App State football heads into 2019 with four straight bowl wins. Can Zac Thomas lead the Mountaineers to a Sun Belt title?
The Mountaineers are still considered a relatively new FBS school. They were an FCS level school until 2014 when they joined the Sun Belt Conference.
It usually takes schools a few years to break into a higher level of competition and adjust to everything that comes along with playing at the FBS level. This has not been the case for App State as it has had five straight winning seasons since joining the Sun Belt, three seasons with at least 10 wins, 4-0 in bowl games and have either won or won a share of the conference three times. All of those impressive accomplishments were done in a five-year stretch.
Scott Satterfield was the head coach for that entire stretch, however, he has moved on to be the head coach at Louisville and App State has brought in Eliah Drinkwitz, the former offensive coordinator at NC State. Drinkwitz has an offensive background and will also serve as the offensivr coordinator at App State, at least for this year.
App State returns the majority of its offensive starters as well as over half of their defensive starters. It has one of the best, if not the best, fan base in the Sun Belt as they led the conference in attendance last season. Those fans have come to expect a Sun Belt title each year and 2019 is no different.
There shouldn’t be a drop-off from last year and I expect App State to be back in contention for an appearance in the Sun Belt title game.