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It鈥檚 another year of changes and turnover for Coastal Carolina football, and with the multiple changes within the coaching staff and roster this offseason, the Chanticleers believe they have a new identity entering the 2025 season.

One that can reverse the downward trend in the program over the past two seasons.

The Chants have had a tumultuous offseason, with changeover at both coordinator positions and six additional assistant coaching positions, the loss of approximately 50 players through the NCAA transfer portal, and addition of at least 60 players thus far through the signing of transfers, junior college players and high school graduates, according to third-year head coach Tim Beck.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a tremendous, tremendous offseason so far, and our culture is different,鈥� Beck said Wednesday during Sun Belt Football Media Days in New Orleans. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of hard to explain to stand up here and tell you it鈥檚 different, but it is different. The accountability, the toughness, this is a gritty football team. I believe in this team, I鈥檓 very proud of this team so far. I know we haven鈥檛 done anything yet but I just love where we鈥檙e at right now. . . . I think we have talent, we have speed, we have playmakers and we鈥檙e tough.鈥�

After going 31-7 overall and 20-4 in the Sun Belt Conference from 2020-22, the Chants have gone 14-12 overall and 8-8 in league play under Beck, including marks of 6-7 overall and 3-5 in the conference last season.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been one goal,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 to get back to what we鈥檙e used to and accustomed to, which is winning conference championships. I like the pieces that are in place right now and I think we鈥檝e worked extremely hard. . . . All the places I鈥檝e been I鈥檝e always won, and this will be no different.鈥�

The Chants were voted to finish fourth in the Sun Belt鈥檚 East Division in the annual preseason coaches poll, finishing well behind James Madison (94 points), Georgia Southern (76) and Appalachian State (60) with 49 points and one of 14 first-place votes, which Beck took credit for Wednesday. James Madison collected 11 first-place votes.

The Chants are one point ahead of Old Dominion, while Marshall (42) and Georgia State (23) were at the bottom of the seven-team division.

Louisiana (86 points) was picked to win the West Division ahead of Texas State (78), as each received six first-place votes.

With the amount of turnover in the new era of college football with the NCAA Transfer Portal and Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) payments, it has become increasingly more difficult to predict a team鈥檚 success.

鈥淚t鈥檚 much harder for you all to do that now in today鈥檚 world than it ever has been,鈥� Beck said. 鈥�. . . I鈥檓 transitioning through this like a lot of coaches are. I had a vision of what head coaching was going to be like after 30-something years as an assistant, and I get it, and there have been more rule changes in three years than there were over 30 years. So we鈥檙e navigating through it.鈥�

Coaching carousel

Drew Hollingshead is the new offensive coordinator. Hollingshead spent the last two seasons leading Western Kentucky鈥檚 fast-paced offense as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and is an 鈥淎ir Raid鈥� disciple of the late Mike Leach, with whom he spent eight years at Washington State and Mississippi State.

鈥淐oach Drew is great. He loves football, he loves players and he loves culture,鈥� said redshirt junior offensive lineman Nick Del Grande. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 been an awesome transition. This offense is going to be great.鈥�

Beck fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Travis Trickett in the midst of the 2024 season in October, and said Hollingshead will handle all of the play-calling duties while Beck oversees the entire program.

鈥淗e鈥檒l have full duties and I鈥檒l stay out of the way,鈥� Beck said. 鈥�. . . Knowing the heartbeat of your football team and the pulse of what to do and when to do it is still really important, and that鈥檚 the job of the head coach.鈥�

Beck let defensive coordinator Craig Naivar go early in the offseason and hired 2024 Louisiana Tech defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson as the new DC. Johnson is at his fifth stop in five years, having served as DC at Northern Iowa in 2023, Kent State in 2022 and Northern Iowa in 2021, where he spent 16 total seasons. His Louisiana Tech defense in 2024 finished in the top 26 in FBS in scoring, total yards allowed and rushing yards allowed.

鈥淚 think we鈥檒l be able to play very fast this year, we鈥檒l be physical and we鈥檒l play with an edge,鈥� said graduate linebacker Shane Bruce. 鈥淐oach JJ has done a great job of getting us to buy into the defensive culture and he鈥檚 getting the best out of us every day.鈥�

The new assistants are primarily the result of Hollingshead and Johnson bringing in their own assistants from previous stops.

QB position in flux

Similar to the lead up to the 2024 season, the quarterback position is being contested this spring and fall before the season opener at Virginia on Aug. 30.听

Redshirt sophomore Tad Hudson played for the first time collegiately in CCU鈥檚 44-15 loss to Texas-San Antonio in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, completing 17 of 26 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover while playing behind an offensive line missing a couple starters.

The other quarterbacks who have joined the team since January are junior college transfer Samari Collier, redshirt junior Emmett Brown, and senior MJ Morris, whom Beck coached for a season at N.C. State.

Collier is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound transfer from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas who has been rated a three-star prospect.

Morris (6-1, 210) is a Maryland transfer who formerly transferred from NC State and has 1,717 career passing yards, 19 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 58% completion percentage in two seasons at N.C. State and one at Maryland.

The more diminutive Brown (5-10, 187) started five games at San Jose State last season and threw for 1,621 yards and 16 TDs.

鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about our quarterback prospects right now,鈥� said Beck, who added the starting QB is 鈥渢o be determined.鈥�

Adding players periodically

lists 49 outgoing transfers and 33 incoming transfers to CCU 鈥� 17 in the initial NCAA Transfer Portal window and 16 in the second window in April or thereafter.

CCU 鈥嬧�媋lso signed 25 players in the winter signing periods in December and February 鈥� 13 junior college transfers and 12 high school signees.

CCU expects to carry 105 players this season, which is down from 120 in recent years per NCAA rules, with 85 of those eligible to be on scholarship.

Among CCU鈥檚 incoming transfers from Power Four programs according to 247Sports, aside from quarterbacks, are defensive linemen Eric Taylor from SMU and Darrion Henry-Young from Kentucky; offensive tackle Desmond Jackson from North Carolina; cornerbacks Myles Mooyoung from Miami (Fla.), Robby Washington from Miami, Chris Henry from West Virginia, Lionell Whitaker from Maryland, and Ja鈥橫arion Wayne from Missouri; safeties Dante Thomas from Kansas State and Jeffrey Ugochukwu from Vanderbilt; wide receiver Trishstin Glass from Wake Forest; and edge rusher Obinna Onwuka from West Virginia.

鈥淭he improvement is in the depth,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淲e have a lot of hungry football players, a lot of talented football players, a lot of guys who want to get out on the field and do their thing and show it. We鈥檝e raised the floor. So anybody in any one of those [position] rooms can end up being the starter. We don鈥檛 know that yet.鈥�

At least seven of CCU鈥檚 departed players found homes at Power Four programs, according to 247Sports.

Defensive end/outside linebacker Clev Lubin has gone to Louisville, running back Braydon Bennett is at Virginia Tech, running back Simeon Price is at Colorado, defensive lineman Will Whitson is at Mississippi State, defensive lineman/end Deamontae Diggs has joined Florida State, defensive back Matthew McDoom is at Cincinnati, and kicker Kade Hensley is at West Virginia.

In addition, former starting quarterback Ethan Vasko has joined former CCU coach Jamey Chadwell at Liberty, quarterback Noah Kim is at Eastern Michigan, running back Christian Washington is at San Diego State, wide receiver Tray Taylor is at Temple, and cornerback Cristian Conyer is at App State.

All-Sun Belt selections

Coastal placed three players on the preseason all-conference first or second teams, as Del Grande was selected to the first team while Bruce and fifth-year senior wide receiver Jameson Tucker were second-team honorees.

Del Grande started all 13 games in 2024 and was an Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt performer. The Chants鈥� offensive line led the conference in fewest sacks allowed with 15, or 1.2 per game, which tied for 17th in FBS. The Chants also averaged 4.6 yards per carry on the ground with 21 rushing touchdowns.

Bruce was also an All-Sun Belt honorable mention after starting 11 games, leading CCU with 75 tackles, including five for a loss of yards, along with an interception, fumble recovery, pass break up and three QB hurries.

Tucker started 13 games and led the Chants with 34 catches for 579 yards. He scored six TDs and averaged 17 yards per catch while surpassing 1,000 career receiving yards.

On baseball鈥檚 heels

The Chants will try to continue the momentum built within the athletics department by the CCU baseball team, which finished as the national runner-up to LSU in June.

The football team grew closer by gathering in groups to watch the team鈥檚 run to and through the College World Series, and Beck believes the style of play can be a lesson to his players and staff.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just how they did it. Every single day they went out there and they just did their job and performed well,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淎 lot of unselfish players. . . . They just went out there and found ways to win. They were gritty, and they were tough, and they believed in each other and they hung together and they fought.

鈥淚t was a great example for our young men, No. 1, for them to be able to see, 鈥楬ey, if they can do it we can do it.鈥� And I think the second thing was how close our team got because we would get together away from football and watch them play.鈥�

Fan experience upgraded

Coastal is raising the bar for the fan experience at Brooks Stadium this upcoming season with free food and more seating options.

Through a partnership with Aramark food services, each spectator can get four free food items per concession stand visit from selections that include hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and fountain drinks. There are no limits to concession stand visits.

Coastal is also introducing new premium field-level seating options this season called the Sun Cruiser South End Zone Cabanas and the South Atlantic Bank Party Zone, which will be situated in a corner of the south end zone near University Blvd.

The party zone will be a shared suite designed for groups, and social and communal gatherings. The new premium options also feature all-inclusive food and beverage and premium parking.

Tickets are on sale at the CCU ticket office or by calling 843-347-8499, and specialty seating is available through听the Chanticleer Athletic Foundation (CAF) at 843-349鈥�6670.

Chants鈥� radio network expands

The Chanticleer Sports Network, in association with Van Wagner, is growing this upcoming year through a new partnership with iHeart Media.

WRXZ Rock 107.1 in Myrtle Beach will serve as the network鈥檚 flagship station. Additionally, broadcasts will air on WWRK 970 AM out of Florence and WRZE FM Rock 94.1 and 97.9 out of Kingstree.

The partnership features live game coverage of football, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball and baseball with more than 100 broadcasts planned for the 2025-26 school year. All live broadcasts will simulcast to the Chanticleer Mobile App and online via iHeartMedia.

Sun Belt adding member

Louisiana Tech will join the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2027 following a unanimous vote of the league鈥檚 CEOs last week.

The addition of Louisiana Tech will return the number of Sun Belt members to 14, as it will replace Texas State, which is leaving for the Pac-12 Conference on July 1, 2026.

Louisiana Tech will join current members Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss and Troy.

Louisiana Tech, a member of the Sun Belt from 1991-2001, sponsors 16 varsity sports. Men鈥檚 sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. Women鈥檚 sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.

Since expanding to 14 football-playing members in 2022, the Sun Belt has led non-autonomy conferences in bowl representation in each of the past three seasons.

Additionally, Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill is the new chairman of the NCAA Division I men鈥檚 basketball committee, which selects the field for March Madness.听

2025 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll

(First-Place Votes)

East Division

1. James Madison 鈥� 94 Points (11)听

2. Georgia Southern 鈥� 76 Points (1)听

3. App State 鈥� 60 Points

4. Coastal Carolina 鈥� 49 Points (1)

5. Old Dominion 鈥� 48 Points

6. Marshall 鈥� 42 Points (1)

7. Georgia State 鈥� 23 Points

West Division

1. Louisiana 鈥� 86 Points (6)

2. Texas State 鈥� 78 Points (6)

3. Arkansas State 鈥� 64 Points (1)听

4. South Alabama 鈥� 50 Points (1)

5. Southern Miss 鈥� 47 Points

6. Troy 鈥� 43 Points

7. ULM 鈥� 24 Points

CCU 2025 schedule

Aug. 30 鈥� at Virginia, 6 p.m.

Sept. 6 鈥� Charleston Southern, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 13 鈥� East Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 20 鈥� at South Alabama, TBA

Oct. 4 鈥� at Old听 Dominion, TBA

Oct. 11 鈥� Louisiana-Monroe, TBA

Oct, 18 鈥� at App State, TBA

Oct. 30 鈥� Marshall, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 8 鈥� Georgia State, TBA

Nov. 15 鈥� at Georgia Southern, TBA

Nov. 22 鈥� at South Carolina, TBA

Nov. 29 鈥� James Madison, TBA