Head Coach: Dowell Loggains is entering his first season as the head coach of the Mountaineers. Loggains was a QB at Arkansas from 2000-2004, and he spent a lot of time coaching in the NFL. He became the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans in 2012 and overall by 2019 had been the OC with the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets. His QBs during those stops were Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mike Glennon, Ryan Tannehill, Brock Osweiler, and Sam Darnold. Needless to say none of the stints worked out. He got into college in 2021 at Arkansas and in 2022 he became South Carolina’s offensive coordinator where he was until taking the job here.
Program Outlook: Appalachian State is a proud program with an incredibly passionate fanbase. Many believe they got on the map in 2007 when they pulled off the shocking upset over Michigan but the truth is they were coming off back to back FCS (then Div 1-AA) National Titles. Appalachian soon moved to FBS and didn’t slow down they instantly proved to be not only one of the best programs in the Sun Belt, but they actually helped elevate the conference that was once thought of as the bottom feeder of FBS. Now Appalachian State is at an interesting turn, 2024 was a tumultuous season both on and off the field. Everyone knows what occurred off the field, but still thinking/praying for the folks in Boone and the surrounding areas. On the field App State entered the season as the Sun Belt favorite and a possible playoff contender but they shockingly regressed to 5-6, their first ever losing season in FBS. This led to a rare coaching change. Now the Mountaineers look to rebound and get back to the top of the Sun Belt.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: Appalachian State ranks 118th in the country returning 38.5% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. Key players for App State starts with the QB, they have some options. Former Vandy QB AJ Swann, who went to LSU last year and never played comes in, he’s a mobile threat and they also have former Iowa State QB JJ Kohl as an option. Whoever wins the job will have a great receiver to throw to in Dalton Stroman, the remaining receivers will likely be found from the portal, I’m particularly fascinated by Austin Peay transfer Jaden Barnes, he was a star last year. The Mountaineers get Kanye Roberts back at RB, he played great as the number 2 in 2023 and was poised for the lead role in 2024 but spent a lot of the year dealing with injuries. They also have Arkansas transfer Rashod Dubinion to form a good duo. The offensive line is a big question mark, they’ll need this to come together and the unit as a whole must improve at run blocking. App State’s defense will be led by LBs Kyle Arnholt and Thomas Davis who were contributors last year but now are expected to be key guys. DE Shawn Collins was a very good rotational end but now he will need to excel in a lead role. The defensive front is still a little undersized but DT Nick Campbell (NC State) will need to help this team improve against the run. The secondary has a couple key guys back in safeties DJ Burks and Zyeir Gamble. The corner situation is a question mark, the only somewhat proven option is Ethan Johnson, the rest will need to come together.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: Appalachian State plays a pretty challenging schedule. The non-conference features an in-state battle with Charlotte who is breaking in a new head coach, and their FCS foe will be Lindenwood who is in their first year of eligibility. The challenges will come at Boise State and a cool home game vs Oregon State, both are very fun but tough games. The Sun Belt schedule is always loaded, this is such a deep conference. App State draws Arkansas State and Southern Miss from the West division, Arkansas State is probably not preferable they look set to be pretty good this year and Southern Miss was a good draw in recent years but with Charles Huff there that will no longer be the case.
Final Thoughts: This is probably the most uncertain season in Appalachian State’s entire FBS tenure, a new HC and not because the previous coach got a bigger job and the roster turnover makes for a lot of questions. Still, doubt this program at your own risk. At a minimum I see Appalachian State finishing with a winning record but if the pieces fall into play they’ll get back in the Sun Belt championship race.
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