Key Returners, New Additions: What to Know About Coastal Carolina

The West Virginia Mountaineers welcome the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Saturday for the season opener. Kickoff is set for noon at Mountaineer Field and the action will broadcast on TNT, TruTV and stream on HBO Max.

Coastal Carolina Ryan Beard is in first season at the helm after three seasons at Missouri State, including transitioning the program from FCS to FBS last season and leading the Bears to their first ever bowl appearance.

Beard and his staff retained 39 players from last year’s roster and among the 65 newcomers, 12 were brought in from Missouri State.

Coastal Carolina was picked to finish fifth in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference

Three Chanticleers were named to the All-Sun Belt Conference team. Graduate senior defensive back Ja'Marion Wayne was selected to the first team while linebacker Tray Brown and defensive back Myles Woods were placed on the second team.

Wayne led the team with seven pass breakups and his 61 tackles were good enough for second on the team and forced a pair of fumbles in 12 starts.

Woods started 11 games and led Coastal with three interceptions while recording 45 tackles and six pass breakups.

Brown appeared in all 13 games, including nine starts, and posted a team-high 11.5 tackles for loss. He finished fourth on the team with 54 tackles. He also recorded 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

The defensive front returns defensive end Ibrahim Diawara. The redshirt senior appeared in all 13 games last season, tallying 16 tackles, six tackles for loss and two sacks while adding two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Coastal added Samford transfer Donovan Grayson and Missouri State transfer Mitchell Toney. Grayson totaled 43 tackles, ten tackles for loss and seven sacks to earn a First Team All-Southern Conference selection. Toney appeared in all 13 games for Missouri State last season, recording 23 tackles, five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

In addition, the Chanticleers added Oklahoma State transfer Chandavian Bradley. The redshirt junior signed with Tennessee out of high school as a four-star recruit before a year at Hutchinson Community College, then transferred to Oklahoma State last year.

Coastal Carolina also brought in former WVU edge rusher Obinna Onwuka. The redshirt sophomore did not appear in any games in two seasons with the Mountaineers.

For the third consecutive season, Coastal Carolina will have a new starting quarterback.

Offensive coordinator Nick Petrino and redshirt freshman quarterback Deuce Bailey followed Beard to Coastal Carolina. Bailey capped three consecutive appearances with his lone start of the season midway through the schedule. The bulk of his production came in the start against Middle Tennessee State, tossing for 278 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bears to a 22-0 win. On the year, he threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 81 yards and a score.

The competition in the room remains open with redshirt junior Tre Guerra and redshirt sophomore Trever Jackson are also vying for the job.

Guerra spent two seasons at Tyler Junior College. Last season, he led the team to the Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC) Championship. He completed 62.2% of his passes for 2,811 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Jackson signed with Florida State as a four-star prospect. He appeared in one game before transferring to Arkansas last season. He appeared one game for both programs.

The passing game will have an eager group of receivers looking to make their mark on the program. Redshirt junior Robbie Washington and senior Karmello English are the lone returning receivers to the program.

Washington was second on the team in receptions (29) and receiving yards (278) with a team-best three touchdowns last season, while English was fourth on the team with 20 receptions and his 185 receiving yards placed him sixth.

A host of transfers look to round out the depth chart. Redshirt junior, and former Florida State signee, Goldie Lawrence arrived after spending two seasons at Florida A&M. He hauled in 30 receptions for 447 yards and two touchdowns.

Missouri State transfer, sophomore Tristian Gardner, also followed Beard and Petrino to Conway after catching 30 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns, setting the Bears' freshman record for touchdown receptions.

Clayton Coppock Jr. earned a selection to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team after totaling 28 receptions for 311 yards and six total touchdowns at Kennesaw State, while Arkansas transfer Krosse Johnson appeared in nine games and registered three receptions for 34 yards over the past two seasons with the Razorbacks.

Tight end Zach Courtney is the lone returning offensive starter from the 2025 roster. He led the room with nine receptions for 120 yards.

The offensive line will look to replace all five starters from last season. Seven offensive linemen returned – four of which garnered significant playing time. Of note, the offensive line averages 320-pounds.

Sophomores Jevon Edwards and Dominic Lee-Knicely return to the backfield. Lee-Knicely appeared in all 13 games as freshman rushing for 388 yards and three touchdowns while adding 12 receptions for 99 yards and another score. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry and showed his big-play ability with runs of 52 and 59 yards during the season.

Edwards also played in every game, totaling 368 rushing yards and one touchdown while matching Lee-Knicely's 5.7-yard average on the ground.

Senior Kente Edwards transferred after three seasons at Lafayette. In 10 games, he ran for 1,454 yards and a school-record 20 touchdowns, earning All-Patriot League First Team honors.

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