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This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. November 11, 2021 is a day which ought to go down in collegiate football history as a turning point for two historic programs; for the Indiana Hoosiers, it was the beginning of a new era in Bloomington. Following a disastrous 2021 campaign, where the Hoosiers finished 4-8 (2-7) and rooted to the bottom of the Big Ten Eastern Division, it was clear that something needed to change. That offseason, coaching candidates were brought in and interviewed for the unenviable task of rebuilding the Hoosier football program until one candidate stood out above the rest. He introduced himself as a "36-year-old married father of two; lover of board & card games and all things strategy; current D&D DM; long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan," but for the equally-long-suffering Indiana Athletic Department, what impressed them the most was his meticulous approach, attention-to-detail, and familiarity with and desire to coach in the Big Ten. So, on November 11, 2021, @Piercewise1 was unveiled as the Head Coach of the Indiana Hoosier football team - the rest, as they say, is history. 193 days later, on May 22, 2022, Coach @thatfunk announced that he would be leaving Ohio State to take the job at his alma mater, Alabama. The departure must have hurt for the Buckeyes; not just because Coach thatfunk led the Crimson Tide to a National Championship in 2022; not just because Ohio State has since become a revolving-door for coaches - with no head coach lasting longer than a season from the 2022 season onwards; but because they could have had Piercewise. Alongside being a married father of two; a lover of board/card games and all things strategy; a Dungeons & Dragons DM; and a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan, Piercewise is an Ohioan through-and-through - an Ohio State fan. Had the Buckeyes job opened up sooner or had the Hoosiers dawdled in offering their now four-year head coach the position, things might've turned out differently. Hell, we'd probably be talking about how Ohio State has looked from the 2022 season through the 2024 campaign and how they're planning for the future. But that's not how things turned out and instead, as Ohio State have hired their their fifth head coach since the departure of Coach thatfunk, we're going to be talking about how Coach Piercewise and his Hoosiers have gone from strength-to-strength in their quest for the Big Ten Championship and beyond. A new era in Bloomington, indeed. 2022 Indiana Football Schedule Week Opponent Score Result 1 at. Oklahoma State 45-16 Loss 2 vs. Illinois 23-20 Conference Win 3 at. California 28-17 Loss 5 vs. Tulane 29-20 Win 6 at. Nebraska 38-24 Conference Loss 7 vs. Michigan 48-9 Divisional Win 8 vs. Maryland 24-17 Divisional Win 9 at. Rutgers 38-23 Divisional Loss 11 vs. Penn State 21-10 Divisional Win 12 at. Ohio State 35-5 Divisional Loss 13 at. Michigan State 61-3 Divisional Loss 14 vs. Purdue 13-10 Conference Win 16 vs. Temple 33-27 Bowl Win 2022 was a bit of a roller coaster of a season. With a few years of retrospect, I think it's safe to say that Indiana football's 2022 season was an unquestionable success - the Hoosiers finished with a 7-6 (5-4) record and a 33-27 victory in the Beef O'Brady's Gasparilla Bowl against a Temple program who had just finished third in a competitive American Conference. While Indiana's 0-6 record on the road left a lot to be desired, the fact of the matter is that they were able to turn Bloomington into a fortress; going 6-0 at home to neutralize their short-comings on the road. All in all, when compared to their 2021 record of 4-8 (2-7), Indiana's 2022 was a marked improvement: the three more victories they'd attained in 2022 were all within conference play, propelling the Hoosiers to dead last to fourth in the Big Ten Eastern Division within a single season. To top it all off, Indiana's recruiting class was widely considered to be within the nation's Top 30, hovering around the 20s depending on which poll or metric you trust. With results on the field and prospects in the pipeline, Coach Piercewise appeared to be working his magic on the Hoosiers and the future seemed bright in Bloomington. 2023 Indiana Football Schedule Week Opponent Score Result 1 vs. Southern Methodist 28-10 Win 2 vs. Ohio State 24-10 Divisional Win 3 at. Tulane 13-0 Loss 4 vs. Indiana State 38-6 Win 5 at. Maryland 24-21 Divisional Loss 7 at. Michigan 31-3 Divisional Win 8 vs. Rutgers 8-7 Divisional Loss 9 at. Penn State 21-3 Divisional Loss 10 vs. Wisconsin 34-6 Conference Loss 11 at. Illinois 19-6 Conference Loss 12 vs. Michigan State 13-10 Divisional Loss 14 at. Purdue 21-7 Conference Loss 2023 was like sitting in an emergency room waiting room - clearly in distress and just waiting for your name to be called, but having to listen to everyone else be called instead. After a strong start to the 2023 season with a win against Southern Methodist and a convincing 24-10 win against eventual Big Ten Champions Ohio State, the Hoosiers to a hit in their 13-0 loss away to Tulane and couldn't stop the bleeding, going on to lose seven of their next nine to finish 4-8 (2-7) - a repeat of their disappointing 2021 campaign. While some were quick to raise the alarm around Bloomington, cooler heads prevailed, and for good reason. Three of Indiana's losses down their 1-7 stretch from Week 5 onwards were decided by three points or less: a 24-21 loss at Maryland; an 8-7 heartbreak while hosting Rutgers; and a 13-10 loss against Michigan State. For Coach Piercewise, with the benefit of hindsight, he chalks the 2023 season down to a sort of indecision; a mixture of being simultaneously risk-averse and high-risk at the same time, where the benefits of each just sort of cancelled out and only the negatives remained and translated into disappointing on-field performances. There was; however, one silver-lining for Hoosiers in 2023: they had jumped into the Top 20 in terms of their recruiting class. Despite the proverbial step back, Indiana was ready, able, and willing to take another two steps forward. 2024 Indiana Football Schedule Week Opponent Score Result 1 at. Appalachian State 24-14 Win 2 vs. #13 West Virginia 29-15 Loss 3 at. #21 UCLA 26-9 Loss 4 at. Youngstown State 34-0 Win 5 vs. #25 Maryland 23-9 Conference Win 6 at. Northwestern 31-17 Conference Win 8 vs. #18 Nebraska 28-24 Conference Win 9 vs. Washington 37-9 Conference Win 10 at. Michigan State 24-10 Conference Loss 11 vs. Michigan 42-7 Conference Loss 13 at. Ohio State 24-3 Conference Win 14 vs. Purdue 10-7 Conference Win 18 vs. Duke 28-13 Bowl Loss It was exciting - we looked ahead of schedule. Determined to right the ship after a shaky 2023 season, Coach Piercewise sought to embrace the reputation he had earned as a sort of "mad scientist" within the world of college football; ahead of the 2024 season, he made some positional adjustments, moved some players around the roster, and embraced the talent he had across the board. And boy, did it pay off. Led by Redshirt Freshman and eventual Big Ten Offensive Rookie of the Year Samuel Johnson, Indiana's offensive production exploded. Alongside Johnson were Junior Halfback Mike Bradley and a Wide Receiving Corps led by Senior Halfback-turned-Wideout Geoff Albuquerque. By Week 10, the Hoosiers were off to a 6-2 (4-0) start to the season - with four Top 25 matchups along the way - ranked #25 in the nation (their first time in the AP Top 25 in the past four years) and were in the driver's seat of the newly-expanded Big Ten heading into Lansing to face a lowly Michigan State. Unfortunately for Coach Piercewise and the Hoosiers, subsequent losses to the Spartans and at home to Michigan would derail their Big Ten title hopes, but the 2024 season marked a new watermark for Hoosier football. Finishing 8-5 (6-3) on the season, and with the #11 recruiting class in the country, Indiana appear poised to building upon their momentum into 2025 and beyond in an increasingly competitive Big Ten. It's a question-mark - we've lost something like 55% of our roster to graduation. Going into 2025, there appear to be two camps of Indiana football fans: there are those who view 2025 as a sort of 2023 2.0 (or a 2021 3.0, depending on how old they are) and there are others who view it with the sort of optimism that having a talented team of young, returning players tends to instill. I mean, how could you not view these 2025 Hoosiers with some excitement? While Geoff Albuquerque departs for (professional?) pastures new, his shoes are more than filled by Redshirt Junior Tyler Looney (A/B+) and Sophomore J.J. Pilaf (A/B-) at Wide Receiver - both of whom are coming off of an impressive 2024 season in their respective WR2 and WR3 roles. Combined with the arrival of Freshman Wide Receiver Frank Pineda, a 4-star recruit out of California, and there are plenty of options for Redshirt Sophomore Quarterback Samuel Johnson (B/B) to pass to as he hopes to garner Big Ten honors in 2025. That doesn't even include the two Tight Ends Coach Piercewise managed to snag in the Transfer Portal: Seniors Anthony Cowgill (B+/D+) and Sandy Davis (B+/C+) joining Indiana from Texas A&M and Syracuse, respectively, hope to team up with Redshirt Senior Halfback Mike Johnson (A/B) as additional outlets of Johnson and via the run-game in their own right. If Indiana's 2025 recruiting class continues the upward trajectory of Hoosier recruiting since Coach Piercewise's arrival and finally cracks the Top-10, then Coach's assertion that 2026 is going to be "the year" is more than just an assertion, it's achievable. With Coach Piercewise locked up at Indiana through the 2028 season, it's a whole new era in Bloomington - one where you'd better get used to the Hoosiers competing for the Big Ten. The rest, as they say, is history. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special thanks to @Piercewise1 for sitting down to chat about Indiana football and his coaching journey - it was a pleasure to have some "real talk about fake sports!" I've been sitting on this one for a while (juggling Miami football and basketball and a few other non-coaching things) to get it right and we've got a few more Coaches Chats lined up in the queue; but if you'd like to sit down and have a chat about your coaching journey, the teams you've working with and/or on, feel free to reach out! Until next time, football fans!

This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. Welcome back, football fans! It's finally upon us: the transfer portal - a mystical and magical realm where Quarterbacks, Linebackers, and Punters can be bought for a mere promise of a six-win season and walk-ons can be cast into the shadow realm; what a wonderful time to be alive! Over this past season, we took a look at some high-profile transfer targets - admittedly, mainly Quarterbacks, because that's where the money's at - ahead of their entry into the portal for the upcoming 2025 season. Well, that season is here, and we'd be doing a disservice if we didn't catch up with each of our previously-featured targets to see who's currently soliciting their talents, and whether or not its a good fit for the player themselves. That's right, we're taking the same formula and running it back. Except this time, instead of providing a Top 5, we're gonna take a look at each of the visible programs on the Transfer Portal who're chasing each of our previously-featured targets and provide a letter grade for each fit - with some analysis along the way, of course. Don't worry folks, there is a curve. So sit, back, relax, and enjoy the reboot. ------------------------------------------------ Kelly Jarwin, Quarterback, Redshirt Senior When we last left Kelly Jarwin, he was optimistic about getting another shot at the starting job at Florida State; before getting ceremoniously demoted in favor of Colt McIntyre for the remainder of the 2024 season and entering the transfer portal soon after. Boy, has our proverbial black swan transformed into the belle of the ball. From what we can currently see on the Transfer Portal interface, nine teams are pursuing Jarwin to be their Quarterback for the 2025 season - hell, there are probably more, but we're going to stick with an analysis of those we can feasibly confirm are in the race for Kelly Jarwin. That's right folks, no speculation here - only hard-hitting facts. Measurables Overall Height Weight Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential A 6'3" 228 lbs B C C+ B A+ A+ Balanced B- B- F C Texas (@SlinkyJr) Transfer Talk Grade: C Let's be candid: Texas needs all the help they can get. The Longhorns first season in the SEC was one to forget and that's an understatement - finishing any season 1-11 (0-8) constitutes a catastrophic campaign, but when you finish with an NCAA-lowest 64 points-scored and an NCAA-sixth highest 424 points-allowed alongside the NCAA-lowest total offensive yards (2,139; avg. 178.25 per game) and horns are not only down, but they're six feet under. Lest we forget, these statistics all include those from Texas' sole win against *checks notes* FCS Prairie View A&M where the anemic Longhorns offense was propelled to a 22-10 victory at home by the heroics of Kicker Pat Bethea, who accounted for 15 of Texas' 22 points on the day. In fact, over the course of 2024, Pat Bethea accounted for 40 of Texas' 64 total points (62.5%). Okay, a lot of negativity, so let's switch to some positives; or in the case of Texas, positive. Phillippe Johnson (A/C+) is an absolute stud and Texas's 2025 offense should undoubtedly run through and seek to leverage the talents of the Senior Halfback. By all accounts, Johnson's agility is only outmatched by his animalistic strength and his sheer speed. He's also become a true leader in the locker room, and a cerebral one at that; known for academically breaking down walkthroughs for his younger teammates. Johnson's also proven himself a more-than-capable receiver and pass blocker - at least compared to his peers - and it's frankly a shame that he can't pass or hand the ball off to himself. Now the negatives, and trust me, there are a few when it comes to analyzing the Texas offense from the perspective of Kelly Jarwin. Firstly, despite the presence of Phillippe Johnson in the backfield, there's not a whole lot to come by in terms of outlets to work with. Redshirt Sophomore Halfback Kevin Hong (B/C) looks to capable to come in as a third-down or redzone option to keep Johnson fresh and Senior Wide Receiver Taylor Paulsen's (B/C+) hands are sure enough, but that's it. The remainder of the Wide Receiving corps is weak, and that's being particularly generous; the Tight End options only boast Junior Daniel Shaffer (C+/C) as a serviceable blocker; and the Offensive Line as a whole is below-average, despite boasting the talents of Redshirt Senior Brant Taylor (A/A-) to bail out the whole group by bringing the average up. All of that even avoids the biggest concern for Kelly Jarwin - Redshirt Sophomore Quarterback Joseph Wise (B+/A). With two remaining years of eligibility, Wise should be Texas' 2025 starting Quarterback. Coming off of a season where he was usurped in favor of a younger, talented Quarterback at Florida State due to a poor performance against a contending rival, Kelly Jarwin shouldn't touch Texas with a ten foot pole. With their lack of all-around offensive talent, Jarwin will undoubtedly have a less-than-stellar game during his time at Texas - lest we forget this is the same Texas team that was shut-out by UTSA, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Georgia last season. At the first sign of trouble, Wise could be viewed as the solution, and this should send shivers down Jarwin's spine. From Texas' perspective, these are rebuilding years and they already have a young Quarterback option in Wise, so the pursuit of Jarwin raises more questions than answers, espeically when other areas of the Longhorns roster are in dire need of an upgrade via the Transfer Portal. ------------------------------- Baylor (@Vivid) Transfer Talk Grade: A There is no greater statement-of-intent that the Baylor Bears are looking to win the 2025 National Championship than going after a top-tier Quarterback like Kelly Jarwin. Their returning Offensive Line, led by Redshirt Senior Center Chris Watkins (A/B), is filled to the brim with generational talents; they have a dual-threat and one-two backfield of Redshirt Seniors Shareece Hinojosa (A/C+) and Drew Floro (A-/C+); Redshirt Junior Tyler Prochnow (A/B+) and Redshirt Senior Ariel Pyke (A/B-), alongside Redshirt Senior Tight End Jonathan Burke (A-/B-), are up there for some of the best receiving corps in the country. The only thing Baylor needs is a lights-out Quarterback who can utilize the weapons around him while acting as a bridge for the talent that the Bears have waiting to develop over the coming seasons. This one's short and sweet; Kelly Jarwin fits the bill perfectly, and the opportunity to play for a pre-season National Championship contender is one that may be too good to pass up. ------------------------------- Penn State (@Rocketcan) Transfer Talk Grade: A- Speaking of pre-season National Championship contenders, enter stage-right the Nittany Lions. Despite an uneventful 2024 campaign, where they ultimately finished 6-7 (5-4) in a cut-throat Big Ten, Penn State are gearing up for 2025 firing on all cylinders. Redshirt Senior Chris Brooks (A/A) and Redshirt Junior Matt van Roten (A/B) offer a dual-threat, one-two punch out of the backfield alongside Redshirt Senior Fullback Anthony Brown (A/C+); four-out-of-five presumptive Offensive Line starters are A-rated, with the strong and quick Redshirt Senior Johnny Chacin (A-/B+) the only exception; and a receiving corps led by the speedy Junior Brian Walker (A/C) and with the safe hands of Redshirt Junior Pedro Farrow (A/C+) round out the talented Penn State offense. Moreover, Quarterback heir-presumptive, Redshirt Freshman Michael Garcia (B/C+) eagerly awaits the keys to the offense, but could probably benefit from another year behind an establish collegiate starter - someone like Kelly Jarwin, who could take the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten title and beyond. ------------------------------- Georgia Tech (@ATonOfLaw) Transfer Talk Grade: B- This one's hard for me: in the first episode of Transfer Talk, Georgia Tech was the hands-down, number one destination for Kelly Jarwin due to scheme fit, play time, and potential. While I don't backtrack on my initial opinions or analysis, the calculus has changed and the Yellow Jackets are simply no longer the "best fit" for Kelly Jarwin; however, that's not to say they aren't still a decent fit. Despite possessing a shaky offensive line, particularly in comparison to the talent they possessed during their 10-4 (8-1) 2024 season and ACC Championship, Georgia Tech possess a young RB1 in true-Freshman Paul Heard (B/D-) who has to be hungry to prove himself. Coupled with an experienced, returning Wide Receiving corps of Redshirt Senior Natrell Mihalik (A-/C+), Senior Byung-Hyun Socolovich (B+/B-), and Senior Jonathan Cruceta (B/B-), Georgia Tech have decent options for an incoming Quarterback like Kelly Jarwin. Plus, the opportunity to compete with Florida State directly within the ACC, with the team that caused the biggest harm to the Seminoles (and Jarwin himself) last season, could be an enticing prospect that is beyond any letter grade we could provide. ------------------------------- James Madison (@JC.) Transfer Talk Grade: B If James Madison are able to sign Kelly Jarwin, it would be a resounding coup for not only the Dukes and their chances for a Sun Belt title, but for the Sun Belt Conference as a whole. The only Group of Five team on this list, James Madison beats out a number of their Power 5 counterparts for a number of reasons. First, while the Dukes don't possess a world-beater offensive line, the group led by Senior Center DaVante Littleton (A-/C) are a serviceable bunch; not only have they spent the past few years working in pass-heavy situations, but despite being merely an average offensive line in comparison to contenders Baylor and Penn State, the Dukes possess one of the best offensive lines in the Sun Belt. Circling back to experience, James Madison also boast a plethora of returning Wide Receivers, such as Senior Chris Morgan (B+/C+) who led the Sun Belt in receiving yards in 2024, and Senior Halfback Taiwan Hayward (B+/B-) who are eager to build upon the Dukes break-out campaign where they became bowl eligible for the first time. Should Kelly Jarwin choose to join James Madison for 2025, I'd reckon this launches the Dukes into Sun Belt contention - and out of all the possible options, selfishly, this one might be the one I'd want to see the most just to see the Dukes continue their meteoric rise from the FBS to Sun Belt Champions in a few years time. ------------------------------- Southern California (@Dr_Novella) Transfer Talk Grade: C+ USC are in an intriguing spot ahead of the 2025 season: while they're only two years removed from their 2023 National Championship, and still possess so crucial pieces from that team, their 2024 title defense season was unspectacular to say the least, and the scars from this abject disappointment - and the departure of Quarterback Julian Longacre - could prove too consequential. While the Trojans boast elite receiving outlets in Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver Phillip Adams (A/C+) and Redshirt Senior Tight End Lou Jackson (A-/B+), USC's strengths going into 2025 are on the defensive side of the ball. While Redshirt Senior Haywood Wick (B+/C+), a Quarterback in the scrambler mold, could slot in as a Halfback - as has become somewhat in-vogue across the college football ranks - to solve USC's backfield woes, their offensive line remains a glaring weakness. There's no doubt that Kelly Jarwin could fit into the Trojans offense to guide them on a resurgence; however, if other positional concerns aren't address within the transfer portal, the signing of Jarwin by USC could be all for naught. ------------------------------- NC State (@Dean) Transfer Talk Grade: F Senior Wide Receiver Sonny Dekker (A-/B). There, that's it. That's all the offensive support Kelly Jarwin would have is he becomes a member of the Wolfpack. Given that NC State were geared for a run-heavy offense, or at least a run-focused offense, and arguably still are, the focus on Kelly Jarwin is a confusing one. When it comes to playing Jarwin's sort of pass-heavy offense, the Wolfpack Offensive Line transforms into an abysmal one; that's not to say they're generally poor, but they're not the sort of linemen you'd want protecting a pocket passer who drops back for a majority of snaps. Adding insult to injury, NC State possess a thoroughly unimpressive running backs room; there's nobody with the agility, strength, speed, or receiving acumen to take some offensive pressure off of Kelly Jarwin, let alone be a game-changer when called upon. All in all, NC State have far more pressing issues to address in the transfer portal; targeting a plug-in Quarterback like Kelly Jarwin is honestly a gross waste of resources. ------------------------------- Houston Christian and Villanova Transfer Talk Grade: F Effort Grade: A There's not much to talk about here - both Houston Christian and Villanova only have 20 players currently rostered: A for effort, F for fit. Though we could see an absolute master-class in trash-talk from @Kirby if either team manages to snag Kelly Jarwin, and that alone may be worth it. ------------------------------------------------ Meyers Ramirez, Quarterback, Redshirt Junior In our second episode of Transfer Talk we discussed five fits for our Scrambler leaving Wazzu for pastures new: Colorado State, Rutgers, Cincinnati, NC State, and Illinois. As it turns out, Meyers has three potential suitors and none of them are those we'd mentioned within our Top 5; only one was even mentioned within the Meyers Ramirez episode of Transfer Talk all together, and I'm honestly a little surpise by each of them, but not necessarily in a bad way. Let's take a look. Measurables Overall Height Weight Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential B+ 6'0" 224 lbs A A- B A- C- C+ Balanced C A D+ A- Clemson (@Spoof) Transfer Talk Grade: B- Let me be clear at the outset, I think that Clemson would be a fantastic fit for Meyer Ramirez. As one of the handful of teams across the college football landscape to commit to the I-Option and stick with it, the rush-forward offense has been tested by the Tigers and is seemingly here to stay. While Senior Wide Receiver Garrett McGee (A-/C+) is the sole stand-out in terms of receiving support, Clemson possess a powerful rusher in Redshirt Senior Halfback Ronald Beato (B+/C) and a complementary dual-threat option in Senior Halfback Josh Hollis-Jefferson (B/B-). Although the Tigers' offensive line is a bit of a patchwork of rush and pass blockers, the line is led by the formidable Redshirt Senior Tackle Alex Figueroa (A/C+). Okay, this all sounds way better than a B-, what's the problem. Quarterbacks, plural. At time of writing, Clemson have seven rostered Quarterbacks going into 2025 - Meyers Ramirez would make eight. Of those seven, three are scramblers like Ramirez; of those three, only two are feasible threats to the starting job: Redshirt Junior Isiah Fitts (B+/B) and true Freshman Gregg O'Connell (B/B+). I have no doubt that Coach @Spoof would figure out a way to make it work between these talented scramblers; with the heir-apparent O'Connell probably taking a redshirt season and Ramirez and Fitts either splitting snaps or one of the two transitioning to halfback. Either way, the B- grade is a conditional one - until there's a sense of finality as to whether or not our Quarterback in question would be able to join the Tigers as, well, a Quarterback, there's no higher grade to give. ------------------------------- Northwestern (@David VanHousen) Transfer Talk Grade: C- In the cutting room floor, Big Ten Hot Seat extraordinaire, I had Northwestern slated to run the Run and Shoot offense starting in 2025 to make the most out of their sparse offensive weapons. One of these weapons, if not the Wildcats' main weapon, Senior Halfback Anthony LaMarre (B+/A+) entered the transfer portal and is solely being targeted by Stanford in their post-Vontae Knebel era. That said, Northwestern's new RB1: Junior William Brown (B-/C); as well as their top two receiving options in Junior Wide Receivers Robert Stack (B/C+) and William Goodwin (B-/A-) are all scheme-fits for the Run and Shoot. In contrast, should Northwestern persist with the Spread Option that they ran last year, the only player who would seemingly benefit is Meyers Ramirez himself. While this would undoubtedly been a boon and would lock up the starting job in Evanston for his remaining two years of eligibility - at what cost? The Wildcats' offensive line is unreliable at best, their backfield would be able to provide mediocre run support by virtue of not playing in an explicitly complementary system, and their below-average receiving corps would receive no favors either; and all of this in an increasingly competitive Big Ten. ------------------------------- Washington (@CoachCartier) Transfer Talk Grade: A- The Washington Huskies were featured twice within the Top 5s of Transfer Talk due to their need for a Quarterback for 2025 - the first was at #2 for Kelly Jarwin and the second was at the top spot for Mark Koch. So imagine my surprise when I scoured the transfer portal and found that they were targeting a scrambler in Meyers Ramirez instead of the pocket-passer of Jarwin or the balanced Koch. And frankly, I love it. First of all, there would be nothing quite like a two-year long Meyers Ramirez Apple Cup Revenge Tour - absolutely juicy. But mainly, the Huskies have an impressive supporting cast that could help bring out the best in what Meyers Ramirez has to offer while allowing for his development ahead of 2026. Specifically, Washington boasts a powerful duo of dual-threat halfbacks in Redshirt Senior Xavier Smith (A/C) and Redshirt Junior Franklin Riggins (A-/A); alongside top-tier receiving outlets like Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver Randy Peterson (A/C+), Redshirt Senior Tight End Robbie Bloom (A/B), and Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver Joey Tejada (A-/C+). Despite being led by Redshirt Senior Center Emmanuel Murdock (A/C+), Washington's offensive line risks being its Achilles Heel due to the potential shift from a passing-based offense to a rushing based-offense; however, this disadvantage could be easily mitigated with additionally astute moves in the transfer portal and shrewd play-calling. ------------------------------------------------ Jay Ratley, Quarterback, Redshirt Senior With only one year of eligibility remaining and only a handful of college programs favoring mobile Quarterbacks, it's honestly not all that surprising that Jay Ratley has only garnered interest from one program - particularly when Meyers Ramirez with an additional year of eligibility has three interested programs. What is interesting, or rather, intriguing, is which program is going after Ratley. NC State (@Dean) Transfer Talk Grade: F Two things: yes, I am aware of the coaching change (that occurred during the drafting of this article - makes me feel like @kgreene829 with mock drafts), but @Dean and his staff were the ones who made the transfer portal investment and shall receive the grade; and two, we'll keep it short and sweet since we've already discussed NC State. The Wolfpack, as discussed, have an abysmal offensive line, an unimpressive backfield, and one talented receiver. They have a few capable, but uninspiring, options at Quarterback who could bridge the gap for an incoming recruit but that's about it for their offensive makeup. So it's surprising that NC State, instead of filling some pretty gaping holes in the transfer portal, have adopted a sort of "scattershot" approach to Quarterbacks and Quarterbacks alone in that they've heavily targeted the highest ranked Quarterback of each archetype. While other programs, such as Baylor, have adopted this exact same strategy, this sort of strategy only works if you're Baylor and have a roster full of generational talents and a sole potential weakness; then you can afford to target this weakness aggressively via the transfer portal. If it weren't for the fact that Boston College and NC State don't play next year, I'd even be so inclined to presume that a scuppering were at-hand, but instead, I have to genuinely hope that either another team comes in for Jay Ratley or that the incoming coaching staff at NC State makes some serious changes to right this sinking ship. Because Jay Ratley, and the NC State Wolfpack, deserve better. ------------------------------------------------ Mark Koch, Quarterback, Redshirt Junior The college football world has heard narrative after narrative about Mark Koch; most recently, his literal lock-out from Tennessee following their 2024 National Championship. Don't feel too terribly bad for Mark though, he's got a couple of very interesting programs vying for his services for 2025 and beyond - and he's earned it too, despite the animosity between Koch and Knoxville, the embattled Quarterback's time at Tennessee has led to impressive development this offseason. Without further ado, let's get into it. Measurables Overall Height Weight Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential B+ 6'2" 216 lbs C+ C C- C B B- Balanced C+ A+ C- B Kansas (@Bundy) Transfer Talk Grade: B+ Mark Koch as a Jayhawk isn't what I had on my bingo card, but it's an intriguing possibility in the 50/50 transfer portal toss-up. Kansas have talented receiving outlets in Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver Tanner Bradley (A/B), Senior Tight End Steel Blue (A-/A-), Redshirt Senior Wide Receiver Eric Zawadzki (B+/A), and Redshirt Junior Tight End Travis Siegrist (B+/C-) that any Quarterback would be ecstatic to throw to on Saturdays. Coupled with the fact that the Jayhawks offensive line is solid and you've got a transfer portal Quarterback's dream destination. While there is the hiccup of incumbent Redshirt Senior Quarterback Tyler Summers (A/C-), Kansas' pursuit of Mark Koch leads me to believe that if they get their man (Koch, that is), that Summers will see himself deployed as RB1 to compensate for Kansas' sole offensive weakness: their backfield. In an era where speedy Quarterbacks are beginning to see themselves transformed into backfield playmakers, this pursuit of Mark Koch is fun, ballsy, and extremely beneficial to both parties. ------------------------------- Kentucky (@Ezaco) Transfer Talk Grade: B+ Mark Koch and Michael Oliveros in the same lineup? In the SEC? Remember the Meyers Ramirez Apple Cup Revenge Tour? Well this could be Mark Koch's own revenge tour if he finds himself a Kentucky Wildcat. Let's not split hairs, Kentucky's receiving options are elite: Redshirt Senior Wide Receivers Brennan Dominguez (A/A-) and Zack Beck (A/B) alongside Senior Wide Receivers Eddie Gibson (A-/B-) and Johnathan Forrest (A-/C) lining up four-wide are a force to be reckoned with. Hell, Mark Koch may think he's back in Knoxville with all of that receiving talent on offer. While Kentucky's glaring weakness is their offensive line, due to the fact that they'd be shifting from a run-dominant offense to a balanced or pass heavy offense, this weakness would be completely negated by one man: Michael Oliveros. Just like with Kansas, Kentucky's pursuit of Mark Koch indicates one thing: Michael Oliveros will be switching to Halfback for 2025. With defenses having to contend with Oliveros on the ground and four-wide sets any offensive line weaknesses won't have the opportunity to be exploited due to defensive indecisiveness; if they plan for Oliveros, they'll be burned on the pass; if they plan for Koch, Oliveros will torch them with his legs. Mark Koch, take a bow. Wherever you end up - Kansas or Kentucky, it'll be fun to watch in 2025. ------------------------------------------------ Alright, football fans, that's all for this iteration of Transfer Talk - let us know your thoughts! We're gonna take another break to focus on the *increasing backlog* of media pieces to write before the 2025 season gets well and truly underway, but we'll be sure to take a look at the transfer portal again once it closes up shop - we'll see where our featured players have ended up and take a look at some new folks for the first time! Until next time, football fans!

It's May 2001 - Janet Jackson's All for You tops the Billboard Hot 100 (Survivor by Destiny's Child is a close second); DreamWorks have released an adaptation of a 1990 children's picture book called Shrek; and, as of May 20th, the Seattle Marines have the best record in baseball at a commanding 32-11. Halfway across the world, Angola is burning. It's twenty-six year long Civil War is an inextinguishable conflagration; even when the ashes appear to have settled, an ember lights the fire of war again. And again. Our story begins on May 21, 2001 in the Angolan provincial capital of N'dalatando; our protagonist, Mr. Jose Abraão Chaves, is forty-one year-old mid-level functionary tasked with ensuring the flow of international aid from the coastal ports to his interior homeland. Born and raised within the Portuguese colonial system, Mr. Chaves is the perfect administrator: he speaks Portuguese and Kimbundu natively alongside French, which he learned from Médecins Sans Frontières volunteers, and English, a gift from Jesuit priests from the United States; he has a keen grasp on logistics, as evidenced by the fact that trucks travel to and through his province carrying food and medicine without any falling off the back; and he is incorruptible. He is resolute - a man of principle and unwavering faith. That is, until May 22, 2001. As dawn broke, more than seven-hundred refugees stumbled into his jurisdiction - an attack occurred in the village of Golungo Alto overnight, these survivors had trekked over sixty kilometers (approximately thirty-seven miles) under the cover of darkness seeking aid and shelter. There was only one problem: there were only enough supplies for a mere hundred of them. As Mr. Chaves waded through the crowd with his subordinates, speaking to the huddled masses, a baby was thrust into his hands - a boy, no older than two months. He could not see from where, but inquiry after inquiry within the crowd led to nothing - the boy was an orphan. The Chaves family departed N'dalatando on May 23, 2001, arriving in Portugal as refugees within a few months time thanks to Mr. Chaves' connections to an aid group from Faro. Their ultimate destination? Scranton, Pennsylvania. Thirty years after Fr. Wisniewski and Mr. Chaves last spoke, the former agreed to be the latter's sponsor to come to the United States. It would take five more years for the Chaves family to reach American soil - both a by-product of the American immigration system and the absolute anarchy it was thrust into after the September 11th attacks - but they arrived in Scranton with another blessing: Ana was heavily-pregnant with a son. In their forties, after thinking that parenthood had passed them by, Jose and Ana Chaves became parents to a second son: Chin Chaves, christened in honor of the young Chinese-American attorney, Peter Chin, who handled the Chaves' immigration case from start-to-finish. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eighteen years later, Chin Chaves is a three-sport (Football, Wrestling, Lacrosse) phenom out of Scranton Preparatory Academy. Standing at 5'10" and weighing an imposing 233 pounds, Chaves is officially designated as a Fullback by Rivals, ESPN, and 24/7, but there's much more to his game. In 2022, Chaves captained his Cavaliers freshman football team to a Pennsylvania state title; rushing for a touchdown and receiving another in the title-decider to cap off a season where he earned freshman all-state honors and racked-up the most all-purpose yards amongst eligible rushers and receivers. Chaves carried this momentum into 2023 and 2024, where during his sophomore and junior years he became Pennsylvania's most-feared third-down specialist. Opponents frequently balk at what defensive strategy to employ when Chaves reports on third-down. When defenses have aimed to stop the ground game, Chaves utilizes his abilities as a receiver to get open and make a play; when a pass-defense is employed, Chaves simply uses his powerful frame to literally bowl over the opposition. In no game was this more apparent than the 2024 season-opener between Scranton Prep and cross-town rivals Scranton High School - on three different occasions, Prep lined up on third-and-goal from beyond the five-yard-line with Scranton High looking to make a stop. Chin Chaves finished the night with three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground, all from third-and-goal. During my time in Scranton, I spent a lot of time with the Chaves family. Mr. Chaves, as a member of their faculty, gave me a tour of Scranton Prep. I received a backstage pass to the entire school; however, the most impressive room, at least in my opinion, was his office. Adorning virtually every available surface, alongside French textbooks and stacks of tests and lesson plans, were footballs - game balls. Each were dated and with scores written on them; Mr. Chaves beams, as any proud father would, as he recounts each game to me with an academically impressive level of detail. Prominent amongst all else are two display cases, in an obvious place of veneration on either side of Mr. Chaves' desk. The first display case contains a ball which reads: 2022 Pennsylvania Freshman State Championship, 14-12; the game ball from Chin's freshman year, where his two touchdowns made all the difference. The second display case, curiously, appears empty. Mr. Chaves implored me to take a look at the seemingly-empty display case - propped up on the pedestal in the display case, where only Mr. Chaves can see it from his office chair, is a baby picture of Chin being held by his older brother Peter. Chin is wearing an adorably-tiny Santa hat, Peter is wearing a child's sized duplicate of the same Santa Hat; scribbled in sharpie in the corner is Christmas, 2007. A proud dad, indeed. At the Chaves home, Mrs. Chaves prepared a whole feast: I sampled caruru, a sort of jambalaya-esque shrimp and okra stew; kissuto rombo, garlic-roasted goat with lemon-rice; farofa, a rice and bean dish; and cocada amarela, custardy coconut pudding. Mrs. Chaves, ever the hostess-with-the-mostess, insisted that I take a plethora of other dishes whos names I cannot recall off the top of my head back to my hotel with me. As she packed tupperware container after tupperware container, Chin insisted on showing me his room. Aside from the crucifix above the lightswitch next to the door, it looked like most bedrooms of high-school-aged boys, albeit tidy: a desk with opened-envelopes on one side and a TI-84 and an Xbox controller on the other; a hastily-made bed in the corner; an open closet door displaying a shoe collection of Nikes, Air Jordans, and the like; and a like-new hat rack. No hidden Playboy magazines, as far as I could tell from my vantage point. Before I know it, Chin has arranged a set of hats on the bed for me to see: Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Boston College, Yale, Georgetown, Fordham, Bucknell, Lehigh, Lafayette, and Colgate. As I nod approvingly at the Notre Dame hat and make a quip about the Patriot League, Chin explains that these ten schools are either schools who have already approached him about playing football in 2026, places he's received mail about applying to, or institutions he's already applied to outside of football. Breaking those schools down, the entirety of the Patriot League - Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, and Lehigh have all shown interest in Chin Chaves. I mean, how could they not, he practically plays high school football in their conference's backyard. Both Boston College and Notre Dame, as Catholic institutions, are schools that Chin has received mail from and indicates that he's highly interested in if they were to offer him a chance to play football. The outlier of Yale? Well, Chin's already applied to Yale - his older brother Peter is studying there for his Masters Degree in Divinity, and we all know that Chin would love for more opportunities to play football with his brother in attendance. As I depart the Chaves residence, tupperware containers in tow, I thank the Chaveses for their hospitality and offer to return the favor if they're ever down in Miami. Unlocking my rental car, I place my feast-to-go in the passenger footwell and grab a football I purchased earlier that day; I asked Chin to sign it for me and he obliged. I like the sound of "the first Angolan-American to play in the NFL" and I genuinely think that this scrappy, well-mannered kid from Scranton, Pennsylvania can get there. A signed-football would be one hell of a keepsake for my office; I'd get a display case, but those are only for game balls. I know for a fact that there's only one man who's getting his hands on a Chin Chaves game ball other than the player himself - his father.

I think that a lot of folks have raised a bunch of good points both in favor and in opposition to the prospect of deviating from the IRL College Football Realignment; however, there's one factor that I'd like to posit in favor of retaining the structure we currently employ (mirroring IRL CFB) - new member attraction and retention. As an incoming head coach, there's a lot to wrap your head around: whether that be adjusting to a college football landscape with completely new athletes, to learning how to recruit and gameplan, alongside understanding the "who's who" of the community. Having the SimCFB conferences in line with the IRL counterparts removes a potentially complicated aspect for a first-year head coach to comprehend, especially if they were attracted to joining a specific program with IRL conference play in mind. Moreover, I also think @Bundy's point goes hand-in-hand with my own; shaping SimCFB conferences in our own image, while a super-exciting and fun prospect, could turn off prospective coaches who are unfamiliar with our brand of nostalgia or the time we've spent shaping the conferences based on past play. Something that could be interesting to explore in lieu of deviating from the IRL CFB realignments would be to either encourage or facilitate the movement of coaches between realigned conferences. For example, with the 2026 Pac-12 expansion (at the time of writing), Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State are all poised to join from the Mountain West. In compensation for losing four teams for no reason within the sim, the Mountain West Commissioner would be allowed to grant some sort of privilege deemed suitable by the Admins to any departing coach (i.e. the head coach of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, or San Diego State) to join a vacant team within the Mountain West to keep conference coaching numbers stable. In turn, the Pac-12 Commissioner would be allowed to grant a lesser privilege deemed suitable by the Admins to any incoming or existing head coach to fill any vacancies at the incoming programs so as to increase the number of "coached teams" within their newly enlarged conference. All in all, I'm not particularly sure how this could operate within our current SimCFB landscape, but it could be a fun way to stimulate coaching mobility while functionally "compensating" conferences for realignments outside of their control.

This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. A lot has changed in college football over the past four years. By the end of the day, we’ll have our fourth National Champion in as many years. We’ve seen upwards of two-hundred coaching changes since 2022, during which time programs have risen and fallen and risen again within the college football landscape. Betting men would presume that these rising teams are set to fall, and falling teams are bound to rise. In some ways, they're right. In other ways, they couldn’t be more wrong. Yet, throughout these turbulent years, there are beacons of stability throughout college football - head coaches who have made names for themselves, either with one program or more and whose talents are as unique as the individuals behind the gameplans. To truly understand college football, one must first understand the men who control the game - both literally and figuratively. One such man is Coach @kwheele. Over the past four years, he’s been the poster-boy for stability - not for where he’s coached, but for how he’s coached his teams. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Coach kwheele, both ahead of and after our recording of the “Wheels Off” Podcast, to talk about his experiences in college football; his journey from Stillwater, to Madison, and ultimately to Fayetteville via Miami; his approach to recruiting top classes; and his outlook on the collegiate game. Welcome to Coaches Chat, where we’re gonna sit down with some of our greatest college football minds and find out a little more about both the wizard and man behind the curtain. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. It was a case of seeing what was possible. If any phrase could describe Coach kwheele’s arrival at Oklahoma State in 2021, it would be that. The proverbial Wild West of college football had arrived, new coaches took up their roles across the college football landscape, it was kickoff time and folks were ready to play. By all accounts, the 2021 Oklahoma Cowboys campaign was an unlucky one - they’d shown flashes of ability in some games and were thoroughly outclassed by superior opposition in others. An overall record of 6-6 (5-4) prior to their 13-3 loss to Stanford in the postseason was a respectable one; good enough for 5th in the Big XII, but not good enough to retain their head coach. It was about developing a program - a three-year plan. After seeing what Coach kwheele could do at Oklahoma State, Wisconsin came calling for 2022 following an impressive 2021 campaign where the Badgers went 13-2 (12-0); winning the Big Ten and earning the coveted 4-seed in the College Football Playoff. After falling 46-13 to 1-seed and eventual runners-up Florida State in the semifinal, the Badgers looked to hone their defensive game whilst building their program for the future. Time would tell that Coach kwheele was the perfect man to accomplish both of these team goals. In 2022, the Badgers finished the season 6-7 (5-4); falling 34-28 to Utah State in the Northern Lights Bowl. While Wisconsin’s overall record took a dip from their previous campaign - where they were primarily led by a cadre of departing Seniors - the quality of their play was undiminished. The Badgers were particularly impressive on the defensive side of the ball: in contests where the final score was decided by a single score or less (i.e. an eight point differential), Wisconsin were 4-1 across the season and an indomitable 3-0 in their final four regular season games. These three crucial Big Ten victories, which Wisconsin won by a combined total of 12 points, secured their bowl eligibility and were a testament to the resilience of the Badgers defense. In the Big Ten, Wisconsin’s defense finished 2022 with the 5th lowest yards allowed - underscored by an impressive second-lowest passing yards allowed; however, when considered that third-best Purdue allowed only a hundred less yards while playing one fewer game, a compelling case could be made for the Badgers to have had the third-best overall defense in the Big Ten at the end of 2022. The following year, Wisconsin secured the top spot in the Big Ten West with an impressive 9-5 (8-2) overall record. The Badgers defense continued to shine: while their 7th-lowest total yards allowed was commendable in its own right, Wisconsin made their case for the second-best defense in the Big Ten with the second-fewest yards allowed per game at 318 - a slightly-inflated number due to having played 11-3 (8-2) Big Ten Champions Ohio State twice and 11-3 (8-1) Mountain West Champions Nevada in the Almost Heaven, West Virginia Bowl Game. What was arguably more impressive than Wisconsin’s defense in 2023 was the recruiting done by Coach kwheele and his staff - which brought them the #6 recruiting class in the country by season’s end. Although a Top 10 recruiting class is indicative of sustained, long-term success, Coach kwheele’s approach to recruiting almost guarantees it. Unlike a number of his contemporaries, Coach kwheele is particularly selective when it comes to recruits. Center of attention work ethic? Not for him, that guy won’t be enough of a team player. Skips classes often? Student-athletes are meant to be students first, even in today’s era of NIL. Skips leg day? Pass, that sort of behavior displays a compromised work ethic. Frailty? Complacency? Narcissism? Pass, pass, and pass. It doesn’t matter if you’re a five-star recruit or a walk-on, within Coach kwheele’s team you become a member of the family, and you’re held to a higher standard of conduct not out of an attachment to what some players may view as “antiquated values,” but out of respect that you can be and ought to be the best version of yourself for both the team and player. It was to prevent the wrong driver from getting behind the wheel of a Cadillac. After the departure of Coach @cultur3 (may he rest in powder) for UNLV a mere three weeks into the 2024 campaign, the University of Miami and the Atlantic Coast Conference scrambled to find a suitable replacement. Their goal was to find a suitable interim head coach who could stabilize the Hurricanes in 2024 and who may be convinced to come aboard long-term. With a year remaining on his Wisconsin deal and a proven coaching acumen alongside an ability to build a team for the future, Coach kwheelerwas identified and tapped for the job. Finishing the 2024 campaign with a combined 6-6 record across both Madison and Miami and a recruiting composite of 1.93 - good for 23rd in the nation - Coach kwheele accomplished a particularly rare feat: he guided two programs to respectable finishes in a single campaign. It was time to test the waters. By his own admission, the Miami job was never Coach kwheele’s long-term plan - but after four seasons with three teams, it was time to settle down. Three programs were on Coach kwheele’s radar: San Diego State, Toledo, and Arkansas. Why these three? Strong defenses, strong rushing offenses, and strong recruiting grounds - three characteristics that we’ve come to associate Coach kwheele with during his coaching career. Why the Razorbacks? Arkansas, a team which has gone 22-27 (12-20) over the past four seasons, are the perfect team to settle down at: with a 2024 regular season record of 7-5 (3-5) - their best since 2021 - the Razorbacks are on the up, but have never truly tasted rock-bottom. With a steady hand from Coach kwheele, I’d say that Arkansas are poised to enjoy sustained success through solid coaching and unapologetically pragmatic recruiting; all with a head coach who’s raring to get there and create a dynasty. In short, it’s the perfect spot for a coach who’s been looking for just the right place to call home, and I can’t wait to see what Coach kwheele and his Razorbacks can do. ----------------------------------- Thanks for checking-in football fans, a little shorter-form with less walls of statistics (with a few nuggets embedded here or there for the keen reader), but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. Special thanks to Coach @kwheele once again for taking the time to have me on "Wheels Off" a few weeks back and for taking the time to sit and chat - one thing we found out is that we're both storytellers (read: long-winded), so we covered a lot of ground over a couple of cups of coffee, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Looking to keep this series going over the offseason so that we can continue to explore the journeys of our fellow-coaches and hopefully learn a little bit more about everyone along the way, so please, reach out if you'd like to chat or if you think one of your colleagues ought to feature on the program next. Without further ado, Happy Natty Day everyone - until next time!

Coral Gables, Florida - Coach @dearden has been unveiled as the new Head Coach of the Miami Hurricanes football team. After the mid-season departure of Coach @cultur3 and the hiring of interim-head coach @kwheele by the University of Arkansas ahead of their Birmingham Bowl appearance, the University of Miami and the Atlantic Coast Conference sought to identify and appoint a long-term coaching solution for the Hurricanes. Coming off of a 7-5 (6-2) debut regular season as Head Coach of the Appalachian State, Coach Dearden was approached to take over at Miami ahead of the 2025 season. While sources indicate that the initial deal - a six-year, $7.65 million contact - was finalized earlier this month, the college football world would have to wait until after Week 17, a stipulation made by Coach Dearden to allow for him to remain the Mountaineers Head Coach for their postseason game, to see who Miami had hired and if it were an astute appointment. While the Hurricanes fell 28-16 in the Military Bowl, Appalachian State ran out convincing 48-21 victors over Oklahoma State two days later, racking up 700 all-purpose yards on the way to a New Mexico Bowl win. If not an astute appointment, the dichotomy of Miami and Appalachian State in Week 17 and their performances at least suggest that the hiring of Coach Dearden could signal a step in the right direction for the languishing Hurricanes. Over the past four seasons, the Hurricanes have accumulated a combined record of 18-31 (13-20), finishing 11th in the ACC in both 2021 and 2022, before jumping to 8th in 2023, and rounding-out 2024 dead-center in the ACC at 9th while securing their first bowl appearance. During that time, two head coaches and an interim-head coach have passed through Miami; Hurricane hopes that any one of these coaches would make South Florida their home dashed as quickly as their respective coaching tenures. With the 2024 football season officially behind them, the Miami Hurricanes look to utilize the transfer portal to supplement their existing talent before preparing for 2025.

From the Office of the Assistant Athletic Director for Football of Appalachian State University, for immediate release:

This article was originally published on Yosef’s Cabin.

Albuquerque, New Mexico - Markus Turner's extra point attempt is up, and it is good - your Appalachian State Mountaineers have defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys 48-21 and are 2024 New Mexico Bowl Champions! The call from WKBC 97.3 FM echoed through the Blue Ridge Mountains and down to Charlotte, final score: OKST 21-48 APST. Described by Coach @dearden on the "Wheels OFF" Podcast as one of the Mountaineers most-formidable opponents, the Oklahoma State Cowboys entered the New Mexico Bowl with a 7-5 (4-5) regular season record; having prevailed against then #24 Colorado in Week 3, Big XII Runners-Up then #8 TCU in Week 6; then #8 Arizona State in Week 8, and then #16 Oklahoma to close out the regular season in Week 14. At one point in the regular season, the Cowboys were ranked #10 in the AP Coaches Poll - the second-highest an Appalachian State opponent would climb behind #7 Kentucky in both Weeks 1, 10, and 11. Despite the accolades of their opponent, the Appalachian State coaching staff believed that hard work and preparation would allow for the Mountaineers to accomplish their singular objective of the 2024 campaign: to win football games. Their confidence, in their players and travelling fans, was rewarded. Four weeks removed from their Week 13 victory away at Coastal Carolina to wrap up the regular season, the Mountaineers appeared hungry for victory; opening scoring in the first quarter via a 46-yard touchdown pass from Quarterback Austin Redding to Wide Receiver Geoff Lucas. While Oklahoma State would rally to bring the score to 14-7 in the Cowboys' favor entering the half, Halfback Phil Turner would make the second-half his own. Turner began his rushing-clinic with a 72-yard sprint to give App State a 17-10 lead mid-way through the third quarter. After a pair of defensive stops to force Oklahoma State into successive 30+ yard field goal attempts - both of which were missed - Turner led the drive with a 46-yard reception and capped it off with a 13-yard touchdown run to extend the Mountaineers' lead to 27-14. After the Cowboys responded, bringing the score to 27-21, Turner made it a one-play scoring drive: breaking free of defenders for a 66-yard trip to the endzone and giving App State a 34-21 lead. Following another Redding-Lucas connection, this time for a 57-yard touchdown, the Mountaineers led 41-21 with five minutes remaining. After a pair of defensive stops, App State received the ball with three minutes remaining and handed the keys to the offense to the "Thunder and Lightning" of Ramon Brice and Phil Turner to close out the game. With eleven seconds to go, Turner crossed the goal-line for his fourth trip to the promised-land on the evening - his lane opened up by a Ramon Brice block. The tailbacks held the football aloft together in the endzone as the score read 47-21, "an amazing way to wrap-up the season" - a few seconds later, the season officially ended with the kick of a football through the uprights: 48-21. Week 17 Offensive Statistics Player Team Rushing Attempts Rushing Yards Yards/Attempt Rushing Touchdowns Targets Catches Receiving Yards Yards/Catch Receiving Touchdowns Troy Young UTAH 27 248 9.19 4 5 3 39 13.00 1 Phil Turner APST 24 314 13.08 4 6 3 56 18.67 0 The New Mexico Bowl victory capped-off a successful debut season for first-year Head Coach @dearden, with the Mountaineers finishing 2024 with an 8-5 (6-2) record and an outside chance of a final AP Coaches Poll ranking. Over the past four seasons, this brings Appalachian State's combined record to 32-20 (21-13) with their third bowl victory in as many attempts. The Mountaineers victory also boosts the Sun Belt's 2024 Bowl record to 1-4, following an 0-4 start to the postseason in Week 16 - the Sun Belt will hope for victories by Southern Mississippi, Texas State, and Marshall in Week 18 to even-out their Conference record at 4-4 between their impressive eight postseason participants.

This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. It's been a hell of a week in College Football. We were treated to Brandon Savage's preparation for the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta; Paul McCullers-Sanders (colloquially known as "Paul" or "PMS") announced his potential retirement from the professional-amateur game known as College Football before doing his best Aaron Rodgers impression and going on a "darkness" (read: Ayahuasca) retreat with no intention of playing a part in team preparations for Tulane's upcoming bowl game; Interim Miami Coach @kwheele accepted the head coaching position at Arkansas; Indiana Coach @Piercewise1, Washington State Coach @TuscanSota, and Michigan Coach @subsequent each committed their futures to their current programs, all snubbing the perpetually-vacant Ohio State position in the process; post-season awards came and went (congrats to all our winners and nominees); ACC Commissioner @Kirby cryptically announced the hiring of a new head coach at Miami after a season of coaching tumult for the Hurricanes (in completely unrelated news, Google searches for "Miami," "Head Coach," and "ACC" have gone through the roof); a brilliant piece detailing 2024 National Coach of the Year @smackemz and the rise of the West Virginia Football Team was authored and published by @Piercewise1; final Committee Rankings were released; and the Bowl Schedule was confirmed. Phew. I think I got it all. Let's add to the chaos. Following Coach @kwheele's appointment at Arkansas, there are five SEC programs that remain without a head coach: Auburn; Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. Just like last week with the Big XII, we're gonna be taking a look at each of these programs and I'm gonna provide my "Coach's Pick" and an "Honorable Mention" for each. Alongside these picks, we've got the selections of SEC Commissioner and Tennessee Head Coach @tsweezy to give us an idea of where the conference itself is coming from when it comes to addressing these vacancies. ______________________________________________________________________________ Auburn Tigers Coach's Pick: @npklemm (Ball State) Commissioner's Pick: @Rome (Cincinnati) Honorable Mention: @Rabbit (New Mexico State) Projected Offensive Scheme: Pistol Projected Defensive Scheme: Multiple In my notes detailing what Auburn needs to focus on in the 2025 campaign, I have unceremoniously written: "EVERYTHING." While the Tigers come out of 2024 sitting 11th in the SEC (out of 16) with an overall record of 4-8 (2-6), a deeper dive into the scores and statistics paint a particularly bleak picture. Let's start with the Tigers four wins: their most impressive game of the season by a country mile was their Week 0 44-24 victory against eventual Sun Belt Champions and Top-25 ranked Marshall; from there, Auburn would only beat Akron (24-10) in Week 2, Vanderbilt (30-24) away in Week 8, and Arkansas (41-17) in Week 9. These latter three victories are nothing to write home about: Akron would finish 10th out of 12 in the MAC with an overall record of 4-8 (2-6), with their notable loss to previously-winless Kent State in Week 14 sending the College Football world into rapture; Vanderbilt would finish 15th out of 16 in the SEC with an overall record of 3-9 (1-7); and Arkansas would finish 9th out of 16 in the SEC with an overall record of 7-5 (3-5). Underscoring these uninspiring wins are Auburn's abysmal statistical differentials: -109 point differential; -1,090 overall yardage differential; +455 passing yard differential; and -1,550 rushing yard differential. Okay, so the Tigers can at least pass? Wrong. While Auburn finished 7th in the SEC in overall passing yardage, they also finished with an SEC-leading 22 interceptions thrown (to only 13 touchdowns) and a second-place 59 sacks-allowed (behind only Tennessee, whose 25 sacks-allowed to Georgia really skew that metric). In short, the only reason that the Tigers passing statistics don't look as poor as their other statistics, from a differential standpoint, is that they pass the ball a lot; however, they don't really do it well. With all of Auburn's shortcomings in mind, my pick to right the ship is Coach @npklemm of Ball State. Offensively, Ball State has been nothing but electric in 2024. In an impressive Mid-American Conference, Ball State are 4th in total points, 4th in total offensive yards, 2nd in total passing yards, 2nd in passing touchdowns, 3rd in average Quarterback rating, 4th in interceptions thrown, and, despite being third-bottom in total rushing yards, 6th in rushing touchdowns. What does this all mean? To me, it shows that Coach npklemm can make the most out of his offensive personnel. In those team statistics where Ball State places 4th, they are behind MAC Runners-Up Central Michigan, #3 Toledo, and #5 Bowling Green; where they place 3rd, they are only behind #3 Toledo and #5 Bowling Green; where they place 2nd, they are only behind #3 Toledo - to keep such illustrious company means one thing: you're pretty damn good yourselves, and Ball State have flourished offensively under Coach npklemm. Defensively, things only get better. While the Cardinals are a respectable 4th in total yards allowed, they are machines at getting the ball back for their offense: leading the MAC in turnovers (25), fumbles recovered (9) and interceptions (16). Combined with the fact that Coach npklemm is one of only eleven coaches nationally who run the Multiple-Man defense that Auburn is set to employ in 2025 and the fit is even better for the Cardinals head coach to be the answer to Auburn's woes - with the all-around acumen to build a lead, defend it, and recruit the players necessary to create such a team, Coach npklemm is more than capable of taking on the Auburn rebuild and should be targeted by their Athletic Department accordingly. A pragmatic choice, but one that makes sense for the future of Auburn football. In recent weeks, Coach @Rome has received praise from not one, but two Commissioners of Power 5 Conferences for his innovative recruiting. Where Commissioner @Vivid of the Big XII obviously wants to keep the talented Cincinnati head coach within his conference, SEC Commissioner @tsweezy would love to have a coach with that sort of ability taking over a prestigious program in dire need of a rebuild such as Auburn. I, for one, would love to see a competitive Auburn for a number of reasons - nine, in fact: rivalry games. Auburn have deep-seeded rivalries due to their past affiliations with the SIAA and SoCon, as well as their time in the SEC: Clemson; Florida; Georgia Tech; LSU; Ole Miss; Tennessee; and Tulane, just to name a few. And of course, the Iron Bowl against Alabama and the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" against Georgia. With Auburn's decline, these historic and meaningful matchups just don't feel the same. For someone like Coach Rome to come in and to work some magic with the Tigers, these rivalries would once again come to the forefront of the College Football schedule, and that's something to get excited about. This one's my wild card, and I'm gonna play it: Coach @Rabbit of New Mexico State is my honorable mention. Since joining the Aggies in Week 8, Coach Rabbit has led them to a respectable 3-3 (3-2) record to close the season, after New Mexico State started their 2024 campaign 2-4 (2-0). Since taking the reins in Las Cruces, the Aggies have looked a far more impressive squad, with Coach Rabbit utilizing the Pistol offense to put up an average of 15.33 points per game. While that may not seem particularly barnstorming, the Aggies offense averaged 14.83 points per game in their six games prior to Coach Rabbit's arrival - during which they had the benefit of putting up 38 against lowly Jacksonville State while Coach Rabbit had the unenviable task of dissecting the defenses of then-#25 Western Kentucky in Week 8 and then-#6 New Mexico in Week 14. Like Coach npklemm, Coach Rabbit is one of the few coaches to run the Multiple-Man defense; and while the Aggies defense weren't particularly impressive in terms of overall metrics, they did improve from allowing an average of 27.66 points per game before Coach Rabbit's appointment to allowing an average of 21.16 points per game after - all while playing against two Top-25 opponents. If Auburn felt like taking a chance on a Coach who's proven his competence with both the offensive and defensive schemes they are set to utilize within 2025, and a Coach whose best games are yet to come, Coach Rabbit is an unexpected pick that could pay dividends in years to come. ______________________________________________________________________________ Mississippi State Bulldogs Coach's Pick: @JC. (JMU) Commissioner's Pick: @Bundy (Kansas) Honorable Mention: @Qupax (Wake Forest) Projected Offensive Scheme: Air Raid Projected Defensive Scheme: Old School Within the Sun Belt Preseason Preview, Arkansas State were projected to finish stone-cold, dead-last. Not too far ahead of them, the James Madison Dukes were projected to finish second-to-last. Fast-forward eight months and Arkansas State sit stone-cold, dead-last in the Sun Belt with an overall record of 1-11 (1-7) with their place in the Toilet Bowl secured. Where are James Madison? Well, they finished the 2024 Season bowl-eligible for the first time in program history - with a regular season record of 6-6 (4-4) good enough for 8th in the Sun Belt (5th in the Sun Belt East Division) and a berth to the Fenway Bowl. All in all, the Dukes exceeded all expectations and I reckon that's down to their Coach, @JC.. If you take a look at James Madison's roster, something that'll immediately stick out to you is the quality, or the lack thereof - having only joined the FBS in 2023, the Dukes possess a roster where zero players are rated higher than a B-rating. For Coach JC to claw a successful campaign out of what was projected to be abject mediocrity is nothing short of staggering. For anyone who's about to question the Sun Belt and its level of competition, I'd like to remind everyone of two things. First, Inside Linebacker Ketel Mejia won National Defensive Player of the Week in Week 3 after James Madison's 17-10 non-conference win against Wake Forest. Second, Coach JC has proven he can do it elsewhere, lest we forget that in 2022 Coach JC led Virginia Tech to 2nd in the ACC Coastal Division with an overall record of 7-6 (5-3). How does Coach JC fit in at Mississippi State? The Bulldogs are set to lose a staggering 24 Seniors via graduation, 16 of whom possess a B-rating or better and are established starters. This core has led Mississippi State to #10 and a College Football Playoff appearance on the back of regular season wins against TCU, Texas A&M, Georgia, and Middle Tennessee State - two of their three losses were to Top-3 teams and nobody else outside of the Top-5 possessed the same quality of their wins. It would be a true travesty in 2025, after losing their star players on offense and defense, for Mississippi State to fall from grace as dramatically and drastically as it seems they could. This is where Coach JC fits in at Mississippi State; his ability to bring the most out of players is second-to-none, his hiring would allow for the Bulldogs to use 2025 as a rebuilding year - via the transfer portal and recruiting - while not completely falling out of contention. In the following years, with an improved player base and a Coach whose trademark is getting his players to the next level, Mississippi State would undoubtedly be right back where we see them at the end of the 2024 season, but with a far more secure future. In what has been highly-publicized news, Coach @Bundy's four-year deal at Kansas is set to expire at the end of the season and no information has come out of the Coach's camp or the University of Kansas Athletic Department about an extension. Rather, what's development in recent weeks is increasing speculation that Coach Bundy will depart Kansas to take the head coaching position elsewhere. As noted by the Commissioner, Coach Bundy's been strongly linked with Wisconsin, Miami, and Mississippi State - having been the fourth coach to dispel a potential move to Ohio State. Presuming that only Wisconsin and Mississippi State are on the table, I honestly like Coach Bundy for either program for a number of reasons, but let's talk Mississippi State here. First, Coach Bundy's disdain for the University of Missouri is well-known during his time at Kansas - joining the Bulldogs would present the opportunity of facing the Tigers every year in Conference play, raising the stakes as well as increasing the rivalry. Second, Coach Bundy's prowess in recruiting throughout the Southeastern United States is well-documented; his presence in Starkville would undoubtedly result in a "surge in local buy-in." Combined with Coach Bundy's unquestioned abilities as a head coach, Mississippi State would look extremely secure long-term if they reached out to snipe the established coach away from Kansas, Wisconsin, or any other suitor. Everyone knows how much I love a coaching scheme fit - my honorable mention is Coach @Qupax for that exact reason. Without re-hashing our Commissioner's Pick for Iowa State in our Big XII iteration, Coach Qupax has shown his worth at both Iowa State in 2023 and at Wake Forest this past campaign. What makes him suited for Mississippi State is the style of football he employs. There are only five established coaches nationwide who run the Old School defensive scheme; there is only one who runs that defense alongside a heavily-passing offense: Coach Qupax. Despite being set to lose a vast amount of talent to graduation, Mississippi State still possesses the players to form a strong backbone of a team come 2025; this team would prove even stronger with a head coach who is familiar with the schemes that would allow for the team to perform to the best of their abilities, and that's where Coach Qupax comes into play. ______________________________________________________________________________ Missouri Tigers Coach's Pick: @CadeRich (Nevada) Commissioner's Pick: @Ewade (Utah State) Honorable Mention: @TheLiberator (Pitt) Projected Offensive Scheme: Pistol Projected Defensive Scheme: Speed In 2024, Missouri had a massive problem: they couldn't score points. With a mere 139 points scored, the second-worst in the SEC behind a truly dysfunctional Texas, the Tigers put up an average of 11.58 points per game. What's particularly telling about their offensive woes in particular is that the Missouri defense was relatively robust; allowing the fifth-least total yards in the SEC, despite also allowing the fifth-most points scored against in the conference. What could help to explain this disparity is, well, Missouri's offensive struggles. The Tigers offense put up the second-most interceptions in the SEC (16) which could easily result in the following scenario: Missouri begins their offensive drive at their own 25 after a touchback; the Quarterback drops back to pass and throws an interception; Missouri's opponents begin their drive in favorable field position and eventually score. This sort of situation, where the Missouri offense turns the ball over and sets its defense up to fail, is one that undoubtedly occurred anywhere between one and sixteen times over the 2024 campaign. Speaking of the 2024 campaign, with a regular season record of 2-10 (2-6) Missouri find themselves particularly lucky to finish only 13th in the SEC and are in particular need of an offensive mind to stabilize the program. This is where Coach @CadeRich of Nevada comes into play. Nevada's 2024 regular season wasn't particularly remarkable, finishing with a regular season record of 5-7 (3-4) with a statement win against then-#6 UNLV to dash their Mountain West Championship hopes. What stands out to me from Nevada's season is their balanced, meticulous offensive production combined with their exceptional defensive play. Despite finishing in the bottom 25% of the Mountain West in total offensive yards, Nevada finished 6th (out of 12) in both passing yards produced and rushing yards produced, combining for a total 33 touchdowns across the season (and an average of 2.75 per game). While Nevada were never the conference leaders in any particular offensive category, they acted as silent workhorses of production, finishing respectably in every single metric with a balanced all-around offense. The Nevada defense is a similar story: 5th in points allowed; and 7th in rushing yards allowed; but by allowing the least passing yards in the Mountain West, Nevada's defense averages out to allowing the 2nd least amount of total yards - something that could translate particularly well to the SEC, where 11 of the 18 teams (61%) put up more passing yards in 2024 than rushing yards. Last but not least, let's not forget that Coach CadeRich has also utilized both the Pistol and the Speed Man as his offensive and defensive schemes at Nevada. Should he take over at Mizzou starting in 2025, I'd expect to see a balanced offense and a dominant passing defense take the Tigers to the next level. As with most of our repeat selections, I'm not going to beat a dead horse here. Coach @Ewade is exceptionally talented and I'll say precisely what I did when he was tapped as my UCF Honorable mention: he's had four respectable finishes at Utah State, where he's been a recruiting revelation with his increasingly impressive classes, and would be an excellent choice for Missouri. That said, like I'd said before, I'm not entirely convinced that Coach Ewade would make the move away from Utah State in the first place. There are few coaches of G5 schools that are garnering as much attention as Coach Ewade is on the Coaching Carousel at this point in time, but I'd also argue that there are few coaches of G5 schools less-likely to leave their current role than Coach Ewade. This one's another full scheme fit; Coach @TheLiberator has put together two impressive campaigns at Pittsburgh, finishing 9-4 (6-2) in 2023 and 7-5 (4-4) in 2024 with the 4th-ranked 2025 Recruiting Class at time of writing. The Panthers have proven themselves capable of winning football games and recruiting players to continue winning more games in the years to come. All that, and Coach TheLiberator also favors the Pistol offense and the Speed-Man defense, utilizing both effectively and in a balanced-manner to get results for Pitt despite no statistical standouts or anomalies. Sometimes, the best choices come down to what makes sense and gut feelings, and that's the best way I could describe liking Coach TheLiberator for Missouri here. Do I think he'll leave Pittsburgh? Not really. But if he does, I could see his no-nonsense approach working well for a Missouri team that craves both production and stability, and that's precisely what Coach TheLiberator has on offer. ______________________________________________________________________________ South Carolina Gamecocks Coach's Pick: @Bellwood (Colorado State) Commissioner's Pick: @Ezaco (Kentucky) Honorable Mention: @SandyToez (Temple) Projected Offensive Scheme: Spread Option Projected Defensive Scheme: 4-Man Third-bottom in the SEC in both total points scored and total yardage in 2024, South Carolina require a breath of fresh air on offense. The less-appreciated USC finished 2024 with a regular season record of 3-9 (2-6) which was good enough for 12th in the SEC. What's particularly interesting about the Gamecocks is that, unlike other case studies, it's not like they turned the ball over an egregious amount of times: throwing an SEC-best four total interceptions all campaign; South Carolina just couldn't find the endzone. Their sixteen passing touchdowns were sixth-worst in the SEC, while their meager eleven rushing touchdowns were tied for third-worst in the conference. All together, this contributed to the Gamecocks' lackluster points total points tally of 222, having allowed 303 points against across the season. What South Carolina ought to be looking for in a head coach is someone from a high-scoring program whose defense ability is respectable. Coach @Bellwood fits that bill. The Rams played conference spoiler to both UNLV and Boise State - who each had a higher overall record - on their way to becoming 2024 Mountain West Runners-Up with a regular season record of 8-4 (7-0). Colorado State ran riot in the Mountain West this campaign: 3rd in points scored; 2nd in total offensive yards; 1st in rushing yards, in a conference containing Mickey Brogdon's UNLV; 3rd in rushing touchdowns; and second-least in interceptions thrown, Colorado State were offensive powerhouses. To sweeten the deal for any South Carolina boosters sitting at home, Coach Bellwood ran the Flexbone offensive scheme to near-perfection - while a smidge different than the Spread Option the Gamecocks will undoubtedly employ in 2025, the fundamental personnel are virtually identical, meaning offensive success ought to translate. When the biggest hurdle for South Carolina has been the goal-line, that seems like a pretty sweet deal to me. I'm gonna file this one under "coaching moves I don't expect to happen but actually kind of like." There's no doubt that Coach @Ezaco can run the Spread Option offense with the best of 'em - Kentucky were 2nd in the SEC in total offensive yardage; 2nd in total points; and runaway leaders when it came to rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, but they were also solid producers when it came to the pass game as well as defensively, where they allowed the fourth-least amount of total yards in the SEC. It's an outside chance for sure, but I'd agree that Coach Ezaco would fit within the South Carolina system on paper. In reality; however, I'm skeptical, but interested to see how everything turns out. This honorable mention flips everything we've discussed on its head - let's talk about a defensive-minded head coach who also possesses a balanced offensive game: Coach @SandyToez of Temple. In 2024, the Owls finished the regular season 6-6 (5-3) in a somewhat unlucky manner, as four of their losses were decided in contests where the margin of victory was three points or less. What speaks volumes beyond an overall record is Temple's consistency on both sides of the ball: 6th most points scored in the American; fifth-least points allowed; 5th in total yards; third-least total yards allowed; 5th in total passing yards; third-least passing yards allowed; 3rd in total rushing yards; fifth-least in rushing yards allowed - whenever you look at the top of the American in terms of team statistics, the Temple Owls are there. For a team like South Carolina, who require a spark on offense but could also do with come consistency on defense, a proven Coach from another program in red-and-white who has demonstrated an ability to produce top quality numbers on either side of the ball is an appealing long-term option. ______________________________________________________________________________ Vanderbilt Commodores Coach's Pick: @brightfalls (Army) Commissioner's Pick: @Piercewise1 (Indiana) Honorable Mention: @SKLL (Oregon State) Projected Offensive Scheme: Wing-T Projected Defensive Scheme: Speed It's recently come to my attention that Coach @brightfalls may have hung up his whistle for the time being, so I'll keep this one short. That said, finding a head coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores is tough; but I think that Coach brightfalls is the man for the job. We're going to lean heavily into the scheme fit, but let's trust the process here. There are three established coaches who operate the Wing-T offensive scheme. There are two who operate the Wing-T offensive scheme as well as the Speed-Man defense. Vanderbilt, who finished the 2024 campaign with a regular season record of 3-9 (1-7) and a points differential of -61, desperately need a head coach who can shore up their uninspiring defense and provide a spark at offense. This past season at West Point, Coach brightfalls accomplished the former in spades: Army gave up the second-least points against in the American; allowed the second-least amount of yards against; gave up the least amount of passing yards; and gave up the third-least amount of rushing yards, all while having the third-least amount of defensive turnovers. The Black Knights owned the trenches of the American, fighting hard to prevent yardage and scoring whatever the circumstance. That sort of resilience, despite a lack of offensive production, is precisely what Vanderbilt need year-in, year-out as the proverbial "little brother" in the SEC. Plus, offensive production will surely increase when those restrictions and disadvantages associated with the United States Military Academy are shorn. Albeit humorous, I'm also going to file this away under "coaching moves I don't expect to happen but actually kind of like." As detailed above, Coach @Piercewise1 recently committed his future to the University of Indiana, so any move seems unlikely to say the least; however, the allure of private-school funding and "nerds" as so aptly-noted by the Commissioner could be too much for our man from Bloomington. Only time will tell. My logic for the honorable mention follows the same logic as my coach's pick. The only other head coach besides Coach brightfalls to operate the Wing-T and the Speed Man is Coach @SKLL of Oregon State. Does it feel dirty to suggest that a coach from the PAC-2 is a fit somewhere other than the PAC-2? Yes, and I'm not proud of it. While Coach SKLL's offensive and defensive statistics at Oregon State (and I'm not even going to humor you, dear reader, with a conference ranking of said statistics) would Vanderbilt some consistency on both sides of the ball, let's not kid ourselves in thinking that Oregon State would throw a massive extension at their head coach for thinking about leaving. In one of the most-tragic tales of College Football, we have the PAC-2 - for a head coach to be leaving one of the two institutions would be a travesty, and to suggest otherwise is a crime-against-football. ______________________________________________________________________________ That's another five programs down for a grand total of nine thus far - seven more to go in our B1G feature and you'll finally be done with me and my speculative ways (at least for the remainder of this season). Special thanks to Commissioner, Tennessee Head Coach, and 2024 SEC Champion @tsweezy for his picks and insight. Any thoughts on the featured coaches? Have a better candidate in mind? Let us know! Until next time, football fans!

This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. The end of the regular season is a time of reflection for college football head coaches. Who should I have targeted earlier on my recruiting board? What could I do to optimize our gameplan against [insert conference opponent here] going forward? When are my blue chip underclassmen gonna be ready to take the starting role? Where am I gonna be coaching a bowl game this year, if at all? Why is my place-kicker so bad?! These are merely a sample of the questions that swirl around the mind of a college football head coach as they navigate the season, attempt to avoid the toilet bowl, and prepare for the next season. The revolving door turns round-and-round. There is; however, a question that a head coach tends to avoid thinking about during the regular season: where am I gonna be coaching next season? Some avoid that question out of undying love and loyalty for their current program, where they may also have other ties and commitments. Others may avoid it to dispel any myth that they’re “abandoning” their team, for theoretically greener pastures elsewhere or just because they couldn’t hack it at their current role. Few who have recently moved programs avoid it (or suppress it) to ensure that a narrative isn’t created about their lack of commitment. One hundred years ago, I may have agreed with these particular reservations; however, in the modern era of coaching, I honestly couldn’t care less. Is it nice to have a long-term head coach to build a collegiate dynasty? Of course it is. Are coaches bound to their programs from their hiring until the end of time itself? No. In an era where coaching success brings opportunity and where successful coaches ought to be compensated for their achievements, my proposition is this: coaches supporting coaches. Pundits and other media sources will speculate on-and-on about “hot seats” - which coaches haven’t done their jobs and who ought to be fired. This series flips that line-of-thought on its head. Instead, we’re gonna be taking a look at every available Power 5 coaching job; highlighting the program itself, the best “coaching fit” who could come into that program and make a difference, and an honorable mention. We’re also gonna be sitting down with Conference Commissioners to see which head coach they’d tap to take over program vacancies within their conference. Coaches supporting coaches - and the carousel turns round-and-round. ______________________________________________________________________________ This past week, I travelled down to Waco, Texas with the College Gameday crew to sit down with Baylor Head Coach and Big XII Conference Commissioner, @Vivid. We spoke about the four Big XII vacancies - Arizona, Iowa State, Kansas State, and UCF - in detail and he provided me with his “Commissioner’s Picks” for each program. Let’s get started, shall we? Arizona Wildcats Coach’s Pick: @joopear (FA) Commissioner’s Pick: @Ape (NIU) Coach’s Honorable Mention: @Kirby (FSU) Projected Offensive Scheme: Air Raid Projected Defensive Scheme: 4-Man The Arizona Wildcats are a team who desperately need to hit that reset button. Following a 2021 Season where Arizona finished #16 in the Coaches Poll and Pac-12 Southern Division Champions with an overall 10-4 [7-3] record, it’s been three tough years in Tucson. That off-season, Coach @joopear departed for Texas and the Wildcats slumped to a 4-6 [2-5] record by the end of Week 11 of the 2022 regular season. The bleeding was stemmed with the hiring of Coach @ParksRek ahead of their Week 12 matchup with USC, which Arizona won at home 29-17, but with a subsequent loss in the Territorial Cup to finish the 2022 season a disappointing 5-7 [3-6] record and an increasingly-anemic 2023 campaign where the Wildcats finished 4-8 [3-6], the damage had already been done. Arizona and Coach Parks&Rek parted ways via mutual consent and the Wildcats entered the 2024 season without a plan, with reports that their coordinators would be coaching-by-committee while a search was underway for suitable replacement. Eyebrows were raised concerning the efficacy of this arrangement when, during Spring Games, Arizona had scheduled two games at identical times halfway across the country from one another. The solution? Play them both, apparently. Would this sort of innovative approach translate to regular season success? No, it would not. Despite a convincing 40-27 victory in the Territorial Cup to round-out the 2024 regular season, Arizona’s first season in the Big XII has not gone to plan. Coaching-by-committee resulted in the Wildcats’ 13th place finish out of 16 teams with a second-straight record of 4-8 [3-6]. Since the end of the 2021 season and the departure of Coach joopear, the Arizona Wildcats have gone from a nationally-ranked program with conference championship aspirations to an abysmal 13-23 [9-18] in the subsequent three campaigns. In short, the Wildcats have been declawed - those happier days of 2021 a distant memory of success they could only dream of replicating. But what if they could? After two seasons and change at the helm at Texas, Coach joopear resigned following a slow start to the 2024 campaign where the Longhorns started 0-5 [0-2]. However, since Coach joopear’s departure Texas’ singular victory was a matchup against lowly FCS Prairie View A&M, with their 2024 season ending with a 1-10 [1-11] record and having been shutout an astounding six times (50% of games played). To me, this demonstrates that the shortcomings in Austin aren’t necessarily down to coaching - whether that be the departing Coach joopear or the incoming Coach @SlinkyJr - but rather something systemic we have yet to see on the surface. That leaves Coach joopear, whose three seasons produced a combined record of 25-15 [16-12] at Arizona and Texas, with an untainted coaching resume and #opentowork. Given that his fortunes are almost the precise inverse of those suffered by the Arizona program he departed in 2021, and that Coach has proven he can coach and compete at the highest level, Coach joopear to return to Arizona as the prodigal son is not only poetic, but pragmatic. With a three year gap since Coach joopear’s departure from Tucson, it stands to reason that most of the upperclassmen who would be starting during the 2025 season are Coach’s recruits from his 2021 class - with the impending opening of the transfer portal, it would behoove both Coach and program to finalize any deal as soon as possible to keep their rising talent around. Moreover, inking a contract prior to the opening of the transfer portal would allow Coach joopear to, well, utilize the transfer portal. At both Arizona and Texas, Coach joopear employed schemes similar to, but not identical to those the Wildcats are built to start the 2025 season with; however, with adequate time to evaluate his personnel, I have no doubts that Coach joopear will have Arizona running on all cylinders by the beginning of next season. I’ll be honest, I love Commissioner Vivid’s pick here - I’ve got nothing but respect for Coach Ape and his work over at Northern Illinois. I actually agree so much with Vivid that Coach Ape is actually my Coach’s Pick for another program… so I’ll leave you, dear reader, in suspense for a bit (or just scroll down) to find my full analysis. My honorable mention, by virtue of his familiarity with the Air Raid offense and 4-Man defense, is Coach @Kirby out of Florida State. Do I think Kirby would ever leave Tallahassee? Not really, that’s why he’s the honorable mention here. But if he were to decide to leave the Sunshine State for a city with over 350 average days of sunshine, Kirby would be a spectacular fit to turn the Wildcats around. With a 2024 recruiting class hovering around the Top Ten, in the battleground of Florida, and a pedigree for overall success, I believe that Kirby would replicate his success found in Tallahassee over in Tucson and then some. But seriously, would he ever leave Florida State and the role of ACC Commissioner? Maybe, only time can tell. ______________________________________________________________________________ Iowa State Cyclones Coach’s Pick: @Coach123 (Air Force) Commissioner’s Pick: @Qupax (Wake Forest) Coach’s Honorable Mention: @Spoof (Clemson) Projected Offensive Scheme: Spread Option Projected Defensive Scheme: 4-Man Iowa State are a bit of a conundrum - over the past four years they’re been consistent, albeit middling, but have never crossed into the realm of contention nor have they fallen into the abyss of irrelevance. Rather, the Cyclones have, almost ironically, remained stagnant towards the middle or the bottom-half of the Big XII. If anything, they’ve perfected the Power 5 yo-yo: 6-7 [5-4] in 2021; 6-7 [5-4] in 2022; 8-5 [4-5] in 2023; and 4-8 [3-6] in 2024. Given the talent that the Iowa State roster has at its disposal, from the elusive Quincy Bakhtiari [B+/C] at Quarterback going into his Senior season to rising upperclassmen Daniel Shreffler [B/C-] organizing the defense at Inside Linebacker and Mark Demoral [B/C] leading the offensive line at Center, it’s surprising to see them languishing in an otherwise-competitive Big XII. My diagnosis is this: Iowa State need an experienced and proven head coach in Ames, one who can make the most of its current players while building the team for future Big XII title challenges. Enter, stage right, @Coach123. The former-Notre Dame head coach led the South Bend outfit to an 8-5 record in 2022 followed by a 11-2 run in 2023 where the #5 Fighting Irish ultimately fell to #12 Marshall in the College Football Playoff. In 2024, Coach123 departed Notre Dame to take the helm at the United States Air Force Academy, where the Falcons quietly finished the regular season with a respectable 7-5 [4-3] record in a barnstorming Mountain West. Over the past three seasons, Coach123 has finished with an overall record of 26-12 [4-3] (68.4% win rate) across two esteemed programs. Should his talents and services be requested, and accepted, in Ames, this pattern of success is sure to continue. Even more appealing, for the Cyclones, their fans, and Coach123 himself is the sort of personnel set to suit up for Iowa State in 2025. Offensively, the Cyclones are set up perfectly to run the Spread Option; while defensively, their personnel strengths lean in favor of the 4-Man Spread Stopper. This past season at Air Force, Coach123 utilized the Flexbone offense - one of just five programs in college football who did so - and demonstrated his skill at developing and play-calling for a scrambling-type Quarterback. On the defensive side of things, Coach123 employed the 4-Man; no changes needed to apply this same system at Iowa State. All in all, Coach123 checks all the boxes for Iowa State: he’s an accomplished head coach who has shown that he can do a job in multiple coaching environments; he’s a “scheme-fit” for the Cyclones’ current strengths; and he’s a someone who can help to build the program up for future success - any detractors of that last point can reference the sort of success that Notre Dame’s been having in his absence. Boxes, checked. Fat contract? To be signed on the dotted line. Ah, a returning head coach. Coach Qupax wasn’t the first name on my sheet, but he was on the shortlist. For those of you keeping score at home, Iowa State’s 8-5 [4-5] 2023 record under Qupax has been their best record in the past four years, so there’s absolutely no doubt that Coach knows his squad and can compete with them. My only reservation is that after parting ways via mutual consent after the 2023 season, Coach Qupax signed a deal with Wake Forest in Week 5 of the 2024 season after their 2-2 [1-0] start to the season. From Week 5 onward, Wake Forest went winless, finishing 2024 with a 2-10 [1-7] record at the bottom of the ACC. While a Week 7 scheme change didn’t do the Demon Deacons any favors, questions may be asked in Ames about this poor run of form and Coach Qupax’s decision to take the Wake Forest job in the first place when his former seat at Iowa State was still functionally open. Following the theme of honorable mentions for coaches that I truly like for the program at hand, but don’t ever believe would leave their current role is Coach @Spoof of Clemson. Like Coach123, Coach Spoof is a “scheme fit,” but even more-so as an adherent of both the Spread Option and the 4-Man at Clemson. While it’s clear that Coach Spoof intends to implement either scheme or its variants in the near future, what’s less clear is the sort of “Catch-22” about his current position and/or willingness to leave Clemson. Coming off of a 2-10 [1-7] 2024 regular season, Clemson are at their theoretical lowest, so Coach Spoof could leave for a reasonably-attractive Iowa State; however, Clemson also have a Top-25 recruiting class, which means that they ought to rebound within a few seasons to compete, which means Coach Spoof should reasonably stay in South Carolina. At the end of the day, it’s up to Coach himself, but I see success in his future regardless of his path forward. ______________________________________________________________________________ Kansas State Wildcats Coach’s Pick: @Ape (NIU) Commissioner’s Pick: @ChizDippler (FA) Coach’s Honorable Mention: @LordLittlebutt (Notre Dame) Projected Offensive Scheme: West Coast Projected Defensive Scheme: Speed Kansas State are on fire, there are no ifs, ands, nor buts about it. In three out of the last four seasons, the Wildcats have finished within the Top-4 of the Big XII and haven’t posted a losing record. From 2021 through 2023, Coach @Swipet led Kansas State to finishes of 8-5 [6-3], 9-4 [6-3], and 7-6 [4-5], respectively. Following his departure ahead of the 2024 season, the Wildcat faithful remained uncertain about their future - their future would be continued success, as Kansas State impressed throughout the campaign. Finishing 4th in the Big XII with a regular season record of 9-3 [7-3], the Wildcats once-again challenged for, and once again fell-short of, the Big XII title game. What Kansas State needs, it seems, is a head coach who can get them over that hump and into the promised land. This is where we double-back to Commissioner Vivid’s pick for Arizona: Coach @Ape of NIU. The 2023 National Coach of the Year has been nothing short of impressive during his two years in DeKalb - guiding the Huskies to a 10-3 [6-3] finish and a MAC Western Division title in 2023 and a 7-5 [3-5] 2024 regular season record in an increasingly-competitive MAC. While these accomplishments are notable in their own right, it’s Coach Ape’s coaching schemes, style, and demeanor that ought to make him a favorite in Manhattan. First and foremost, the Wildcats are built for Coach Ape’s favored West Coast offense in the 2025 season. While Kansas State have successfully-operated with the Spread Option during the 2024 campaign, the lynchpin of that offense - Quarterback Nate Washington [A-/B-] - is set to graduate. The remaining offensive veterans, such as Wide Receivers Akrum Howard [B+/B+] and Edmund Weaver [B/C-], are also scheme fits for the West Coast style-of-play. The only position requiring improvement is Quarterback - with rising Senior Raymond Patterson [B-/A-] only questionable competitive in such a demanding conference. That said, if there’s been a head coach who’s actively been monitoring Quarterbacks via the transfer portal, it’s Coach Ape; with confirmed links to Florida State’s Kelly Jarwin and Tennessee’s Mark Koch, and unconfirmed links to Air Force’s Quenton Ogbah, it is a likely possibility that one of these three could suit up for 2025 in royal purple and white. As a bonus, Coach Ape’s preference for a Speed Man defense also plays to the returning Wildcats’ strengths. While “scheme fit” ought not be overlooked as an important element in a “coaching fit,” Coach Ape’s style and demeanor truly set him apart from the rest. As astutely noted by Commissioner Vivid, “[Coach’s] active coaching style keeps players on their toes [,] he's got a keen eye for untapped talent and the charisma to bring them to campus. [...] He's like a chess grandmaster, always three moves ahead.” What does all of this mean for Kansas State? It means that Coach Ape is the sort of head coach who can take a program on the cusp of greatness and push them that extra yard or two over the goalline - he’s a proverbial Fullback in the mold of Appalachian State’s Ramon Brice who can gracefully and cerebrally power through his opposition (shameless plug). In short, Coach Ape is the sort of head coach that Kansas State need. Coach Chizdippler is an outside shout I wasn’t expecting, but the more I look into it, the more I support it. The former-UNLV head coach had mixed success in the “land of cocaine and hookers,” starting out strong with an 8-5 [5-3] record in 2021 followed by losing-seasons in 2022, where the Rebels finished 4-8 [3-5], and in 2023 with a 5-7 [3-5] campaign. That said, things looked to be coming up aces in Las Vegas to start the 2024 season, with successive wins over defending National Champions #24 USC, Kent State, and New Mexico State catapulting the Rebels to 3-0 before Coach Chizdippler’s unexpected departure. With Coach @cultur3 at the helm, UNLV would finish the 2024 season with an impressive regular season record of 10-2 [6-1]. Translating Coach Chizdippler’s time at UNLV into the Kansas State job, I see a head coach who possesses the ability to compete now while building for the future, which is precisely what the Wildcats need after four-straight years of sustained success - to reap the benefits of their talented squad while ensuring its viability for years to come. Selfishly, I don’t want my honorable mention of Coach @LordLittlebutt to leave his current position. As a Notre Dame alumnus, it warms my heart to see the Irish fighting for a National Championship; however, journalistic integrity compels me to detail how Coach LordLittleButt would be a great fit for Kansas State. The scheme fit is immaculate - Coach LordLittleButt made the adjustment in pre-season to do away with Notre Dame’s Run and Shoot offense to replace it with the West Coast offense. This one change has paid dividends: it’s transformed Quarterback Izaah Plawecki [A/C+] from an average signal-caller who was demoted to QB2 after the conclusion of the 2022 season in favor of Jake Schofield into a Heisman contender and Davey O’Brien front-runner with a superhuman 73.04% pass completion - a full four percentage points higher than his closest peers - in 2024. The Irish just look damn good, and they’re set up for the future too. Under the first-year head coach, Notre Dame find themselves closing in on a Top 10 recruiting class. Scheme fit, double-check. Win now, check. Plan for the future, check. Coach LordLittleButt checks all the boxes Kansas State could want, it’s just a matter of whether or not he’d be lured from one school in the middle of a large field to another school in the middle of a larger field. I sure hope he isn’t. ______________________________________________________________________________ UCF Knights Coach’s Pick: @Ricky Campbell (Stanford) Commissioner’s Pick: @iToxicKiddy (USF) Coach’s Honorable Mention: @Ewade (Utah State) Projected Offensive Scheme: Vertical Projected Defensive Scheme: 3-Man Thus far, we’ve evaluated coaches via a litany of barometers: scheme fit, prior records, recruiting ability, etc. However, there’s one important factor that we have yet to consider that plays a big role here - desire. Let’s not split any hairs, the University of Central Florida are in dire straits when it comes to their football program. Their sole, definitive winning season was the 2023 campaign, where the Knights finished 7-6 [5-4] under Coach @rajmurti. Prior to UCF’s Military Bowl appearance, Coach rajmurti capitalized on this comparable success and took the vacant Ohio State job - and we all know how the vacant Ohio State job goes at this point. In 2024, the Knights regressed massively, finishing the regular season 2-10 [1-8] and falling from 6th in the Big XII the previous season all the way to the bottom. The UCF job is a homeowner's nightmare: a full-gut rebuild with a questionably-shaky foundation and possible black mold, the only person who would reasonably take it is someone who truly wants it. Within the past two months, Coach Ricky Campbell has expressed his sympathies for the UCF Knights twice, questioned their coaching staff’s efficacy once, and explicitly said that he ought to “come home [..] and turn UCF around.” Frankly, I couldn’t think of a better fit for the job. Scheme fits be damned for this one, Coach Ricky Campbell has built an impressive squad at Stanford over the past four seasons. The Cardinal finished 8-5 [5-4] in both 2021 and 2022 before taking a step back in 2023, with a final record of 5-7 [3-6]. That said, Stanford have surged forward with a vengeance in the 2024 season, posting a formidable regular season record of 9-3 [7-1] in a cutthroat ACC during their first conference season. Alongside their impressive displays on the field, Stanford currently possess the #2 2025 recruiting class - demonstrating that Coach Ricky Campbell’s talents extend to the acquisition of new blood to build for the future. I say “currently possess” for two reasons: first, the 2025 recruiting cycle is not finalized, so obviously the rankings may fluctuate; two, there remains a far more sinister outcome from the perspective of Stanford University. Let’s suppose Coach Ricky Campbell departs for UCF - fair, he has served the Cardinal well and is embarking on a long rebuild of the Knights. What if it could be a shorter rebuild? The 2024-2025 off-season marks the institution of the transfer portal in collegiate football, a game-changing innovation in its own right; however, there is a distinct possibility that some, if not a decent chunk of Coach Ricky Campbell’s recruiting class could decommit from Stanford to follow him to UCF. Within Stanford’s 2025 Class are three players from the State of Florida - 4* Athlete Aaron Frost, 3* Athlete Jorge Alviso, and 3* Center David Ayala. Alongside these Floridians are three recruits from the State of Georgia, two from Alabama, one from Mississippi, and one from Louisiana who could all be tempted to play their football closer to home. If we include 5* Tight End Michael Miller and 5* Inside Linebacker Ryan Yancey, both of whom have openly stated that they chose to commit to Stanford because of Coach Ricky Campbell despite being hometown boys, there are a potential of twelve recruits who could flip their commitments as a result of Coach Ricky Campbell’s move to UCF. While this would understandably decimate Stanford, this shrewd move could serve as the well-needed foundation for the UCF Knights and would serve well to recruit their most important prospect: the enthusiastic prospective head coach. As noted, recruiting will be crucial for UCF in the coming years and Coach iToxicKiddy has quietly assembled a 2025 class with some enviable components just West over in Tampa. Of particular note are 5* Quarterback Douglas Burns out of Miami, Florida and 5* Free Safety David Parks from Scottsdale, Arizona - showcasing an ability to recruit elite talent from across the country on either side of the ball. What remains to be seen is Coach iToxicKiddy’s desire to travel up the I-4 to Orlando. While the Big XII Commissioner’s blessing is certainly a vote-of-confidence, I maintain that to take over such a precarious program such as UCF requires a genuine resilience and inclination. Should Coach iToxicKiddy possess both of these qualities, I see no reason why the UCF experiment would not eventually succeed. My honorable mention for the UCF is a bittersweet one, in the fact that my logical brain says that Coach @Ewade of Utah State is the perfect candidate for UCF on paper. In four seasons with the Aggies, Coach Ewade has delivered four respectable finishes of 7-6 [5-3], 7-6 [4-4], 6-7 [3-5], and 5-7 [3-4]. Alongside these consistent results, Coach Ewade boasts the #10 2025 recruiting class at time of writing with impressive recruits such as 5* Quarterback Joseph Dering prepared to suit-up for the Aggies next year. Moreover, Coach Ewade is one of only four collegiate head coaches to employ the 3-Man defensive scheme - meaning that if he were to take his talents to Orlando, he would be primed to fix the leaky UCF defense, which allowed a Big XII worst 5,760 yards of total offense during the 2024 regular season alongside a fourth-worst 355 points allowed. Coach Dearden, this sounds like quite the match, why is this a “bittersweet” honorable mention? Implied lack of desire - Coach Ewade fits the mold of the ideal UCF head coach save for the most important criterion: there’s no presumption that he wants the job. Combined with Coach Ewade’s seemingly inseparable ties to Utah State, this coaching fit remains one that most likely only works on paper. Most likely. Four programs down, thirteen to go. Special thanks to Big XII Conference Commissioner and Baylor Head Coach @Vivid for his “Commissioner Picks” and the exclusive Big XII content featured below. Any thoughts on the featured programs and the highlighted coaches? Feel like you’d have someone else in mind to take over within the Big XII? Let us know down below. Be sure to check out our upcoming features on the B1G and SEC - until next time football fans!

Conway, South Carolina - In a dominant defensive performance which saw Coastal Carolina Quarterback Cameron Canaan intercepted three times and sacked an astounding 10 times, including a safety, the Mountaineers came out 25-13 victors. Leading the line was Senior Defensive End Daurice Burns, whose 8 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks earned him a National Defensive Player of the Week nomination. With Running Back Phil Turner’s National Offensive Player of the Week nomination last week following a five-touchdown performance, Appalachian State appears to be “finding an extra gear” as the regular season comes to a close. Despite missing out on the Sun Belt Championship Game, which will be played between #25 Marshall (10-2; 7-1) and #20 Texas State (10-2; 7-1), the Mountaineers (7-5; 6-2) find themselves bowl eligible for the third year in four successive seasons. With a second-place finish in the Sun Belt East and a fourth-overall ranking in the Sun Belt, Appalachian State joins seven other Sun Belt programs in postseason play. While there is potential for the Mountaineers to earn a selection to the New Orleans Bowl, who receives the second-pick of bowl-eligible Sun Belt programs, their participation in one of the five ESPN bowls - who possess the first, third, and fourth pick of bowl-eligible Sun Belt programs - is far more likely. These are the Boca Raton Bowl, the Camellia Bowl, the Cure Bowl, the Frisco Bowl, and the Myrtle Beach Bowl. While players find themselves drawn towards each possibility for a variety of reasons; close-to-home, weather, and potential opposition, “it’s just another game” for the App State coaching staff. The Appalachian State Mountaineers eagerly await their postseason fate and potential All-Sun Belt selections.

Boone, North Carolina - It was a record-breaking afternoon in the Blue Ridge Mountains as Appalachian State routed their divisional opponents, the James Madison Dukes, 52-0 to solidify their 5-1 home record for the 2024 season with the program’s largest margin of victory in recent memory. While #23 Marshall’s victory at Old Dominion on Friday mathematically-eliminated the Mountaineers from the Sun Belt East Championship, the Black and Gold responded to secure Appalachian State’s bowl eligibility for a third year in four seasons. Emotions ran high for graduating Seniors, both throughout the game and after the final whistle. After the visitors had exited the field, the fans stayed standing and cameras were trained on the Captains as they addressed the crowd for “one last time” in Black and Gold. The afternoon’s program was capped off by some words from Coach @dearden, who thanked the fans, players, and his coaching staff for their tremendous work this season; however, he also acknowledged that their job wasn’t done. Coach Dearden implored the Black and Gold to finish the season strong and to make the necessary preparations for their bowl game appearance, noting that his predecessors have felt the joy of bringing a trophy back to the Blue Ridge Mountains and that it was his intent to do the same. Lastly, Coach Dearden wished each of the graduating seniors - from his players to all those in attendance - well in their future; he noted that he looked forward to their accomplishments - professional, athletic, and everything in between - that he was immensely proud of them, and that wherever they are they’ll always have a home at Appalachian State Joining the Mountaineers on the field during the celebrations was incoming 4* Quarterback Richard Gapinski from the Kinkaid School in Houston, Texas. Gapinski, who was joined by his high school coach and father Robert Gapinski, stood with other Mountaineer recruits and their parents along the sideline and were all-smiles watching Appalachian State’s emphatic statement victory. The Elite-11 contender gathered his fellow offensive recruits in attendance; 4* OG Alfred Perry of Laurinburg, North Carolina; 4* RB George Shaw of Charlotte, North Carolina; and 3* WR Frank Washington of Richmond, Virginia; together on the sideline during the first quarter where they watched the remainder of the game - exhibiting a “work starts now” attitude as they were seen huddling together on Mountaineer offensive drives as if discussing what they would do on the field come next season. The Mountaineers travel to Conway, South Carolina to finish their regular season against the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina, looking to cement their second-place position in the Sun Belt East with a third-straight conference victory.

This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. Within a deck of French-suited playing cards are four aces: the ace of hearts; the ace of diamonds; the ace of clubs; and the ace of spades. Historically speaking, these aces held a low value - as indicated by their association with the number one in European card games where a higher numerical value was sought after; however, as time went on, the phenomenon known as "ace promotion" occurred. In various East Asian card games, whose rules were melded with those of European games over the course of time, low-valued cards were coveted by players. This convention was adopted on the Indian subcontinent, in Persia and Arabia, and eventually in Europe, where we derive our contemporary understanding of the ace: it can be valued as of either "low" or "high" as a numerical value of either "1" or "greater than face," but its value to the player is the highest of any card in the deck. To have one ace out of fifty-two cards is considered lucky, fortunate, and/or advantageous. To hold all four? A coup, near-certain victory. The way we perceive aces within a deck of playing cards is akin to how we view the Quarterback in American Gridiron Football. When the game originated, rules dictated that the Quarterback was not allowed to run beyond the line of scrimmage; in an era where the forward pass was yet to be invented, this meant that the Quarterback's purpose was to simply receive the snap and hand the ball off to a more-valuable player. In sum, the Quarterback possessed a low value: he could rush, but not beyond the line of scrimmage, and he could block, but was typically-considered inferior at this role when compared to linemen. The Quarterback was an ace. However, just like the ace, the position of Quarterback received its own "promotion" as the game evolved into what we know it as today. The advent of the forward pass led to the Quarterback being assigned the role of launching his team downfield with increasing frequency; the complex evolution of the game that followed led to Quarterbacks beyond employed as the key piece of any number of strategies and schemes. What continues to this day is a similar notion to that of an ace in a deck of playing cards: the Quarterback is considered either "low" or "high" in how much he directly impacts the game - whether an offensive scheme dictates that the Quarterback ought to be more cerebral or whether or not he ought to air out the ball on every single snap - but the value of the Quarterback is almost universally-understood to be the highest of any individual player who takes the field. To have one truly great Quarterback is considered lucky, fortunate, and/or advantageous. But what if you had four talented Quarterbacks? Logic dictates, that if utilized correctly, the same outcome as if you had four aces when playing cards: near-certain victory. But what if you had five? The Tennessee Quarterback room is astoundingly good, on paper and seemingly in-practice. Below is some statistical data detailing the Quarterback rooms of the entire Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the twelve teams detailed within the College Football Playoff Selection Committee's most-recent publication. We're going to detail a few important points: the grade of each Quarterback currently on each team's depth chart (i.e. top three) and their remaining years of collegiate eligibility. With these data points, we're going to produce a "grade-point average" ("GPA" - novel concept, I know) as well as a simplified fraction detailing the average amount of remaining collegiate eligibility ("YoE") per program ("Remainder"). Be on the lookout for two things: high GPA, which dictates talented Quarterbacks; and a high average Remainder, detailed how well each program has seemingly planned for the future. SEC Team QB1 Rating YoE Remaining QB2 Rating YoE Remaining QB3 Rating YoE Remaining Team GPA Remainder Alabama B+ 0 B- 0 D+ 1 2.433 (C+) 1/3 Arkansas B+ 0 B 2 B+ 1 3.200 (B) 1 Auburn B- 0 B+ 0 B 0 3.000 (B) 1 Florida B 3 C+ 2 C 1 2.433 (C+) 2 Georgia A 0 B- 2 B 1 3.233 (B) 1 Kentucky A 1 C 2 D 3 2.333 (C+) 2 LSU B+ 1 A- 1 C+ 0 3.100 (B) 2/3 Miss. State A 0 B- 1 B- 0 3.133 (B) 1/3 Missouri B 1 B 0 B+ 1 3.100 (B) 2/3 Oklahoma B+ 1 C 1 C- 1 2.333 (C+) 1 Ole Miss B 1 B 3 B- 0 2.900 (C+) 4/3 South Carolina A 0 B- 1 C+ 1 3.000 (B) 2/3 Tennessee A 1 B 2 B+ 1 3.433 (B+) 4/3 Texas B 3 B 1 D 2 2.333 (C+) 2 Texas A&M B+ 1 B 3 C+ 0 2.867 (C+) 4/3 Vanderbilt B+ 0 B- 0 C+ 1 2.767 (C+) 2/3 CFB Selection Committee Top-12 Team QB1 Rating YoE Remaining QB2 Rating YoE Remaining QB3 Rating YoE Remaining Team GPA Remainder Baylor A 0 B+ 0 C 3 3.100 (B) 1 Tulsa B+ 0 B 3 B+ 0 3.200 (B) 1 BGSU A 1 C 3 C 3 2.667 (C+) 7/3 Tennessee A 1 B 2 B+ 1 3.433 (B+) 4/3 UNC A 1 B+ 0 B 3 2.767 (C+) 4/3 ND A 0 C+ 1 C 2 2.767 (C+) 1 TCU B+ 0 C 3 C+ 0 2.533 (C+) 1 Oklahoma B+ 1 C 1 C- 1 2.333 (C+) 1 UNLV B+ 1 B 2 B 3 3.100 (B) 2 Toledo A 0 B- 1 C+ 0 3.000 (B) 1/3 WKU B 0 C 3 B- 0 2.567 (C+) 1 UNM A 1 C+ 2 C+ 0 2.867 (C+) 1 Okay, what does all of this data tell us? If we take a look at our key metrics of GPA and Remainder, one program stands out from the rest: Tennessee. While their three Quarterbacks boast an above-average Remainder of 4/3, it's their GPA of 3.433 (B+) - the only collective ranking to crack the 3.3 (B+) barrier - that is truly impressive. Within the SEC, their closest peers are Georgia, who possess at GPA of 3.233 (B) and a Remainder of 1; within the Selection Committee's Top-12, their closest peers are Tulsa, who possess a GPA of 3.200 (B) and a Remainder of 1. In both cases, the Tennessee Quarterback room holds a GPA around 0.2 higher (which is two-thirds the distance of a full letter-grade) than their nearest competition while also possessing a Quarterback room which could play for an average of four games (one-third a regular season) longer than their nearest competition. What does this mean? Well, I'm not going to run the numbers for the entirety of college football - the SEC and the Selection Committee's Top-12 are arguably the best smaller sample size for the upper echelon of the collegiate game; if Tennessee rising above the rest from these metrics, then I've seen all I need to see to conclude that, on paper and seemingly in-practice, that they possess the most-talented Quarterback room in college football. But what does that mean for the Quarterbacks? I - The upperclassman Heisman-level player we trust to do anything: Career Passing Statistics (2022-Present) Year Games Passing Yards Completions Attempts Percentage Passing Average Touchdowns Interceptions Sacks QB Rating Longest Pass 2022* 16 4,245 318 479 66.39% 265.31 24 8 27 154.03 74 2023 15 6,649 449 704 63.78% 443.27 52 14 25 163.51 67 2024 10 4,908 306 446 68.61% 490.80 42 2 49 191.23 81 2024 Proj. 12 5,889.6 367.2 535.2 - - 50.4 2.4 58.8 - - Career-to-Date 41 15,802 1,073 1,629 65.87% 385.41 118 24 101 - 81 For a man who needs no introduction other than his statistics, the main man at Tennessee is looking to continue the momentum set by his Heisman-winning, true Freshman campaign. Speaking to the journey he's been on so far, Brandon Savage reflected: Speaking to the prospect of remaining at Tennessee for his senior season - with the ability to cement himself as a college football legend before enterring the 2026 NFL Draft, Savage continued: We at Transfer Talk fully expect Brandon to fight for his second Heisman Trophy selection throughout the remainder of the 2024 Season, utilizing his skills along with those of his Tennessee teammates to push for a National Championship to close out an impressive campaign. Moreover, for a player so confident in his own abilities and with a coaching staff, program, and fanbase behind him, we also see no reason why Brandon wouldn't return for 2025 - especially if Tennessee comes up short of their expectations in 2024. With the main man on campus cementing his spot, what does that mean for the other three Quarterbacks in the room? II - Underclassman being groomed to become that player: Jake O'Connor is the future of Tennessee football, at least currently. While 4* Quarterback Leonard Harlow joins the Volunteers in 2025, there's nothing currently in the script that suggests that he will supplant O'Connor as the heir-apparent to Savage in Knoxville. That said, both young Quarterbacks will have 2025 to compete with one-another to prove themselves capable and ready to start in 2026, over each other and any additional recruits who may walk in the door. To the man known as JOC; however, there's no competition: III - Our initial plan but we’ve moved away from the scramblers sadly: Jay Ratley was the future of Tennessee football. While his time at Tennessee has been a disappointing one, not because of the performances he's put up, but rather that the talent ahead of him has severely limited his time on the football field. Normally, I'd put up a table of statistics; however, I could summarize Jay's statistics in a brief, three sentence paragraph. Ratley's played seven total games for Tennessee, all in 2024, where he's completed 57.14% of his passes (16/28) for 185 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. That's it. For a talented Quarterback with only a year of eligibility remaining, the quality of the Tennessee Quarterback room meant that the four walls took on a different form for Jay; that of a waiting room with no windows and a slightly-ajar door. We at Transfer Talk wish Jay the best - without beating a dead horse and analyzing another Scrambler-type Quarterback in-depth, we urge those programs discussed within Transfer Talk Episode 2 to keep an eye out for Jay Ratley's name enterring the portal. I'd say both Jay and Meyers, our focus of Episode 2, are comparable Quarterbacks in that while the former is more developed than the latter, the advantage the latter has of an extra year of eligibility works better for some programs: for those looking for a one-year guy, Jay's your guys; two-year bridge, go for Meyers. As always, we wish both of these guys the best for the rest of the season and beyond. IV - A spare: If I'm being completely honest, Mark Koch is the subject that drew me to analyze the Tennessee Quarterback room. Ever since Episode 1 of Transfer Talk, there have been calls to focus on Mark - he's the "spare" Tennessee Quarterback after-all. That perception always stuck out to me; it's harsh, it's cynically Darwinistic, but above all else, it's accurate: Mark Koch is the odd-man-out in the Tennessee Quarterback room. Playing for virtually any other program in 2024, Mark Koch would be either the starting Quarterback or the heir apparent. Recall our earlier tables detailing the Quarterback rooms across the SEC and of the Selection Committee's Top-12; of those 26-total schools (Oklahoma and Tennessee are duplicates), Mark Koch could start for a total of six of them today - Auburn, Florida, Missouri, Ole Miss, and Texas in the SEC, and Western Kentucky in the Top-12 - by virtue of his "B" overall rating either equalling or surpassing the overall ratings of each respective QB1. While it's already impressive that Mark is already of the caliber to start at six of some of the nation's finest programs, that number balloons significantly when he's compared to the QB2s of the 25-schools not named Tennessee on both lists. In fact, if Mark Koch were to be slotted into any of those 25 rosters based on his overall ability alone, wherever he is better-than or equal-to an existing QB, he would find himself starting or set to start in 2025 at every detailed program other than three: #1 Baylor, #5 North Carolina, and #16 LSU. Building a rapport with Mark while we'd chatted for Transfer Talk was essential - I wasn't just talking to a Quarterback, but a young man whose past, present, and future have been repeatedly analyzed (and usually scrutinized). There's a robust catalog of Mark Koch throughout college football media: from news of his citation for underage drinking to his academic approach to football, hell, there's already been plenty of speculation that he'd enter the transfer portal. But what I'd learned about Mark was that behind his youthful exuberance, his bookish pursuits, his love of his family, and his apprehension of abandoning his brothers-in-arms, was an impassioned athlete who wanted to be the best he could be by doing right by his teammates and for himself: Alright Mark, we've let the football fans read a whole Tolstoy novel before getting to this part, so let's get them some classic Transfer Talk content, shall we? By my count, there are a total of twelve college football programs who run offensive schemes well-suited to Mark Koch and are coached by experienced staffs. Speaking to Mark further, I wanted to gather an understanding of programs that he'd be interested in; not specific programs per se, but rather a broad-stroke understanding of what sort of system and team he'd like to join. He replied: Somewhere you'd start? With a good supporting cast? Not the SEC? With a chance to battle for the National Championship? I've got you, Mark. 5. Arizona State (@kmattfps) We're starting off in Tempe, Arizona where first-year Coach @kmattfps has put together a successful season for the Sun Devils, who currently sit 5th in the Big XII with a record of 7-3 (4-3) after starting off the season 6-0 and catapulting to #8 in the Coaches Poll before crashing back down to earth. With signal-caller Jen-Ho Milton (B/C) and back-up Ryan Wainwright (B/B+) graduating after the 2024 Season, and no other scheme-fit Quarterbacks on the Arizona State roster, Mark Koch would walk in to the starting job and then some. The only notable competition for the job are in the form of two recruits: Michael Brown (C/A) a 3* QB out of Madison, Florida; and Geoffrey Morris, another 3* QB, out of Columbus Grove, Ohio. While their measurables remain to be seen, it would be hard to believe that they would immediately surpass Mark to contend for the starting job for the 2025 season. Player Year Height Weight Overall Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential Mark Koch So. 6'2" 216lbs B C D D D C C Balanced C A D B While this would allow Mark to make his mark as a Big XII signal-caller, Arizona State acts as the proverbial-bar for this Top 5 for a number of reasons. First, there appears to be uncertainty regarding their projected offensive scheme for the 2025 season - the recruiting done to complement the existing rostered personnel leaves at least four different possibilities for the Sun Devils to run next year, with their scattered approach leaving each option seemingly less-effective. Second, while the current Arizona State roster possesses talent across-the-board, virtually all of these players are graduating and have not had one-to-one replacement. With Mark looking for a talented supporting cast, the Sun Devils provide an adequate one. Third and finally, the certainty of regression. Arizona State exceeded all expectations by contending for the Big XII - they were ranked 12th in the Big XII in by pundits in the pre-season. Have they been assisted by a generous schedule? Possibly, but the point is that Mark Koch starting won't allow them to reach the same heights in 2025 as have been achieved in 2024, not alone at least. The transfer portal could, and should, be a means for the Sun Devils to bolster their depleted roster; until then, they meet a sole condition of Mark's criteria - that he'd start (and, I suppose, that he could move away from the SEC). Normally, the players tend to have comments about the programs I suggest as destinations, but Mark had none here. Off to a rough start? 4. Oregon State (@SKLL) Moving up the former-PAC-12 to perennial PAC-2 contenders, Oregon State. The Beavers are set to lose starting Quarterback Travis Street (B+/C+) following his graduation and have a total of five Quarterbacks currently rostered - including current QB2 Perci Rosario (C+/B+) and QB3 Marcus Sudler (C/A) - ready to compete for the starting job. With no Quarterbacks in their 2025 Recruiting Class, the stage is set for what would presumably be a three-way battle between Mark Koch, Perci Rosario, and Marcus Sudler, for the starting job in Corvallis. Player Year Height Weight Overall Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential Mark Koch So. 6'2" 216lbs B C D D D C C Balanced C A D B Perci Rosario Jr. 6'3" 223lbs C+ D- D C- D- C+ B Balanced C- B+ C+ B+ Marcus Sudler Fr. 6'2" 224lbs C F F D D C C Shotgun F D C A While it's clear to see that Marcus Sudler is being groomed to the future-starter at Oregon State, he doesn't appear ready, at least on paper, to take up the role in 2025. That leaves Perci Rosario as Mark Koch's main competitor in Corvallis, and I'd say that Mark edges him out for the job for two reasons. First, Mark's got one more year of collegiate eligibility than Perci Rosario. Not only does that second-year to third-year jump mean so much for a player's development and improvement, and I'd say Mark is poised to develop quite well, but if Marcus Sudler is the heir apparent it would behoove him to develop that additional year behind Mark instead of being thrust into the job for the 2026 season after Perci Rosario's graduation. Second, Mark's short-comings in throw power and accuracy are not only balanced out by his higher all-around robustness when compared to Perci Rosario, but his seeming weakness is counterbalanced by Oregon State's strengths - that being its young and talented wide receiver corps. Ever heard of Benjamin Iannuzzi? You should, kid's an absolute stud and he's only a true freshman. You know who else knows about him? Mark Koch. 3. Temple (@SandyToez) Let me be very clear: I think this would be a fantastic landing spot for Mark Koch - Temple are an amazing team with some impressive young talent coming through on their offensive line, a game-changing speedster in the backfield in the form of Mike Putnam (B+/C+) for another year, and a wide-receiving corps set to develop immensely over the next two or three campaigns. What's the catch? Competition. Specifically, Elite 11-caliber competition in incoming 4* Quarterback prospect Joshua Trbovich (B/B) of Oxon Hill, Maryland. I'll keep this one short and sweet: if Coach @SandyToez wants to either bring in an older, experienced Quarterback to compete, push, or provide depth to Trbovich, Mark Koch is your guy. I, like Mark Koch, trust in Coach to do whatever he feels is best for the contending Owls program: 2. Pittsburgh (@TheLiberator) So nice, we'll say it twice. If I thought that Temple was a fantastic spot for Mark Koch, say it again and then some when it comes to the Pitt Panthers. In terms of a supporting cast, you couldn't ask for much better as a Quarterback: Pittsburgh boast a talented, young offensive line; an effective backfield; and absolute studs heading the wide receivers by the name of Willie Parms (A/C+) and his partner-in-crime Charles Parker (B+/B), both looking for a Quarterback to sling them the ball while they mentor an underclassmen-filled unit. What's the catch? Potential competition, again - another Elite 11 selection in the form of 4* incoming Quarterback prospect Michael Beckmann (B/C) of Wyncote, Pennsylvania. Why is this a better landing spot for Mark Koch? I think the odds that Mark Koch starts over Michael Beckmann, when compared those of starting over Joshua Trbovich, are higher due to Coach's seeming-preference to allow talent to develop. Across the Pittsburgh roster are a bunch of talented players who once donned the redshirt: four-out-of-five prospective offensive line starters in 2025, alongside Parms, Parker, and Runningback Jordan Boswell (B-/B), all were redshirted. While I have no doubts that Beckmann has the ability to start in 2025 as a true freshman, the prospect of Mark Koch taking the reins in 2025 and 2026 to allow Beckmann to develop, learning as he goes, to hit the ground running in 2027 with three years of eligibility remaining is an enticing prospect I hope Coach considers. Even if that's not the plan, Mark Koch is ready to compete to make that the plan: 1. Washington (@CoachCartier) I've got to recycle Kelly Jarwin's #2 destination here for a couple of reasons - first, I still believe that Georgia Tech is Jarwin's best destination should he enter the portal; and second, I truly believe that Washington need a Quarterback like Mark Koch to succeed. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the options that the Huskies have to choose from at Quarterback, as it stands, aren't up to the standard of competitiveness that exists in the B1G in 2024, let alone 2025. Add on the current Quarterback controversy surrounding the benching of Jeurys Cooper (A/C+) for Jon Mitchell (B/B-) - both of whom will be graduating at the end of the season - and you've got a situation where Mark Koch could walk into Husky Stadium and call the shots for two years without any real opposition. Player Year Height Weight Overall Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential Mark Koch So. 6'2" 216lbs B C D D D C C Balanced C A D B Franklyn Cisneros (Fr.) 6'5" 229lbs C F F D D C C Balanced D B F C+ Of the four redshirt-freshman or younger candidates to challenge Mark Koch for the starting job, current QB3 Franklyn Cisneros is the most-likely to be considered for the starting role. That said, the role should be Mark's if he finds himself in Seattle in 2025 - Mark Koch is more agile, quicker, faster, possesses equal strength and throwing ability, a higher football IQ, stamina, potential, and will spend less time at the trainer's. All of that, and that's before his progression from this season is evaluated; which, coming in for relief of Brandon Savage virtually-every game, he's received a decent amount of snaps thus far in the season. All in all, @CoachCartier, so long as you can sell Mark Koch on your vision for the program, he's sold: Alright, football fans, that's all for today! These episodes are getting progressively longer as the series goes on, so let us know what you think - not enough like Hemmingway, could use a little more Tolstoy, just right? It's an absolute pleasure getting to chat with our amazing athletes and coaches to bring this program to you, so I'm looking to make sure it's coming at you the way you'd like to *consume* it most! Transfer Talk will be taking a brief hiatus until entrants have declared for the transfer portal, but be sure to keep an eye out for a brand new, limited-series set to premiere after the last week of the 2024 regular season! Until next time, football fans! (Special thanks to @tsweezy for providing a copious amount of in-character blurbs for this piece!)

Boone, North Carolina - It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Ramon Brice and Phil Turner. In the two games since Coach @dearden's open publication to the Appalachian State fans and the National Football League - widely considered to be a sort-of advertisement, for lack of a better term, for Mountaineers hoping to transition from collegiate football to the professional ranks - the one-two rushing punch of Brice and Turner have continued to make their case for a professional-nod with their renewed hot-streak against both Sun Belt and nationally-ranked opposition alike. In Week 10, Appalachian State hosted Georgia State and came out convincing 31-14 victors. With the scoreline reading 31-0 at the end of the third quarter - with all four trips to the endzone being made by either Brice (one rushing touchdown) or Turner (two rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown) - Coach Dearden pulled starters from both sides of the ball to allow the underclassmen-dominated scout team to close out the game. The victory saw the Mountaineers improve their Sun Belt record to 4-2 and their overall record to 5-4. The following week, Appalachian State travelled to Pullman, Washington to face #25 Washington State. Hot off of their 51-28 upset away at then #9 Georgia Tech, the Cougars proved formidable opposition as expected; however, for almost the entirety of the first-half, it was the Mountaineers who’d looked in command of the game. Despite coming up short on a number of scoring opportunities, Appalachian State led 3-0 for twenty-nine minutes until a moment of brilliance from running back Vontae Karras transformed a simple screen pass into a 52-yard touchdown with as many seconds remaining. Although the ultimate scoreline of 31-10 signalled the Mountaineer’s worst margin-of-defeat this season, the continued offensive production and development of Brice and Turner shone through. After ten games, the backfield duo of Brice and Turner have surpassed the esteemed rushing milestone of 1,000 yards per season, with Turner’s 1,084 (5.77 yards per carry) slightly edging-out Brice’s total of 1,005 (5.03 yards per carry). Both have a total of 12 total touchdowns each, with Brice’s touchdowns all coming via the ground and Turner’s scorecard being split 8:4 ground-to-air. When it comes to keeping up the momentum - and balancing the tight race-to-the-finish in the Sun Belt and professional aspirations, one thing is clear: they’ve each got the motivation. Since our last recruiting update, the Mountaineers have added the following to their 2025 Class: Richard Gapinski (Quarterback, 4*) - Houston, Texas Douglas Lilley (Athlete, 3*) - Franklin, North Carolina Frank Washington (Wide Receiver, 3*) - Richmond, Virginia Gary Williams (Defensive End, 4*) - Nashville, Tennessee Appalachian State hosts the James Madison Dukes on Saturday afternoon for Senior Night, be sure to come out and support your graduating Mountaineers!

A couple of follow-up questions for Mr. Dolson: Has Coach @Piercewise1 provided a statement for the media or the public? The administration's hopes of retaining such a talented coach are understandably impactful - particularly when said coach also holds the reins of your college basketball team; however, mere aspirations are rarely enough to satiate a fan-base who risks losing their winningest-football coach and their basketball coach in one fell swoop. Moreover, you mention that Coach and the administration are in lock-step on long-term plans for the program, but that you are only close to reaching an arrangement that will meet everyone's needs; where are you and Coach not seeing eye-to-eye? Frankly, from a third-party perspective, Coach's absence from time-to-time ought to be expected, that with his duties and commitments with the NFL writ-large, Cleveland Browns, and the San Diego Clippers. What remains to be seen is whether or not your Indiana athletics administration will be, for lack of a better term "out-bid" by administrations willing to grant Coach more autonomous command-and-control over his programs: both the Ohio State University and the University of Southern California, with high-profile vacancies in both football and basketball and close proximity to Coach's existing commitments, come to mind as potential suitors.

This article was originally published on Yosef’s Cabin and was subsequently reproduced on appstatesports.com and plus.espn.com with the express permission of the author. Mountaineer faithful - we're two-thirds of the way through the regular season and boy, what a journey it's been together. These past eight weeks have absolutely flown by and, despite certain results not going our way, I'm immensely proud of every single guy on our football team. They've shown strength-of-character, poise, fight - hell, an innumerable amount of positive characteristics - as we've battled this season; when they've been knocked down, they've gotten back up and somehow found a way to give even more. And that's what we're gonna do these next four weeks to close out the season: keep giving more, leave it all out there on the football field. Because we're playing for fans who've had our backs every step of the way; for fans whose cheers we hear ringing down from the stands regardless of the score and who travel to support us wherever we may be. I know that means a lot to each and every one of our guys - it means a lot to me, so we wanted to say "thank you" and to continue showing how much you all mean to us out on that patch of grass we all love so dear. We want "Week 14," a "Week 15," and beyond just as much as you and we're gonna play like we belong in those games, because we do. There is; however, a fact of collegiate athletic life: that final game of the season in "Week 14," "Week 15," or beyond will be the last time that twenty-four young men - our graduating Seniors - suit up in the black and gold of Appalachian State University. I have no doubts that during our final home game of the regular season, in three weeks time on a Saturday afternoon, you'll be out in full force to support our guys as you always have with unshakable resolve and unquestioned passion. On behalf of those young men, who will be trotting out at the Rock for the final two times of their collegiate careers over the next three weeks and who will be leaving the place they've called "home" for the past four years come graduation, I express my utmost thanks - I've only been here for eight weeks, but you've molded them into outstanding young men over the period of three years before I got here and I couldn't think of better fosters than this fanbase. Some of you on this forum have expressed an opinion: that despite the end of the college football season marking the last time twenty-four of our Seniors will dress in App State uniforms, it may not be the last time they play competitive football; that some of our guys have the talent, acumen, and drive to play professionally on Sundays. I agree. In fact, I agree that our guys have the potential to not only play at the highest level, but to succeed, that I'm willing to make my case for four of my guys; players that're fan-favorites and ought to be coveted by professional scouts. Congratulations, if you're an NFL scout, I just did your job for you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ramon Brice, Fullback (A) Hometown Team: Pittsburgh Steelers (@smackemz) Measurables Height Weight Agility Speed Carrying Catching Pass Block Run Block Strength Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential 6'0" 257lbs B B A- C A+ A- A A A C+ C I've spoken my praise for my man from the North Hills of Pittsburgh before: he's an athlete who's hungry for success. With his large size and powerful rushing style, Ramon absolutely takes guys for a ride when they try to tackle him; his physical style of play and can-do attitude harkens back to another rusher with ties to Pittsburgh wearing black and gold. An over-exaggeration? Absolutely not. Despite being criminally underutilized during his first three seasons, the statistics demonstrate that Ramon is an absolute bus - and nobody stops the bus. Career Statistics Year Games Rushing Yards Rush Attempts Rushing Average Rushing Touchdowns Fumbles Longest Rush Catches Targets Yards Receiving Average Reception Receiving Touchdowns Longest Reception Pancakes Sacks Allowed 2023 13 56 12 4.67 0 0 16 3 6 13 4.33 1 8 1 0 2024 8 792 155 5.11 11 1 25 8 13 38 4.75 0 8 1 0 2024 Proj. 12 1188 232.5 - 16.5 1.5 - 12 19.5 57 - - - 1.5 - Career-to-Date 21 848 167 5.07 11 1 25 11 19 55 5 1 8 2 0 What's the biggest weakness in Ramon's game? He doesn't have Ramon Brice blocking for him. With one less leading blocker from the Wishbone, Ramon's been nothing short of spectacular this season: he's been averaging over five yards per rush and has been near-perfect within the red zone, with 11 touchdowns in just 8 games this season. While there are a couple of fullbacks who're currently out-pacing Ramon for sheer yardage, the fact of the matter is that they've both played an additional game more than Ramon due to scheduling. If we look at pure rushing average by fullbacks, there is a miniscule gap of 0.05 yards/carry that Ramon's got to make up before the end of the season to be the nation's best rushing fullback. What's astounding about that is that the best part of Ramon's game - what he was known for out of high school - was always his blocking; where he's been graded at A+ for pass blocking and A- for run blocking. For a guy to come out of nowhere with a skill set that isn't considered to be "his best" and to throw down the gauntlet in the fight to be recognized as the nation's best fullback is astounding. What that means for NFL franchises is this: Ramon Brice can do it all - run, catch, block - and you don't want to miss out on such a versatile talent who could easily develop into the best fullback in the league. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris Holmes, Offensive Tackle (A-) Hometown Team: Philadelphia Eagles (@SageBow) Measurables Height Weight Agility Strength Pass Block Run Block Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential 6'4" 287lbs A+ B B+ C A C B C I'll be the first to admit it: offensive line play and analysis isn't especially sexy. But, in the modern game, getting the right guy on your offensive line is especially important. All professional franchises would probably agree: the Quarterback is the biggest asset, liability, and expenditure - in layman's terms; the Quarterback is an investment worth a lot of money. What'd you do when you have an investment like that? You protect the hell out of it - that's what Chris does. Having been a three-year starter, Chris has seen it all and done it all in the trenches of collegiate football. What's truly remarkable to me, and what should stand out to you, is the progression that Chris has made during his time at App State - from fresh-faced underclassman learning the ropes to a grizzled veteran defending his Quarterback's blind side - is nothing short of remarkable. Career Statistics Year Games Pancakes Sacks Allowed 2022 13 0 4 2023 13 0 3 2024 8 9 0 2024 Proj. 12 13.5 - Career-to-Date 34 9 7 I think you'd agree with me when I say that Chris has been an absolute stud this year; nine pancakes and zero sacks allowed is tremendously impressive when you take into account that a "pass blocker" like Chris is already a little out of place in the run-focused Mountaineer offense. What's even more impressive is that he's one of the nation's best at what he does. Of the qualified offensive linemen, the statistical leaders for pancakes and lowest number of sacks allowed are "run blockers." This makes sense, the amount of time for an offensive lineman to "pancake" his opponent increases the longer he can engage with his opponent and the Quarterback is less-likely to be sacked if he doesn't have possession of the ball. But what about amongst "pass rushers?" An important question, given that passing offenses are preferred throughout college football and the NFL due to their explosive, high-yardage plays. The nation's statistically-best "pass blocker" is Cody Jordan, an Offensive Guard out of NC State, who boasts twelve pancakes to zero sacks allowed thus far. What about Offensive Tackles? Henry Weiters leads "pass blocking" Offensive Tackles in pancakes with ten, but his three sacks allowed produce a less-than-stellar ratio. With nine pancakes and zero sacks allowed, the nation's leading "pass blocking" Offensive Tackle is none other than Chris Holmes. Recall that Chris is a player who, in his previous two years of play registered zero pancakes and seven sacks allowed. That sort of development, in such a short period of time, is stratospheric to say the least. Credit ought to be given where credit is due and Chris deserves it all: he's the first one to practice and the last one to leave, often taking time out of his busy schedule to hold "mini-camps" with his younger teammates to practice and hone their skills via blocking drills and workouts. For NFL scouts, this is a guy with the right mentality to succeed at the highest level. It may take him a little time to find his footing and develop behind his teammates, but I have no doubts that he'll hit the ground running and ready to learn from his peers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phil Turner, Running Back (A-) Hometown Team: Jacksonville Jaguars (@Ricky Campbell) Measurables Height Weight Agility Speed Carrying Catching Pass Block Strength Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential 5'10" 217lbs B+ B+ B C+ B A- B B- C- B Characterized by his rampaging rushes built upon a combination of force and speed, Phil Turner might end up being one of the most-overlooked players by NFL scouts. Why? By virtue of the fact that he splits touches with arguably the nation's best fullback in Ramon Brice and third-down back, Wenyen Clinton-Dix. Thus far in the season, Phil's been nothing less than a revelation on the field of play, making up for his average size with contact balance, long strides, and a frenetic pace. This quality has shone through the 38.3% touch-share that Phil has managed on the ground; his statistical bottom-line hampered by his equally-talented teammates, but indicative of continued growth as a player and ability to succeed at the next level. Career Statistics Year Games Rushing Yards Rushing Attempts Rushing Average Rushing Touchdowns Fumbles Longest Rush Catches Targets Receiving Yards Receiving Average Receiving Touchdowns Longest Reception 2022 12 5 2 2.5 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 13 310 73 4.25 0 1 60 14 20 109 7.79 1 50 2024 8 866 153 5.66 5 1 58 28 38 203 7.25 3 27 2024 Proj. 12 1299 229.5 - 7.5 1.5 - 42 57 304.5 - 4.5 - Career-to-Date 33 1181 228 5.17 5 2 60 42 58 312 7.42 4 50 During his time at Appalachian State, Phil Turner has developed into its statistically most-efficient rusher, with his 5.66 average yards per carry being 0.41 yards per carry higher than Lorenzo Carr's 2023 mark and an whole 1.77 yards higher than Carr's 2022 campaign. This was despite Carr receiving the lion's share of touches during his time as a Mountaineer, with 77.5% in 2022 and 78.3% in 2023. Let's run a thought-experiment, shall we? If Phil Turner received the same percentage of touches that Lorenzo Carr received during his time at App State, Phil would have either 309.225 touches (77.5%) or 312.412 touches (78.3%) of the 399 total touches on offer thus far, as opposed to the 153 he currently has. Presuming Phil maintained his current rushing average of 5.66 yards per carry over these touches (though, I'm convinced he'd be rushing even more efficiently in a scenario such as this one), he would have a total of either 1750.2135 yards (77.5%) or 1768.25192 yards (78.3%) after eight games. Both numbers would place Phil Turner as the third-best rusher in terms of total yardage thus far this campaign, just behind Stanford's Vontae Knebel and New Mexico's Ken Flagel and ahead of UNLV's Mickey Brogdon. With the talent to be one of the NCAA's leading rushers, Phil Turner is an exciting prospect for any NFL franchise due to his ability, and willingness, to spread touches around or to be the main man. In the situation of the former, he can play "thunder" or "lighting," while his demonstrated potential shows that he could even be the full storm if called upon to do so. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- J'Mon Hardaway Jr., Defensive Tackle (A-) Hometown Team: Atlanta Falcons (@subsequent) Measurables Height Weight Agility Tackle Strength Pass Rush Run Defense Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential 6'2" 282lbs A- C+ B- B+ B B- D- F C+ Okay, okay, Junior's from Chattanooga, so his hometown team could also easily be the Tennessee Titans (@kwheele). That said, as far as I'm aware J'Mon Senior raised his little boy to support his favorite team - the Atlanta Falcons. That's what being the only professional franchise in the region for decades will do for a fanbase, I suppose. Leading a defensive line is no easy feat, but that's what J'Mon's been doing this year. After sitting for his first two seasons with App State, J'Mon partnered Beau Orndoff on Brandon Rasmussen's defensive line in 2023. With Rasmussen and Orndoff departing, J'Mon has come into his own alongside Defensive End Daurice Burns in acting as the "Old Guard" on the defensive line this campaign - matching his 2023 numbers through Week 8 of 2024 and looking to keep adding to them. Career Statistics Year Games Tackles Tackles for Loss Sacks Forced Fumbles Fumble Recoveries Pass Deflections Interceptions Safeties Defensive Touchdowns 2023 13 37 7 5.5 0 1 0 0 0 0 2024 8 35 12 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 Proj. 12 52.5 18 4.5 - - - - - - Career-to-Date 21 72 19 8.5 0 1 0 0 0 0 Tied for the Mountaineer defense's tackle lead and leading in tackles for loss by almost double, J'Mon has had a statistical breakout Senior year. Comparing his 2023 numbers to those projected from his 2024 campaign thus far, his season totals are set to increase by 141% in tackles and 257% for tackles for losses, with his one-less projected sack being his only noticeable production decrease. More impressive still are J'Mon's statistics compared to his other defensive linemen. When it comes to his tackles, tackles for losses, and sacks, J'Mon's numbers account for 38.04%, 38.70%, and 33% of the defensive line's total output, respectively. Averaged out, that means that J'Mon accounts for 36.69% of the defensive line's total playmaking ability. For contrast, 2023 6th Round pick Brandon Rasmussen accounted for an average of 37.70% of the defensive line's total playmaking ability during the 2023 App State Season. With a full season less than Rasmussen as a defensive starter and contributor, I'd say that the difference of 1.01% contribution could be more than made up for by J'Mon's continued development; NFL scouts and talking heads alike believed that Rasmussen was ready for the professional game, I'd say that J'Mon is ready too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. For those NFL scouts and talent evaluators on the fence about some of my guys, hopefully that gave you a nudge in the right direction. If it didn't, know this: these guys are hard workers and have the potential to be fan-favorites for your franchise, sure, but they also come with the Mountaineer fanbase ready to support them unconditionally wherever they end up. That's thousands-upon-thousands of extra voices, noise, cheering, ready to follow these guys to the ends of the earth if need be. If that doesn't get you a little romantic about football, I don't know what would. To the fans, thanks again for everything. To the NFL: the Appalachian State University, it's football program, and its fans have done our utmost to be amazing family and friends to these young gentlemen - soon enough, it'll be time for them to grow, to take their next step; take good care of our guys, as we have over the past four years, they're each something special. -@dearden

A couple of questions for Coach @kgreene829 via our analysts: What are Coach's thoughts on his future at Tulane? Should the response by the Board of the Athletic Department of Tulane University and their boosters be unsatisfactory or misaligned with Coach's vision moving forward, is he prepared to consider employment elsewhere? There are currently sixteen open positions within three Power 5 Conferences; that being four in the Big XII (Arizona, Iowa State, Kansas State, and UCF), six in the Big Ten (Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, USC, and Wisconsin), and six in the SEC (Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt), of which ten of these teams sit higher in their respective conferences than Tulane currently does in the American. Other than program loyalty, what's stopping Coach from accepting one of these positions from a program in a stronger position, when he could easily bring preferred personnel, such as Paul McCullers-Sanders, with him via the transfer portal?

This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. We've got a little something different for you today, football fans, with a little less "transfer" and a little more "talk" on the docket. Earlier this month, Coach @npklemm travelled to Los Angeles and Minnesota to follow the Julian Longacre and the University of Southern California football team on their journey following the abrupt departure of Coach @Dhawk18 a mere two weeks into the Trojans' campaign to defend their National Championship. His findings were published in Longacre: A Profile. What he'd found was a team was a team plagued by conflict, a team lacking both direction and leadership, a team with an uncertain future: in other words, a team ripe for a transfer exodus come season's end. Something is rotten in the State of Denmark. 2023 USC Football Season (14-2; 9-1) Season Week Opponent (Record Entering Game) Final Score (Result) USC Record 1 vs. Kentucky (0-0) 44-20 (W) 1-0 2 at. Boston College (0-0) 9-28 (W) 2-0 4 vs. Stanford (1-1) 24-17 (W) 3-0; 1-0 5 at. Notre Dame (4-0) 37-26 (L) 3-1; 1-0 6 vs. Oregon (2-2; 1-1) 29-17 (W) 4-1; 2-0 7 vs. Utah (2-3; 1-2) 39-17 (W) 5-1; 3-0 8 vs. California (4-3; 2-2) 31-10 (W) 6-1; 4-0 9 at. Colorado (7-1; 4-1) 35-23 (L) 6-2; 4-1 10 vs. Washington (3-5; 2-3) 13-0 (W) 7-2; 5-1 11 at. Arizona State (2-7; 2-4) 10-58 (W) 8-2; 6-1 12 vs. Arizona (3-7; 2-5) 76-41 (W) 9-2; 7-1 14 at. UCLA (10-1; 8-0) 55-59 (W) 10-2; 8-1 15 (PAC-12 Championship) vs. UCLA (10-2; 8-1) 52-30 (W) 11-2; 9-1 17 (Peach Bowl; CFP Quarterfinal vs. Houston (11-3; 8-2) 42-40 (W) 12-2; 9-1 18 (Sugar Bowl; CFP Semi-Final) vs. UCLA (12-3; 8-2) 48-24 (W) 13-2; 9-1 19 (CFP National Championship Game) vs. TCU (14-1; 9-1) 44-43 (W) 14-2; 9-1 2024 USC Football Season (5-3; 4-2) Season Week Opponent (Record Entering Game Final Score (Result) USC Record 1 at. UNLV (0-0) 45-24 (L) 0-1 2 vs. LSU (1-0) 20-16 (W) 1-1 4 at. Michigan (1-2) 9-35 (W) 2-1; 1-0 5 vs. Wisconsin (2-1) 6-33 (L) 2-2; 1-1 6 at. Minnesota (2-3; 0-2) 53-0 (L) 2-3; 1-2 7 vs. Penn State (3-2; 2-0) 24-11 (W) 3-3; 2-2 8 at. Maryland (3-3; 2-1) 22-44 (W) 4-3; 3-2 9 (Present at Writing) vs. Rutgers (3-4; 1-3) 27-9 (W) 5-3; 4-2 10 at. Washington TBD TBD 12 vs. Nebraska TBD TBD 13 at. UCLA TBD TBD 14 vs. Notre Dame TBD TBD Since their embarrassing 53-0 defeat to Minnesota, which brought USC to a record of 2-3 with a Big Ten record of 1-2, the Trojans have rebounded with three-straight conference wins to bring themselves above the .500 mark in their overall and conference records. That said, when comparing Southern California's ongoing 2024 campaign to their 2023 National Championship campaign, there is no other word to describe it than disappointing. By Week 5, the 2024 Trojans had already matched their 2023 overall and conference loss totals; by Week 6, the 2024 Trojans had surpassed both sets of 2023 loss tallies with seven weeks to play. Let there be no mistake, what the 2024 Trojans have done since Week 6 has been nothing short of picture-perfect in terms of a response to their critics: three crucial conference matchups, three wins. What's going on at USC? Which USC is indicative of the future; the 2023 Trojans or the 2024 Trojans? Let's find out. There has, understandably, been a focus on Julian Longacre in attempts to explain where USC's 2024 Season has gone wrong. There are some who argue that making such an assessment - that USC's season has gone wrong - is a premature conclusion. I would argue a middle-of-the-road analysis: USC's season has gone wrong, but there is still time for them to salvage it. Them. In what is poised to be a fight to the final week, I believe we ought to shift our focus; that is, away from Julian Longacre and towards the entirety of the USC football program. If USC are to complete their "redemption arc," so to speak, and compete for the Big Ten championship, it is going to require all-hands on deck. We, the media, have explored Julian Longacre and his mental fortitude before - I have no doubts that a national champion can perform under pressure. But what about his brothers-in-arms? What is the mindset of the USC players and their coaches? With a tough, uncertain road ahead for the Trojans, both to close-out the season and in anticipation of the off-season transfer portal, the most important question(s) to be answered are those of the entire team. Of those featured in Coach @npklemm's Longacre, there were a total of seven individuals - five players and two coaches - who are slated to return to the University of California next season. That is to say, they have a vested interest in how the 2024 USC Football Season ends, as it could impact the upcoming season, and possible, where they are playing/coaching. I asked each player and coach the same set of four questions, with slight modifications, to gain insight into their individual and collective thoughts and mentality on the remainder of the 2024 season and potentially beyond. These questions, and their responses, are detailed below in the order that they'd featured in Longacre: Well, football fans, I know you've gotten used to my various transfer portal analyses, but this is where I'm going to leave you today: to take a look, evaluate, and form your own opinion about the direction of USC football - both to close-out this season and beyond - from the players and the coaches who know the program the best, themselves. Should there be any transfer portal declarants from USC within the coming weeks or at season's end - there are bound to be some - you'd best be sure that we'll talk about it here in some capacity. Until then, the best I can do is wish the future USC "coaching transfer," whoever that may be, well on their journey to bring USC back to the pinnacle of the sport. From what I've learned from the players and coaches I've spoken to, you've got one hell of a group behind you. Until next time, football fans! What'd you think of the new format? Should we entertain more speculative transfer action, like loosely-featuring an entire team, again? Should we bin it entirely and focus on what we here at Transfer Talk do best? Think you could do a better job as Head Coach of USC than Phillip Adams' pick of @Jambo? Let us know! (A monumental thank you to @npklemm for reprising his many roles and adding a personality to each of the USC interviewees!)

Hattiesburg, Mississippi - A heartbreaking defeat, 37-21 away to the Sun Belt West leaders Southern Mississippi, sees Appalachian State back to .500 overall this season at 4-4 (3-2). This was despite a relatively strong defensive performance, which saw Appalachian State intercept the Golden Eagles signal-caller, Senior Quarterback Darius Snead, a total of four times. Although the Mountaineers rolled out to a 7-0 lead in the First Quarter and maintained a single-score padding well into the Third Quarter, the offense repeatedly balked at opportunities to extend drives and put up additional points. Exemplary of these offense troubles was the performance of Appalachian State’s Senior Quarterback, Austin Redding, who finished the day 20/30 for 188 yards with just one touchdown to three interceptions. Redding’s first and third interceptions of the day came in difficult field positions - on the Appalachian State 36 and 18, respectively. While the signal-caller was immediately bailed out by an interception of Darius Snead by Safety Andrew Redding - who finished the day with an impressive eight tackles and two interceptions - on the first of these two interceptions, Redding’s third interception of the day led to a Southern Mississippi Field Goal just a handful of plays later. This extended the Golden Eagles’ lead from 27-21 to a two-score lead of 30-21; one from which the Mountaineers would not recover. Yet, it was Redding’s second interception which proved the turning point in the contest. With the score tied 21-21 and 29 seconds left in the Third Quarter, the Mountaineer offense found themselves pounding at the door on the Southern Mississippi 4 yard line. Following an impressive punt return from Wenyen Clinton-Dix that set Appalachian State up near midfield, and two-successive third down conversions, the Mountaineers appeared poised to retake the lead. After a 1st and Goal incompletion by Redding to Tight End Chase Randall, Redding entered his three-step-drop once again on 2nd and Goal, looking to find Halfback Wenyen Clinton-Dix behind the shifting Offensive Line. With the pressure now coming, Redding lobbed a pass into the screen; however, whether the Offensive Line had shifted too far forward or Clinton-Dix had been out-of-position within the screen, Redding’s pass instead found Southern Mississippi Outside Linebacker Brad Sims right between the numbers. Sims, capitalizing on being in the right place at the right time, put his hands around the ball and gave himself up where he stood. The turnover would prove decisive: the Golden Eagles would leverage the possession into favorable field position and take a 27-21 lead in the subsequent drive - the dagger to the heart of Appalachian State. The Mountaineers have Week 9 of the Collegiate Regular Season off - Appalachian State returns to host the Panthers of Georgia State next Friday night in a must-win Conference match-up to keep their Sun Belt Championship aspirations alive.

This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. Welcome back, football fans! Before we dive into the program, let's recap the most-recent performance of our Episode 1 standout - Florida State's Kelly Jarwin: coming into the game in relief of Redshirt Freshman Colt McIntyre, Jarwin went 5 of 7 for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns and no interceptions with a stratospheric QBR of 345.71 before making way himself for third-string Quarterback Heath Callender in a 63-0 demolition of Clemson. Kelly, way to keep it up brother - best of luck once again to you, Coach @Kirby, and the rest of Florida State Seminoles coming off their bye week. A fourth-string Quarterback walks into a Nebraska Steakhouse. What sounds like the start to a terrible joke is a perfect primer to our second installment of Transfer Talk - we're chatting to the man himself, Meyers Ramirez, Quarterback, Washington State University: Mr. Transfer Portal, as its first official declarant, out of Wazzu! Just like our last time out, we'll be chatting with our high-profile transfer target about potential destinations; however, this time, we're expanding the scope. That's right football fans, we're taking it up a notch - a notch we could only reach thanks to the hard work of an unpaid intern. Since it's already common knowledge that Meyers is entering the transfer portal, we can skip the "will he/won't he" aspect of the show. Instead, we're gonna take a look at every possible transfer fit for Meyers Ramirez and whittle that list down to a Top 5. From there, we're gonna talk about each fit and hear from Mr. Transfer Portal himself on what he thinks of each. Spoiler Alert: No Lincoln, Nebraska Steakhouses were harmed in preparation for this episode. Let's start with statistics, everyone loves statistics. Meyers has one statline, which we've included below, from a 2023 Spring Game where Washington State fell to West Virginia away in Morgantown, 19-17. Completions Attempts Yards Yards/Attempt Touchdowns Interceptions QB Rating Sacks 2 11 14 1.27 1 0 58.87 0 Attempts Yards Yards/Attempt Touchdowns Fumbles 9 45 5.0 0 0 Not much to go off of, I know. If there are any takeaways, I'd say there are three. First, dude's got legs. In a Spring Game, his first and only time with his feet on the turf of a collegiate football field, Meyers went out and averaged 5 yards per carry. Within the Washington State offense, which prides itself on versatile and explosive Quarterback play, going out there and averaging 5 yards per carry - and theoretically marching down the field without ever hitting 3rd Down - is all you could ask for and then some. Second, he made the pass that mattered. Okay, I'm not gonna mince words here - connecting on just 18% of your passes isn't great. In the same way that averaging 5 yards a carry is impressive, averaging 1.27 yards per pass is the opposite. That said, I've got no idea what the circumstances of those passes are - the only record of the game in question are the statistics. I, for one, think that's the result of an Apple.tv conspiracy to hijack my show with a worse program with a far-less handsome host, but I digress. What I see from Meyers' passing statistics is an incomplete (pun intended) picture; though, I would like to highlight the touchdown pass, meaning that despite the inconsistencies the young man can still set up a scoring drive. Third, and most importantly, the culmination of my first two takeaways: in a system where he could thrive, Meyers Ramirez is a potential world-beater. Let's flip the script, shall we? What if, instead of 11 passing attempts, Meyers has 6. Estimates will say that he'd be 1 of 6 passing with a handful of yards - pretty unremarkable. However, less also say that Meyers got the nod to run the ball 5 more times instead. That'd bring his rushing estimates up to 14 attempts for 70 yards, and possibly even a touchdown on the ground. What I'm saying is this: Meyers Ramirez is a Scrambler, to maximize his potential for positive results for any team, he's gotta be in a system that recognizes and amplifies his strengths. Speaking to this exact point, Meyers said: Alrighty bud, that's where we here at Transfer Talk come in. When speaking to Meyers further, an inevitable question came up: where would you like to play football? It's a tale as old as time, a football player who wants to play football but only wants to do so if a laundry list of criteria is met first: NIL worth more than a Coach's salary; a Black 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS; back-row seats and a personal tutor for Swahili classes; you name it, a player sometimes wants it. Not Meyers Ramirez. Discussing potential destinations, Meyers reflected: That's the mentality we at Transfer Talk love to hear. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alright, let's break it down. According to the D.D.D. ("Dev Diary Dictionary"), there are three offensive schemes that're "fits" for a Scrambler like Meyers Ramirez. These are: the I Option, which "[...] offers up the ability to run a lot more option-type plays, but still is mainly balanced in run vs. pass;" the Spread Option, which "[...]offers up the ability to run a lot more option-type plays, but focuses on pass plays still;" and the Flexbone, which "[...]offers up the ability to run a lot more option-type plays, but is almost entirely run-focused." Of the 263 NCAA FBS and FCS programs, 52 currently run either the I Option, the Spread Option, or the Flexbone as their offensive scheme. The 52 programs are: As much as you and I love football, dear reader, I'm not going to subject you to the abject agony that would be my analysis of 52 programs for the sake of Meyers Ramirez's career. Instead, I've made some careful edits to the list - removing teams who already have an established returning Quarterback, removing teams who have an incoming blue chip Quarterback, removing teams who will not be scheme-fits entering next season, adding teams which will be scheme-fits next season, and removing them from consideration if I feel like it, because I make the rules here. Moreover, despite Meyers being open to any program, I'm a bit more selective - so we're gonna narrow it down even further to FBS teams with notable coaches (i.e. player-coaches). That bring us down to 5 programs that're good "fits" for Meyers, so lets talk about each of them in order of ascending fit. 5. Colorado State There's a whole lotta good going on in Fort Collins right now. Under Coach @Bellwood, the Rams currently sit in second-place in the Mountain West behind a dominant UNLV. With a record of 4-4 Overall, 3-0 in Conference play, they find themselves challenging for the Conference Championship - having already beaten then #15 New Mexico (currently 4th in the Mountain West), Utah State (currently 7th in the Mountain West), and Fresno State (currently 11th in the Mountain West). Colorado State's offense is spearheaded by Quarterback Andrew Michael, a Redshirt Senior currently out for week with a strained shoulder. Michael, a 6'1" 224 lb. Scrambler from Georgia, has put up the below passing and rushing statistics thus far in the campaign: Passing Yards Completions Attempts Percentage Passing Average Passing Touchdowns Interceptions Sacks QB Rating Longest Pass 755 97 171 56.73% 107.86 4 3 5 98.02 58 Rushing Yards Rush Attempts Rushing Average Rushing Touchdowns Fumbles Longest Rush 807 96 8.41 9 0 66 Within the Flexbone system, which ultimate emphasizes the run, a Scrambler like Andrew Michael has led the Colorado State offense to Conference perfection thus far - I have no doubts that Meyers Ramirez, should he find himself at Colorado State next year, could pick up where his predecessor left off. What's the catch? There's no guarantee that Colorado State will continue running the Flexbone next season. With Skyler Simmons, a Redshirt Junior in the Field General Quarterback mold, currently backing-up Andrew Michael and all recruiting trends pointing more towards a shift in Fort Collins towards the passing game, there's doubt that the "fit" will remain at Colorado State for Meyers Ramirez come the offseason. Nevertheless, Meyers was cautiously optimistic, saying of the prospect of playing at Colorado State: 4. Rutgers Unlike with Colorado State, there is no doubt in my mind that the Scarlet Knights under Coach @TyroleanRaider are looking going retain their I Option offensive scheme heading into next season. Currently led by Senior Quarterback Robert Frederick, Rutgers currently have a staggering six Quarterbacks currently rostered, five of whom are considered "Scramblers." Both Frederick and fellow-Senior Giovanny Franklin-Meyers are set to graduate; however, the Scarlet Knights will be added Rashmi Ho, a 4* Scrambler from Holliston, Massachusetts to their Quarterback room next year. Therefore, with the addition of Meyers Ramirez, it would be a five-horse race for the starting job in Piscataway. That said, I believe it's a race that Meyers could win. Player Year Height Weight Overall Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential Meyers Ramirez (So) 6'0" 224lbs C+ B B B B- D- C- Balanced C- A D+ A- Ramon Lundblade Jr 6'0" 212lbs C+ B B B B D D- Shotgun C- C C C Anthony Valdez Jr 6'2" 225lbs C C+ B B C F F Under Center C- D+ A- C Philip Steele Fr 6'0" 206lbs C C B C D F F Shotgun F F F B- While it's yet to be seen what the incoming Rashmi Ho's measurables are, Meyers Ramirez equals or beats out all other rostered Rutgers Quarterbacks in 8/11 categories - all while having an extra year of eligibility over his two-closest contemporaries. It's plain to see that either Philip Steele or Rashmi Ho are the future at Rutgers; however, both young men require time to develop, probably about two years or so. In those intermediary two years - coincidentally or not, the exact amount of time that Meyers Ramirez could continue playing college football - a Quarterback with both "right now" skills and a high-ceiling are required to remain competitive in an increasingly-open Big Ten. Speaking to the prospect of acting as the bridge Quarterback for Rutgers, Meyers Ramirez agreed: 3. Cincinnati Take the situation at Rutgers and make it even more favorable for our boy Meyers Ramirez, that's what we've got with Coach @Rome's Cincy. Just like the Scarlet Knights, the Bearcats are led by a Senior - Quarterback Jeremy West. Graduating alongside West at the conclusion of the academic year is backup Quarterback Josh Gervacio. Unlike in Piscataway, Cincinnati does not expect any incoming Quarterbacks, having recruited two offensive linemen (both of whom are skilled at protecting the run) and a defensive lineman. That leaves four Quarterbacks, and crucially, one Scrambler on the Bearcat roster to compete for the starting job next season. With Meyers Ramirez on the squad, that rounds to the following five quarterbacks: Terence Burbridge, Scrambler, Jr (C+/B-); Paul Martinez, Balanced, So (C/B); Andrew Madrid, Field General, Fr (C/B-); Scott Kirkland, Pocket, Fr (C/C+); and our man, Meyers Ramirez. In direct shoot-out against his two most-likely competitors for the starting job, here's how Meyers shakes out: Player Year Height Weight Overall Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential Meyers Ramirez (So) 6'0" 224lbs C+ B B B B- D- C- Balanced C- A D- A- Terence Burbridge Jr 6'0" 210lbs C+ C B+ B- C+ D- F Shotgun D+ C- C+ B- Paul Martinez So 6'1" 191lbs C D D D D D D Balanced D F B B With Cincinnati running the Spread Option, which "[...]offers up the ability to run a lot more option-type plays, but focuses on pass plays still," Meyers Ramirez and his ability to both rush and pass better than his two most-likely competitors are a near-perfect fit. As with the situation at Rutgers, Meyers Ramirez would slot into the Cincinnati lineup as the perfect bridge Quarterback - allowing for Coach @Rome to harness his strengths for offensive and program gains now while also allowing for a decent amount of time to search for and develop his eventual replacement. Regarding the prospect of playing for Cincinnati, Meyers was complementary: 2. NC State Run the formula back for a third time in a row: the Coach @Dean's Wolfpack have seven rostered Quarterbacks, with current starter Isaiah Pedroia and fellow-Senior Andrew Awuzie departing via matriculation. That leaves five quarterbacks, plus the incoming 4* Pocket Quarterback David Andrews from Spring, Texas. Coach @dearden that's six Quarterbacks, how on earth could this be the second-best situation for our man Meyers? Because, just like before, I reckon Mr. Transfer Portal could beat out his six other competitors for the starting job. Why? Excluding the incoming David Andrews, meet the contestants: current backup Fritz Sellers, Scrambler, So (C/C+); Reginald Benson, Balanced, Fr (C/C+); current third-string Rogelio Elias, Scrambler, Fr (C/B+); Dwayne Vander Laan, Scrambler, Jr (C-/B); and Chi Chi Loyd, Pocket, Jr (D+/C+). Straight away, I'm going to remove Vander Laan and Loyd, despite their fantastic names, from the comparison here. Why? You know why. That leaves us with Sellers, Benson, Elias, and Meyers Ramirez himself, let's take a look: Player Year Height Weight Overall Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential Meyers Ramirez (So) 6'0" 224lbs C+ B B B B- D- C- Balanced C- A D- A Fritz Sellers So 6'1" 221lbs C C C B C D D Balanced D B F C+ Reginald Benson Fr 6'1" 220lbs C D D D D D D Under Center D F D C+ Rogelio Elias Fr 6'1" 227lbs C C C B C F F Balanced D D C B- Similar to the Cincinnati Bearcats offense, NC State funs the Spread Option, which gives the Quarterback a number of option opportunities (which, the astute will recall that Meyers really enjoys) but also focuses on some pass plays. Just like with Cincinnati, Meyers rises above his potential competition, in both the run and the pass. My only reason for considering NC State a more-favorable fit for Meyers is that the he's even further ahead of his competition over in Raleigh. When asked about NC State as a potential destination, Meyers excitedly stated: 1. Illinois I know what you're thinking: a bunch of rostered Quarterbacks, Seniors leaving, underclassmen worse than Meyers Ramirez - ha, that's not what I was going to say. In fact, Illinois under Coach @nemolee.exe is a curious one. At the outset, the Fighting Illini run the Flexbone: "offer[ing] up the ability to run a lot more option-type plays, but is almost entirely run-focused" - perfect for our boy Meyers. What's curious is their currently personnel they have executing that system. Illinois' starting Quarterback, Senior Jalen Jenkins, is one of the Field General mold. His backup, Redshirt Junior Miguel Dahl, has a notable sort of balance to his game. What's curious about that? Neither of them are Scrambler-type Quarterbacks, like our boy Meyers Ramirez, who thrive within the Flexbone offense. That said, Jalen Jenkins has put up respectable passing and rushing statistics so far this campaign: Passing Yards Completions Attempts Percentage Passing Average Passing Touchdowns Interceptions Sacks QB Rating Longest Pass 683 56 98 57.14% 113.83 4 3 10 123.03 64 Rushing Yards Rush Attempts Rushing Average Rushing Touchdowns Fumbles Longest Rush 345 78 4.42 2 0 16 You know the drill - when compared to the three Quarterbacks currently detailed on the Fighting Illini roster, here's how Meyers Ramirez stacks up: Player Year Height Weight Overall Agility Speed Carrying Strength Throw Power Throw Accuracy Shotgun Rating Football IQ Stamina Injury Potential Meyers Ramirez (So) 6'0" 224lbs C+ B B B B- D- C- Balanced C- A D- A- Jalen Jenkins Sr 6'3" 219lbs B+ C+ C- C- B- C B Balanced A+ B F C Miguel Dahl (Jr) 6'3" 209lbs B- C+ C- D C- C C+ Under Center C D+ D+ B Hector Arroyo (Fr) 6'0" 206lbs C D D D D D C Balanced D D F B+ Coach @nemolee.exe - here's my pitch for Meyers Ramirez. Compared to your current starter, Jalen Jenkins, Meyers Ramirez is significantly better at rushing the ball. What does that matter? You've entrusted the keys to your offense to your Quarterback and he's doing a fine job, or else he'd be on the bench; now imagine what Meyers Ramirez, with an additional season learning in Pullman and an offseason to develop could do, especially alongside your stand-out Running Back Jonathan Watson (B+/A-) who will be returning for his final season. I can see it now, those guys would tear it up. With all due respect to your current backup, Miguel Dahl, Meyers Ramirez is better. The Flexbone centers around the option and is run-focused, Meyers is streets-ahead of Dahl in every discernable rushing metric and he's not far behind on passing metrics either. To top it all off, Meyers has an additional year of eligibility to develop and grow ahead of Dahl, who would merely act as a year-long stop-gap. Instead, Meyers Ramirez could be a two-year bridge for the future of Illinois football. Actually, who knows, with how open the Big Ten is, he could be a two-year starter who helps the Fighting Illini contend while folks like Hector Arroyo can develop their skills to eventually take up the mantle. I'll let you hear it from the man himself, who is pumped to play in such a favorable scheme, declaring: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There you have it folks, Transfer Talk's Top 5 Destinations for Mr. Transfer Portal, Meyers Ramirez! Meyers, brother, I'm looking forward to watching your career continue in the years to come, best of luck to you and thanks for sitting down to chat - next time you're grabbing a steak, let me know and we can catch up then! Have any thoughts of your own? Feel like Meyers would be a better fit at your program? Think of any high-profile players we should chat with next? Let us know! Until next time, football fans! (Special thanks to @TuscanSota for lending his voice to Meyers Ramirez!)

Boone, North Carolina - Bouncing back from their loss to Sun Belt East Division rivals #22 Marshall, the Mountaineers rang out convincing victors, 20-3, at home against Louisiana. The Appalachian State Defense shone; a week after giving up 35 points - their second-highest tally of the season - to the Thundering Herd, they held the Ragin’ Cajuns to a mere field goal and effectively neutralized the dynamic Louisiana Quarterback, D.J. Elias, from the game. Completing only 18 of his 44 pass attempts (41%), Elias finished the day with a QBR of 69.77 - his second-worst of the season and a full three points lower than his showing against #2 Tennessee earlier in the year. For the Mountaineers, their defensive success boils down to “character and mentality.” While the Appalachian State defense put up one of their stronger performances this season, their celebrations were marred by two injuries to key players, as Outside Linebacker Jose Thomas and Defensive End Daurice Burns both left the game with injuries. Thomas exited the game in the First Quarter with what appeared to be a knee injury, while Burns went back to the locker room in the Fourth Quarter as trainers attended to his calf. The Mountaineers travel to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to face the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi on Friday, looking to continue their “Victory Saturday” streak following their 2-0 start to Friday night games this campaign.

This article was originally published on plus.espn.com - featured audio has been transcribed for the reader's ease. Good evening football fans! Welcome to Transfer Talk: an intermittent program that I pitched to ESPN and they somehow approved, where we'll be taking a look at possible destinations for high-profile transfer targets, analyzing the potential "fit" between the talented player and their prospective new team, and chatting to these athletes and college football coaches along the way. Ready to get started? The King is Dead, Long Live the King. In our premiere episode, we'll be heading down to Tallahassee, Florida where the Seminoles, who've started this season 4-2 with back-to-back losses, have decided to shake-up their offense. In a recent press conference, Coach @Kirby stated: Speaking exclusively to Coach @Kirby before the program, he provided some additional insight and clarification into the Quarterback situation at Florida State. He said: When asked about the prospect of Kelly Jarwin potentially entering the transfer portal, as opposed to remaining a Seminole for his final year of collegiate eligibility, and whether or not efforts were being made to retain the signal-caller, Coach @Kirby continued: Coach, I appreciate the straight-shooting - for folks who've seen my far-less-publicized interviews, you'll know my similar views on how important putting guys in the best possible situation to succeed is, so I love seeing that mentality in other programs - thanks again for taking the time to chat; hope to have you back on the program when you're hunting for folks to head on down to the Sunshine State! Before anyone can shout "COACHING BIAS" at the top of their lungs, I also sat down with the man himself - Kelly Jarwin - to chat about all the buzz surrounding the goings-on in Tallahassee. Responding to the news that he'd be backing-up Colt McIntyre for the foreseeable-future, Kelly said: When asked about the possibility of entering the transfer portal to play out his final year of eligibility elsewhere, Kelly opined: Kelly, brother, here at Transfer Talk we're hoping for the best for you - gotta respect the composure and the mentality that you've had throughout this whole ordeal, whatever happens man, we're always gonna want to watch you come Saturdays, and hopefully Sundays in the future. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moving into the Transfer part of Transfer Talk, let's presume that Kelly Jarwin enters the portal this off-season - where could he end up? The crew and I have put together three destinations for Kelly, based on location, scheme fit, and the ability for Kelly to succeed entering his final year of collegiate eligibility. Before we dive-in, we've put Kelly's current stats below - dude's eighth right now in total passing yardage, lest we forget that this guy can play football at the highest level. Passing Yards Completions Attempts Percentage Passing Average Passing TDs Interceptions Sacks QB Rating Longest Pass 2,250 166 268 61.94% 375.00 18 8 21 148.66 87 3. Ohio State University Alright, alright, I know what you're thinking: Coach @dearden, Ohio State don't even have a full-time head coach! You'd be right, but it won't stay that way for long. "The" Ohio State University are a massive football program - despite their recent bad-luck with coaching, I've got no doubts that they'll buck that trend soon enough with an amazing coaching signing this off-season, and what better way for that Head Coach to show their intent to the Buckeye faithful than to bring an Ohio boy in Kelly Jarwin back home to lead a new-look Buckeye offense? To me, that's pure poetry. Not to mention, Jarwin already fits into the future Buckeye offense. Signal-caller presumptive, Junior J'Marcus Liranzo, has a pocket-presence similar to Jarwin; however, remains untested at the collegiate level. With Kelly Jarwin at the helm, the Buckeyes could usher in a new era. 2. University of Washington @CoachCartier, if Kelly Jarwin were to enter the transfer portal, take note. Not only is Kelly a scheme-fit for your offense, but he's outperforming your current Quarterback, Jeurys Cooper, in virtually every passing metric so far this season. Couple that with the fact that Washington have an astounding SEVEN Quarterbacks currently rostered, with four - all either Redshirt Sophomores or Sophomores - returning next season, Kelly Jarwin could be your guy to bridge your program's offense and put up ridiculous numbers while doing it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Speaking about the possibility of joining either Ohio State or Washington specifically, Kelly Jarwin stated: 1. Georgia Tech O'Koyea Landrum. Heisman contender, two-time National Offensive Player-of-the-Week. Redshirt Senior in his final year of eligibility. You might not like it, but this one makes the most sense. Coach @ATonOfLaw has put together a program, specifically an offensive one, which has let O'Koyea Landrum barnstorm week-in and week-out. Despite being a direct rival of Kelly Jarwin's, both Quarterbacks have a remarkably similar play-style. That, and Kelly is seemingly leagues-ahead on Landrum's heir-apparent: Yohander Clippard, who has struggled in relief of Landrum. While Kelly is understandably cool to the idea of playing for the Yellow Jackets, quipping: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks again to Coach @Kirby and Kelly Jarwin for joining us on our first episode of Transfer Talk - wishing both of you guys the best as the season progresses! Coaches, players, if you want to talk the transfer portal, feel free to reach out - ESPN commissioned an episode quota, so I gotta hit them to be renewed for next season. Until next time, football fans!

Huntington, West Virginia - Despite a back-and-forth start to the Old Mountain Feud, Appalachian State eventually fell away to Marshall 35-20. After putting up their worst offense performance since their Week 1 loss to Indiana, the Mountaineers struggled to close the gap to the Thundering Herd's explosive offense, spearheaded by pre-season First Team All-Sun Belt selectee Tremaine Craig. With their victory, Marshall improved to 5-1 (3-0) on the year, placing themselves at the fore of the Sun Belt East Division with the best overall and conference records within the entire Sun Belt. For Appalachian State, it's time to "reflect and regroup." On Wednesday, the Appalachian State football program received two additional commitments, bringing the incoming class to a total of six. The two newest members of the Mountaineer football family are: Perry Brockamp (Inside Linebacker, 4*) - Virginia Beach, Virginia Steven Most (Center, 3*) - Penn Laird, Virginia The Mountaineers look to bounce-back as they host the Ragin' Cajuns of the University of Louisiana next Friday.

Boone, North Carolina - Appalachian State cruised to their third-straight victory on the season, defeating Old Dominion 38-7 in a rain-soaked Boone. The explosive Mountaineer offense, which has averaged just over 30 points per game thus far, racked up a 24-7 lead over the Monarchs by the end of the First Quarter and kept their foot on the gas. While the offense, led by signal-caller Austin Redding and the rushing triumvirate of Ramon Brice, Phil Turner, and Wenyen Clinton-Dix, continues to run up the score and has been the focus of media attention, the Appalachian State Defense - who have gone from allowing an average of 36 points per game in their first two matchups to allowing an average of 12.6 points per game since - have quietly been working to ensure victory. Their hopes for the coming weeks? “Let the good times roll.” The Mountaineers travel to Huntington, West Virginia next Friday to battle Marshall in the Old Mountain Feud. Led by Redshirt Junior Halfback, Tremaine Craig, the Thundering Herd have lived up to their name - having thundered out to a 4-1 start to the season highlighted by a thrilling comeback victory away at Kent State and two-straight conference wins over Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern. Despite Marshall’s recent successes and the inherent adversity that comes with visiting a rival, to Appalachian State “this is just another game of football.” One standout player who has excelled within the new-look Appalachian State gameplan is Senior Fullback Ramon Brice. Brice, who rushed the ball a mere 12 times during his Junior season has been rejuvenated this campaign: with 514 rushing yards on 91 attempts and having found the endzone a staggering nine times in only five outings. While the first team pre-season all-Sun Belt rusher will undoubtedly be juxtaposed to his fellow first team selectee, Marshall’s Tremaine Craig, in the build-up to the Old Mountain Feud, Brice’s explosive start to the season is only indicative that “the best is yet to come.” The Old Mountain Feud resumes next Thursday in Huntington, West Virginia and will be broadcast on all screens at Kidd Brewer Stadium.