-0;175;Carrollton, Ga. (Carrollton HS)
TE;Tyler Little;6-4;240;Galena, Kan. (Galena HS)
OL;Mason Myers;6-4;254;Moody, Ala. (Moody HS)
QB;Jaylen Rayno*r;6-0;189;Kernersville, N.C. (East Forsyth HS)
LB;Jordan Sample;6-2;194;Missouri City, Texas (Fort Bend Marshall HS)
RB;Zak Wallace*;6-0;220;Benton (Tennessee-Martin)
LB;Jamil Williams;5-11;202;Palmetto, Fla. (Palmetto HS)
* Indicates early enrollee