This article is part of our Spring Practice Storylines series.
Some of the best fantasy assets in 2024 played in the American Athletic Conference, including Army's Bryson Daily, Navy's Blake Horvath, Memphis' Mario Anderson and Tulane's Makhi Hughes. Nearly every team in the conference lost a significant producer during the offseason, leaving each program with big shoes to fill. With three of last season's top four teams losing their starting quarterback and six programs replacing their head coach, there is plenty of intrigue in the AAC this spring.
American Athletic Conference Football Spring Storylines
As teams gear up for the 2025 season, let's take a closer look at the key storylines for each of the 14 programs in the AAC.
Army Black Knights Football Spring Storyline
Replacing Bryson Daily
The Black Knights were one of the biggest surprises of the 2024 season in the program's first campaign in the AAC. On the shoulders of quarterback Bryson Daily and a stellar defense, the Black Knights started off 9-0, went undefeated in conference play, dominated Tulane in the AAC Championship game and won the Independence Bowl. However, after one of the best seasons in program history, the Black Knights had a tough offseason. Star quarterback Bryson Daily graduated and Kanye Udoh, the team's top back, transferred to Arizona State. Replacing Daily – who accounted for 1,007 passing yards, 1,659 rushing yards and 41 total touchdowns and finished sixth in Heisman voting – is clearly the most crucial piece of the offseason.
Head coach Jeff Monken made it clear that the role is wide open. Dewayne Coleman, who served as the backup last season, is the frontrunner for the role. Coleman started one game in 2024 and put up a pedestrian performance, accounting for just 90 total yards and zero touchdowns versus Air Force. Junior Cale Hellums and sophomore Ethan Washington will also compete for the role in what Monken considers an open competition. Whoever ends up the starter will almost assuredly not be as productive as Daily, however, that does not mean Army's offense will not be relevant in 2025. Outside of Navy, the entire conference struggled to deal with Army's option game. Although much of that dominance was due to Daily and Udoh, only a few teams in the AAC will still be able to match Army's physicality in the run game.
Charlotte 49ers Football Spring Storyline
Poggi out, Albin in
Following two very disappointing seasons under Biff Poggi, the 49ers wasted no time hiring Tim Albin away from the Ohio Bobcats. Albin is coming off three straight 10-win seasons with Ohio and won the MAC Championship in 2024. Prior to becoming the head coach at Ohio, he spent 16 years as the program's offensive coordinator, so his first order of business will be to improve a Charlotte offense that has struggled massively over the past few years. He will have a blank slate to introduce his offense, too, following the departures of quarterbacks Deshawn Purdie and Max Brown, running backs Cartevious Norton and Hahsaun Wilson, and the most productive player during the 2024 season, wide receiver O'Mega Blake (32 receptions for 795 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024). With lots of turnover on the offensive side of the ball, a new quarterback and a new head coach, 2025 will likely be a rebuilding season for the 49ers.
East Carolina Pirates Football Spring Storyline
Keeping the momentum going
After starting the season 3-4 (1-2 in conference), the Pirates fired head coach Mike Houston and named Blake Harrell the interim head coach. Harrell's Pirates ripped off four consecutive conference wins, scoring over 38 points each game, and won the Military Bowl over NC State. Following that remarkable turnaround, Harrell was named permanent head coach and will look to keep the momentum going into the 2025 campaign.
That turnaround will be made more difficult following the graduations of leading rusher Rahjai Harris (1,166 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2024) and Winston Wright (54 receptions for 556 yards and eight touchdowns) and the transfer of Chase Sowell (34 receptions for 678 yards and three touchdowns) to Iowa State. Although losing those three players is a significant blow, the rest of the team's main skill position players are returning, in addition to transfer portal adds like Parker Jenkins (Houston) and Jaquaize Pettaway (Oklahoma). With lots of continuity on both sides of the ball, the Pirates will be looking to improve from within during the preseason.
Florida Atlantic Owls Football Spring Storyline
A clean slate
The short-lived Tom Herman era ended after 10 games last season following his 16th loss in just 22 games. Nearly every major contributor from last season – quarterbacks Cam Fancher and Tyriq Starks, running backs CJ Campbell and Zuberi Mobley and wide receiver Omari Hayes – also left in the offseason. Zach Kittley, who spent the last three seasons as Texas Tech's offensive coordinator, was hired in the offseason and will look to essentially build the program from scratch.
Kittley brought in Western Kentucky quarterback Caden Veltkamp (3,108 passing yards and 32 total touchdowns in 2024) to lead the offense, in addition to one of Veltkamp's favorite targets Easton Messer (55 receptions for 793 yards and four touchdowns) and former Syracuse and Utah receiver Damien Alford. With a new infusion of talent, on top of Kittley's experience scheming elite passing attacks, the Owls' passing game will likely be much improved in 2025. That could take some time with so many new faces though, so the focus during the offseason will be on learning Kittley's scheme and building chemistry.
Memphis Tigers Football Spring Storyline
A new signal caller
Seth Henigan, who served as the Tigers' starting quarterback for the last four seasons and accounted for 113 touchdowns across 50 games, played his final snap for Memphis last season. Replacing Henigan's leadership and production will not be easy, and it will naturally be the focus of this offseason.
Head coach Ryan Silverfield has a litany of options, including Brendon Lewis, Harris Boyd, Arrington Maiden and Antwann Hill Jr. Lewis is the early frontrunner given he is the only one with significant experience. The dual threat started the last two seasons at Nevada, finishing last season with 2,290 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions, adding 775 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Last season's backup, redshirt sophomore Harris Boyd, and last season's No. 3, redshirt freshman Arrington Maiden, have the advantage of familiarity with the offense and the program. Silverfield noted that Maiden was the most talented in the quarterback room. Then there is Antwann Hill Jr., the 6-foot-5, 220-pound true freshman that is one of the highest-rated recruits in program history.
Whoever ends up earning the job will have an almost entirely new group of receivers to throw to, but the offense is set to be focused around star running back Mario Anderson (1,674 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns in 2024) once again.
Navy Midshipmen Football Spring Storyline
Building off last season's success
The Midshipmen are coming off an excellent 10-3 season, a campaign where the Naval Academy recaptured the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the first time since 2019 and won the Armed Forces Bowl. Now heading into the 2025 campaign, Navy has serious expectations. The Midshipmen are returning every major contributor from last season, most notably quarterback Blake Horvath (1,353 yards and 13 touchdowns through the air and 1,254 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground in 2024) and running back Eli Heidenreich (1,115 yards and nine touchdowns from scrimmage).
Given all the returning talent, the focus for this offseason is building off last season's success. Horvath had an excellent season in 2024 and raised Navy's offensive ceiling with his passing ability, but he still has room to grow. If he can expand that part of his game, the Navy offense would be even more dominant in 2025. With the three other presumed contenders for the AAC title – Army, Memphis and Tulane – all entering the season with a new quarterback, Navy has a legitimate chance to win the conference and potentially turn that into a College Football Playoff bid.
North Texas Mean Green Football Spring Storyline
Revamping the passing game
The Mean Green's passing attack in 2024, led by quarterback Chandler Morris (3,774 yards, 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions), was elite. Morris successfully fed three different receivers – DT Sheffield, Damon Ward Jr. and Blair Conwright – who combined to catch 147 passes for 2,119 yards and 22 touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Morris transferred to Virginia, Sheffield to Rutgers, and Ward and Conwright graduated.
Drew Mestemaker, who started the team's bowl game as a true freshman and accounted for 448 yards and three touchdowns, looks poised to lead the Eagles' offense. Outside of Simeon Evans who transferred in from Sam Houston, the rest of the receiving corps are returning players. That continuity should help Mestemaker, especially since he likely built chemistry with many of those guys on the second team last season. Although it's unlikely that the Eagles' offense can reach the same heights as last season after losing so much talent, there is still a lot of upside in this new era of the North Texas passing game.
Rice Owls Football Spring Storyline
Replacing Warner and Connors
Rice, who went 4-8 last season, had one of the worst offenses in the AAC in 2024. The program fired Mike Bloomgren midway through the season and after the season replaced him with former Davidson head coach Scott Abell. The offseason also saw tumult with the roster with the Owls losing their two most productive players to the transfer portal as quarterback E.J. Warner (2,710 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2024) transferred to Fresno State and running back Dean Connors (1,265 yards from scrimmage, 62 receptions and 11 total touchdowns) transferred to Houston. As a result, some major questions surround the Owls' offense heading into 2025.
The most crucial decision of the offseason is deciding who will start under center. All three contenders were on the team last year, with the most likely choice being rising sophomore Drew Devillier who started one game last season where he completed 14 of 30 passes for 88 yards at UConn. Whoever starts will have a solid receiving room led by Matt Sykes who caught 65 passes for 782 yards and five touchdowns last season. Quinton Jackson (344 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns last season) looks primed to take over the backfield with Taji Atkins and Christian Francisco as his backups. While Rice is unlikely to make significant noise in the AAC in 2025, there still may be hidden fantasy gems on this roster.
South Florida Bulls Football Spring Storyline
A healthy Byrum Brown
The Bulls had fairly high expectations heading into the 2024 season, but quarterback Byrum Brown's foot injury during the team's first conference game versus Tulane dashed away those hopes. That injury lingered throughout the remainder of the season as the Bulls finished 7-6 with backup quarterback Bryce Archie. Now Brown is healthy, but the rest of the Bulls offense has been decimated by graduation.
Last season's top three rushers – Kelley Joiner, Nay'Quan Wright and Ta'Ron Keith – and top two receivers – Sean Atkins and Michael Brown-Stephens – all graduated, leaving Brown's supporting cast a bit inexperienced. The addition of running back Cartevious Norton (525 rushing yards and seven touchdowns) from Charlotte will undoubtedly help the backfield, and receivers like Keshaun Singleton, Joshua Porter, JeyQuan Smith and Naiem Simmons have shown flashes over the past couple seasons. Although the skill position players are less experienced, a healthy Byrum Brown gives the Bulls' offense a high ceiling.
Temple Owls Football Spring Storyline
Improving from within
Following a disastrous three seasons under Stan Drayton where the Owls went 3-9 three consecutive times, the program parted ways with Drayton and hired K.C. Keeler to lead the program. Keeler won the 2003 Division I-AA Championship during his 11-year tenure with Delaware. He then joined Sam Houston in 2014, led the Bearkats to an FCS Championship during the 2020-21 season and then successfully transitioned the program to the FBS, culminating in a 10-3 season and a New Orleans Bowl win last season.
Keeler's past success is notable, and there has been proof of buy-in with his new team. The program lost very little offensive talent to the transfer portal and Keeler brought running back Jay Ducker (745 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 2024) over with him from Sam Houston. Quarterback Evan Simon (2,032 passing yards and 18 total touchdowns through nine games in 2024) should improve with another offseason and receiver Dante Wright (61 receptions for 792 yards and six touchdowns through eight games) is a legitimate No. 1 option. If Keeler can improve the Owls' defense – a staple of his successful Delaware and Sam Houston teams – Temple may finally dig themselves out from the bottom of the AAC.
Tulane Green Wave Football Spring Storyline
Building back through the portal
The Green Wave had a successful 2024 campaign during the first year of Jon Sumrall's tenure. However, it ended with three consecutive losses to Memphis, Army in the AAC Championship Game and Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. The offseason got off to a rough start too as quarterback Darian Mensah (2,723 passing yards, 23 total touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024) and star running back Makhi Hughes (1,577 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdowns) transferred to Duke and Oregon, respectively. The program also lost last season's top three receivers – Mario Williams (60 receptions for 1,031 yards and six touchdowns), Dontae Fleming (31 receptions for 598 yards and one touchdown) and Yulkeith Brown (35 receptions for 470 yards and four touchdowns) – to graduation.
Losing all that talent and experience is a big deal, however, the Green Wave brought in a plethora of talent through the portal. Sumrall brought in three portal quarterbacks – TJ Finley (2024 starter at Western Kentucky prior to injury), Kadin Semonza (2,904 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with Ball State last season) and Donovan Leary (Illinois' 2024 backup). He also added three freshman quarterbacks to the roster, while last season's backup Ty Thompson transitioned to tight end. Finley and Semonza are the frontrunners for the job, however Darian Mensah was a surprise starter in 2024 so the race is wide open.
Replacing Makhi Hughes is just as important, but the Green Wave have loads of options there too. Zuberi Mobley (FAU) and Maurice Turner (Louisville) transferred in, and Arnold Barnes and Jamauri McClure showed off their talents as Hughes' backup. Although a lot of talent was brought in to boost the receiving corps – Anthony Brown-Stephens (Kentucky), Jimmy Calloway (Louisville) and Omari Hayes (FAU) – the room lacks experience beyond Hayes who caught 39 passes for 590 yards and three touchdowns last season. There are tons of questions surrounding Tulane's roster heading into 2025, but the team still has the talent to once again compete for the conference championship.
Tulsa Golden Hurricanes Football Spring Storyline
Finding a new No. 1 receiver
Tulsa had another rough campaign in 2024, finishing the season 3-9, winning just one conference game and firing head coach Kevin Wilson. The program heads into the spring with Tre Lamb, a 35-year-old with zero experience at the FBS level, at the helm. Lucky for him, expectations are very low, and the offense will look similar to last year, with two notable exceptions.
Kamdyn Benjamin (70 receptions on 126 targets for 822 yards and six touchdowns in 2024) graduated and Joseph Williams (30 receptions for 588 yards and five touchdowns) transferred to Colorado, leaving a massive void in the Golden Hurricane passing game. It appears that void will have to be filled by a returning player – Corey Smith (12 receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns), Zion Steptoe (15 receptions for 203 yards) or Grayson Tempest (16 receptions for 138 yards) – or perhaps by one of two inexperienced transfers, Mekhi Miller (Missouri) and Micah Tease (Texas A&M). Lamb will also need to make a definitive decision at quarterback between Cooper Legas and Kirk Francis. This duo split reps throughout the 2024 campaign.
UAB Blazers Football Spring Storyline
Replacing the top four players
Head coach Trent Dilfer led UAB to another disappointing season in 2024, a 3-9 finish with just two conference victories. The offseason was rough too as the Blazers lost quarterback Jacob Zeno (819 passing yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions in four games before injury) to Texas A&M, running back Lee Beebe (1,103 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns) to Indiana, receiver/returner Kam Shanks (62 receptions for 656 yards and eight total touchdowns) to Arkansas and receiver Amare Thomas (62 receptions for 670 yards and eight touchdowns) to Houston.
Replacing Zeno will actually be the most straightforward task, as Jalen Kitna (2,209 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions) started eight games last season and showed his potential with a six-touchdown outing versus Tulsa. The backfield will likely be taken up by Lee Beebe's younger brother Solomon and UTEP transfer Jevon Jackson (853 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns in 2024). The most difficult task will be recouping production lost by the steady Amare Thomas and explosive Kam Shanks. Ohio State recruit and Iowa transfer Kaleb Brown is a name to watch. He has had a quiet career thus far, but he was productive (21 receptions for 192 yards and one touchdown) during the last five games of 2023, the only time he has seen significant playing time in his collegiate career. While it will be difficult for the Blazers to dig themselves out of the bottom of the conference, especially after losing so much talent, some players on this roster can make some noise in 2025.
UTSA Roadrunners Football Spring Storyline
Continuity within the ranks
The Roadrunners had a slightly down season in 2024 with a record of 7-6, the worst in head coach Jeff Traylor's five seasons. All six losses came on the road and two of those – at Rice and at Tulsa – were lost in the game's final seconds.
The Roadrunners head into 2025 with a very similar group with the only significant loss being leading rusher Robert Henry (130 carries for 706 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024). Brandon High (93 carries for 495 yards and eight touchdowns) and Texas Tech transfer Bryson Donnell should fill that role well. Quarterback Owen McCown (3,424 passing yards, 28 total touchdowns and 10 interceptions) is returning, as are five of his top six receivers from last season, in addition to the hopeful return of De'Corian Clark (103 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 touchdowns across 22 games in 2021 and 2022) who has missed the majority of the last two seasons due to a knee injury. The continuity of the coaching staff and the offense bodes very well for the Roadrunners heading into 2025.
