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2025 East Tennessee State

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Southern Conference).

Schedule and results

East Tennessee State in 2025, game by game: won vs. Murray State 45–17; lost at No. 22 Tennessee 17–72; lost at West Georgia 31–35; won vs. Elon 26–16; lost vs. Mercer 34–38; lost at Furman 22–31; won vs. VMI 45–10; lost at Chattanooga 38–42; won vs. Wofford 14–10; won at Samford 38–14; won at Western Carolina 52–35; won vs. The Citadel 28–26+35−55Won 45–17 vs. Murray State+28Murray StateLost 17–72 at No. 22 Tennessee-55No. 22 TennesseeLost 31–35 at West Georgia-4West GeorgiaWon 26–16 vs. Elon+10ElonLost 34–38 vs. Mercer-4MercerLost 22–31 at Furman-9FurmanWon 45–10 vs. VMI+35VMILost 38–42 at Chattanooga-4ChattanoogaWon 14–10 vs. Wofford+4WoffordWon 38–14 at Samford+24SamfordWon 52–35 at Western Carolina+17Western CarolinaWon 28–26 vs. The Citadel+2The Citadel
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsMurray StateW 45–⁠1776%
Sep 6at22TennesseeL 17–⁠7210%
Sep 13atWest GeorgiaL 31–⁠3543%
Sep 20vsElonW 26–⁠1649%
Sep 27vsMercerL 34–⁠3846%
Oct 4atFurmanL 22–⁠3143%
Oct 11vsVMIW 45–⁠1078%
Oct 18atChattanoogaL 38–⁠4244%
Oct 25vsWoffordW 14–⁠1064%
Nov 8atSamfordW 38–⁠1468%
Nov 15atWestern CarolinaW 52–⁠3533%
Nov 22vsThe CitadelW 28–⁠2673%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat The Citadel 28–⁠26; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southern Conference.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 47 on file).

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Southern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
390–⁠346
Coach
—
Elo
1375 +63 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−24.6 No. 37 of 129 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 161
Offensive coordinator
Cam Aiken
Defensive coordinator
Chad Staggs
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

Leaders

Passing yardsCade McNamara QB1,292 yds
Passing touchdownsJacolby Criswell QB9 TD
Rushing yardsDevontae Houston RB1,008 yds
Rushing touchdownsDevontae Houston RB12 TD
Receiving yardsJeremiah Harrison WR652 yds
Receiving touchdownsHakeem Meggett WR5 TD
TacklesDre Delinois LB8 tkl
InterceptionsJivon Oggs DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Zion Cooley DE★★★No. 1067
Isaiah Thomas DE★★★No. 1738
Brycen Dowdell CB★★★No. 1738
Samuel Iroh DE★★★No. 2110
Logan Miller CB★★★No. 2468

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Offensive line13.00.830
Defensive line33.00.852
Defensive backs23.00.840
Whole class63.00.844

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 102

The 2025 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 27

The 2025 portal
Jamari Farmer LB★★★from Indiana
Jacolby Criswell QB★★★from North Carolina
Kaven Call DE★★★from UCF
Cade McNamara QB★★★★from Iowa
Ja’Qualin Birdsong CB★★★★from UCF
Brian Alston DE★★★from Arkansas State
Charlie Browder TE★★★from Tennessee
Chris Davis Jr DE★★★from Georgia State
D’Marius Rucker RB★★★from Coastal Carolina
Drew Francis LB★★★from Middle Tennessee
Frankie Tinilau OL★★★from Miami
Isaiah Potts DL★★★from Campbell

And 15 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 9

A.J. Johnson WR★★★to UAB
JaQuan Adams OT★★★to Tulsa
Jaylen George DL★★★to Nebraska
Jaylen King QB★★★to Florida State
Derrell Bailey Jr. OT★★★to Georgia State
Baylor Hayes QB★★★to Tulsa
Jayvon Henderson CB★★★to South Alabama
Jack Hood OT★★★to Tulsa
Ray Coney LB★★to Tulsa

2025 Southern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Mercer8–⁠09–⁠3
Western Carolina6–⁠27–⁠5
East Tennessee State5–⁠37–⁠5
Wofford5–⁠36–⁠6
Furman4–⁠46–⁠6
Chattanooga4–⁠45–⁠7
The Citadel3–⁠54–⁠8
Samford1–⁠71–⁠11
VMI0–⁠81–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.