Charles Huff and Braylon Braxton will be back on the Sun Belt Conference center stage this week.
Huff and Braxton, who as Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s coach and quarterback led the Thundering Herd to the SBC football title in December before departing as part of a Marshall exodus for Southern Miss, will be at SBC media days.
Each league teamòòò½ÊÓƵ™s representatives were announced this week for the event July 22-23 in New Orleans.
Huff will be the lone first-year coach among SBC West Division programs. Appalachian Stateòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Dowell Loggains and Marshallòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Tony Gibson are other first-year coaches who will be in attendance.
Huff will be joined by former Marshall quarterback Braxton, now a redshirt senior, and sophomore linebacker Chris Jones.
Braxton is one of more than a dozen former Marshall players on the Southern Miss roster.
In his time at Marshall, Huff posted a 32-20 record, leading the Herd to four bowl bids in as many seasons, though Marshall pulled out of the Independence Bowl in 2024. Huffòòò½ÊÓƵ™s tenure included wins over No. 8 Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
Braxton was the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year after just eight starts. He was named the MVP of the SBC title game and went 8-0 as a starter with 1,624 yards on 124-of-206 passing. He had 19 touchdowns and two interceptions. He was named to the All-SBC second team.
Jones saw nine games of action for Southern Miss in 2024, recording 25 solo tackles, 46 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack and an interception as a freshman.
East Division teams will hold media days on July 23, while the West Division will kick off the event alongside commissioner Keith Gillòòò½ÊÓƵ™s state-of-the-conference address on July 22.
The remaining West Division announced attendees are as follows.
Troy
Gerad Parker is in his second season as coach following a 4-8 showing with a 3-5 SBC record last season.
Parker was born in Huntington and grew up in Louisa, Kentucky. He graduated from Lawrence County High School and played at the University of Kentucky for four seasons. He spent time at Marshall as a wide receivers coach in 2011-12 before working at òòò½ÊÓƵU from 2020-21. After two seasons at Notre Dame as an assistant, one of them as the offensive coordinator, Parker now coaches the Trojans.
With him may be a recognizable name as redshirt junior quarterback Goose Crowder, a former òòò½ÊÓƵU QB, returns alongside senior defensive back Devin Lafayette.
Crowder got injured last season and redshirted, but he did throw a 98-yard touchdown pass against Florida A&M. He had positive rushing totals in three of his four starts and totaled 291 yards and four touchdowns against Florida A&M.
Lafayette was an honorable-mention all-SBC pick last season after 10 starts. He finished with 51 tackles, six tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a forced fumble. He was Troyòòò½ÊÓƵ™s top-rated defender, per Pro Football Focus.
Texas State
The 2025 season will be the last in the Sun Belt for Texas State as it has announced its intentions to join the Pac-12 Conference.
Third year coach GJ Kinne will be joined in New Orleans by redshirt senior offensive lineman Dorion Strawn and redshirt senior defensive lineman Kalil Alexander.
The Bobcats finished with an 8-5 record in 2024, with a 5-3 SBC mark.
Strawn started in 13 games for Texas State last season at left tackle. The Bobcats had national rankings of fifth in total offense, eighth in scoring offense and 16th in rushing offense.
Alexander started in five games with 13 appearances. With 39 tackles, 14 of them solo, he led Texas State in tackles for loss with 11 for 49 yards. He also posted 6.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, two pass breakups and five quarterback hurries.
No team has been tabbed as a replacement for Texas State in potential SBC expansion, though Louisiana Tech has been reported as a favorite, alongside Western Kentucky. Ohio has also reportedly reached out to the SBC, but no decision has been made on any school.
Arkansas State
Butch Jones is in his fifth season and is the longest-tenured coach in the West Division. He notched his 100th career win in 2024 to make him one of 15 active coaches with the milestone.
Arkansas State is one of three teams in FBS to increase win totals each season since 2022. The Red Wolves finished 8-5 with a 5-3 conference record in 2024.
Jones will be joined by junior quarterback Jaylen Raynor and sophomore defensive back Brandon Barnes.
Raynor is a returning starter at QB who had 16 passing touchdowns and three rushing scores in 2024. He threw for 2,783 yards. He helped lead the Red Wolves to a 68 Ventures Bowl win over Bowling Green, finishing as the offensive MVP with an 18-for-30 passing line for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
Barnes appeared in nine games for Arkansas State last season with seven tackles and six solo stops.
Louisiana
Michael Desormeaux is in his fourth season as coach of the Raginòòò½ÊÓƵ™ Cajuns. Louisiana fell to Marshall in the SBC championship game last season, going 10-4 with a 7-1 conference record.
The Raginòòò½ÊÓƵ™ Cajuns played in the New Mexico Bowl and lost to TCU, 34-3.
Desormeaux will be joined by redshirt senior offensive lineman Jax Harrington and redshirt senior defensive back Tyree Skipper. Both players are Louisiana natives.
Skipper was a second-team All-SBC defense selection in 2024m while Harrington was an honorable-mention pick.
Skipper played in 13 games in the secondary with three starts. He had 55 tackles, three interceptions, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery on the season.
Harrington started in all 12 games, recording 735 snaps and 39 knockdowns. He finished with a grade of 83 or higher in 10 contests.
Louisiana-Monroe
Bryant Vincent is in his second season as coach of the Warhawks. Louisiana-Monroe went 5-7 last season with a 3-5 SBC record.
He will be joined by senior tight end Nate Sullivan and senior linebacker Billy Pullen.
Pullen was a third-team All-SBC defensive selection last season. He started in 12 games and led the Warhawks with six sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss and 47 tackles. He had eight tackles, a sack and a quarterback hurry against Marshall last season.
Sullivan played in 12 games, registering 14 catches for 133 yards. He averaged 9.5 yards per catch with career-high of 39 yards against Louisiana last year.
South Alabama
Major Applewhite is in his second season as the Jaguarsòòò½ÊÓƵ™ coach. Last year, South Alabama went 7-6, with a 5-3 record in the SBC.
Applewhite will be joined by redshirt senior offensive lineman Jordan Davis and redshirt senior linebacker Darius McKenzie.
Davis was a third-team All-SBC selection last year. He made 13 starts for an offense that set program records in touchdowns (57), points (447), rushing touchdowns (32), rushing yards (2,580) and total offense (5,743).
McKenzie played in 13 games, starting the last eight. He had 72 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss. He recorded half a sack, a fumble recovery and four pass breakups. He had 10 tackles in three games.
