This article is part of our Spring Practice Storylines series.
Conference USA Spring Storylines
Conference USA is where fantasy opportunities can be found under the radar. Regarding the overall quality of the team and players, Conference USA is battling with the MAC to avoid being last on that list based on recent campaigns. However, those conferences land there through different processes. I find Conference USA to be bifurcated, a mix of solid Group of Five teams, even occasionally a top-tier Group of Five team, and then an equal number of the lesser lights of FBS football. Additionally, this conference has become the springboard for programs making the leap from FCS football, offering a real opportunity in conference play. In fact, two more teams are making their FBS debuts in Conference USA in 2025. Here is what to look for with those programs, as well as the rest of the conference this spring.
Delaware Blue Hens Spring Storyline
Welcome to the FBS!
Thanks to the alphabet, I begin with a team new to FBS football. The Delaware (Fightin') Blue Hens were one of the better-known FCS programs, though. That's partially because it gave us players like Joe Flacco, and partially because of a lot of success on the field. Hitting the FCS at the right time is key for a program (just ask Kennesaw State), but Delaware has made at least the second round of the playoffs in 2020, 2022, and 2023. Ryan Carty remains the head coach, which gives continuity to the program's vision. It's a positive that three guys saw real time under center in 2024, because it lowered the risk of roster turnover hurting the offense. Indeed, two players, Zach Marker and Nick Minicucci, return this year. The latter is younger and has more upside, but Marker threw 10 touchdowns against zero interceptions in 2024.
Florida International Panthers Spring Storyline
Starting over…again
No head coach has lasted more than six seasons at FIU, and none of them left because they were moving onto bigger and better things. Mike McIntyre was able to win at San Jose State. He went 4-8 in all three seasons at Florida International. Now, Willie Simmons is in charge. He was a big success on the HBCU circuit, but even Conference USA football is a big step up from the SWAC. Simmons got Keyone Jenkins to withdraw from the portal, and the true junior is primed to start for the Panthers for the third season in a row. FIU's top-three receivers are all gone, and the top returning player, tight end Josiah Miamen, had 10 catches for 120 yards.
Jacksonville State Gamecocks Spring Storyline
Was it talent, or was it coaching?
Jacksonville State won Conference USA last season, only its second season as an FBS team. Tyler Huff threw for 2,542 yards and 14 touchdowns, but added 1,345 yards and 15 scores on the ground. Tre Stewart was the under-the-radar star of the Group of Five, rushing for 1,633 yards and a whopping 25 touchdowns. Rich Rodriguez's offense was humming. Rodriguez is also now back at West Virginia where he first rose to prominence. Charles Kelly, a defensive coach by trade, is the new head man. His offensive coordinator is Clint Trickett, who was fired by Marshall when he last had a coordinator job. Will Huff and Stewart thrive on their talent? Or will they both regress without Rodriguez running things?
Kennesaw State Owls Spring Storyline
When starting over isn't a bad thing
The Owls debuted as an FBS team in 2024, and early on seemed prime to go 0-12. KSU ended up going 2-10, winning those two games by a total of four points. The Owls had one of the worst offenses I can recall seeing. To that end, they finished last in offensive SP+, and 132nd overall. Brian Bohannon, the only head coach the program had ever known, resigned. It's now up to Jerry Mack, the former running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, to try and get the Owls moving in the right direction. Kennesaw State has nowhere to go but up, but will there be any signs of life this spring? Having a new head coach, and a first-time head coach at that, who won't be carrying the weight of a demoralizing 2024 campaign should help. It's just a matter of how much.
Liberty Flames Spring Storyline
Replacing two (maybe call it two-and-a-half) offensive stars
Okay, so maybe quarterback Kaidon Salter didn't repeat his remarkable form from 2023 when the Flames went undefeated until getting rolled in a bowl game. However, he was still a solid quarterback in throwing for almost 2,000 yards, rushing for nearly 600 yards, and totaling 22 touchdowns. He was still thought of highly enough, he's in line to start for Deion Sanders at Colorado. Quinton Cooley did replicate his 2023 success as he ran for 1,254 yards and 13 touchdowns in only 11 games. He's hoping to be drafted in April. Even Billy Lucas averaged 5.9 yards per carry and managed 720 rushing yards as Cooley's backup. He, too, has used up his eligibility. The Flames have to replace their starting quarterback and top-two running backs. Jamey Chadwell plucked Ethan Vasko from his former program Coastal Carolina to be the likely starting quarterback. Running back wise, it appears to be young backs who were already there and Georgia Tech transfer Evan Dickens, who had all of 11 touches in two seasons with the program.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Spring Storyline
Does Sonny Cumbie have his quarterback?
The Bulldogs have experienced a revolving door under center for a few seasons, but it seems that spinning may have stopped. Redshirt freshman Evan Bullock seemed to grab the reins last year. He completed 65.7 percent of his passes and had 14 touchdowns against three picks. He also has no running ability and fumbled seven times. Can Cumbie build an offense around a stationary quarterback that allows this passing game to excel? Bullock is the guy for now, but Bulldogs fans know all too well that can be a fleeting feeling.
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders Spring Storyline
The definition of insanity writ large
The Blue Raiders went 3-9 in Derek Mason's first season as head coach. It featured an inert offense led by Nicholas Vattiato under center for the second season in a row and the lackluster run game featured Jaiden Credle as the best back, and he managed all of 471 yards. Well, as we enter spring, Mason is rolling with Vattiato as his number-one quarterback and, seemingly, Credle as his lead back. Nobody was brought in to compete at either position. Additionally, the team's best receiver Omari Kelly has transferred to Michigan State. If MTSU's offense doesn't seem to have any new solutions this spring, we may be looking at a bottom-five offense in FBS football, and Mason may be looking for a new job in 2026.
Missouri State Bears Spring Storyline
This season's Kennesaw State?
Missouri State made the playoffs for the first time since 1990 in 2020, and then made it again in 2021. The Bears' head coach was Bobby Petrino, who was on a RichRod-style redemption process. Petrino is now the offensive coordinator at Arkansas. Ryan Beard, who was the defensive coordinator under Petrino, was promoted to head coach. He's 12-11 over two seasons, and did we mention he's Petrino's son-in-law? The Bears' most significant transfer get is Isaiah McMorris, a wide receiver who didn't see a snap as a true freshman with Nebraska. They hope Shomari Lawrence, a back who could only secure 47 carries with FIU last year, can help. I think Missouri State will be bad, and I have little hope for this offense. Maybe somebody this spring will give a reason for optimism, but I'll believe it when I see it.
New Mexico State Aggies Spring Storyline
It's not so easy without Diego Pavia and Jerry Kill now, is it?
With Pavia at Vanderbilt, the Aggies flailed under center. Their offense was bolstered by the running back duo of Seth McGowan and Mike Washington, but Washington is now with Arkansas. NMSU did catch a break when McGowan withdrew from the portal. The hope for this offense lies in Conference USA being the Goldilocks Zone for Logan Fife. He couldn't hack it at Fresno State so he transferred to Montana. Playing for one of the top FCS teams, Fife threw 14 touchdowns against two interceptions and ran for five scores as well. Can he be the solution that NMSU sorely lacked last year without Pavia?
Sam Houston Bearkats Spring Storyline
Does Hunter Watson ease the transition to a new head coach?
K.C. Keeler is not a young man, so when Temple offered the 65-year-old his most significant coaching opportunity to date, he took it. That left the Bearkats to hire their first new head coach since Keeler in 2014. The hiring is intriguing, especially for quarterback Hunter Watson. Phil Longo has spent the last several years as an offensive coordinator at Ole Miss, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Some video-game numbers have been put up under him, and Longo may have essentially gotten Sam Howell drafted in the NFL. Longo is an Air Raid acolyte, but he's adapted it to run the ball out of the Air Raid. That could prove crucial for Watson's upside. Last year he only threw for 1,811 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions, but he ran for 647 yards and nine touchdowns. If Longo can't adapt to Watson, and vice versa, this spring, the new head man may be looking elsewhere on the depth chart.
UTEP Miners Spring Storyline
Who wins the quarterback battle in this high-upside offense?
I think UTEP has a lot of potential offensively. Scotty Walden's high-octane offense he brought over with him from Austin Peay displayed growing pains in 2024, but now he's had more time to implement it, and to get the personnel he wants. The top-four receivers from last season all return. So does Skyler Locklear, a Walden recruit at APSU that got a trial by fire in his first season as a starter. Will Walden stick with him, or will he turn to the one-time prized recruit still looking to find his footing? Who is Malachi Nelson as a player? Lincoln Riley wanted him at USC, but he didn't play and then transferred. Boise State got itself a five-star recruit…but once again Nelson couldn't win the job. Will Nelson beat out Locklear and show people why he was so highly touted? Or is he destined to be a recruitment bust the likes of which we rarely see?
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Spring Storyline
A change in offensive philosophy?
The Hilltoppers have operated straightforwardly in recent years. First, they throw the ball, then they throw the ball, and then for a change of pace they throw the ball. That has led to some eye-popping numbers for quarterback and receivers. Caden Veltkamp is off to FAU and TJ Finley is with Tulane, but WKU clearly seems to be still looking to air it out. That's why it looked to Abilene Christian to find the delightfully-named Maverick McIvor. He threw the ball 499 times in 13 games (one of which he left early with an injury) and racked up 3,828 yards, 30 touchdowns, and seven picks. However, something interesting happened at Western Kentucky last season. Elijah Young had 47 catches for 384 yards and two touchdowns out of the backfield, but he also ran the ball 201 times for 883 yards. He had multiple 100-yard games on the ground, something I cannot recall happening at this program for years. Young is back, and it could be that the Hilltoppers will look to balance out the running and the passing a bit more this year. If they do, Young is quite intriguing.
