State of the Bulldogs: Rylan Jones Summer Interview

As part of our State of the Bulldogs Podcast Summer Interview Series, we got the chance to sit down with Samford point guard Rylan Jones. This was Jones’s first interview since announcing that he was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. We asked him about that process, when he found out this was possible, then finally a reality.

When did you know that is extra year could have been a possibility, what was that process waiting for it to play out?

“We’ve been working on this, kind of, since I’d say before conference play started last year. It kind of got brought up, like a possibility and we really didn’t know how much of a chance there would be. Once Bucky and I talked, we decided why not try and go full after it. You know Bucky, when he wants to get something done, we did everything we could to get it done. We had a good case for my type of waiver that we were going for. It was a long process, I didn’t hear until May 12th or 13th. Then we waited for it to post a graphic that said I was coming back.

“We were in a waiting situation and just talking every couple days discussing with Martin (Newton) who was working on it, our compliance officer, and going back and forth. Making sure we got the NCAA all the information that there was. Bucky just called me one day, he actually said it didn’t happen. Then he said he was just kidding, we got it. It was a good phone call, I was really happy and ecstatic that I get a chance to play basketball again in college and especially for Samford and Coach Bucky. I’ve learned to just love Coach Bucky and love Samford, the university and everybody that is here. It’s a great place.”

That’s definitely a long time to wait, trying to focus on what is in front of you but then waiting for the extra year.

“When we talked about it my Dad and I, should we try to do it? We both said yes with Bucky and I honestly didn’t think about it. I didn’t want anybody to talk about it, I didn’t want anybody to know. This is my last go, I’m putting everything in this conference season as if it’s my last time. Once we lost to Kansas and had an unbelievable year and then I started asking some questions and trying to figure out if it was a real possibility.”

Below is our full interview with Jones on YouTube. You always listen on Apple and Spotify, links below.