2025 Week 5 Coaches Inc. Highlights

Jaguars Defensive Assistant Ari Confesor is living proof that good guys don’t always finish last. Ari landed his first P4 job at Wake Forest after the 2022 season under HC Dave Clawson in what appeared to be as secure a situation as possible in this profession. Clawson was a proven winner and had built Wake into a contender but, after last season, Clawson unexpectedly retired leaving his entire coaching staff in limbo. After nothing panned out in the college coaching cycle, Ari landed a Bill Walsh internship with the Jaguars and was invited back for camp. Having shown an exemplary work ethic and ability to connect with coaches and players on both sides of the ball, when the preseason ended HC Liam Coen told Ari he wanted him to stay on staff for the full season the night before he was scheduled to fly back home to North Carolina.

Working with the defense now, he’s helped the Jags lead the NFL in takeaways (13) and turnover differential (+9). Their win in San Francisco on Sunday was the first time in franchise history the team had won there. They did it thanks to the defense securing four turnovers and special teams contributing an 87-yard punt return. As the 49ers had the ball attempting a game-winning drive, former 49er Arik Armstead stripped QB Brock Purdy and the Jaguars recovered the fumble to seal the win. Making astute roster moves, like signing Armstead, is just one of the reasons Senior Personnel Executive Regis Eller (email) was retained by Jacksonville after an offseason GM change.

Alabama Offensive Assistant Tyler Hughes has logged some miles in the last few seasons. He’s gone from the New England Patriots, to the University of Washington, back to the New England Patriots, and now calls Tuscaloosa, AL home. Tyler is reunited with HC Kalen DeBoer and OC Ryan Grubb, who reached the CFP championship game with the University of Washington the last time they all worked together, and they cracked the AP Top 10 after their win over UGA on Saturday.

Georgia was ranked in the Top 5 and had a 33-game home winning streak going into last Saturday’s matchup, but Bama was up to the task and went home with a 24-21 victory. The Tide offense controlled the ball for 35:36 minutes and converted 63% of its third downs. QB Ty Simpson continued his hot streak by passing for 276 yards and two TDs without throwing an interception. Alabama has now won three straight after dropping its opener against Florida State and hosts Vanderbilt this weekend.

Kansas State kicked off this year’s CFB season in Ireland  and lost a thriller to Iowa State by three points. Going into Saturday’s game against previously undefeated UCF, the Wildcats sat at 1-3 after a couple more close losses to Army and Arizona.

Coming out of their bye, things were different for Kansas State as they handed UCF a 34-20 loss. RBs Coach Brian Anderson saw his latest star RB, Dylan Edwards, rush for 166 yards, including a 75-yard TD, in his first game back after injury. Asst HC/Def PGC/Corners Coach Van Malone’s group held UCF to just 20 points, even though UCF had been averaging 39.7ppg. His DBs recorded two INTs and held UCF to under 200 yards through the air. After Saturday’s complete team performance, the Wildcats are back to .500 in conference and appear to be back to their winning ways.

Louisiana faced Marshall in last year’s Sun Belt Conference championship game and suffered a 31-3 defeat. On Saturday, the Ragin Cajuns erased a 17-point third quarter deficit and came away with a 54-51 double OT win over the Thundering Herd in the conference opener for both teams. UL was sparked by backup QB Lunch Winfield who entered the game after two INTs from the starter. He accounted for five TDs including the game-tying TD pass with :16 seconds remaining. Corners Coach George Barlow arrived in Lafayette before last season and helped get UL back to the SBC championship game. With this season’s 1-0 SBC start over the reigning champs, the Ragin Cajuns took a dramatic step towards a return to the SBC championship game. After the upcoming bye week, George and UL will travel to JMU, a place he spent four years as DC during which time he helped them to four FCS playoff appearances and won the 2004 FCS National Championship.

Fordham OL Coach Steven Ciocci returned to NYC when he joined the Rams in February after spending the previous six seasons at Bryant. No stranger to the city, Steve played on Staten Island at Wagner and began his coaching career at his alma mater after his All-NEC playing days were over. Fordham had yet to win a game this season and had dropped eight straight to Holy Cross, but it was the Rams who came out on top on Saturday. Fordham rushed for 168 yards and threw for 254 behind Steve’s offensive line for a 7.8 yards per play average. Also of note, LB James Conway had nineteen tackles, giving him 511 for his career. Steve and the Rams are now 1-1 in the Patriot League and travel to Lafayette this weekend.

Maine HC Jordan Stevens entered this season with returning coordinators on both sides of the ball for the first time in his four years at the helm. Unfortunately, the positive outlook going into the season was met with a disappointing 0-4 start. Two of the three losses were to FBS opponents and one was in Williamsburg, where Maine lost in a back-and-forth, weather-delayed battle against William & Mary. The heartbreaker was the game against Stonehill, the only game in which Maine was favored, as Stonehill’s QB threw a game-winning TD pass while scrambling for his life on fourth down on a night where Maine’s offense never got going.

Despite the slow start to the season, Jordan and the Black Bears stayed focused and improved to (1-1) in CAA play with a home win on Saturday. Maine’s offense came to life and scored 30 first half points on its way to a 37-30 win. QB Carter Peevy threw for just under 300 yards with two TDs and RB Sincere Baines had 100 yards rushing, including a 51-yard TD run to put Maine ahead 7-0. The defense had another solid outing and if the team can play like they did on Saturday, Maine should fare well as they face conference opponents the rest of the way.

Prairie View A&M played Grambling in the 100th State Fair Classic at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday and came away with a win behind 224 yards on the ground. Offensive Coordinator/QBs Coach Chris Buckner landed at PVAM after a great run at Sam Houston, where he won the 2020 FCS Championship and helped them to a 10-3 record and a New Orleans Bowl victory in the school’s second season playing FBS football in 2024. On Saturday, the Panthers scored first, scored a TD in each quarter, and never trailed Grambling. Leaning into the strength of the run game, Chris’ offense is averaging just under 200 rushing yards per game and he’s helped the Panthers to a 2-0 (3-2 overall) start in the SWAC for a team that won just 3 SWAC games all last season.

Texas Southern Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach Billy Parker is in his second season leading the defense for the Tigers, who have not had a winning season since 2000. Before TSU, Billy helped VMI to its first-ever FCS playoffs appearance and first SoCon championship since 1977 in the 2021 season, so he has experience finding success at programs that have traditionally had struggles. The Tigers finished 5-6 last year and picked up their first win of this season on Saturday at Mississippi Valley State. After giving up a FG with 10:06 remaining in the third quarter, TSU’s defense didn’t give up another point while the offense came to life to score two TDs and special teams contributed a safety on a MVSU botched punt. MVSU had the ball back one last time and the TSU defense bent but did not break to secure the SWAC win.

In one of the most eye-popping stats of the year, Head Coach Josh Lynn’s West Texas A&M team outgained Western Oregon by 514 yards (559-45) on Saturday night. The Buffaloes put together an amazing night on both offense and defense as the only points for Western Oregon came on an INT return for a TD. West Texas A&M allowed only four first downs and controlled the ball for a whopping 43:49 minutes of the game. The Buffaloes have shown signs of greatness this season and will need to recapture some of last weekend’s magic as they continue through the tough Lonestar Conference schedule.