Transcript
Speaker: All right. Well, everybody, welcome in to Warm Weather Fans, the Sunbelt Podcast. I am Brian Stone, your host of... this one of your hosts of this here podcast. And I'm joined today by the great Phil Steele. ah His magazine is sort of the backbone of how we do a lot of our shows, especially when we don't have guests on.
Speaker: that know you know are knowledgeable about these specific teams that we're talking about heading into the season. Phil, thank you so much for joining ah this podcast and myself. and tell people a little bit about you know The magazine. how are you doing things like that before we kind of jump into this Well, I appreciate that, Brian. yeah the ah
Speaker: I love doing, first of all, Sunbelt shows because most of the national shows I do are are all talking top 25. So it's always good to get in the weeds a little bit and talk about these teams. And we're the one magazine that gives you two full pages on every Sunbelt team. You know, the other magazines give you reduced or zero coverage out there. I mean, there's there's I think four magazines this year that have zero coverage on the Sunbelt. They just cover the P4. But I give you the same amount of coverage on teams like.
Speaker: ah Georgia State and Arkansas State that we do on Alabama and Ohio State. Two full pages. It's like getting 138 media guys rolled into one. 300. and 76 pages this year. Now, it's only available at two places.
Speaker: Barnes & Noble and Books A Million are the only two places you can get it. So if you're out driving around, don't waste your gas money. Barnes & Noble, Books A Million. Or you can go to philsteel .com. And when you go there, I'm going to charge you a shipping charge. But we do give you the digital magazine for free. And also, if you're online. playing around on philsteel .com you we have an fcs magazine that gives you two full pages on every fcs team now that one's digital only but uh you're not going to find that kind of coverage anywhere in the country
Speaker: Absolutely. ah Like I said, we use it as the sort of sounding board, the backbone of the show that we do, especially in the preseason and and talking about. depth charts and things that would be hard to kind of scrounge up around the Sun Belt. uh without this magazine so Yeah, my co -host and I, Zeke, we both use it, like I said, as sort of the backbone of how we formulate a lot of our...
Speaker: opinions and and things like that going back to last season. So we appreciate all the work you do on the magazine. Um, As we jump into Sunbelt play here, I want to start just really high level.
Speaker: What teams do you believe are true? you know As we sit here, it's August 5th as we're recording this. Before at today, before a single snap gets taken in the regular season, who which teams do you believe? are true Sunbelt title contenders as we sort of jump into this here.
Speaker: You know, when you take a look, let's start with the East. And in the East, you know, James Madison coming off a playoff appearance did lose a lot. But I think with Billy Napier taking over, he likes the talent he has on hand. He likes the team's attitude. I think they're a legitimate contender in the East. Old Dominion.
Speaker: dominant at times last year. They had a couple games they slipped up, minus five in turnovers against Marshall, ah but they were plus 133 yards per game last year, dominant defense. Now, they did lose a lot, including Colton Joseph, who moves on to the Big Ten at quarterback, but they'll be strong, and they get both Marshall and James Madison at home.
Speaker: I think Marshall's going to be much stronger. To be honest with you, last year I picked Marshall at the bottom. After all, they lost to Southern Miss last year. But when Del Rio Wilson, Carlos Del Rio Wilson, emerged at the quarterback spot, they were much better than I expected, getting a 5 -7. Now head coach Gibson will have them a contender this year if they can pick up their road win at Old Dominion. And then keep your eyes on App State. A little sneaky team here. App State is a team that's had two struggling seasons, but I just get the feeling that this year they're going to be back to being App State and they get a lot of key games at home. So those would be the four teams I got in the East. Out of the West.
Speaker: I'm really high on Louisiana this year. You know, going through the rosters, I went through the rosters with 133 of the 138 head coaches out there, and I spent about an hour. Probably an hour and a half with someone with most of of the group of six coaches going over their rosters with them. And almost every coach.
Speaker: When we get to the players, they'll they'll get excited about a player, and they'll say, oh, I really like this guy. He's going to do this and this. So he won't be here next year. They have a tough time retaining the players that they have. I like the approach that Desermo's doing at Louisiana, bringing in or keeping his own recruits, keeping the players. They're one of the homegrown teams in the Sunbelt Conference, and I think they're right at the top. Now, Troy, probably a little fortunate last year getting to the title game. They were minus 87 yards per game. in SBC play, but Jared Parker's doing a phenomenal job. After a slow start at 1 -7, he's rattling off the wins. They're a contender. And then two teams that I would list as...
Speaker: possible contenders in the east in the West this year. Louisiana Tech. They are taking a step up from CUSA to the Sun Belt. That's a question mark, but they do have both quarterbacks back. They're always strong on defense. And then Arkansas State. I really like the job that... Butch Jones is doing, especially special teams, and they do lose their quarterback, but I like the replacement. potentially, and Trey Owens. So I think that those four teams in the West and the four teams in the East would be the yeah the main contenders this year.
Speaker: So I did write down a couple of questions that arose. ah my Again, my co -host and I, Zeke Palermo, have been putting out these team -by -team previews, and we've had guests on for a good number of them, but then some of them we just weren't able to secure someone to talk to. so ah As we get into contender talk, you know, you mentioned the teams in the East. I do have a couple of questions about specific teams and situations.
Speaker: Number one, like. Old Dominion, I i would say. ah you know, obviously. Colton Joseph is gone, like you mentioned. they do return a lot of defensive production i think my question is It's kind of twofold where it's like, okay, Quinn Hinnickle now takes over at quarterback for Colton Joseph. heading into this season.
Speaker: He projects as even more run -heavy. I think of a quarterback as... than Joseph even was. And then they have this new offensive coordinator get. you know promoted from wide receivers coach Do you anticipate the way that they run their offense to change at all with that coordinator change? and just sort of hinnicle skill set being more of a runner than i think like a volume passer Yeah. um
Speaker: I think they they probably will. They're not going to change the offense. It was pretty good last year. And as we saw with Hennicle. You know, he was Sunbelt Player of the Week in 2024 in one of his starts. He's a guy that's similar to Colton Joseph in the running style. We saw Colton Joseph is was a dangerous runner. Remember the two long touchdown runs he had against Indiana last year? And he ended up leading the team in rushing with 1 ,000 yards. I think Hennekel will be up there. ah with Same thing yardage -wise. You wonder a little bit about the pass game. Will he be as polished? But he's got all the tools. He's very competitive. He's extremely athletic, and he does throw a nice deep ball. So I think he'll be just fine. You've got to think in the bringing keeping the assistant coach and elevating him to the coordinator spot that there's not going to be major changes on offense. If I have a question.
Speaker: on the Old Dominion offense. It's the offensive line. They lose all five guys from last year. They have depth, but they just don't have the same high -end talent they had heading into last year. An offensive line is a a unit not a lot of folks look at. I'm on the Joe Moore Award, one of the 21 award committees I'm on. I put a lot of emphasis on offensive line. And when you're bringing in five new starters, they have to work together. It's got like five fingers have to be a hand. If you got one guy breaking down, then all of a sudden you're allowing some. sacks. So that's my biggest question mark. Not the coordinator, not the quarterback, but the offensive line with ODU.
Speaker: Okay. And then talking about Marshall, another team that, you know, you mentioned in contention, you have Carlos still real Wilson. taking you know a continued step forward in his development as a quarterback. I think my question to you is...
Speaker: does the defense improve because a lot of the numbers we saw you know they were A very good offense, even as it was last year, but the defense really wasn't. there tony gibson's a defensive guy having come over from being the dc at teams like West Virginia and North Carolina State.
Speaker: So do we anticipate the defense to take another step to kind of match that solid offensive production that we saw out of them last year. Yeah, that's a great question, Brian. And this is one where I am high on a coordinator. They bring in Brad Lambert and Brad Lambert's a guy that.
Speaker: yeah I thought. Did a great job as defense coordinator at Wake Forest. Did a great job as defense coordinator at Purdue. He, of course, was the head coach of Charlotte. ah This guy knows defense. And last year he was ah just an assistant at Kentucky recently, but I think he's going to step in. And he steps into a good situation. Remember last year, Marshall had 75 new players on the team yeah last year. Well, this year they're only bringing in 33. And one other advantage, you know, every time I talk to a head coach this year, they'd say, hey, Phil, how you doing? they're probably expect them to say oh great coach how about yourself but i would say each time
Speaker: Oh, I am doing phenomenal. There is no second transfer portal window this year. I don't have to rewrite 138 teams all in the month of May with all these changes and players moving left and right. I'm in heaven. You know what each coach said to me, almost almost ah the coach, they said, Phil, it was more like a team this year. ah The guys that we took into spring, we knew we were going to take into the season and we could bond together. We could coach them harder. We could list them third string knowing they weren't going to leave and the players could bond together knowing that. Their buddy next to him wasn't going to leave after spring practice was over. I think that bodes well for a better brand of football. And I think in Marshall's case, a large improvement in the fact that last year they had players coming in, 75 new players, plus some of them were after spring. This year, only 33, and they were all in for spring. And that's going to help. So with the defensive coordinator, I think they've got talent on that side of the ball. You look at Jalen Marshall at the linebacker spot, who has granted an extra year. That's huge. Gilmore along with him. Tim, very athletic. He's good in coverage. Up front, they've got a big nose guard in McKellen Warren. This guy, they call him tiny, but he's 350 pounds and and is a nice force in the middle. I like the talent. I like the coordinator. I like the fact they're much more veteran than last year. Big time improvement defensively for Marshall.
Speaker: It's going to be interesting to see if they keep up. the the turnover luck that they had last season as well. You know, they they lose Boogie Trotter at corner, who was... I think had six interceptions last season. and You know, they they just...
Speaker: It was very feast or famine. So it'll be very interesting to see if they're more solid, like fundamentally on a week to week basis. Then. than what we kind of got out of them last year where One second, they're beating Old Dominion. The next second they lose to like a Georgia Southern type team. And you're just like, I can't get a handle on where this team sits. so it'll be interesting to see what they what they feel kind of defensively Um.
Speaker: JMU, as we talk about James Madison, you know... The sportsbooks have them at the highest win total. uh in the sunbelt i believe in winds i think they're sitting at like eight and a half Uh, They are in the middle of this.
Speaker: three quarterback competition. Um, You know, one of the the guys that was in the mix has willingly converted to receiver. ah So they're down to... you know Coleman, Evans, and then there was another guy that his name escapes me at the moment. Barrington Maiden.
Speaker: eight maiden who do you do you anticipate or do you have a lean on who may win out in that competition you think Yeah, I'm leaning with J .C. Evans as the guy. He's big. He's hard to tackle.
Speaker: probably of the three guys competing. And as you mentioned, Belfort has moved to wide receiver.
Speaker: Evans is probably the best overall passing ability. He's super smart. This guy reads the defense. So you've got a big guy, 6 '5", 230. It's a nice a nice piece of clay to work with for Coach Napier. And you know this is one where when I talked to Coach Napier going over the squad, I was concerned about the amount of turnover. He was happy with the fact they returned 49 players from last year's a team that made it to the playoffs. So they've got that James Madison attitude. And he said the players he recruited, he wanted to bring them in with that James Madison attitude. And James Madison had to, of course, we're the best. We'll beat to everybody on the schedule, that type of thing. So he's pretty happy with the roster he has. What really stood out to me when I talked to Coach Napier is the running back core. Because as you recall, when he was the head coach at Louisiana, they had like three running backs. It would be close to 1 ,000 yards every year. And now he's got Petaway, he's got Herman, he's got Cromwell, Fannin Render, McCarter. He's got a very deep running back core. And, in fact, he said it's similar to those Louisiana days. and If that's the case, I got no questions with James Madison. They'll be able to handle it. And what is the what what do you have for the win total on James Madison?
Speaker: uh i would have i'm going to have to look it back up the last time i saw i think it was Eight and a half. Okay. ah According to MGM was the last place I looked. ah i don't went While you're looking it up, I'll just go over with the schedule real quick. Every year when I yeah put out the magazine, that what I do in the rest of the month of June.
Speaker: is Take a breath. I just spent seven months putting this thing together. It's ah a 90 -hour work week, so the whole seven damn months on a constant deadline. But I i digress. um
Speaker: I go through every game on the upcoming schedule, and I put down who I have favored, who I have as an underdog. And I actually only have an underdog in one game this year. At San Diego State, I have a three -point dog. I think the toughest games on the schedule are Liberty at home. At ODU, it's going to be tough. yeah And ODU is very tough at home. At Georgia Southern and at App State, those are all tough games, but I do have them a favorite. uh in all of us so i'd go over eight and a half if that's the number did you find it brian It is the number eight and a half. And then you've got Marshall and Old Dominion at seven and a half going into this season.
Speaker: I appreciate that, Brian. Mm hmm. Getting to App State, which was the team that you mentioned at the top to maybe keep an eye on, ah we had a guest come on who I believe he works in radio. as as like a broadcaster in Boone ah for the team. He told us that.
Speaker: you know The rumor is that Loggins is giving up play -calling duties to the offensive coordinator, Mike Anthony. ah Last season was sort of a mixed bag for them on the offensive side of the ball. A lot of...
Speaker: Back and forth at the quarterback spot, couldn't choose between Swan and Cole. ah There were some other guys that worked in as well, like Wiles. Do you anticipate... you know their offense to improve heading into this year, even with a new.
Speaker: you know, quarterback room. ah They do get a a running back back who I believe is Jakari Lewis. um And then Kanye Roberts, I believe is still on the roster as well. So do you anticipate that offense to continue growing from what we saw out of them last year?
Speaker: Yeah, I think we'll see. ah big -time improvement on the offense. ah And to me, it's going to be the quarterback position. I watched both Swan and Cole last year. ah They were decent. I think Malachi Singleton could be a difference maker. This guy's going to be really good.
Speaker: He gives them more athleticism at the position. Makes everybody around him better. This guy was my number 19 rated quarterback coming out of high school. And he's ah originally in Arkansas, then then went to Purdue.
Speaker: And now he's here. And I like the fact. When you bring a transfer quarterback in, there's always, you know, does he have the team behind him? Well, this guy was named a team captain already. So you're not going to get named a team captain if you're not there. And I think having him there is a big plus. They had in Jacquez Cross coming in at running back from Arkansas State.
Speaker: which is a a big -time pickup. to go along with Lewis, go along with Trayvon Webb, who comes over from Florida. That's a nice pickup there. He was my number six rated running back out of high school. So I just think they have they have the players. They've got the athletes at the skill positions this year. Something that probably was lacking last year, I think, when I looked at App State. And so you and I'm going to throw the bowl loss out because, you know, when you...
Speaker: Send your players home. You do your exit interviews, and everybody hangs up the locker room and leaves, and then you say, hey, guys, come on back. let's ah Let's play a football game. I've never seen a team be successful in that particular situation. So I think that lessened their power ratings a little among the country, and that had well that will have them under the radar this year. And I think in the second year, Loggins is going to get this team back to playing App State football. like yeah If you follow the Sun Belt, App State's generally at the top of their division every year. I think they get back towards that this season. And I like the defensive front seven as well. Colton Fares is a guy that at the Will Linebacker spot that's one of the best players on the team overall. Last year he had 101 tackles, 9 .5 TFLs, and he also is a team captain.
Speaker: Yeah, i'm a I'm a Georgia Southern fan, and as nice as it was to to beat App for the second time ah last season in the bowl game, I kind of threw that out as well. ah you know the they were starting i think like a fourth stringer at quarterback and There were a lot of... ah questionable i would say play calls in that in that bowl game as well uh loggins would find something that worked like running the ball against george southern and then he would just stop doing it and
Speaker: change change it over to throwing it with his fourth string quarterback which i again i was I'm happy to take the win, but I'm also like... a lot of questionable decisions made in that game from the top down. So we'll, we'll see if they, you know, improve at the, at the ah offensive ah front this year than, than what we saw. And then another team I wanted to ask you about. So Coastal Carolina brings in this new head coach, Ryan Beard.
Speaker: Um, Do you anticipate this is going to feel for Coastal fans like a rebuilding effort in 2026? Or do you think that they're going to be able to... maybe make some noise, make a bowl game, squeak into a bowl game, things like that.
Speaker: Well... ah Very impressed with what Coach Beard did at Missouri State. Been talking to him since his first year there. Even the year before the magazine, when they they came into the magazine and talked to Coach Beard. So I think they got a quality coach, somebody that can do extremely well here. But I do think it's more of a rebuilding year with the massive roster turnover that they have.
Speaker: ah You look at the fact that they lost through the portal. 105 starts. ah They have just two starters back on ah offense, four on defense. And experience -wise, they're number 97 on my experience chart. There is talent. When I talked to Coach Beard, he felt that he's going to get this team playing well. We shall see.
Speaker: ah A lot. A lot depends on the quarterback and, of course, the offensive line, once again. Lose all five starters on the offensive line. They do bring in some experience there, but you've got to get these guys playing together as a unit. So I i've always question offensive line and then defensive line as well.
Speaker: They don't have any full -time starters returning on the defensive line. And line play is always crucial. And then you look at the schedule this year, ah pretty rugged. And so overall, i'm I'm looking at a rebuilding year for Coastal Carolina. Wouldn't surprise me if Ryan Beard pulled off so a few surprises during the year because he's a really good upcoming coach. But I'm going with rebuilding year, Brian.
Speaker: Okay. Um. On the Georgia Southern side, like I said, I mentioned I'm i'm a fan. We have our... you know, very Big questions on the offensive side of the ball, especially on the offensive line. But defensively has been a massive hole for them the last couple years. ah They bring in a new defensive coordinator, Mike Moots, over from Stephen F. Austin, who is an FCS program that... I think was top 25 in the FCS. um defensively.
Speaker: Do you anticipate their defense? becoming better because One of the things that I've noticed under their previous defensive coordinator, Brandon Bailey, was they seem to not be able to...
Speaker: field a defense or or understand how to contain. running quarterbacks. Do you think that defensively we may see an uptick in their production this year under Moots as a new DC?
Speaker: Brian, couldn't they get any worse than allowing 5 .7 yards per carry last year? No. So, yeah, I think they will be better. And and the thing is, if you followed Stephen F. Austin, and and like I said, we do two full pages on every FCS team, they had 42 sacks last year. So this is a defense that will get after you. Georgia Southern only had 12 sacks last year. So you've got to think that's a plus.
Speaker: Georgia Southern did not have a ah veteran -veteran defense last year. This year they've got 15 defenders that have played at least 100 snaps. I like that. So a more veteran unit. You look at the secondary. I think Chance Gamble is probably the highest prospect on the team for the NFL. He's 6 '2", 180, a cornerback. Having a shutdown cornerback like that is a great place to start. You look at the linebacking corps with Brandon Tyson back from last year. He was the number two tackler. They add in from Abilene Christian, Rashawn Miles.
Speaker: a guy that had 115 tackles last year, so a much more veteran unit. I do like the defensive change, as mentioned. Mutz is a guy that had a lot of pressure on quarterbacks last year, and that's going to help all the way around.
Speaker: ah And then talking about, just really quick, the last team in the East here that we haven't touched on, Georgia State. you know They're in a... sort of a rough spot dill mcgee is in sort of a rough spot they do have a a bright spot in what seems like cameron brown at the quarterback position He showed some flashes last year, although they were a carousel.
Speaker: at that spot. Do you think that... They do enough, you know, between Cameron Brown, offensive coordinator Hugh Jackson. Do you think they do enough? I hate to say that like Dale McGee's on his way out, but. that's it's It's gone downhill even since he took over. So what can we anticipate from Georgia State's offense behind Cameron Brown at the quarterback position?
Speaker: Yeah, they were able to retain 51 players from last year's squad, which is probably ah more than they have the last two years. And, you know, he stepped into a tough situation taking over after spring practice had started his first year. But this is still a completely rebuilt team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. ah You know, having like one starter back on defense, it's a work in progress all the way across the board. I like Cam Brown. They also added in ah Quinterius Wiggins at running back since I wrote the magazine to go along with McCreary. and Murray. and And I thought last year they were more competitive than their 1 -11 record would indicate. They're only minus 29 yards per game in conference play. But we'll see. we'll see what And I do think McGee could very well be in trouble this year if they have another record like last year.
Speaker: Yeah. um Switching over to the West Division, just talking, you know, starting off with the the teams that could be contenders. so Louisiana. Ah. i have had trouble i think grappling with the projection of louisiana this year just because I felt like last year we got sold a little bit of a false bill of goods just from... like sports books and and and people steaming them up and then
Speaker: you know I understand the offensive line got hit with injuries and the team got hit with injuries as the year ran along, but they didn't even start the season well in the opener against Rice. you know Walker Howard comes out.
Speaker: Throws three picks. They lose to Rice in the opener, and then it just sort of cascaded from there until they finally put Lunch Winfield in. Does it feel like there's a chance that we're kind of making the same mistake again with Louisiana where we're giving them the benefit of the doubt? where most teams are sort of like a wait and see, whereas Louisiana, it just feels like it's like, well, they're going to be there at the end of the season at the top of the standings of the West.
Speaker: ah No, I like this Louisiana team, and I do think they underperformed a little bit last year. But as you mentioned, it was a two -point loss to Rice, a three -point loss to Eastern Michigan. Games they could easily have won, and and they were a different team. Once lunch took over lunches there. this year, which is huge, having him around the whole season. I think when you look at the offensive line, they've got eight or nine solid offensive linemen that can play. Most coaches like to try to get to eight. Coach Decimo told me it was eight or nine this year. there He likes the continuity of the unit. You look at the receiving core, I think Shelton Sampson can make a big impact at wide receiver. The tight ends are strong with Caden jen Jensen and Brock Chappell. As long as lunch stays healthy, I think they're in really good shape at quarterback. And then defensively, It's a veteran unit. And as I mentioned, homegrown is rare for.
Speaker: ah Group of six teams. Nobody is homegrown. But this team ranks number 10 in the country. They're up there with you know teams like Air Force, Navy, and Army. And then Georgia air are up there in the top 10. And now Louisiana's up there. And I think that's a big plus. He's able to keep this team together. They're all recruited there. They've played there. They know the system. I think this is going to be a big year for Louisiana. I'd put them actually as a a playoff contender.
Speaker: Okay. Oh wow. Um... ah The other big contender, at least on its face, is Troy. They are the reigning Sunbelt West champions. ah they were up and down last season. That was something that you you talked about when I asked you about contenders at the top. Do we anticipate, you know, they bring back... Goose Crowder.
Speaker: ah They have Donnie Smith on the defensive side of the ball. do Do you anticipate this team to be you know the... I guess the favored. ah West division leaders by the end of the season.
Speaker: Well, they're definitely picked to win the West this year by the media, as you as you would. I mean, they won the division last year. They gave James Madison a good game in the conference title game. They've got their quarterback back. And and generally, when people analyze teams, they they look at the quarterback. Maybe they're running back receivers, and and that's how you pick them. So if your quarterback's back, you're going to be picked high. I just wasn't as wild on Troy for the fact that last year they got outgamed by 75 yards per game. They do lose three and a half starters or four starters off the offensive line. Crowder was injury -plagued last year. They've got Kilcrease back as well. Both guys played last year, so there's good depth there.
Speaker: They are deeper at running back than they were last year, but the offensive line, in my mind, is a question mark. And ah defensively, I do like Donnie Smith. I mean, he's ah the SBC Defensive Player of the Year in the preseason.
Speaker: Should have a big year there, but they they do lose a lot off the defense as well. So when you look at the schedule this year, they do have to play Louisiana on the road. They also draw James Madison out of the West, which sometimes you look at those crossover games, and they didn't get the benefit of the doubt in the crossover games drawn James Madison. And that's one of the reasons I wanted them with Louisiana to win the the the division over Troy.
Speaker: Oh, okay. Um... another team you know that's in the mix i guess uh in the west louisiana tech do you think so They had a very strong defense last year in ah Conference USA. you know Offensively, they were very run -heavy.
Speaker: we you know we We did our preview with someone who covers them as a sports editor for the Rustin Daily Leader. in ah in Louisiana. They had a very strong defense. Do you think that translates? from Conference USA to the Sun Belt this season.
Speaker: Yeah, a lot of it depends on who you bring back sometimes, is whether or not you have a good defense. They've got four starters back on the defensive side of the ball. I think they do have good talent over there, and they've had a good defense. They allowed 21 points per game in 24.
Speaker: and just 21 points per game again last year. So it's been pretty consistent. They get pressure on the quarterback, and ah the the strength of the D is probably the the linebacking core this year. They're really talented. Colby Fields.
Speaker: Alonzo Jackson who's fast and athletic. I like him a lot. are all back. And then offensively, you know Baker and Kukoc both played a quarterback last year. Injuries did hurt them, but beat with Blake back as a starter, they're in a solid situation there. the Tight end Eli Finley should be one of the top tight ends in the country this year. Keep your eyes on him.
Speaker: Offensive line, they've got Hayden Chrisman back at left tackle and Ashante Cole left guard. Now, I think that CUSA is a weaker conference than the Sun Belt, so taking a step up for Louisiana Tech into the Sun Belt is going to be a test for them this year, but I do like the job that Sonny Cumby's doing, and and I think Tech could be a sneaky contender in their division.
Speaker: Yeah. Absolutely. um Another team in the in the West that I wanted to ask you about. so Arkansas State was a very interesting team last year where you have Jalen Rayner at the quarterback spot, and he kind of anchored the the offense along with Corey Rucker.
Speaker: Defensively. they They started the season... rough and then as the season kind of gained momentum they became one of the premier teams as far as getting to the quarterback i think they finished with 39 sacks last year Um.
Speaker: defensively with Arkansas State. Has always sort of been the question for me and and my co -host Zeke ah Palermo. And so my question is. Do you think defensively? they are going to be able to keep up the momentum from last year, even with the defensive line. a brand new unit on that side.
Speaker: Yeah, the defensive line is going to be the key. I like the secondary. It's probably the deepest, most experienced unit on the team. ah You know, A .J. McGee at's at safety is a star in the making. They've got Brandon Barnes back at safety. They've got Noah Flores, the transfer from Utah State. They're loaded in the secondary. Up front is really my biggest concern. You know, they're going to play a defensive line by committee. It was a work in progress coming out of the spring. They really need somebody to step up and give them that pass rush. Offensively,
Speaker: keep my I'm keeping my eyes on Trey Owens. I got to tell you, going over the rosters with all the coaches like I do, I think there's a higher percentage of hits on the FCS or group of six kids moving up that have experience than there are on the five -star guys that are coming down.
Speaker: But Trey Owens just intrigues me. This guy is 6 '5". He's 210 pounds. He's got a live arm. He can make all the th throws. He's very athletic. He's just everything you want. I think he could step in, especially with the way they run their offense here. and have a big year, and having a guy like Chauncey Cobb.
Speaker: The throw -to, I mean, this guy's dynamic. Kick returner, punt returner, wide receiver. The offensive line's a veteran unit. I think it's going to be typical Arkansas State.
Speaker: They got to outscore teams to win. That would be my forecast this year. yeah playing like the old big 12 style where every game was like seemingly 70 to 63. um Another team that I wanted to ask you about ah was South Alabama. um They were four and eight last year. ah Major Applewhite has taken over play calling duties. He fired his offensive coordinator, so he's... he's going to be sort of where the buck stops.
Speaker: Do you anticipate them making any meaningful changes to their offense? Because last season... at least from what I watched and then what I saw on paper. They seemed very conservative. They were happy to just sort of run the ball.
Speaker: Throw it. throw short passes with Bishop Davenport. But it feels like they're going to have to open it up a little bit in order to. you know, do any, even ah qualify for a bowl game. so Do you anticipate them making any meaningful changes on that side of the ball now that Applewhite's the play caller?
Speaker: Well, I think the the big thing for South Alabama is last year's second transfer portal. Boom. low know their their quarterback leaves for North Carolina unexpectedly. And so now it's like, going okay, what do we do? And you throw Bishop Davenport in there. And I thought Davenport had a pretty good year, but now he's got experience, you know, and they've got.
Speaker: a Jared Hollins behind him who can make plays with his feet.
Speaker: And Jerry Horn, the redshirt freshman, he brought over from Arkansas State. But I think Davenport will be much improved in his second year. And I got to say this. I think Major Applewhite's doing a really good job. NIL -wise, South Alabama's toward the bottom of the Sun Belt. I think for the talent he had last year to get the four wins they did, to be competitive in the other games, I thought they gave Troy a great game. I thought they played a really good game against Louisiana. Even a game against Tulane, the second week of the season, only lose that one by two.
Speaker: yeah really showed you that. He's got this team prepared the right way. So I think he's doing a hell of a job. South Alabama is better than they were last year, mostly i because of the quarterback position. and how go unexpected it was last year. But I don't have them as a contender in the West, but I think that Appalachian is doing a really good job.
Speaker: Yeah. ah Just two more questions here and then I'll let you go. ah Number one. Southern Miss, you know they... are fielding basically a brand new team it seems i mean i think they have two returning players that played or started meaningful snaps on either side of the ball for them What should...
Speaker: realistic expectations for Southern Miss fans be for Blake Anderson's first year coaching in Hattiesburg? Well, Blake Anderson picked him first first in the coaches SPC, Paul. So well he's he's got some, kind I like that. I like that a lot. I don't think he firmly believes that, but you know, when I talked to coach Anderson, like.
Speaker: Voight. Coach Huff took a lot with him. He's like, yeah, he took cabinets, desks. ah everything he couldn't Everything that wasn't nailed down is gone, including all the players from last year's team. So it's ah it is a completely rebuilt roster. I think let's cut Blake Anderson some slack here. This guy's going to go through a rebuilding year. It's a brand -new roster, and I don't know if he's going to be able to pull out what Marshall did last year, which was get to five wins somehow with a roster that was depleted by Charles Huff.
Speaker: and we'll see how long huff stays at memphis but you got uh Ethan Hampton and Landry Liddy are a couple of good quarterbacks to to lean on for them. I do not have the same level of confidence, though, that Coach Anderson did in voting them number one in the in the West. i've I've got them at the bottom.
Speaker: Yeah. ah And then last question here, ah talking ULM. You know, the This is presumably, you know, we'll see if they end up making a switch, but this is presumably about year three of them starting Aiden Armenta quarterback. It hasn't really gone well. um The last two years.
Speaker: How long? you know i i'm sure you talked to brian vincent how long did you sort of gauge his leash was with Armenta at quarterback? And is there a chance that we see one of the other guys in the room either win out?
Speaker: preseason going into week one or even throughout the season this year. Yeah, and I think you hit it on the head. And ULM has started out both seasons strong these last two years. You know, they opened up 5 -1 and 3 -1 and looking good. And it is year three for Coach Vincent. And I think he is he's also like Coach Applewhite.
Speaker: Very little NIL. In fact, this guy last year was also the i believe he was also the athletic director last year. He was. At least he's only the head coach this year.
Speaker: I do believe it's a legitimate three -man race at quarterback heading into the year. Armenta is not necessarily going to even be the starter. Watch Austin Carlisle. This guy's an explosive playmaker coming over from Houston. He's 5 '10", 190, and yeah Coach sort of lit up a little bit when he was talking about him. So watch to see if he emerges. He's a redshirt freshman. And then there's also Landon Graves in there. Now, he had a great spring, and he's very competitive and tough and rugged. So I think Coach Vinson is... looking for a step up at quarterback. Now, Armenta could very well make that step this side and and hold on to the job, but he's he's going to be pushed, and it's it's a legitimate three -man race. So that's a great question that you ask. now
Speaker: Running back, they got Don Chaney. He's got a great change of direction. This is a guy that... Originally, he said to Miami of Florida, went to Louisville. If he can stay healthy, they're in great shape there. They've got an electrifying back in Bryson Rowland, a sophomore. Kim's over from Arkansas Tech. He had over 1 ,000 yards last year.
Speaker: so based on The amount of NIL he's got for who he brought in, I think he made some great choices. I do like Noah Flemings, by the way, a linebacker. I think he's an all -league type of LB.
Speaker: Vincent's doing a good job. We'll see if he can't get him to a bowl game in his third year. They're going to be better again. Let's let's hope they play like they do at the start of the year all year long. That seems to be the the one thing that sort of eludes them is keeping that momentum rolling throughout the the remainder of the season, especially when they get into conference play, it seems like. but We'll see what sort of ah what effort they give this year and and who they end up saying wins out from the quarterback spot.
Speaker: phil thank you so much for joining me uh is there anything else you know we talked about the magazine and things like that is there anything else that that you would like to sort of uh talk about before we get out of here Yeah, I appreciate that, Brian. Once again, the magazine... 376 pages, two full pages on all 138 teams. Nobody else got coverage like that. And I talked to 133, 138 coaches only at Barnes & Noble, books a million.
Speaker: or philsteel .com. And also at philsteel .com, we've got the FCS magazine, two full pages on every FCS team. if I mean, nobody has information like that. It's tough to get rosters from these doggone schools, let alone put out two full pages like we do. But we we did it. We put a lot of effort into it. And I also have a weekly newsletter, if you're interested. It's called Inside the Press Box. And I put up a daily blog every day. So go to philsteel .com, check it out, poke around. And you can go back and look at the blog archives and read. all the past blogs that I put up there, but it's all I do.
Speaker: College football. You asked me about basketball. I could say LeBron James, and I don't know any other players. You asked me about baseball. I know nothing. You even asked me about the NFL. I don't even follow it. It's just college football year -round for me.
Speaker: Awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you so much, Phil, for joining. And this has been another edition of Warm Weather Fans.
