NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt Conference was the lone non-autonomy conference to be represented on each of the three Most Intriguing Lists by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde entering the 2023 season. The Sun Belt also paced all non-autonomy conferences with four selections across the three preseason ledgers.
Forde annually ranks the Top 25 most intriguing non-quarterbacks, quarterbacks and coaches entering the college football season.
The Sun Belt had two student-athletes on the
Most Intriguing Non-Quarterbacks list—Southern Miss junior running back Frank Gore Jr. and Old Dominion junior linebacker Jason Henderson, the 2023 Preseason Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. With two student-athletes on the non-quarterbacks list, the Sun Belt produced more representatives (2) than the rest of the non-autonomy conferences combined (1). With Gore Jr. at No. 12 and Henderson at No. 23, the Sun Belt pairing were also the two highest-ranked players from the non-autonomy conferences.
Three-time defending Sun Belt Player of the Year and the 2023 Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year Coastal Carolina redshirt senior quarterback Grayson McCall was the Sun Belt’s representative on the
Most Intriguing Quarterbacks list. At No. 21 overall, McCall was the second-highest-ranked player among the three non-autonomy signal callers listed.
Reigning Sun Belt Coach of the Year, Jon Sumrall of Troy, represented the Sun Belt on the
Most Intriguing Coaches list and was 1-of-3 non-autonomy coaches listed.
NON-QUARTERBACKS
Frank Gore Jr., Southern Miss – No. 12
With more than 3,000 rushing yards in three seasons, he’s far surpassed his famous father’s production at The U. (Good luck outdoing Dad’s NFL total of exactly 16,000 yards, which is third in history.) Gore had a mind-boggling 329 rushing yards in Southern Miss’s bowl victory over Rice to close last season, but his most impressive stats are in the passing department. He’s a dangerous wildcat quarterback, and not just as a surprise tactic: Gore has completed 18 of 31 passes for 370 yards and eight touchdowns with just one interception. His career pass efficiency rating of 237.03 is off the charts.
Jason Henderson, Old Dominion – No. 23
The tackling-est man in college football, Henderson led the country with a whopping 186 tackles last year, 39 more than the runner-up. The sophomore from Pennsylvania finished just seven tackles shy of the FBS single-season record, set by Texas Tech’s Lawrence Flugence in 2002. ... Henderson had 11 double-digit tackle games and was the only FBS player to have multiple 20-tackle games. He had 529 tackles in high school, so collisions just come naturally to Henderson.
QUARTERBACKS
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina – No. 21
The heart and soul of the upstart Chanticleers program ranks third in FBS history in career pass efficiency, trailing only Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones—and he’s thrown far more passes than both of them. His 207.6 efficiency rating in 2021 stands as the FBS record. McCall hit the transfer portal last year after former CCU coach, Jamey Chadwell, left, then decided to stick around for one more ride in teal. Will McCall still lead all QBs in eye black and mullet? We’ll find out soon. Regardless, he will depart Coastal as the most beloved player in school history.
COACHES
Jon Sumrall, Troy – No. 24
His first season as a head coach was a 12–2 revelation that could have been 13–1, if not for a Hail Mary touchdown loss to Appalachian State. Sumrall’s Trojans won a very competitive Sun Belt and beat UTSA in a bowl game, finishing eighth nationally in scoring defense (17.1 points per game) and tied for seventh in takeaways (26). Sumrall does have some rebuilding to do on both sides of the ball, but retains a 1,000-yard rusher and his starting QB. The 41-year-old former Kentucky linebacker is likely one more big season away from being a hot commodity in the job market.