SUN BELT FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 4 OF 14
2026 Season Snapshot • Statesboro, Georgia
7-6 (Sun Belt)
SBC
Live schedule, lines and results for Georgia Southern.
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HEAD COACH
Clay Helton — 5th season at Georgia Southern
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
73–49 (FBS, multiple programs)
Led USC to a Rose Bowl title in 2016 before being fired in 2021; hired by Georgia Southern weeks later. Has quietly rebuilt the program into a consistent bowl team — 27-25 over four seasons with four straight bowl appearances, including an 8-5 2024 season that was the Eagles' best since 2020, earning him a raise to $1M annually.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN ATS RECORD
No single published career ATS figure
2025 finished 7-6, capped by a Birmingham Bowl win over Appalachian State. Georgia Southern has reached a bowl in all four seasons under Helton — a real, sustained level of competence that's kept the program relevant in the Sun Belt East.
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
$1.0M
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
Not disclosed
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
Not publicly named
Coach salary per ESPN (5-yr extension through 2029 signed Feb. 2025, averaging $1M annually with performance incentives up to $100K for a Sun Belt title or National Coach of the Year honor). Georgia Southern has not disclosed a team NIL figure.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Ryan Aplin • 3rd season • Multiple
Must replace every single offensive starter from 2025, an enormous rebuild. Max Johnson (UNC transfer, previously started at LSU and Texas A&M) headlines a QB competition; the skill-position room adds Illinois transfer Ashton Hollins and Virginia transfer Andre Greene Jr. to replace a 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Brandon Bailey • 4th season • Base 4-2-5
Enters year four with real system continuity; adds Harrington at linebacker as a specifically-cited defensive boost heading into 2026, per outside Sun Belt previews.
2025 RECORD
7–6 (Sun Belt)
Birmingham Bowl: W 10-29... Georgia Southern topped Appalachian State to close the season, the program's fourth straight bowl trip under Helton — a real marker of sustained relevance in the Sun Belt East.
HOME FIELD
Allen E. Paulson Stadium
Artificial turf (FieldTurf), Statesboro. A program that's carved out a real, consistent identity under Helton despite total roster turnover entering 2026 — four straight bowl trips is the standard to defend.
| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Max Johnson | — | ★★★★★ | TOP TRANSFER UNC transfer with real multi-program starting experience (previously LSU, Texas A&M); completed 14-of-26 for 74 yds, 1 TD in limited 2025 action, now in a real competition to lead a total offensive rebuild. |
| WR1 | Taylor Bradshaw | — | ★★★★★ | Returning leader in receiving yards (131 in 2025); the clear top returning skill piece as the Eagles replace their entire 2025 starting offense. |
| WR2 | Josh Dallas | — | ★★★★★ | Returns after missing most of 2025 with a hip injury, giving the receiving corps a healthy veteran to pair with Bradshaw and portal additions Hollins and Greene. |
UNC transfer with real multi-program starting experience (previously LSU, Texas A&M); completed 14-of-26 for 74 yds, 1 TD in limited 2025 action, now in a real competition to lead a total offensive rebuild.
Returning leader in receiving yards (131 in 2025); the clear top returning skill piece as the Eagles replace their entire 2025 starting offense.
Returns after missing most of 2025 with a hip injury, giving the receiving corps a healthy veteran to pair with Bradshaw and portal additions Hollins and Greene.
| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Line rebuilt after Cook's exit | OL | — | ★★★★★ | Loses First-Team All-Sun Belt guard Caleb Cook to South Florida; part of a total offensive line rebuild alongside every other starting position. |
Loses First-Team All-Sun Belt guard Caleb Cook to South Florida; part of a total offensive line rebuild alongside every other starting position.
| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Front seven under Bailey | DL | Benefits from Brandon Bailey's fourth-year system continuity, the clearest stability on the roster amid the offensive rebuild. |
Benefits from Brandon Bailey's fourth-year system continuity, the clearest stability on the roster amid the offensive rebuild.
| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary under Bailey | DB | ★★★★★ | Also benefits from year-four coordinator continuity; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed as fall camp progresses. |
Also benefits from year-four coordinator continuity; specific 2026 starters to be confirmed as fall camp progresses.
2025 ATS
7-5-1
58.3% cover rate — 27th of 82
2025 Straight up
7-6
Point differential -57
Scoring environment
60.2
Combined points per game — 10th highest of 82
Home / road ATS
4-1 · 2-4
Totals 7-6 O/U (5-1 home, 2-4 road)
Points scored / allowed
27.9 per game scored (45th) · 32.3 allowed (74th)
Margin & schedule
Margin of victory -4.4 (65th) · Strength of schedule -10.6
SRS power rating
-13.6
76th of 82 — projected points vs. a league-average team on a neutral field
Offensive SRS
-5.8
68th of 82
Defensive SRS
-12.5
79th of 82
Points (margin of victory)
-4.4 · 65th of 82
Against the spread
7-5-1 (58.3%) · 27th of 82
Totals (combined PPG)
60.2 · 10th of 82
Computed from CollegeFootballData 2025 results and closing consensus lines.
Saved Just J research for Georgia Southern.
Helton draws skepticism nationally for his USC tenure, but four straight bowl bids at Georgia Southern is a genuine, quiet coaching accomplishment worth weighing on its own terms.
JC French IV, the program's all-time leading passer, transferred to Cincinnati; First-Team All-Sun Belt guard Caleb Cook also left (to South Florida) — not a single offensive starter returns.
UNC transfer Max Johnson, a multi-program starter with real Power 4 pedigree, is competing for the job — one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the country by snap count, even after a limited 2025.
Losing an All-Conference lineman as part of a zero-returning-starters offensive rebuild is real, significant risk — treat Georgia Southern's O-line as a genuine unknown into 2026.
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