SoCon Football 2026: Spring Position Outlook Part 1 (The Quarterbacks)

2026 SoCon Football Spring Preview Part 1:

Sustaining vs. Maintaining

So much of what we are seeing in mid-majors in basketball and FCS in football is all revolving around sustaining a winning culture within their current paradigm in which college athletics currently exists. That is also true for all now 10 Southern Conference members, as Tennessee Tech is slated to join the league in early July as the newest official member and will be ready to go when the 2026 campaign kicks off.

Now its more about maintaining what you have within your program on a micro level in contrast to how it was in a bygone era, which saw a collective ability to sustain good winning cultures at multiple programs all at once, without having to worry about the transfer portal. In four out of the past six seasons, the SoCon has had just one participant in the FCS postseason, including each of the past two.

Like basketball, the football gridiron is a place that has seen the ground shift beneath it in recent seasons, and last season, while it was certainly an exciting campaign, the league fell from grace a bit in terms of what the strength we normally see the league functioning at when it has been among the most competitive and powerful leagues in FCS football since re-classifying to that level in the early 1980s.

The question since Appalachian State and Georgia Southern have moved up to the FBS level is how the Southern Conference will re-brand itself. Little did we know at the time that the Mountaineers and Eagles left the league that there would be a seismic shift all together in college athletics, which would hit college football at all levels about a decade later, which of course would come to be known as the transfer portal and "Name-Image-Likeness" (NIL), and it has had a profoundly different effect on the FCS football ranks than the way it has affected the college basketball ranks.

Unlike basketball, the 10 member institutions that sponsor football in the league aren't allocated the kind of money the basketball programs at each place are due to the simple numbers of what it takes to field a football program in comparison to a basketball program. With that said, the SoCon has to find a way to improve its competitive edge collectively.

Much like we witnessed during the most recent basketball season, bad losses in non-conference play left a proverbial bad taste in the mouths for many who cover the sport and the league annually. That said, things really haven't been the same for the SoCon since 2019, which was the year both Furman and Wofford made opening round exits and the weakness of the conference was on a level that hadn't been so notable prior. It was particularly noticeable in Furman's 42-6 pounding at the hands of a good Austin Peay team, however, should have been one the Paladins could at least be competitive against.

The league appeared to be back on the rise again in 2022, with Samford and Furman giving the league excellent representation before bowing out with respectable losses to North Dakota State (L, 27-9) and Incarnate Word (L, 41-38), respectively. 

Then in 2023, Furman had Montana on the ropes in Missoula before dropping a 35-28 game in Missoula and that would be that. Should Furman have found a way to win that game, the Paladins would have been the first SoCon team of the current membership since 2005 to reach the final four of the FCS postseason, when they did so by reaching the semifinals of the postseason only to lose to fellow league member Appalachian State, 29-23, in what would be the first of three-straight national titles for the Mountaineers.

The past two seasons, however, have seen a sharp decline in strength from top to bottom. Furman, the league's most well-established gridiron tradition with 15 league titles, has had trouble getting back to the level that the 2023 team was able to reach. Those 2022 and '23 seasons for the Paladins--a period in which the program finished a combined 20-7 over the course of two campaigns--the Paladins were able to retain and redshirt guys from the COVID-19 season, making them not only one of the oldest, most mature teams in Furman football history, but also one of the most overall experienced units in league history.

That would have a profound effect over the next two seasons, as head Clay Hendrix's 2024 and '25 editions would post just a 9-17 mark, which included taking some huge steps forward following a 6-6 season. Furman's issues to replace that much talent in so many key areas has taken two seasons to be able to make once again put itself in a position to compete for a league title in 2026. As history reveals, when Furman is strong, the rest of the league usually is also. 

Furman's problem over the previous two seasons to get back to a championship level and to build an elite FCS brand has a different roadmap than it once did. In the first six years of this new millennium, Furman was well-established as a national title contending brand and a perennial preseason Top 10 ranked team. From 1999-06, the Paladins won 79 games and posted three shared SoCon titles, a national title game appearance (2001), seven FCS playoff appearances, a win over North Carolina (W, 28-3/1999) and a combined league mark of 47-16.

The Paladins were a perennial FCS power, and when the Paladins were a program on a slow decline from 2007-13, it would be Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, and even Wofford that would help more than help the league pack a punch when it came to maintaining a competitive edge.

Now, the league is different. Whereas multiple teams could help define the league's collective winning culture, in this era hoping for one team to maintain its strength and status among the FCS elite is a lot to ask. It's why until last season when Mercer won its second-straight league title, the league had seen six different league champions from 2019-24. 

The Paladins are coming off a 6-6 campaign, and really made some strides off of what was one of their worst campaigns in the modern era in 2024. That said, the Paladins were like every other program throughout the SoCon, which means they were hit hard in some key positions by the transfer portal.

A Quarterback Problem?

One of the themes for the league over the past two campaigns has been the lack of quarterback talent from top to bottom. It's evidence that the trickle down effect from larger programs picking out young quarterbacks that are in the process of developing into potentially great ones.

Taron Dickens (Western Carolina) and Braden Atkinson (Mercer) were able to carry the banner for the league under center last season, however, outside the talented pair of signal-callers, other teams around the league saw their fair share of struggles at the spot.

Both have moved on to different destinations for the 2026 football campaign, with Dickens slated to continue his career at North Carolina, while Atkinson is slated to continue his playing career in Corvalis at Oregon State.

Dickens would end up having a record-breaking season for the Catamounts and ended the campaign as the runner-up in voting for the Walter Payton Award to Youngstown State's Beau Brungard, who ended up garnering 28 first-place votes, while Dickens ended up earning 10. 

Dickens' second-place finish in the Walter Payton Award race is the best ever recorded by a Catamount football player in of the FCS National Awards, which are voted on at the end of every football season. 

Despite logging action in just nine of the team's 12 games this past season, Dickens led the FCS in passing yards-per-game (389.8 YPG), completion percentage (74.2%), total offensive yards per game (425.4 YPG), and touchdown passes (38). 

Dickens finished the season helping Catamounts to a 7-2 mark as the starter under center for WCU and eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark a total of seven times in his nine games as the starting signal-caller, including finishing with 400 or more passing yards on four occasions and had 500 or more passing yards twice in 2025. 

During the 2025 season alone Dickens helped account for four of the Top 13 individual passing performances during the 

Atkinson ended up winning the STATS Perform Jerry Rice Award back in early December, and it was pretty much a slam dunk from the outset. A lot has seemingly happened since, however, as Atkinson announced that he would be entering the transfer portal not long after it was announced that his head coach, Mike Jacobs, would be moving on to take a new job as the new leader of the Toledo football program.

Though Atkinson didn't have the performance he wanted to close out the season in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs in a 47-0 home loss to South Dakota in the opening round of the playoffs, the season was still an overwhelming success for the freshman signal-caller.

He finished out his only season in Macon by connecting on 268-of-408 passes for 3,596 yards, with 34 TDs and 11 INTs. 

Western Carolina's record-setting quarterback and redshirt sophomore Taron Dickens finished second in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the top player in FCS Football.

So what is left at quarterback around the league? Well, only three quarterbacks with starting experience are returning around the league. The following quarterbacks have decided to enter the transfer portal and plan on spending their 2026 season somewhere other than where the SoCon school in which they suited up during the 2025 season:  Trey Hedden (Furman-New Mexico State); Camden Orth (Chattanooga-out of eligibility); Collin Shannon (VMI-Murray State); Quincy Crittendon (Samford-out of eligibility); Brady Stober (Samford-Elon); Kekoa Visperas (Tennessee Tech-out of eligibility); and Cade McNamara (ETSU-out of eligibility) and Jacolby Criswell (ETSU-out-eligibility).

The lone two quarterbacks that return to the league with starting experience reside at two of the Palmetto State institutions, in JT Fayard (Wofford) and Quentin Hayes (The Citadel). Big things are expected out of both Fayard and Hayes in 2026, as both the Terriers and Bulldogs should have a hard start on preparations for the upcoming season as a result of remaining at their respective programs over the off-season.

For Fayard, he helped Wofford produce one of the turnaround stories in the league last fall, as he helped transform the Terriers' offense once inserted as the full-time starter on Homecoming against Norfolk State, as he would lead the Terriers to their first win of the season after an 0-5 start, with Wofford posting what was a 31-14 win. With Fayard installed as the starter, the Terriers would finish out the regular-season with quite a turnaround, finishing 6-6 for the season--Wofford's best finish to a season since winning the third of three-straight SoCon titles in 2019.

Fayard finished his season by completing 139-of-209 passes for 1,471 yards, with 13 TDs and only three INTs. He finished the season having seen action in eight total games, with seven starts, as he led Wofford to a 6-1 after taking over at the midway point of the season.

As far as The Citadel is concerned, Hayes was a late addition from the transfer portal, and he would end up splitting time with incumbent Cobey Thompkins under center while he learned the Bulldogs' double-option offense. Hayes added a dual-threat piece to The Citadel's offense, while Thompkins was more known as exclusively a rushing threat. 

It will be only Hayes in the leadership role of the Bulldogs' offense moving into the 2026 season, as he finished up '25 campaign leading the Bulldog offense in both passing (58-of-92 passing, 897 yds, 8 TDs, 4 INTs), while rushing for 682 yards and seven TDs, including averaging 4.5 YPC. 

Both Fayard and Hayes were at the controls of the offenses in Spartanburg and Charleston, as the Wofford and The Citadel recently completed spring drills. 

Trey Hedden was the league's third-leading passer at Furman, setting a single-season record for passing yards with the Paladins in 2025, as he finished out his final season in the Purple and White by connecting on 287-of-420 passes for 2,967 yards, 17 TDs and 13 INTs. In two seasons as Furman's leading signal-caller, he finished with a 9-12 record in two seasons as the starter, completing 438-of-668 attempts for 4,734 yards with 30 TDs and 22 INTs. Hedden moves on to New Mexico State, where he will have two years of eligibility remaining. 

While Hedden was excellent as a passer, he wasn't a good fit for the Furman offense and what it was so good doing as a unit with predecessor Tyler Huff at the controls of Furman offensive coordinator Justin Roper's offense. Hedden was hand-picked by Roper to help lead the Paladins forward following the departure of Huff to Jacksonville State. 

Furman will have a new leader under center this coming season, with backup Carson Jones () having also moved on. Transfers Connor Ackerley (Western New Mexico) and Jake Garcia (Michigan), as well as freshman Banks Bouton (Gaffney High School) will be in competition during fall camp for the right to replace Hedden under center next season. 

Garcia was the most recent addition to the Furman roster, as he hails from Grayson, GA., and led Grayson High School to a perfect 14-0 record and a 7A state championship as a senior. He started his collegiate career at Miami in 2021, seeing action in only one game before being sidelined with an injury for the remainder of the season. 

He would log action in eight games for the Hurricanes the following season, finishing the campaign by completing 68-of-115 passes for 803 yards and five TDs before opting to continue his career at Missouri following the season. He would not see action in a game in 2023 while with the Tigers' football program, transferring to East Carolina in January of 2024. He would then finish his quarterbacking carousel at the FBS level at Michigan last fall. 

Over the past two seasons at ECU and Michigan, the 6-2, 210-lb signal-caller passed for a combined for 1,426 yards and eight TDs, while also rushing for a pair of scores while at ECU in 2024. Garcia becomes the first quarterback to join from a major power four institution since Chris Forcier (UCLA) transferred to Furman back in the summer of 2009. 

Expected to Ackerley came to Furman from NCAA Division II Western New Mexico where he started all 11 games for the Mustangs last season. As a redshirt freshman in 2025, he finished the season by completing 253-of-397 passes for 2,999 yards, with 30 TDs and 12 INTs, which included a memorable performance against New Mexico Highlands, as he threw for a career-best 529 yards on 34-of-57 passing. That performance against New Mexico Highlands included passing for a school-record seven touchdowns.  Ackerley participated in spring drills with the team, as he got a head start on gaining a grasp of Furman's offensive scheme heading into the fall.

Finally, the wild card could be freshman signal-caller Banks Bouton--son of former Furman legendary linebacker Will Bouton (Furman, 1998-2001)--as he gained confidence with the progression of spring drills. His ability as a runner with above average speed and elusiveness makes him a candidate to see the field in some capacity as a true freshman in 2026. He played both quarterback and wide receiver during his time at Gaffney (4A) where he played for former Furman legendary offensive lineman and Jacobs Blocking Award winner Donnie Littlejohn (Furman, 1999-2002).

As a senior with the Indians, Bouton accounted for 2,200 all-purpose yards and a total of 19 TDs, while playing both quarterback and wide receiver during his time on the reservation. In the most recent 2025 season, Bouton helped his team reach the third round of the state playoffs, as the Indians finished the season with a 9-4 record. Those will be the three that end up competing for the starting job in fall practice, with Bouton potentially also seeing the field in some other offensive capacity if not under center.

At Western Carolina, it's hard to have a guy to just step into the shoes of a guy like Taron Dickens,  who ended up finishing out the season as a Walter Payton Award finalist and put together a couple of seasons in succession that may never be witnessed again in Cullowhee from a signal-caller. It is true that head coach Kerwin Bell's offenses does lend itself to the starter in that scheme being able to put up some pretty ridiculous offensive totals. 

As good as Dickens was and as explosive as the Catamounts' up-tempo passing attack can be, it wasn't enough ensure the Catamounts' passage into the FCS postseason for the first time since 1983. Dickens' second-place finish in the Walter Payton Award race is the best ever recorded by a Catamount football player in of the FCS National Awards, which are voted on at the end of every football season. 

In his redshirt sophomore season, Dickens had to miss his first three games of the 2025 campaign due to suspension, and that likely was enough to cost the Catamount a spot in the 2025 FCS postseason. He finished out his final season in Cullowhee by connecting on 271-of-365 passes for 3,508 yards, with 38 TDs and just two INTs. He was phenomenon in Cullowhee like none we've ever seen at WCU. Dickens also rushed 97 times for 321 yards and one TD. All told, he finished out his 2025 season by totaling 3,829 all-purpose yards and 39 total touchdown responsibilities. 

In two seasons as WCU's primary signal-caller, Dickens finished with playing time in 18 games, which included a 13 starts across two seasons, as he posted a 10-3 mark as a starter, including a 7-2 mark as a senior. When Dickens took over the reins of the offense, the Catamounts had already started the season with an 0-3 record. All told, he finished his career connecting on 402-of-543 passes for 5,063 yards, 51 TDs and just five INTs. He also rushed for 371 yards and three scores in his two seasons in Cullowhee. Dickens entered the transfer portal and eventually opted to continue his gridiron journey next season playing for Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Replacing him are viable candidates, but it's also very appropriate to call Dickens a unique talent and filling the void as the leader of the Catamount offense after he put up such astounding passing totals in two seasons won't be easy. Competing for the right to step under center for the Catamounts as the starter in 2026 will fall to one of the following candidates: Isaac Lee, Patrick Harding, Jordan Martin-Durham, Lex Thomas or Ian Grissom.

The three quarterbacks that looked to be the primary contenders for the starting responsibilities come the fall were Lee, Thomas and Martin-Durham. Martin-Durham missed the Catamounts' spring game due to precautionary reasons. The one interesting piece to all of this is that two of the three competing for the starting responsibilities potentially bring better run capabilities to the Catamount offense than even the elusive Dickens did. 

It would be a lot for anyone to ask to expect any of the aforementioned contenders for the starting job to bring as much in the passing department as Dickens did, however, that's where Bell's run-and-shoot offense comes into play as an equalizer.  Thomas is an intriguing talent to be sure, as he saw action in four games during his time in Raleigh over the previous two years. He totaled 53 yards and a rushing score in his first-career action against Clemson during the 2024 season, while finishing out his two seasons with the Wolfpack by completing 7-of-15 passes for 83 yards and a score and an INT in action in four games over two seasons. 

Thomas played his prep football at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, N.C., where he ranked as the No. 27 player in the state of North Carolina according to 247Sports. During his time at Mountain Heritage, Thomas was widely regarded as a Top 30 in the state of North Carolina according to the comprehensive rankings, which includes ESPN, Rivals, On3 and 247Sports. 

He threw for 3,000 yards and 33 TDs over a couple of seasons as a varsity quarterback at Heritage, and that was good enough for Thomas to be rated a three-star recruit coming out of high school according to both Rivals and 247Sports. 

Thomas appears to be the closest to the heir apparent to Dickens under center of those remaining in Cullowhee looking to take the former standout's job under center in Cullowhee in the fall of 2026. In the spring game, Thomas was allotted eight drives with the Purple squad and was especially impressive after throwing for a scrimmage-best 198 yards and three scores on 16-of-24 passing, while also adding 31 yards on the ground.

Lee saw time in five games last fall as a redshirt freshman for the Purple and Gold, finishing the season by connecting on 31-of-54 passes for 279 yards, with two TDs and two INTs, while also rushing for 145 yards and a touchdown on 21 attempts under center last season. 

The biggest highlight of the young signal-caller's career came in the 52-7 blasting of Furman on the second weekend of October, as it would be Lee that would put the final cherry on top of a second-straight lopsided win over Furman by scampering 66 yards whilst eluding several Paladin would-be tacklers along the way en route to a highlight that saw the Catamount players erupt in excitement for the final score of the game as much as they had for any of the other six TDs in the contest. 

Lee was impressive during the spring game for the Catamounts, leading the White squad and finished 10-of-17 for 69 yards, which included leading a trio of scoring drives in the six total drives he would have leading the Catamount offense in the contest. Two of those three scoring drives would see Lee call his own number that resulted in TDs for the White squad, and he would ultimately finish with 39 yards on a total of six rushing attempts. 

Jordan Martin-Durham is a 6-3, 240-lb redshirt freshman signal-caller that comes from Kerwin Bell's former stomping grounds of Jacksonville, FL. In his inaugural season with WCU in 2025, Martin-Durham spent most of his time learning the Catamount offensive scheme, but he did appear in one game against ETSU, as he rushed the ball twice, with one of which also just happened to include his first-career touchdown as an NCAA Division I college quarterback, and that came on the first play of the second quarter against the Bucs, as Martin-Durham plunged into the end zone from a yard out.

Martin-Durham is really the only one of the five competing for the job that is a true pro-style quarterback. He played five years of varsity football, which included six games as an eighth-grader at Zaraphath Academy where he logged 48 games as a prep, amassing an incredible 14.485 total yards, which included 13,329 passing yards and 120 scores. During his prep career, he completed an incredible 67% (667-of-993) as a senior.

Western's offense will once again be a wagon, but the man leading it will ultimately not be decided until fall camp.

Like Western Carolina, Mercer had a quarterback, in Braden Atkinson, that was ultimately on the fast-track to a big payday sooner rather than later, as he continued to get better and better with each game. It would eventually lead to Atkinson being named as the Jerry Rice Award winner by STATs FCS, which is an award given to the nation's top FCS freshman player. 

Though Atkinson didn't have the performance he wanted to close out the season in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs in a 47-0 home loss to South Dakota in the opening round of the playoffs, the season was still an overwhelming success for the freshman signal-caller.

He finished out his only season in Macon by connecting on 268-of-408 passes for 3,596 yards, with 34 TDs and 11 INTs. 

So who are the candidates in line to compete for Atkinson's vacated role under center for the two-time reigning SoCon title winner's Mercer? That's a question that new head coach Joel Taylor will have the opportunity to answer following fall camp and prior to the 2026 season opener on Sept. 12 vs. Furman. 

Competing to assume the new role as leader of a new offense will include the following candidates: redshirt senior Adrian Parker (Franklin Pierce), true freshman Cam Hill, redshirt freshman Jake Wilson (Purdue), true freshman Jake Maxwell, redshirt freshman JP Pickles (UTEP) and redshirt junior Jaylen King (Florida State and ETSU).

New head coach Joel Taylor has installed a pair of offensive coaches that helped West Georgia make the jump to FCS Football and become a force to be reckoned with in just its second year playing up a classification last fall, as both Tripp Weaver and Austin Davis will join him on staff with the Bears in his first season in Macon this fall. 

As a result of graduation, coaching change, and the transfer portal, the Bears have overhauled more than half of their roster, but there is at least some continuity within the ranks under center. Redshirt freshmen JP Pickles and Jake Wilson were part of the Bears' roster just last season, while King is familiar with Mercer, having faced the Bears as ETSU's signal-caller a couple of years ago in a key late-season tilt in Macon.

The two leaders for the starting spot in the clubhouse heading into fall practice were both Pickles and King. In the spring game, it was both Pickles and King that logged a majority of the time under center. Pickles spent his first season as a NCAA Division I quarterback at the FBS level, as he started his career at UTEP. In limited action with the Miners in his rookie campaign, Pickles threw for 226 yards on 30-of-53 passing, while tossing one passing TD and accounting for one rushing score. 

He accounted for a total of 222 yards of total offense for Middle Tennessee State, including 145 through the air on 18-of-33 passing against the Blue Raiders. Pickles appears to be the frontrunner for the job at this point.

Prior to starting at UTEP, Pickles spent a highly-successful prep career at North Florida Christian High School in Jacksonville where he ended up passing for 9,513 yards and 97 TDs on 633-of-1,049 passing. 

In 2025, Pickles logged very minimal action under center for the Bears, as he passed for 61 yards on 5-for-8 passing, including one INT. It appears that, while no starter has yet been specifically declared heading into the summer, it's Pickles that is the clear front-runner coming out of the spring. The offense will be similar to that employed by Mercer under Mike Jacobs, featuring a balanced attack and a pro-style quarterback under center.

Obviously everyone probably knows about how good Tennessee Tech was last year and how the Golden Eagles really had a breakthrough season in the OVC/Big South. But how did they get there? This was a program that couldn't get out of its own way just two years ago under head coach DeWayne Alexander, who has ties to Southern Conference program East Tennessee State where he was the OL coach in 2017 before assuming the head coaching job at Tech. 

Needless to say that things never were right in his six seasons in Cookeville, and despite putting together a roster full of talented players in 2023, he just the Golden Eagles lacked hardly any offensive firepower, finishing 4-7 overall. Those offensive struggles, which saw as many as six different quarterbacks take a snap for the Golden Eagles, were all part of what would prove to be Alexander's swansong at the helm of the TTU program. 

Much like the basketball program found a diamond in the rough with the hiring of Tobin Anderson this past spring, it was back on Dec. 3, 2023, which would see Mark Wilson leave his mark on the TTU program with one of his final hires before resigning a little less than a year-and-a-half later, as he would pick out Bobby Wilder to be Alexander's successor in leading the program forward. 

Wilson hadn't had much success at finding the right solution as the head football coach in Cookeville in his 21 years of service, but after thinking that Marcus Satterfield might be the next best thing when hiring him away from Matt Rhule's staff at Temple in 2016, it would have seemed to have been a match made in heaven for the program and offensive philosophy. However, despite successful stops at Chattanooga and Temple, and after a successful playing career in the mid-late 1990s at East Tennessee State, Satterfield would struggle as the head coach at TTU and was fired after posting just a 6-16 mark over the span of two seasons.

After two seasons under Wilder, it appears one of Wilson's final hires as the program's Director of Athletics has the potential to have some pretty major implications as the Golden Eagles get ready to enter a new era as a member of the Southern Conference starting this fall.

Wilder is a bit of an offensive savant, and that is trackable info. In his time at Old Dominion, Wilder not only brought football back to coastal Virginia for the first time in almost seven decades, he would fashion a top-tier FCS program in a short amount of time, highlighted by an offense that was as potent as any at any level of classification throughout the college football nation. 

Wilder led the Monarchs back to the gridiron in 2009, and it wouldn't take long to see just how brilliant an offensive mind he was. Playing as an independent in 2009, he led the Monarchs to a 9-2 mark, and though that season was mostly non-scholarship FCS programs and at least two non-Division I foes, the fact that the school hadn't sponsored a football program in 68 years was nothing short of a miracle.

Two years later, Wilder landed a quarterback by the name of Taylor Heinicke that would prove to be one of the most dynamic signal-callers in the modern era of FCS football. Now a member of the CAA, and with the dynamic Heinicke at the controls of ODU offense, the Monarchs finished with double digit win totals in two out of their final three seasons as an FCS program in 2011 and '12 as a playoff eligible member of the FCS. In 2013, which was ODU's final season as an FCS member, Wilder helped the Monarchs to close out with an 8-4 record.

In his first three seasons at ODU, he helped the Monarchs to a 26-7 mark, three FCS playoff appearances, and developed a quarterback in Heinicke, who would go on to win the Walter Payton Award winner. 

Despite Heinicke putting up some insane passing totals, it's the element of how he mixes the run in with oftentimes a dual-threat quarterback under center like a Heinicke, that makes Wilder's offensive scheme so tough to prepare for.

Wilder concluded his coaching stint at ODU in 2019, spending 13 seasons in Norfolk and after finishing up as head coach at ODU, had local elite level camps designed to develop offensive skill, with quarterback being the centerpiece of those camps. In two seasons at TTU, he's now led the Golden Eagles to an 18-7 overall record, a conference title and an FCS Playoff appearance last fall. 

He's managed to do that by taking over a program that hadn't had a winning season in 12 years (2011-23) prior to him taking the reins as the head coach, as he became the 13th head coach in program history two-and-a-half years ago.

Making that accomplishment even more remarkable has been the fact that he's done it in the portal era, having taken on 60 transfers and turned over the roster of more than 100 players in two seasons in Cookeville. Coming off an 11-win season a year ago, the question is now who is line to lead the Golden Eagles moving forward into 2026.

With Kekoa Vesperas having moved on after leading Tennessee Tech to an impressive 11-win campaign this past season, it will now be up to either to one of two new starters, as both Charleston Southern transfer Zolten Osborne and SEMO transfer Jax Leatherwood will both be in the mix to start. The good news for Golden Eagles fans is that both quarterbacks should be familiar to TTU fans, as both played in the OVC-Big South Conference as recent as this past season, with Osbornne garnering honorable mention OVC-Big South all-conference honors this past season. It could even end up being the case that Wilder plays both.

Quarterback is position that has been a stumbling block for Chattanooga each of the past couple of seasons. From the disastrous late-season injuries to Chase Artopoeus in 2023 and '24, to very mediocre play under center from Camden Orth last season.

If there's a coach on the proverbial hot seat heading into the 2026 football season, his name might be Chattanooga's Rusty Wright, and it might be tied directly to the quarterback position. After all, the Mocs are coming off a 5-7 campaign in 2025 and were 7-5 in 2024, however, would miss the FCS postseason. Things looked like they were on the way up following an eight-win 2023 season, which saw UTC make the FCS Playoffs for the first time under Wright and for the first time since 2016. 

Chattanooga has kind of experienced both of those worlds. Artopoeus had been good in 2023, and then there was that bizarre ending in 2024, which left the job to Luke Schomburg. Schomburg had a little momentum and some playoff experience and even led the Mocs to their first postseason road win in school history over Austin Peay.

However, that momentum came to a screeching halt when he took the reins of the offense for UTC over the final four games in 2024. In a game at Western Carolina, he made some costly miscues that proved to be a game which likely ended up costing the Mocs a golden opportunity at a second-straight trip to the postseason. 

Matthew Clemmer (DNP in 2025), who is the other quarterback in the Mocs' system, has some promising talent but hasn't taken that next proverbial step, and with the one-year quick fix being Camden Orth, who was adequate, but not a quarterback that was going to help this program take the next step, the ball was then placed in the capable hands of talented freshman Battle Alberson (47-of-79 passing, 630 yds, 5 TDs, 3 INTs/26 rush att, 63 yds), who brought in some mixed results over the final three games, but there's plenty more good than bad as far as him being a quarterback that can potentially flourish in the Scenic City.

Alberson was especially good in a late-season, 45-28, late-season home win over Furman, as he completed 15-of-22 passes for 277 yards and four TDs and no INTs in what his first-career start was. Additionally, Alberson showed his ability to run the football in the win over the Paladins, as he finished with 85 yards on the ground on just seven attempts. 

While Clemmer and Alberson represent the best options to compete for the job that are already on the roster, there is at least one transfers that have been added that are expected to compete with both Clemmer and Alberson in fall camp, as New Mexico State transfer Patrick Awad (New Mexico State transfer). Awad was the lone quarterback added to the roster over the course of two signing days. 

During his two seasons at NMSU, Awad started six of the seven games he logged action in during the 2024 campaign, and was the Aggies' leading passer, completing 74-of-160 passes for seven touchdowns along with throwing four INTs. He also added 109 yards and a rushing score during the 2024 season. Awad logged action in only one game last season for the Aggies, passing for a career-best 340 yards on career highs for completions (22), attempts (51), touchdowns (3) and rushing yards in what turned out to be a 42-35 loss for the Aggies. 

Awad started his college football playing career at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, CA., where he threw for 1,223 yards, 12 TDs and three INTs in his one season at the JUCO. Entering the 2026 season, Awad has connected on 162-of-337 career passes for 2,302 yards and 19 TDs, while accounting for 2,628 yards of total offense.

It would appear on the surface at least that the starting job would be basically a two-horse race heading into fall camp, with both Awad and Alberson the main contenders in contention for the starting job.

The final Volunteer State program in the SoCon--East Tennessee State--made quite the offseason headlines last fall when it brought in a pair of power four level signal-callers to help guide the Bucs into the new era under first-year head coach Will Healy. 

While there is always mixed reviews when utilizing a two-quarterback system, it actually ended up being a one-quarterback system following what was a season-ending injury to Cade McNamara (124-of-185 passing, 1,283 yds, 7 TDs, 6 INTs) in a late-season, 14-10, win over Wofford. In the end, it would be Jacolby Criswell (85-of-138 passing, 9 TDs, 2 INTs/56 rush att, 277 yds), who was a transfer in from the University of North Carolina, that would end up leading a strong surge of four-straight wins to conclude the season, the Bucs rallied for a 7-5 finish to the season, which included a 5-3 league mark. 

Oh, but what might have been for a roster that, in many ways was as talented on both sides of the football as any in the SoCon in Healy's first season as the head coach, and no matter how high of a level both signal-callers were playing at prior their arrival at ETSU last season, a 1-3 start to league play with all three losses coming by a combined 17 points proved to be too much to overcome and too tall of a task even for the tandem of high-level transfers. In all three losses, including a home setback to eventual regular-season league champion Mercer (L, 38-34), the Bucs blew halftime leads in each of those contests.

While McNamara spent a majority of his final three years as a college quarterback battling injuries, Criswell held out hope that he could supply the NCAA enough support for a potential eligibility waiver for one more season. 

In fact, Criswell didn't know he wouldn't be back in the fold this season until the NCAA officially denied his submitted request for an eligibility waiver in late February. With that said, both Criswell and McNamara ended up with opportunities to prolong their football careers professionally. McNamara was recently extended a mini-camp invite from the Tennessee Titans, while Criswell signed a contract with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

With neither McNamara or Criswell in the fold any longer, it's a new start for Healy and the Bucs and once again, the second-year head coach has made some headlines by procuring a a couple more power-four caliber signal-callers, in Louisville transfer Mason Mims and Michigan transfer Jadyn Davis.  

Other quarterbacks that figure to compete with the newcomers include redshirt junior Jake McNamara (25-of-37 passing, 305 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and sophomore Jackson Byrd (7-of-10 passing, 142 yds, 3 TDs, 0 INTs). The leader coming out of the spring to be the starter for the Bucs was Jake McNamara, who is the younger brother of Cade McNamara, and he had a solid spring for the Bucs, culminating in a solid performance in ETSU's annual spring game, which took place back in late April. 

Jake McNamara's 26-yard scoring strike to USF transfer Brandon Winton, and a 41-yard strike to UL Monroe transfer Tyler Griffin following a well-designed flea-flicker play.  was one of the highlights of the afternoon for ETSU fans. 

McNamara saw limited action under center in his first season in Johnson City last fall, as he was able to log action in five contests, completing 25-of-37 passes for 305 yards, with two TDs and an INT. His best performance in limited duty last season came in ETSU's home win over VMI, as he connected on 8-of-14 passes for 97 yards, while also adding 18 rushing yards.

Prior to arriving at ETSU, McNamara spent time at both UTEP and New Mexico State where he did not appear in a game at either of those stops. His prep career at Page High School in Franklin, TN., saw him put up impressive totals, as he completed 60% of his passes for 3,581 yards and 43 TDs.

While McNamara logged most of the reps in the spring, another young potential emerging star under center could be Jackson Byrd. Like McNamara, Byrd appeared in five games for the Bucs in 2025 as a true freshman. The 6-0, 190-lb product of Clayton, N.C., by way of Cleveland High School saw only spot duty, however, in games against Murray State, Tennessee, VMI and Chattanooga.

Coming off the bench, Byrd's most extensive action under center for ETSU in 2025 came in that memorable road win at Western Carolina in the Blue Ridge Border Battle, as the rookie quarterback connected on 5-of-8 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns in helping lead ETSU to that memorable 52-35 victory. All told, Byrd completed the 2025 season by connecting on 7-of-10 passes for 142 yards and three scores. 

Both Davis and Mims will throw their proverbial hat in the ring for the starting job when they arrive for fall camp, however, both McNamara and Byrd have shown the ability to lead would could potentially be an explosive ETSU offense in 2026. Whomever ends up with the starting job, I don't think that coach Will Healy will employ a two-quarterback system again next fall.

Watching the final season of the Chris Hatcher "Hatch Attack" offense in his 11th season at the helm in Homewood was like watching a campfire flame's last dying ember, flickering in the slight breeze as it the glow finally fades to black for good and all that is left is the smoke rising off a pile of wood.

As well as the Hatch Attack started back in 2016, it died a slow death over his final two campaigns at the helm after the flame burned its brightest and gave off its greatest warmth back during the 2022 season, as the Bulldogs won 11 games and reached the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs.

Quincy Crittendon's career had seemed so promising at that particular point in time. He had led the Bulldogs to an opening round FCS Playoff overtime win against Southeastern Louisiana (W) a week after posting the game-winning, 25-yard scoring scamper in an overtime win vs Mercer, which ultimately clinched Samford's only recognized SoCon title since joining the league back in 2008. 

After playing behind talented gunslinger Michael Hiers for two seasons, Crittendon finally got his chance as Samford's full-time starter in the 2024 season, leading the Bulldogs to a 4-7 season, which was highlighted by arguably the signature performance of his career against league champion Mercer, as the Bulldogs found a way to somehow hand the Bears their first loss of the season after a 6-0 start. Crittendon finished has afternoon 23-of-37 passing for 378 yards, with four TDs and three INTs. Crittendon also rushed for 24 yards, which put him over 400 yards (402 yds) of total offense for the game.

While there were both 'ups' and 'downs' for Crittendon during his junior season of 2024, and while Samford struggled, the junior did have a solid season and finished leading the SoCon in passing, finishing out the campaign by connecting on 277-of-394 passes for 2,689 yards, with 18 TDs and 12 INTs. 

Then came the season Samford fans would all like to forget, as Martin Newton mercifully extinguished Hatcher's flame as the head coach after a dismal 1-11 season. Crittendon would combine with Bradley Stober (122-of-196 passing, 1,240 yds, 7 TDs, 7 INTs) to lead the Bulldogs offense in 2025, and the Hatch Attack never came close to hatching, staying in the egg more often than not. The Bulldogs finished 86th out of 126 nationally (336.2 YPG), which was easily one of the worst by a Chris Hatcher-coached offense in his 11 seasons. 

While Crittendon is out of eligibility, Stober has opted to enter the transfer portal, where he committed to former SoCon member Elon in the spring. 

Samford is also moving in a new direction, with a new offense and new enthusiasm, with the hiring of former Jacksonville State head coach and former Clemson staff analyst. Grass has been in Tiger Town for the past five seasons after putting together an outstanding career as the head coach at Jacksonville State.

Part of turning Samford back into a Southern Conference title contender will involve infusing a new energy into the program, especially from an offensive standpoint, which is an area that other teams in the league either adjusted to or the Bulldogs just didn't have the effective personnel to run the offense. With that in mind, installing a new offense and finding the right person for the job will be top priority for Grass and staff. 

In the spring, former Wake Forest reserve quarterback Charlie Gilliam, sophomore Ryan Oliver, former Davidson quarterback Coulter Cleland and sophomore James McGinn, all appeared squarely in the mix to lead the Bulldogs into a new era. 

Gilliam and Cleland I believe to be the frontrunners for the job. Gilliam didn't see any game action at Wake Forest in 2023 or '24, and only saw very limited time in the lineup last season for the Bulldogs, completing 25 of 41 passes for 258 yards, including one touchdown and five INTs. 

Cleland had been the starter with Davidson in 2024 before suffering a season-ending injury. As the Wildcats' leader under center last season, he connected on 178-of-319 throws for 2,117 yards, with 20 TDs and 11 INTs. He was also solid in the run game, rushing for 183 yards and one TD on 90 attempts.

On the surface of it, the Bulldogs appear to have what will be a vastly different offense in 2026, which will be much more balanced and even emphasize the ground game. I do, however, wonder how the quarterback battle will end up and if any of the candidates would have been as good as Stober if he had stayed. 

Somehow, it's always VMI that ends up rounding out any list when it comes to SoCon football, and so, following a dismal 1-11 season, Danny Rocco decided that his time in Lexington was up, as he took an assistant's job as part of the new staff at Virginia Tech, serving James Franklin's staff as the Senior Defensive Analyst for Offense. 

I am assuming that means Rocco observes the opposition's defense and gives pointers on how to attack that scheme, though I am just guessing. Rocco spent just three seasons as the head head coach in Lexington, and after winning five games in his first season, won only two games combined over the next two.

Anyway, what I do know for certain is that he will no longer be the Sherriff in Lexington. That job will now fall to newly installed head coach Ashley Ingram. Ingram becomes the 34th head coach of the VMI football program, having spent successful stints at both Carson-Newman and the Naval Academy in his career, and it signals the return of the Keydets return to a dedicated ground game. 

Prior to his arrival in Lexington to become the new head coach of the Keydets, Ingram spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Carson-Newman Eagles, leading the program to a 16-6 overall mark in two seasons, including a 13-4 mark against South Atlantic Conference competition.

Ingram took over a Carson-Newman program that had been 5-6 in the season prior to his arrival, and in his first season as the head coach, he helped the Eagles post quite the turnaround, as he led the Eagles to a 9-3 mark, which included an impressive 7-1 mark in the SAC, claiming the SAC Mountain Division title. He became the first coach in the storied history of Carson-Newman football to ever lead the program an NCAA Division II Playoff bid in their first season as the head coach. 

During his time as the head coach of the Eagles, Ingram's teams ran the triple-option attack, which has all but been phased out at most places entirely due to the blocking rule changes in college football.  While the head coach at Carson-Newman, Ingram's offenses averaged 265.8 YPG, with two of his players--running back Jayden Sullins and defensive back Major Williams--garnering All-America accolades during his time as head coach.

With the hiring of Ingram, it signals VMI's return to an option ground game, which hearkens back to former ground games of the late 1980s and most of the 1990s under the likes of guys like Jim Shuck, Bill Stewart and Cal McCombs. In that era running a similar offensive scheme, the Keydets fashioned one of the greatest running backs in FCS history, in Thomas Haskins, who ranks fourth in league history in career rushing yards.

Brent Thompson, who helped lead arch-rival The Citadel to two SoCon titles--one as an assistant coach and one as a head coach--as well as three FCS Playoff appearances during his nine seasons spent in Charleston as a head coach and assistant coach. He helped take the Bulldogs to a 10-2 record in his first season as the head coach in 2016, and that included an outright SoCon title, as the Bulldogs finished a perfect 8-0 mark in the SoCon.

With that transition in coaching, there will also inevitably be a transition under center this fall at signal-caller. There are several candidates to replace the outgoing Collin Shannon (transferred to Murray State) under center for VMI this season and those will include the following candidates: true freshman Caden Baugh; Junior JoJo Crump; RS Junior Chandler Wilson; sophomore Nana Utsey; sophomore Ian Reynolds; and RS Sophomore Cody Shelton.

Nana Utsey is a guy that immediately stands out that could very well excel in Brent Thompson's presumed option offense. Utsey possesses all the necessary tools to be successful attributes to be successful in this type of offensive unit. Utsey logged action in nine games last season, rushing for 197 yards and three scores on 57 attempts, while also finishing the season by completing 15-of-41 passes for 215 yards with a pair of INTs. Utsey garnered his first-career start in the regular-season finale vs. Western Carolina. 

Both Wilson and Crump bring experience with starts under their proverbial belts. Wilson started two games just this past season, as he finished out the season connecting on 26-of-54 passes for 197 yards, with a touchdown and an INT. JoJo Crump has seen over the past two seasons under center, but he's mostly been a threat in 'wildcat' situations. His skillset, much like Utsey's, would help enhance this offense overall. 

The change in offensive philosophy will be a welcomed change, and it will hearken back to VMI's option roots, giving the Keydets the most sensible chance to be successful in the SoCon this fall.