FCS coaches are finding a higher level of high school athletes available to them since the CoVID pandemic provided each athlete with an extra year of eligibility. A few FCS coaches spoke with DCTF about how they are taking advantage of FBS schools choosing a known commodity over a high school player.

Southland Conference

• Houston Christian sits atop the 247 Sports FCS rankings following National Signing Day, which is an incredible feat for a coaching staff that took over in mid-December. The key to the class was a vision and a blueprint laid out by coach Braxton Harris.

• When Clint Killough and the UIW coaching staff looked at their roster following a trip to the FCS semifinals, they saw a need to reload the talent base of their program with Texas high school football talent.

• The Texas A&M-Commerce offense is expected to improve in its first season under coach Clint Dolezel. The Lions used the 2023 recruiting cycle to focus on improving the offense beginning with the offensive line.

Western Athletic Conference

• Stephen F. Austin defensive tackle coach Ike Eguae announced on his Twitter account that he is leaving the Lumberjacks to serve as the defensive line coach at Sam Houston. Eguae joined the Lumberjacks last year after serving as an assistant coach at Division II Fort Says State for seven years. He also spent time at on the coaching staff at Coffeyville Community College and Pittsburg State.

Lone Star Conference

• The Lone Star Conference has informed Simon Fraser that the conference will not be renewing its affiliation with the SFU, the school announced on Thursday. The Red Leafs joined the LSC as an affiliate member for football last year following the dissolution of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The 2023 season will be SFU's last with the LSC, with Sul Ross State replacing the Red Leafs in the 2024 season after the Lobos officially applied for membership to NCAA Division II on Feb. 1. Simon Fraser could remain as an independent or join another NCAA Division II conference. The Red Leafs could also choose to only play against collegiate teams in Canada, which would result in SFU losing its players from the United States on its roster. SFU said an update on the future of its football program will be provided later this year.

American Southwest Conference

• Sul Ross State named Garland native Cadron Davis assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. Davis spent the last two years as defensive line coach, run game coordinator, and special teams coordinator at Faulkner. Davis spent the 2016 season as a secondary coaching intern at Abilene Christian before working with Lobos head coach Barry Derickson at Independence Community College.

• Austin College announced the addition of George Love as defensive coordinator and secondary coach, Bennet New as linebackers coach, and Xavier Maxwell as receivers coach. As previously reported, Bradley Oh will serve as the offensive coordinator, offensive line coach, and recruiting coordinator for the 'Roos.

Sooner Athletic Conference

• Wayland Baptist promoted defensive coordinator Marcos Hinojos to head coach. He was serving as interim head coach since Butch Henderson resigned in November. Hinojos arrived at WBU in 2015 and began serving as linebackers coach before being elevated to defensive coordinator. Hinojos has an extensive history in Texas high school football and served as a defensive coordinator at multiple schools before spending four years as athletic director and head coach at Plainview High School.