The transfer portal is closed, late signing day is passed, coaches are hired and the rosters are calm. For now.

App State Head Coach Dowell Loggains is now gearing up for his first Spring Practice season as the head man. When are there practices? We won’t know until they start, as is App State tradition. We know when the Spring Game is. And in other news, there’s gonna be a Spring Game for the first time since 2019 under Drinkwitz. And before that, 2013 and 2014.

A Spring Game will be a good time to find new heroes, new bench-riders they swear are better than the starters, that new raw prospect who is fast but needs to learn other football skills first, that fiery assistant coach who could go viral in the fall for headbutting people. You know, normal Spring College Football staff.

Before we see who the new potential heroes are, here’s former heroes who are riding into distant sunsets made of crimson red, soft yellow or dollar green.

Along with 22 players who graduated or is leaving for various reasons, there were 19 portal departures. I think many App State fans expected more. You hear stories of coaches leaving and 40-50 players jumping in the portal. Not in this case, and this was with all 10 on-field coaches turning over.

The Brendan Harrington saga of him going to Statesboro is gonna sting more than the others. Robinson and Aguilar were out of eligibility until the Pavia ruling and subsequent NCAA lifeline to former JuCo players, so those situations are different.

Harrington was a Satterfield recruit who signed in Drinkwitz’s December 2018 class. He’s had two season-ending injuries, then add on every NCAA football player in 2020 getting a COVID year, that adds up to a seventh year in 2025.

On Tuesday. Jan. 14, Brendan Harrington announces he’s returning for his 7th season. Rejoicing and happiness abound in App Land.

Less than 24 hours later, those social media posts are deleted.

The next day, Thursday the 16th, Harrington’s agent tells crootin reporters he’s entering the portal. Three days later, same agent tells same crootin reporters he’s visiting Georgia Southern.

That leads to Harrington’s full heel turn on Signing Day, signing with Georgia Southern. Two-time App State captain, now in the colors of the enemy.

I hope Harrington is at peace with his business decision.

Here’s the 113 new hero candidates.

Eighty returning players is, again, a pleasant surprise. This number will whittle down after Spring Practice after certain players see a 4 next to their depth chart position. Happens to everyone.

The focus will be on the six QB battle royale that could go several ways. But Dowell is bringing in portal dudes all over the field, including a late JuCo surprise and the five-member February high school signing class (plus the JuCo and one more portaler), all of who visited campus the weekend before.

The eyebrow raiser is Edward Coleman, who has offers from all the big-time schools. Bama, Ohio State, half the SEC, etc. Apparently, Dowell has been crootin him for a bit. I’m sure fans will be hyping him up in July when he gets to campus.

While the players include many unknown quantities, we know more about the coaches who we put our faith in.

Dowell Loggains – Head Football Coach

Clyde Christensen – Associate Head Coach
DJ Smith – Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
Jeff Crosby – Special Teams Coordinator
Curtis Fuller – Defensive Pass Game Coordinator / Defensive Backs
Aashon Larkins – Offensive Recruiting Coordinator / Running Backs
Anthony Shakir – Defensive Recruiting Coordinator / Edges
Joe Dailey – Wide Receivers
Keith Jones Jr. – Defensive Line
Allen Mogridge – Offensive Line
Riley Watkins – Quarterbacks
Ryan Yurachek – Tight Ends
Matt Greenhalgh – Director of Athletic Performance for Football

Greenhalgh, who technically isn’t an on-field assistant, is the only Clark holdover, delighting homer podcasters across Appland.

Christensen has been coaching since Jimmy Carter was president seems to be in the role of Dowell’s confidant and personality-geller. Those people are very important, cause you’ll have clashing egos and testosterone on the staff. You don’t become an FBS assistant coach by not being ambitious.

Dowell is following the Drinkwitz model by not having a designed offensive coordinator and having one assistant be a special teams coach and only that (although Crosby has never been an on-field assistant before). Worked very well for Drink.

Watkins is the most inexperienced member of the staff. Heck, he was playing QB in college less than five years ago! With Dowell being known as a QB guy, I’m guessing Watkins will be learning as much as teaching.

The fascinating one is Larkins as RB coach and offensive crooting coordinator. His entire 20-plus-year coaching career has been on defense or special teams. Again, with Dowell as the unofficial Offensive Coordinator, it would see he’ll be more hands on with the offensive skill players than a typical CEO.

And to wrap 70% of a bow on the 2024 staff, here’s where they are now.

Shawn Clark (HFC) – OL at UCF
Frank Ponce (OC) – AHC/TE at FIU
Scot Sloan (DC) – ???
Mike Cummings (OL) – Co-OC/OL at Richmond
Travis Cunningham (ILB) – LB at ETSU
Lawrence Dawsey (WR) – WR at Jacksonville Jaguars
Brian Haines (ST/RB) – AHC/ST/RB at UNCC
AJ Howard (OL) – Asst LB at USC
Eric McDaniel (DL) – ???
Lance Ware (TE) – ???
Rod West (DB) – DB at West Virginia