SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A retired United States military leader walked into the office of Butch Jones, then the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati, and promptly closed the door behind him.
“Coach,” he began, “you’re going to want to sit down for this.”
A contingent of military personnel had occupied Jones’ football practices for the past day or two on campus to analyze a team that included just one NFL draft prospect that year — the extroverted tight end who, at that time, had 14 career catches but had proven difficult to corral in another avenue entirely.
