G5 Roundtable: December Coaching and Roster Changes + Bowl Games

With the early signing period on the horizon and the first weekend of bowl season behind us, it's time for another G5 Football Daily roundtable discussion.

G5 Football Daily's Joe Londergan and Kevin Barral are once again joined by Eric Henry of 247Sports to give a few thoughts on some burning questions from the last few weeks of the G5 news cycle.

Biggest Portal Pickup So Far In The G5?

Joe: One that really intrigues me is former Central Michigan quarterback Jase Bauer moving over to Sam Houston. Bauer took a big step forward in 2023, earning the starting role about three weeks in. He hit some speed bumps this past year, but could take another step forward in his development under K.C. Keeler.

Eric: I’m intrigued by the moves Charlotte has made in the portal, most specifically getting former Florida quarterback Max Brown. Biff Poggi and his staff haven’t been shy about using the portal to transform the roster, but at the end of the day, they have to stabilize a quarterback position that too often last season was a revolving door.

Kevin: Memphis had the ninth ranked rushing offense in the AAC and to go out and get South Carolina transfer Mario Anderson who ran for 707 yard and three touchdowns will certainly help a Memphis team that was one of the best in the conference, even with a rushing offense that struggled at times. Anderson would replace the production of fifth year player Blake Watson who ran for 1,083 yards and 14 touchdowns, but he was the only source of rushing offense for Memphis

Best G5 Coaching Hire?

Joe: I love the Bryant Vincent hire at ULM. ULM is a really hard place to win, but Vincent has put together very competent offenses everywhere he’s been. Plus, if you look at how his time at UAB ended prior to the Trent Dilfer hire, players were irate that he wasn’t given the permanent head coaching job. Clearly, he knows how to build relationships with players, which is something that gets lost a little bit in this age of the sport.

Eric: Joe and Kevin have great answers and I think both of those have the potential to be home-run hires. One that I think is going a bit under the radar is Nevada hiring former Texas co-DC Jeff Choate. He brings prior head coaching experience at the FCS level and was a key part of Steve Sarkisian’s rebuild of the Longhorns. Another one that I’ll sneak in here is the hiring of Derek Mason at Middle Tennessee State.

Kevin: UTEP hiring Soctty Walden as their next head coach is certainly one that I am a fan of. On the younger side in terms of age, Walden has found a lot of success at the FCS level, finishing with a 9-3 record and 6-0 amongst his conference. His team was ranked 13 in the FCS power rankings. Walden is an offensive minded head coach who should help out the UTEP offense, which struggled this past season.

Most Interesting Performance From The First Weekend of Bowl Action?

Joe: Tim Alpin’s Ohio team dominated Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach bowl. In the wake of Kurtis Rourke leaving, it sure looks like they have a worthy replacement with UCF transfer Parker Navarro. The defense also had the field day that I sort of expected against a Georgia Southern defense that’s had worse turnover issues than just about anybody.

Eric: Key word being bowl action and not specific to the Group of Five, I’m going to go a little off the beat and path and show love to Willie Simmons’ Florida A&M Rattlers. The program’s Celebration Bowl victory over Howard capped a 12-1 season with FAMU’s only loss coming to FBS South Florida. The performance on national television was yet another opportunity for Simmons to put himself in the mix for head coaching opportunities at the FBS level.

Kevin: The New Orleans Bowl certainly was a thrilling one. The final game of Zion Webb’s collegiate career was one to remember as he threw for 156 yards, ran for 70 yards and he threw for a touchdown. What was able to be seen, which happened a lot this season for the Gamecocks is how they stand out in close game situations. They took down the Sam Houston State Bearkats in overtime and then in the New Orleans Bowl, they won in overtime.

The early signing period begins this week. Any last minute predictions?

Joe: I think we’ll see 2-3 starter-caliber transfer quarterbacks come off the board for G5 teams. Inevitably, one or two are going to wait until February, but there will be a few who want to get that early start on 2024 prep. Also, USF has some heavy hitters that we should keep our eyes on, namely tight end Jonathan Echols.

Eric: My last-minute prediction is that we’ll see at least one high-profile prospect (four-star or higher) end up at a G5 program. With the transfer portal jam-packed, the trickle down effect has already shown itself with the quarterback position and may make its way out to the other skill positions.

Kevin: I’ll keep mine FIU related and say that former Panther Grayson James will head back to his home state of Texas and join the Mean Green. Another one that I’ll keep FIU related is that Middle Tennessee State transfer Elijah Metcalf will come to the 305 and catch passes from Keyone Jenkins.