CFB Transfer & Coaching Change Autopsy PT. IV
Discussing relevant developments from the 2026 offseason.
A king fortifies himself with a castle, a gentleman with a desk.
- Count Rostov, A Gentleman in Moscow
You can find the previous versions here:
FCS → (Potential) MAC Workhorses
Mercer’s HC Mike Jacobs → TOLEDO
+ RB CJ Miller
FCS Mercer football lost its head coach this offseason. That man, named Mike Jacobs, accepted the responsibility of CEOing the Toledo Rockets football program, replacing long-time head coach Jason Candle (UConn).
He will not be trekking north empty handed. In mid-January it was announced that Jacobs would be bringing his 2025 offensive lynchpin with him—a player he described as a “bully” last fall—RB CJ Miller.
Miller is coming off a 1200 total yard season (953 rushing) where he scored 17 times (14 rushing) on 168 carries and 26 receptions. The fifth year player was a C/O 2022 high school prospect, redshirting his first season and missing 2023 altogether. In 2024, he appeared in every game for the Bears as a backup, and then in 2025 he took over as the lead runner in the room.
I generally adhere to the philosophy that when players are brought over with a staff that it’s a good sign, but especially in this room where the Rockets are replacing a productive back in Chip Trayanum, and did not bring in any notable FBS transfers.
Looking at coach Jacobs’ time at Mercer, as mentioned, Miller was a 1000+ total yard RB under him in 2025, and in 2024 it was Dwayne McGee who led the Bears with 233 carries, 1168 yards and eight rushing scores.
Prior to his time in the FCS, Jacobs was the head coach of Div. II Lenoir-Rhyne between 2020 and 2023. A familiar name—the aforementioned McGee—led the 2023 team in rushing with 226 carries, 1572 yards and 12 rushing scores. McGee also led Jacobs’ offence in 2022, but failed to rush for over 1000 yards (183-912-11) in 11 games.
And in case you haven’t heard the name McGee enough today—yes, he led Jacobs’ offence in rushing in 2021 as well, this time having his best season of his career with 248 carries, 1710 yards, and 19 rushing TDs. Clearly, Jacobs is loyal to his guys, which probably bodes well for Miller’s chances of securing RB1 duties in 2026.
However, the salient point is that whoever wins RB1 duties for Toledo this fall will probably be of value in College Fantasy Football (CFF) formats. Jacobs—a former offensive lineman at Ohio State—has historically consolidated RB touches in his offence.
Indeed, long-time readers may recall my view that former offensive linemen/coaches finding themselves in play calling roles often portends good news for the backs. Though this is a purely vibes-based assertion, and not empirical in any way.
QB John Alan Richter flashed behind long-time starter Tucker Gleason, and is the expected favourite to win the starting job in 2026, which is good news in my mind. He demonstrated his ability as a passer in limited action and the word on the street was that the previous Rockets staff felt very confident with him if he needed to start.
JAR did not show much in the way of rushing ability, so there is little reason to worry whether the RBs will have TDs stolen. The principal question this offseason will be about competition in the RB room.
Just because we don’t know much about the other options doesn’t mean a future stud isn’t among them—a mistake the CFF community makes all too often. A few competing names include PSU transfer Corey Smith, fourth year Rocket Connor Walendzak, and another former Mercer Bear Autavius Ison, who appears to have missed all of 2025. Ison took 172 carries for 790 yards and four rushing scores in 2024.
Nonetheless, I like Miller’s profile as things currently stand and have him tabbed as a mid/late round best ball guy based on the pedigree of the system and his familiarity with the staff.
Monmouth RB Rodney Nelson → MiaOH
I did a full article write up on Rodney Nelson a month ago. The long story short of it is that Nelson was a very productive player at Monmouth, and joins a room in Miami (OH) that is replacing both Kenny Tracy and (I believe) Jordan Brunson, the top two runners from 2025.
The Redhawks’ staff are not known to be incredible facilitators of RB1 touch volume, but the last two seasons have been encouraging. And, as mentioned here, they return a significant amount of snaps along the offensive line.1
UM RB Justice Haynes → GT
Georgia Tech loses both its offensive wizard, OC Buster Faulker, and its lynchpin, QB Haynes King this offseason. The man replacing Faulker is George Godsey, who has been serving as the TEs coach of the Baltimore Ravens since 2022.
Prior to that he was the TEs coach with the Miami Dolphins, as well as the co-OC for one season in 2021. The only other play calling role from his career so far came in 2015-16 with the Houston Texans. As far as I can tell, he has no play calling experience at the collegiate level.
In fact, the only time he’s spent as a coach in college was from 2005 to 2010 with UCF, where he occupied the roles of QBs and RBs coach during various different periods in that span.
Indiana transfer Alberto Mendoza is expected to be the favourite to replace King at QB, but the Hornets will also be seeking to replace their starting RB (Jamal Haynes), and top receivers from a year ago.
This is potentially where Alabama/Michigan transfer Justice Haynes comes in. Haynes is a former five star who is returning home to the Atlanta metro for his fourth year of college football. A UGA legacy, his father, Veron, played for the Steelers in the 2000s.
I don’t know the status of Justice Haynes’ health, whose 2025 season ended abruptly after seven games due to a right-foot injury. However, given the amount of money GT (reportedly) paid to acquire his services, I think it’s reasonable to expect him to be ready for the 2026 campaign (and likely well before).
Behind him will be Malachi Hosley, who was the RB2 this past season after transferring from the FCS level. Hosley was a 1000+ yard rusher at UPenn in 2024, and despite a low workload in 2025 (98 carries), he was extremely efficient, rushing for 697 yards (7.1 YPC).
Without an inventory of play calling data to comb through, it’s impossible to say what to expect from new OC George Godsey’s offence. I took a brief look at the one year he spent as ‘OC’ in the NFL, the 2015 season with the Texans, and the top RB Alfred Blue received only 183 carries through 16 games (which is about an average of 11 per appearance). WR DeAndre Hopkins saw 192 targets in 16 games, but this is not all that illuminating for what Godsey will do with GT in my opinion.
The head coach, Brent Key, may also play a factor in the shaping of the offence. Under his watch, GT has run a committee every season. But it’s hard to imagine that happening here with a $2M priced RB on the roster, isn’t it? I view the cash investment as an augur of future volume in this case.