Jacksonville State football coach John Grass announces resignation after 8 seasons
John Grass announced his decision to step down as Jacksonville State football coach following the team's 40-25 home victory over Abilene Christian on Saturday.
Grass posted a 72-26 record in eight seasons as head coach for the Gamecocks. His .732 win percentage entering Saturday ranked 12th-highest among all active D-I coaches.
Grass said he will not finish out the season and it wasn't his decision.
JSU (4-5 , 2-2 AQ7) defeated Florida State in the second week of the season, pulling off a major upset of an FBS opponent.
He added he will look to continue his coaching career.
"My time has come and gone here," Grass said. "It's been a great ride. It's been unbelievable. You can't put into words what's happened here. This will always be my home. Me and my wife are both alumni. This place has done more than I can ever repay it.
"You can't talk about nine years in nine minutes. It would take me nine hours. I have always put this university first."
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He informed the team about the decision Friday night.
"I asked them two things yesterday: I asked them what I told them to keep to themselves for 24 hours," Grass said. "I think they did a fantastic job with that. It means a lot to me. I asked for two things. I asked for that and I asked for a win. They responded and did that."
Last month JSU was hit with a one-year probation from the NCAA for a recruiting violation.
Grass' players took the news hard, including senior quarterback Zerrick Cooper.
"It's unfortunate news we got," Cooper said. "I'm just thankful to have a coach like coach Grass. He accepted me with open arms when I transferred here. I told him yesterday, it's kind of funny we're leaving at the same time. I wish him the best with his career. It's devastating news."
Grass had success on the field, but he is most proud of the success the team had off it during his tenure.
"Our school never dreamed of having an (Academic Progress Rate) this high," Grass said. "Two years before I got here it was at 916. We took it record numbers. Our graduation rate and turning great men out into society, that was my first and only goal."
Jacksonville State closed out the Grass tenure with a big victory over Abilene Christian.
"Honestly, we did it for coach Grass," Cooper said. "We know how much he loves the game, how much he loves Jacksonville. I feel like if we lost the game, we would have let him down. We got the win and we did it for coach Grass."
The decision move on from Grass as coach came a day after JSU accepted an invitation to join Conference USA and play FBS football starting in 2023-24 academic year.
Prior to coaching at JSU, Grass was head coach at Oxford High from 2008-12. He joined former JSU coach Bill Clark's staff in 2013 as offensive coordinator and took over as the head coach a year later.
Under Grass, the Gamecocks finished as FCS runners-up in 2015 and won the Ohio Valley Conference in 2014 and 2015.
"I just want to say thank you to coach Grass," JSU sophomore Nicario Harper said. "I just transferred here and he welcomed me with open arms. I wish him the best. I'm going to continue to stand tough with coach Grass. I can't wait to see what's the next step for him."
Contact Ehsan Kassim at 256-300-5313 or ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Jacksonville State football coach John Grass resigns
