This article is part of our Spring Practice Storylines series.
Conference realignment has come to the Sun Belt, taking Texas State away from the conference as part of the Pac-12's revival. The conference intends to add Louisiana Tech as soon as 2026, but it remains to be seen if that will occur. As of now, we'll roll with the 13-team conference we have in store. Keep an eye on the college football news and college football depth charts on our site to stay up to date on player movement and statuses for the Sun Belt and FBS as a whole.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the most intriguing storylines at each school in the 2026 iteration of the Sun Belt
Appalachian State Mountaineers Spring Preview
New-look options in passing attack
The Mountaineers struggled to close out the 2025 campaign, losing six of the last seven games to close the year just 5-8 overall. As it does every year now, the transfer portal brings about change on both sides of the ball. The running back room remains somewhat stable at the top, but quarterback JJ Kohl has transferred to FIU, and AJ Swann has graduated, leaving the position unmanned under center.
Malachi Singleton looks like the best bet to claim those duties after a couple of stops at Arkansas (2024) and Purdue (2025), where he saw playing time at both places. Tommy Ulatowski also joins the fold after spending last year at Kennesaw State, but the assumption has to be that Singleton will take the reins.
The wideout room also experienced plenty of turnover as well, most notably losing top wideout Jaden Barnes to Charlotte. No. 2 wideout Dalton Stroman graduated, and Davion Dozier skipped town after one season with App State for NC State.
Sam Mbake is the top returning option for the Mountaineers after turning in 24 catches for 207 yards and a touchdown a season ago. Dazmin James also joins the club after spending time in the Power Five. Returning Alex Sanchez, FCS transfers Chris Lofton and Sam Pickett, and junior Jackson Grier all looking to crack the starting lineup. This is the group that's seemingly most unsettled, and it's worth keeping an eye on.
Arkansas State Red Wolves Spring Preview
Life after Raynor
Raynor is the rare case of a quarterback sticking around at the Group of 5 level for three years despite experiencing plenty of success with the Red Wolves. Well, that streak comes to an end a year short of graduation, and he'll instead head to Ames, Iowa, to lead the Cyclones post-Matt Campbell.
Now it's a new regime at the quarterback spot, and there isn't an obvious answer to who will be at the helm to open 2026.
In addition to Ethan Crawford returning, the staff added four quarterbacks via the transfer portal in Jeremy St. Hilaire (Vanderbilt), Trey Owens (Texas) and Drew Dickey (Vanderbilt). Outside of Crawford's stint at Southern Miss, none of the signal-callers have much in the way of experience. The group should all get a chance to stake a claim to the starting role this spring and likely into the fall.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Spring Preview
New faces at the top
After three seasons at Missouri State, Ryan Beard is set to head the Chanticleers for the 2026 campaign. As is a common theme in college football, many of the faces who led the offense in 2025 have left the team or graduated.
Beard has brought in transfers at many offensive skill positions, most notably quarterback Tre Guerra, who transfers in after being a JUCO All-American last season at Tyler Junior College. Guerra figures to be the favorite to claim the starting gig, but could be pushed by transfers Trever Jackson and Deuce Bailey.
Whoever wins the job will have some talent to work with at wide receiver, with Robby Washington sticking around to headline the room and Tristian Gardner joining Beard in his move to Coastal. Karmello English also returns, and there are numerous others, whether it be transfers or returnees, who could factor in somewhere on the depth chart.
Georgia Southern Eagles Spring Preview
Lots of competition at WR
Clay Helton has put together some prolific passing offenses since taking over at Georgia Southern, and that's likely a draw to some top talent looking to make a name for themselves at the lower level of competition. Sure, this is another spot where the quarterback job is up for grabs, but Max Johnson may be the favorite to land that job after JC French transferred to Cincinnati.
I'm instead going to focus on wide receiver, where Georgia Southern loses its top trio of wide receivers in Camden Brown, Marcus Sanders and Dalen Cobb. That leaves a ton of opportunity to be had, and there are a number of options to fill the void.
Starting with the returning candidates, the pirmary we are looking at are Josh Dallas (missed most of 2025 due to injury) and Taylor Bradshaw (16 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown). That said, the staff wasted no time bolstering the Eagles' ranks with a bevy of transfers. Ashton Hollins comes in from Illinois, Former top-100 recruit Kam Mikell slides over from Colorado, Noble Johnson joins up from Arizona State, Andre Greene comes in from Virginia, Alex Taylor joins up from North Carolina and Cam King comes over from Auburn.
Needless to say, the staff cast a wide net on power conference-level wideouts and hauled in a lot of them. Now, the task is sorting out the depth chart at a position that should be fantasy-relevant as part of an uptempo, pass-happy Helton offense.
Georgia State Panthers Spring Preview
New leaders in WR room
Look, there is no way the Panthers can expect to find a direct replacement for Ted Hurst, who could hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft. It's rather rare for a Sun Belt team to have talent stick around at that caliber, but now it needs to be replaced. On top of his departure, Javon Robinson opted to transfer to Utah State this offseason, leaving the wide receiver room wide open.
Unlike some teams, the Panthers didn't swing for the fences in the transfer portal to replace them, adding only a couple of D2 transfers (Chase Allen-Jackman and Rodshaun Dorsey) and one more from LSU (Isaiah Stone).
DJ Riles (16 catches for 176 yards and 11 touchdowns) leads the charge of production among the Panthers' returning wideouts, with Kyle Washington (6/75) and Derrick Avery (4/46/1) also seeing a little bit of action.
This room looks to be wide open heading into spring, so it will be interesting to see who emerges from the heap.
James Madison Dukes Spring Preview
Whatchoo talking 'bout under center?
Alonza Barnett, a dynamic playmaker who put up huge numbers in two years with the Dukes, will not walk through the doors again in 2026, instead transferring to UCF to complete his college career. Matthew Sluka has also exhausted his eligibility, leaving the QB position open.
The likely top candidate to claim the duties at quarterback is Camden Coleman, a transfer from FCS Richmond prior to the 2025 campaign. He elected to redshirt 2025 to study opposing defenses and seems like an option under center entering 2026.
However, he's not the only option. The staff added Arrington Maiden as a transfer from Memphis and Davi Belfort from UCF, who has a history of being recruited by Billy Napier. JC Evans also returns and has a little experience under his belt.
Coleman is likely not guaranteed anything under the new regime, so it will be interesting to see how things play out under center as spring and fall practice sessions progress.
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns Spring Preview
New look running back room
The Ragin' Cajuns didn't have an exemplary campaign in 2025 but fell just a game short of a winning season, falling in the bowl game to Delaware. Fortunately, LAUnch Winfield opted to stick around under center, and top wideout Shelton Sampson and top tight end Caden Jensen return, while Robert Williams was a senior but only has three years under his belt, so it's certainly plausible he'll be back, too.
The running back room took the hardest hit this offseason, losing Bill Davis to Virginia Tech and Zylan Perry to Cincinnati.
While the staff added one running back, FCS Howard running back Anthony Reagan, who amassed 671 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 122 carries, adding 24 catches for another 202 yards and a score as a receiver.
Other than him, the Ragin' Cajuns will rely on in-house options and high school recruits to replace their two top backs. Other names to keep an eye on are Stevnen Blanco (30 carries for 156 yards and a TD last year), Darrell Smith and JJ Garner, with freshman Ke'Rynn Smith also an option.
Given that the team's top duo combined for 297 carries for 1,452 yards and 14 touchdowns a season ago, there should be some fantasy interest in how this situation plays out.
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Spring Preview
Another RB room in flux
Louisiana-Monroe finished the 2025 campaign at the bottom of the Sun Belt West standings, winning just one game in conference play and losing the final eight contests of the season after a 3-1 start to the year.
To be fair, the offense was reasonably young, boasting just a pair of seniors -- Julian Nixon and Zach Palmer-Smith -- among the crop of regular contributors at the offensive skill positions. In addition to Palmer-Smith's departure, the running back room also says goodbye to Braylon McReynolds (to UAB), Dorian Lewis (graduation) and Tyrell Reed (to SEMO).
In comes Donald Chaney, a transfer with stops at both Miami and Louisville already on the ledger, as well as a bevy of others, including Derrick Jameson from Utah State, Trevon Kincehn from Georgia Military Academy, Bryson Roland from Arkansas Tech and Julian Walker from Saint Vincent College.
Chaney figures to be the favorite to claim the lead role for the Warhawks, but it will be worth monitoring how the workload shakes out in spring and into the fall.
Marshall Thundering Herd Spring Preview
Taking advantage of veteran-laden group
The Thundering Herd staff faced a tall task in 2025 after taking over a team that saw a large number of players follow head coach Charles Huff to Southern Miss. All things considered, the new staff put together a strong squad that finished the year 5-7, falling one game short of bowl contention.
Despite a decent showing, the Thundering Herd returns the vast majority of the team's primary contributors from the 2025 group.
Carlos Del Rio-Wilson returns under center, leading to plenty of stabilization
Jo'Shon Barbie returns to head the backfield, while the team also added Jamarion Wilcox from Kentucky to help replace a trio of backs in Antwan Roberts, Michael Allen, and Justin Wiliams-Thomas, who each saw some totes a season ago.
The wideout room loses top receiver Demarcus Lacey, but the other top options return to that room in Adrian Norton and De'Andre Tamarez, and the team added power-conference transfers Chris Culliver and Christian Hamilton to the mix. The ever-reliable Toby Payne returns to headline the tight end room after racking up 37 catches for 393 yards and a trio of scores a season ago.
Given the experience the team possesses at every position, there's room for Marshall to take a step forward
Old Dominion Monarchs Spring Preview
Henicle's time to shine
The 2025 Monarchs matched their best record since joining the FBS in 2014, going 10-3 to match the 2016 record.
Colton Joseph headlined the offense last season, completing 59.7 percent of his 290 pass attempts for 2,624 yards and a 21:10 TD:INT ratio while adding 158 carries for another 1,007 yards and 13 scores on the ground. Joseph heads to Wisconsin and the Big Ten with two seasons of eligibility remaining, and that would seem to be a massive hit to the offense.
It certainly is a hit, but the presence of Quinn Henicle in the ranks softens the blow. Henicle has limited exposure to regular playing time, sitting behind Joseph the last two seasons, but he's been up to the task when given the opportunity.
Henicle might have a few kinks to work out as a passer, but his ability as a runner is undeniable, racking up a combined 78 rushies for 487 yards and five touchdowns in his appearances for the Monarchs over the last two seasons.
Henicle racked up 107 rushing yards and two scores on the ground to secure a bowl-game victory over USF to close out 2025, and the starting job should now be his to command. It will be worth collecting reports on how he looks throwing the ball this spring and fall, because a step forward in that area could move him up fantasy draft boards.
South Alabama Jaguars Spring Preview
New RBs in command
It's been a few years since the Jaguars have had to worry about who will lead the rushing attack for the team. 2024 saw Kentrel Bullock carry the rock 152 times for 832 yards and seven scores, while freshman sensation Fluff Bothwell also handled 112 carries for 834 yards and 13 scores before departing for Mississippi State prior to 2025.
Bullock headed the attack again last season, eclipsing 200 carries (218) for 1,065 and 14 touchdowns.
Keenan Phillips was the next man in line, boasting 126 totes for 607 yards and a trio of scores as a runner, but he's a bit undersized at 5-foot-10, 188 pounds to handle the 200-plus carries Bullock shouldered. PJ Martin and Keenan Phillips could be the lead backs to carry the workload, while Trae'von Dunbar saw a little run late in 2025.
Other than that trio, there are a total of five redshirt and true freshmen who could be vying for a role of some kind in 2026.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles Spring Preview
Open season in 2026
First and foremost, the man at the top, Charles Huff, stuck around with the Golden Eagles for just one season before taking the head coaching gig at Memphis. That leaves offensive coordinator Blake Anderson, a head coach previously at Arkansas State (2014-2020) and Utah State (2021-23), with another head coaching opportunity more quickly than expected.
He'll have his work cut out for him, with QB Braylon Braxton, running backs Jeffery Pittman and Matt Jones, and basically all of the team's wide receiver depth departing.
Here's a breakdown from Scott Watkins of the Sun Herald that highlights the current situation for Southern Miss
Anywhere you look, this team has openings. In total, the team has three offensive snaps returning, so it will rely heavily on younger players stepping up and a healthy contingent of transfers. Anderson typically delivers a few fantasy-relevant players on his squads, so it will be worth monitoring how things shake out in Hattiesburg.
Troy Trojans Spring Preview
Will the Goose finally be loose?
Goose Crowder snared the starting job out of camp in 2024, but he suffered an injury during the second game and again after four, the fifth game to end his campaign.
He took hold of the starting job out of camp again in 2025, but again suffered an injury -- a shoulder issue -- in the third game of the year that held him out for the next six tilts. He also exited the bowl game due to an issue, ceding some snaps to Tucker Kilcrease.
The job should again be sitting there for Crowder to claim heading into 2025, and there is some promise to consider from a fantasy standpoint. Three of his six full games under center for the Trojans resulted in 22.0-plus fantasy points, and the three others came against Clemson, Old Dominion and James Madison, three of the better teams on the Trojans' schedule all season.
Keep an eye on his status this spring to ensure he's healthy following the bowl game, and ensure he's still standing upright heading into fall. It's a journey for the signal-caller that could finally pay dividends in 2026.
