
The G6 Hot Seat Thermometer: 2026 Preseason Edition
Part 2 of the 2026 G6 College Football Preview Extravaganza
Tim Stephens
It has never been a more difficult time to be a head coach in the Group of 6.
You are recruiting at a massive financial disadvantage against Power 4 schools flush with television money and House settlement war chests. You have to re-recruit your own roster every offseason against the portal. You have to guard against defections while simultaneously rebuilding year to year. Such is life in the G6.
Given all that, it might at first seem surprising that only one head coach in the G6 — Butch Jones at Arkansas State — enters 2026 with a scalding hot seat. Jones is the only G6 coach in the national top 10 on CoachesHotSeat.com. Most G6 coaches sit in the bottom third of the 138-coach national list, while the Power 4 absorbs all the hot seat oxygen.
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Most G6 programs pay their coaches $600,000 to $1.5 million per year. Power 4 programs pay $4 million, $8 million, $10 million, $13 million and demand results to match. When the math is that different, so is the patience. Buyouts are expensive relative to G6 budgets, and schools cannot afford to cycle through coaches on a whim. Eighteen of the 70 G6 coaches entering 2026 are in Year 1. Another 19 are in Year 2. More than half the league has a coach with fewer than two full seasons of experience. Yes, programs keep firing people, but perhaps more impactfully, the good ones keep leaving.
The pressure and workload are more intense than ever. But the rewards are too.
The pipeline to multimillion-dollar contracts remains open for coaches who win. The reigning College Football Playoff national champion, Curt Cignetti, was coaching at JMU three years ago. The most lucrative exit for a successful G6 coach is getting hired away — and plenty of the 70 coaches on this list would love to be next.
That is, if they don't instead get paid to go away.
We used CoachesHotSeat.com baseline data — win percentage, fan sentiment, salary, trend — and layered program context, roster data, schedule difficulty and contract situations on top to build the Diehard G6 Hot Seat Thermometer. We also calibrated for the reality that only a handful of G6 programs have sustained a .600 winning percentage across their entire history. Boise State (.727) is the outlier. A coach at .600 or better at a G6 school is performing above the historical standard for nearly every program in this tier.
Here is how we see it.
SCALDING — Job is in genuine jeopardy
Butch Jones, Arkansas State (Year 6 | CHS: 77.20)
The only G6 coach in the national top 10. Jones is No. 5 overall on the CoachesHotSeat list — sandwiched between Power 4 coaches making five to eight times his $825,000 salary. He's .413 for his career at Arkansas State, winless against AP-ranked opponents and 1-6 against rivals. The Red Wolves do have two straight winning seasons and bowl wins, but the Sun Belt has gotten better around him. Five years is a long time to produce a .413 win rate at a program that expects to compete for the Sun Belt.
HOT — Real pressure, must produce this year
Joe Moorhead, Akron (Year 5 | CHS: 71.70)
Four years in, a .271 career record and a falling trend. Moorhead coordinated offenses at Penn State and ran the show at Mississippi State. His resume says he should be able to win at this level. Akron is a hard job, but .271 in four years raises the question of whether this rebuild is taking hold.
Phil Longo, Sam Houston (Year 2 | CHS: 69.80)
Sam Houston won the FCS national championship in 2020 under K.C. Keeler and made the leap to FBS expecting to compete. Longo went 2-10 in Year 1. Fan heat sits at 86 — the second-highest of any G6 coach behind Jay Sawvel at Wyoming. A second losing season without signs of progress and the patience might run out.
WARM — Pressure building, administration watching
Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan (Year 13 | CHS: 73.00)
Twelve years, four winning seasons and six bowl appearances — including a 9-4 run in 2022. EMU has the lowest budget and smallest fan base in the MAC, which buys patience no other program would extend. But the last two seasons have gone backward and the career mark sits at .424. Creighton built something at EMU that nobody else had. The question is whether the recent slide is a dip or the beginning of the end.
Chuck Martin, Miami (OH) (Year 13 | CHS: 67.30)
Tied with Creighton as the longest-tenured MAC coach, but with a very different track record. Martin has had just one losing season since 2017 and only four in 12 years — two of those in his first two seasons. He's three years removed from an 11-3 MAC championship team. The last two seasons dipped to nine and seven wins, and that kind of slide can create fan restlessness at a program that's tasted a conference title. Martin is the definition of the consistent G6 coach — he keeps Miami competitive in the MAC year after year. Another average-to-below-average season could fuel calls for a change, but the overall body of work says this is a program that should be careful what it wishes for.
Tim Albin, Charlotte (Year 2 | CHS: 64.40)
Charlotte went 1-11 in Year 1. Albin rebuilt Ohio from 3-9 to 10-4 and won a MAC title before taking the 49ers job. He inherited a bad roster in Charlotte. Year 2 needs to show that same rebuild trajectory. If it doesn't, the skeptics start chirping.
Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee (Year 3 | CHS: 60.50)
Mason went 27-55 in seven years at Vanderbilt before landing at MTSU. Two years in, he's at .250 with fan heat at 74. The SEC experience was supposed to translate to Conference USA. Two years in, it hasn't shown up yet.
Dell McGee, Georgia State (Year 3 | CHS: 60.40)
McGee left Georgia's staff as the run game coordinator. Two years later, the Panthers have a .167 win rate. Year 3 needs to produce wins, not just recruiting momentum, or the conversation changes.
Clay Helton, Georgia Southern (Year 5 | CHS: 60.30)
Helton landed at Georgia Southern after getting fired at USC and has been competitive without being dominant — .519 career. The Eagles expect to contend for the Sun Belt East. Four years of "fine" can wear thin at a program that believes it should be contending for the Sun Belt East.
Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech (Year 5 | CHS: 59.60)
La Tech broke through with a winning season in 2025 after three losing years. The question is whether that was a turn or a blip. The Bulldogs are now in the Sun Belt and face a tougher schedule. Cumbie's career mark sits at .380.
Joe Harasymiak, UMass (Year 2 | CHS: 68.70)
Went 0-12 in Year 1. UMass rejoined the MAC hoping conference membership would stabilize the program. It hasn't yet. But context matters: UMass has been one of the worst programs in FBS for a decade. The bar is underground. Even modest improvement — four wins, competitive losses — would count as progress in Amherst.
Jay Sawvel, Wyoming (Year 3 | CHS: 54.50)
Fan heat of 88 — the highest of any G6 coach. Wyoming fans are frustrated, and the record backs them up: 7-17 in two seasons. Sawvel needs to show progress in Year 3. If the trajectory doesn't change, the case for a coaching change makes itself.
Tony Sanchez, New Mexico State (Year 3 | CHS: 52.40)
Sanchez gets an alumni pass as a former Aggie wide receiver and assistant coach. But the record is the record: 7-17 in two years at NMSU and 20-40 with no winning seasons in five years at UNLV before that. He has never had a winning season in seven years as a college head coach. Jerry Kill proved you can win at NMSU — bowl games and an upset of Auburn with Diego Pavia at quarterback set the standard. The Aggies are in Conference USA, and showing progress matters before alumni goodwill starts running thin.
ROOM TEMP — Not hot, but one bad stretch changes things
Troy Calhoun, Air Force (Year 20 | CHS: 64.50)
Nineteen years and a .589 career record — impressive longevity by any standard. But the two-year mark has fallen to .375, and Air Force has watched Army and Navy surge past them. Monken has Army in its best stretch since the 1940s. Newberry has taken Navy from 5-7 to 11-2 in three years. The Falcons have gone the other direction. Service academy institutional loyalty runs deep, and Calhoun has earned every bit of it. But if Air Force struggles in what many see as a weakened Mountain West after realignment, the gap between the Falcons and their rivals becomes harder to explain.
Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana (Year 5 | CHS: 64.50)
Inherited a strong program from Billy Napier and has maintained it — .593 over the last two years — without elevating it. The Cajuns are 1-4 against AP-ranked teams under Desormeaux. He's kept the program respectable. Whether respectable is good enough in a Sun Belt that keeps getting better is the question entering Year 5.
Jamey Chadwell, Liberty (Year 4 | CHS: 63.50)
The highest-paid G6 coach at $5.9 million — and it's not close. Chadwell delivered a Fiesta Bowl appearance in Year 1, then fell to a .500 two-year rate. At that salary, Liberty is paying for sustained contention. But Liberty also operates with institutional patience that most programs don't have. The money creates expectations. The culture creates runway.
Mike Uremovich, Ball State (Year 2 | CHS: 56.10)
Went 4-8 in Year 1. Year 2 is still early. The trajectory matters more than the record at this point — if the program is visibly improving, the win-loss line can be patient. If it's flat, the questions start.
Jeff Choate, Nevada (Year 3 | CHS: 53.40)
Two years and a .240 win rate. Nevada has been bad for a while, and Choate hasn't changed the trajectory. But the Wolf Pack's recent history provides cover — the program was bad before him too. Year 3 is the inflection point. If there's no sign of improvement, the patience might start running thin.
Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State (Year 3 | CHS: 51.20)
The former Navy coach has gone .400 in two years at SJSU. Niumatalolo's career record of 119-98, built mostly at Navy, suggests he can coach. Whether his system translates to the Mountain West is what Year 3 will tell us.
Scotty Walden, UTEP (Year 3 | CHS: 47.80)
UTEP is one of the hardest jobs in FBS — El Paso sits nine hours from the nearest conference opponent in the Mountain West. Walden's at .208, but UTEP has been bad under nearly every coach for two decades. The program's limitations are structural, not just coaching.
Major Applewhite, South Alabama (Year 3 | CHS: 47.50)
The bigger story is the front office. The AD who hired Applewhite just retired and a new permanent athletic director has not been named. That's a sticky situation for any coach. You're potentially treading water for a new boss who may or may not have their own people in mind for your job. Applewhite sits at .440 with two years left on his contract after 2026. He needs a winning season to earn an extension from someone he hasn't met yet.
Sean Lewis, San Diego State (Year 3 | CHS: 42.50)
The Aztecs moved to the Pac-12 and Lewis sits at .480 career. SDSU has the resources and recruiting base to compete in the rebuilt conference. If the Aztecs are consistently uncompetitive, the grace period for a new league won't last.
COOL — Building something, seat is secure for now
Timmy Chang, Hawaii (Year 5 | CHS: 49.20)
Hawaii was in bad shape when Chang took over, and he's improved the program every year. He's a Rainbow Warriors legend as a player, which carries real weight in Honolulu, and he's fired up a fan base that had tuned out. The cumulative .431 looks mediocre in isolation, but the trajectory tells a different story — some projections have Hawaii as a Mountain West dark horse for 2026. A step back would be disappointing, but it wouldn't put him on the hot seat.
GJ Kinne, Texas State (Year 4 | CHS: 48.10)
Kinne has Texas State trending up with a .577 two-year rate — the Bobcats' best stretch in FBS history — and recruiting well heading into the Pac-12. Texas State has the weakest historical pedigree of any new Pac-12 member, which means the transition comes with built-in patience. Nobody expects immediate Pac-12 contention from the Bobcats. Kinne earned the job of managing the upgrade. It's hard to see pressure building during the transition.
Gerad Parker, Troy (Year 3 | CHS: 42.50)
Troy improved in Year 2 — the Trojans reached the Sun Belt championship game and played in a bowl game. The cumulative .462 reflects a rough Year 1, not where the program is now. Losing to Jacksonville State in the bowl stung, but the bigger story is whether the momentum from Year 2 continues. The arrow is pointing up.
Ryan Carty, Delaware (Year 5 | CHS: 59.30)
Delaware alum, member of the 2003 FCS national championship team and the coach who led the Blue Hens through their FBS transition. Carty went 33-17 in his first four years and posted a 7-6 record with a bowl win in Delaware's first FBS season. Contract extension runs through 2030. He looks like the right coach for this transition.
Bryant Vincent, UL Monroe (Year 3 | CHS: 58.90)
ULM has been one of the hardest jobs in FBS for years — underfunded, under-recruited and historically uncompetitive. Vincent inherited all of that and has made the Warhawks better. His .333 win rate looks bad in isolation. In ULM context, it represents progress. The seat stays cool unless 2026 is a total collapse.
Ricky Rahne, Old Dominion (Year 7 | CHS: 56.60)
Just had a historic 10-3 season — matching the best in ODU's FBS history. Heavy roster turnover follows, including the departure of QB Colton Joseph. The trend is listed as falling, but you don't put a coach on the hot seat coming off a program-best season. 2026 will determine whether 10 wins was a peak or a platform.
Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky (Year 8 | CHS: 52.70)
Seven years at WKU with a .613 career record, two Conference USA titles and a perfect record against rivals. That's sustained winning at a G6 program. His CHS score reflects tenure length, not job risk. Helton is one of the most successful G6 coaches in the country.
Jeff Traylor, UTSA (Year 7 | CHS: 53.70)
Traylor built UTSA from a startup into a Conference USA champion — a .671 career record at a program that didn't exist 15 years ago. He created the expectations that UTSA fans now have, and now some want more. The two-year rate has dipped to .538, which creates a "has the program plateaued?" conversation. Nobody is going to fire Traylor. The more interesting question is whether another not-quite-good-enough season irritates him enough to take a big payday elsewhere. The most likely way UTSA loses this coach is category one — he gets hired away, not pushed out.
Spencer Danielson, Boise State (Year 4 | CHS: 39.70)
Career record of .750 and made the College Football Playoff in 2024. Boise State moved to the Pac-12 and Danielson is in a strong position. The conference transition is the only variable, and so far, he's handled every test.
Brian Newberry, Navy (Year 4 | CHS: 33.80)
Went 5-7, then 10-3, then 11-2 in his first three seasons. That trajectory is among the best in college football, G6 or otherwise. Newberry has Navy playing at a level the program hasn't seen in decades.
Blake Harrell, East Carolina (Year 3 | CHS: 29.10)
Promoted from interim and has a .737 career record. ECU has been one of the best stories in the American. Secure.
Pete Lembo, Buffalo (Year 3 | CHS: 32.90)
Buffalo sits at .560 under Lembo with a perfect record against rivals. Competitive in the MAC with room to grow.
Dowell Loggains, Appalachian State (Year 2 | CHS: 28.40)
App State went 5-8 in Loggains' first year after the program was in disarray. He lost three games by a field goal or less. The fan base is giving him time because they saw what he inherited. A winning season in Year 2 would go a long way toward settling the program down.
Scott Abell, Rice (Year 2 | CHS: 26.20)
The winningest coach in Davidson history, now rebuilding Rice in the American. Year 1 was 5-8 with a bowl loss. Rice's expectations are modest. Abell has time and a clear trajectory.
Tre Lamb, Tulsa (Year 2 | CHS: 26.10)
Inherited one of the worst programs in FBS. Year 1 was 4-8. The bar is low, the leash is long and Lamb has room to build.
Zach Kittley, FAU (Year 2 | CHS: 25.90)
Went 4-8 in Year 1 installing the Air Raid after arriving from Texas Tech. FAU is giving him time to install the system. Year 2 is about development, not wins.
Tony Gibson, Marshall (Year 2 | CHS: 23.40)
Rebuilding Marshall in the Sun Belt after Charles Huff left for Memphis. Year 1 was 5-7. Gibson has support from the administration and a clear plan.
Eddie George, Bowling Green (Year 2 | CHS: 23.50)
The 1995 Heisman Trophy winner went 4-8 in Year 1 at Bowling Green after going 24-22 in four years at Tennessee State. His profile buys patience. Year 2 will show whether the MAC is a different challenge than the FCS.
K.C. Keeler, Temple (Year 2 | CHS: 21.40)
Two FCS national championships at two different schools (Delaware 2003, Sam Houston 2020) and 276 career wins. The only coach in FCS history to win titles at two programs. Now he's rebuilding Temple from the ground up — and the Owls have been one of the worst programs in FBS. Keeler has the longest leash of anyone in this tier.
ICE — Not going anywhere
Jeff Monken, Army (Year 13 | CHS: 57.70)
Monken's CHS score of 57.70 puts him in the "Warm" tier nationally — and it's absurd. Army went 12-2 in 2024 and has posted six or more wins in nine of the last 10 seasons. That's the best sustained stretch at West Point since the 1940s. Monken is one of the best coaches in college football regardless of conference label. His CHS score reflects 12 years of tenure dragging the formula, not actual job risk. The opposite of a hot seat.
Lance Taylor, Western Michigan (Year 4 | CHS: 37.70)
Taylor has improved every year at Western Michigan — 4-8, then 6-7, then 10-4 with a MAC championship and a bowl win. That trajectory earned him MAC Coach of the Year and attention from other programs in the last coaching cycle, but Taylor signed an extension to stay. Not going anywhere.
Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State (Year 2 | CHS: 22.80)
Career record of 146-95 across BYU, Virginia, New Mexico and now Utah State. Led BYU to national relevance for a decade. Now managing Utah State's first season in the Pac-12. His .462 mark at USU reflects the conference transition, not his ability. Safe.
Tim Polasek, North Dakota State (Year 3 | CHS: 17.40)
NDSU's first FBS season after more than a decade of FCS dominance. Polasek went 26-3 in his first two seasons with an .897 career record. His job is to manage the move from the FCS to the Mountain West. It's hard to imagine a more secure situation in G6 football.
Matt Entz, Fresno State (Year 2 | CHS: 18.50)
Former NDSU head coach who won two FCS national championships. Now in the Pac-12 with Fresno State. Different conference, same pedigree. Safe.
Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State (Year 2 | CHS: 15.50)
Went 10-4 and won the Conference USA title in Year 1 with a program still transitioning from FCS. A conference championship in Year 1 earns a long leash.
Jason Eck, New Mexico (Year 2 | CHS: 15.00)
Went 9-4 and tied for first in the Mountain West in Year 1. Hard to imagine a safer seat in the Mountain West.
Dan Mullen, UNLV (Year 2 | CHS: 16.40)
Went 10-4 in Year 1 after arriving from Florida and Mississippi State. UNLV has never sustained this level of play. Mullen has the program on a trajectory it's never been on.
Charles Kelly, Jacksonville State (Year 2 | CHS: 22.80)
Won nine games and reached the Conference USA championship game in Year 1. Jacksonville State is ahead of schedule in its FBS transition. Secure.
Matt Drinkall, Central Michigan (Year 2 | CHS: 17.20)
Steady at .538 career in the MAC. Not flashy, not in danger.
Willie Simmons, FIU (Year 2 | CHS: 18.50)
FIU went 7-6 in Year 1 — their first winning season in years. Simmons has the Panthers heading in the right direction in Conference USA.
FIRST YEAR — Too early to judge, but not too early to watch
Eighteen G6 coaches enter 2026 in Year 1. They start at the bottom of the thermometer. By October, some will have already started climbing.
Not every first-year coach gets the same runway. Some of these hires came with schools investing in ways that change the expectations — realignment positioning, revenue-share commitments, facilities upgrades. When a program makes that kind of investment and brings in a coach to win with it, patience for a transition isn't part of the deal.
Coaches to watch:
Alex Mortensen, UAB (CHS: 13.10) — The highest first-year hot seat score in the G6, but it's not really aimed at him. The fans love Mort. The heat in Birmingham is on the athletic director who hired predecessor Trent Dilfer to replace program builder Bill Clark, not on the new coach cleaning up the mess after Dilfer's tenure. Mortensen inherited a disaster. He has time and fan support.
Will Hall, Tulane (CHS: 12.50) — Tulane went with continuity after Jon Sumrall left for Florida, but Hall's 14-30 meltdown at Southern Miss is fresh. He's been handed the keys to one of the better G6 programs at a time when another round of realignment could emerge — and Green Wave fans have been left behind before after losing successful coaches to Power programs. If Tulane stays competitive, the hire looks smart. If the program slips, the Southern Miss tape gets replayed loudly.
Blake Anderson, Southern Miss (CHS: 8.60) — Anderson's tenure at Arkansas State was exceptional by any G6 standard — six straight bowl games, two Sun Belt titles and a .580 win rate that's above the historical norm for nearly any G6 program. He went 11-3 with a Mountain West title in his first year at Utah State, went 6-7 in 2022 and was fired during the 2023 season. His departure from Utah State was tied to alleged mishandling of a domestic violence report, not performance (although things were trending down). Anderson knows the Sun Belt and has proven he can build a G6 winner. Southern Miss is betting on that track record.
Billy Napier, James Madison (CHS: 4.60) — Some call him "Sun Belt Billy" for the program he built at Louisiana, and JMU is betting that version shows up. The Dukes are coming off a College Football Playoff appearance and have launched their last two head coaches to Indiana and UCLA. This is one of the top G6 programs in the country, and the expectations reflect it — JMU expects to keep right on keeping on. The pressure here isn't Gainesville. Few places are. But Napier was hired to sustain what Cignetti and Chesney built, not to rebuild. If the Dukes slide, the 22-23 Florida record becomes the narrative instead of the 40-12 Louisiana run.
Brian Hartline, South Florida (CHS: 2.90) — Like Memphis, USF is going all-in to position itself for a Power 4 realignment lifeline. Hartline is the former Ohio State offensive coordinator and elite recruiter, and the Bulls loaded the roster with Power 4 transfers to win now. This isn't being framed as a rebuild job. USF hired Hartline to compete immediately and make the program impossible to ignore when the next round of realignment comes.
Neal Brown, North Texas (CHS: 4.40) — North Texas is coming off a 12-2 season but faces massive roster turnover, with its best players following Eric Morris to Oklahoma State or hitting the portal. Brown was brought in to keep the Mean Green at the top of the American, not to rebuild. His 35-16 run at Troy is the relevant resume line — he built a Sun Belt contender and North Texas is betting he can sustain one. The 37-35 at West Virginia is the counterpoint, but the G6 is where Brown has thrived.
Charles Huff, Memphis (CHS: 5.30) — Huff is at his third G6 school after winning at both Marshall and Southern Miss. Memphis is one of the highest-resourced programs in the G6 and recently committed to full House settlement payments amid a push to grab a realignment lifeline to Power 4 status. The seat carries a different kind of pressure. The Tigers expect to compete for the American title and position themselves for something bigger. Huff has won everywhere he's been, and Memphis is betting that track record translates. The stakes here go beyond just a conference championship.
Jim Mora, Colorado State (CHS: 2.80) — Mora's turnaround at UConn was impressive, and Colorado State luring him from Storrs should be seen as a big coup. Former UCLA and NFL head coach with a proven track record of rebuilding programs. Colorado State enters its first season in the Pac-12 with a coach who has credibility at every level.
JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State (CHS: 5.60) — Hired from Alabama's staff after Trent Bray was fired after an 0-7 start. Oregon State burned through Bray in two years after Jonathan Smith left for Michigan State — making Shephard the third head coach in three years. The rebuilt Pac-12 brand carries weight and Oregon State is investing accordingly, but the new conference patch comes with new expectations.
Kirby Moore, Washington State (CHS: 3.90) — Hired from Missouri after Jimmy Rogers left for Iowa State following one season. Like Oregon State, Wazzu has churned through coaches since Jake Dickert left for Wake Forest. Both programs are driving the Pac-12 rebuild and investing to match the brand. Moore was Missouri's OC under Eli Drinkwitz. The patience afforded to new hires won't last forever if the on-field product doesn't match the off-field ambition.
Other first-year coaches: Rob Harley, Northern Illinois (interim — promoted from DC after Thomas Hammock left for the Seattle Seahawks); Ryan Beard, Coastal Carolina; Mike Jacobs, Toledo; Jason Candle, UConn; John Hauser, Ohio; Alonzo Carter, Sacramento State; Casey Woods, Missouri State; Mark Carney, Kent State.
The Full Thermometer (all 70 G6 coaches)
SCALDING | Butch Jones | Arkansas State | Sun Belt | 6 | 77.20
WARM | Chris Creighton | Eastern Michigan | MAC | 13 | 73.00
HOT | Joe Moorhead | Akron | MAC | 5 | 71.70
HOT | Phil Longo | Sam Houston | CUSA | 2 | 69.80
WARM | Joe Harasymiak | UMass | MAC | 2 | 68.70
WARM | Chuck Martin | Miami (OH) | MAC | 13 | 67.30
WARM | Tim Albin | Charlotte | American | 2 | 64.40
WARM | Derek Mason | Middle Tennessee | CUSA | 3 | 60.50
WARM | Dell McGee | Georgia State | Sun Belt | 3 | 60.40
WARM | Clay Helton | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | 5 | 60.30
WARM | Sonny Cumbie | Louisiana Tech | Sun Belt | 5 | 59.60
WARM | Jay Sawvel | Wyoming | MW | 3 | 54.50
WARM | Tony Sanchez | New Mexico State | CUSA | 3 | 52.40
ROOM TEMP | Troy Calhoun | Air Force | MW | 20 | 64.50
ROOM TEMP | Michael Desormeaux | Louisiana | Sun Belt | 5 | 64.50
ROOM TEMP | Jamey Chadwell | Liberty | CUSA | 4 | 63.50
ROOM TEMP | Mike Uremovich | Ball State | MAC | 2 | 56.10
ROOM TEMP | Jeff Choate | Nevada | MW | 3 | 53.40
ROOM TEMP | Ken Niumatalolo | San Jose State | MW | 3 | 51.20
ROOM TEMP | Scotty Walden | UTEP | MW | 3 | 47.80
ROOM TEMP | Major Applewhite | South Alabama | Sun Belt | 3 | 47.50
ROOM TEMP | Sean Lewis | San Diego State | Pac-12 | 3 | 42.50
COOL | Ryan Carty | Delaware | CUSA | 5 | 59.30
COOL | Bryant Vincent | UL Monroe | Sun Belt | 3 | 58.90
COOL | Ricky Rahne | Old Dominion | Sun Belt | 7 | 56.60
COOL | Jeff Traylor | UTSA | American | 7 | 53.70
COOL | Tyson Helton | Western Kentucky | CUSA | 8 | 52.70
COOL | Timmy Chang | Hawaii | MW | 5 | 49.20
COOL | GJ Kinne | Texas State | Pac-12 | 4 | 48.10
COOL | Gerad Parker | Troy | Sun Belt | 3 | 42.50
COOL | Spencer Danielson | Boise State | Pac-12 | 4 | 39.70
COOL | Brian Newberry | Navy | American | 4 | 33.80
COOL | Pete Lembo | Buffalo | MAC | 3 | 32.90
COOL | Blake Harrell | East Carolina | American | 3 | 29.10
COOL | Dowell Loggains | Appalachian State | Sun Belt | 2 | 28.40
COOL | Scott Abell | Rice | American | 2 | 26.20
COOL | Tre Lamb | Tulsa | American | 2 | 26.10
COOL | Zach Kittley | FAU | American | 2 | 25.90
COOL | Eddie George | Bowling Green | MAC | 2 | 23.50
COOL | Tony Gibson | Marshall | Sun Belt | 2 | 23.40
COOL | K.C. Keeler | Temple | American | 2 | 21.40
ICE | Jeff Monken | Army | American | 13 | 57.70
ICE | Lance Taylor | Western Michigan | MAC | 4 | 37.70
ICE | Bronco Mendenhall | Utah State | Pac-12 | 2 | 22.80
ICE | Charles Kelly | Jacksonville State | CUSA | 2 | 22.80
ICE | Willie Simmons | FIU | CUSA | 2 | 18.50
ICE | Matt Entz | Fresno State | Pac-12 | 2 | 18.50
ICE | Tim Polasek | North Dakota State | MW | 3 | 17.40
ICE | Matt Drinkall | Central Michigan | MAC | 2 | 17.20
ICE | Dan Mullen | UNLV | MW | 2 | 16.40
ICE | Jerry Mack | Kennesaw State | CUSA | 2 | 15.50
ICE | Jason Eck | New Mexico | MW | 2 | 15.00
1ST YEAR | Alex Mortensen | UAB | American | 1 | 13.10
1ST YEAR | Will Hall | Tulane | American | 1 | 12.50
1ST YEAR | Blake Anderson | Southern Miss | Sun Belt | 1 | 8.60
1ST YEAR | JaMarcus Shephard | Oregon State | Pac-12 | 1 | 5.60
1ST YEAR | Charles Huff | Memphis | American | 1 | 5.30
1ST YEAR | John Hauser | Ohio | MAC | 1 | 5.30
1ST YEAR | Mark Carney | Kent State | MAC | 1 | 5.10
1ST YEAR | Ryan Beard | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | 1 | 4.70
1ST YEAR | Billy Napier | James Madison | Sun Belt | 1 | 4.60
1ST YEAR | Casey Woods | Missouri State | CUSA | 1 | 4.50
1ST YEAR | Neal Brown | North Texas | American | 1 | 4.40
1ST YEAR | Kirby Moore | Washington State | Pac-12 | 1 | 3.90
1ST YEAR | Alonzo Carter | Sacramento State | MAC | 1 | 3.90
1ST YEAR | Jason Candle | UConn | Independent | 1 | 3.20
1ST YEAR | Mike Jacobs | Toledo | MAC | 1 | 3.10
1ST YEAR | Brian Hartline | South Florida | American | 1 | 2.90
1ST YEAR | Jim Mora | Colorado State | Pac-12 | 1 | 2.80
1ST YEAR | Rob Harley | Northern Illinois | MW | 1 | N/A
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Part 3 of the 2026 G6 College Football Preview Extravaganza

The Diehard Preseason G6 Top 25
Part 1 of the 2026 G6 College Football Preview Extravaganza
