Around the Dog Park: Recapping early signing period

General G5

• SB Nation takes a look at the best HBCU football dynasties of all time.
• The Athletic breaks down the differences of recruiting at a Power 5 program vs. a G5 one. The main differentiator is the size of the support staff at a P5.
• Here’s part one and part two of our recap of New Mexico State’s signing class thus far.
• Dartmouth defensive lineman Seth Swimmer has been honored for his comeback to the field after having a brain tumor removed.
• New Mexico State’s Jason Huntley was named a Phil Steele Fourth-Team All-American.
• The SWC Round Up ranks the best recruiting graphics in the state of Texas.
• Former Maine Head Coach Joe Harasymiak has left the program to become an assistant coach at Minnesota.
• Walt Bell was able to hold on to all but one of UMass’ verbal commitments during the early signing period.
• USF rewrote the record books in a bad way after Marshall took it to ‘em in a rain-soaked home game for the Bulls.
• Interesting article comparing Marshall’s rise through the season with USF’s extreme plummet.

AAC

• Virginia Tech has pulled out of their agreement to play ECU in the future.
• Major Applewhite and his staff signed 14 recruits in the early signing period.
• Former Houston Offensive Coordinator Kendall Briles has accepted the same position at Florida State.
• Army wiped Houston up and down the field in one of the most pitiful performances I’ve seen on a football field.
• We broke down each member of Memphis’ early signing class with a recruiting capsule for each player.
• Memphis wide receiver Tony Pollard has tied the NCAA record for career touchdowns on kickoff returns.
• The Tigers broke down in the second half as Wake Forest escaped with a bowl win over Memphis.
• Duke and Temple are set to square off in the Independence Bowl.
• Willie Fritz led Tulane to a victory in the program’s first bowl game appearance since 2017.
• Tulane’s Donnie Lewis Jr. has been selected to compete in the East-West Shrine game.
• The Green Wave managed to sign 17 recruits during the early signing period.

C-USA

• Lane Kiffin has hired former Charlotte DC Glenn Spencer to the same role at FAU.
• Conference USA bounced back from a bad start to bowl season by stringing together four straight wins.
• Joe and Eric talked C-USA bowl season and early signing period on the latest Pawdcast.
• With hindsight on our side, we looked back on FAU’s 2016 recruiting class to see how things shaked out over time.
• FIU reached its ninth win of the season as Butch Davis’ squad defeated Toledo.
• Conference USA finished bowl season with a respectable 4-2 record.
• North Texas was able to enjoy some fun and rewarding off-the-field activities before the New Mexico Bowl.
• Ultimately UNT was not able to overcome some key injuries as they were blasted by Utah State in the New Mexico Bowl.
• Pete Thamel thinks UNT could end up being the next UCF.
• On the other hand, the Denton Record-Chronicle points out that Littrell is 0-4 in post-season play at UNT.
• Stand out running back Garrison Johnson opted not to sign with UNT on early signing day, noting that he felt pressured to sign early. He is now planning visits to Power 5 programs.
• Seth Littrell’s decision to expand his recruiting staff has paid off tremendously, as UNT signed the top class in Conference USA through the early signing period.
• North Texas running backs coach Tashard Choice is leaving Denton to assume the same role at Georgia Tech.
• UNT Athletic Director Wren Baker has again emphasized how much he wants to hold on to Seth Littrell as other programs begin to take note of his success.
• With 23 recruits signed, UNT all but wrapped up their entire recruiting class through the early signing period.
• Former WKU Head Coach Mike Sanford has accepted the OC position at Utah State.
• Former MTSU quarterback Brent Stockstill leaves behind a large legacy in Murfreesboro despite losing his last game as a Blue Raider.
• Looking back on the season that was for the Rice Owls.
• Louisiana Tech star Jaylon Ferguson never considered sitting out the Hawaii Bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft. The decision paid off, as he is now the NCAA career leader in sacks.
• Jaylon Ferguson’s record-breaking day made all the difference as the Bulldogs defeated Hawaii on the island.
• The Bulldogs had 11 recruits send in their National Letter of Intent during early signing period.
• Here’s a look at Old Dominion wide out Travis Fulgham’s potential to be an NFL draft selection.
• ODU will be heavily tasked to replace the production of Fulgham, Jonathan Duhart, and Oshane Ximenes as all three seniors have moved on from the program.
• The Monarchs signed two quarterbacks in the early signing period, one JUCO transfer and one HS player. Both guys will have a chance to start after Blake LaRussa announced that he will be giving up football to attend seminary school.
• Will Healy explains how he ended up landing the head coaching job at Charlotte.
• We take a close look at Charlotte stand out Alex Highsmith. The former walk-on has grown to an all-conference level player.
• New Charlotte Head Coach Will Healy got an early chance to show off his recruiting chops.
• UAB put a huge exclamation point on their best season in school history after they demolished NIU in their bowl game.
• UTSA Head Coach Frank Wilson has decided to promote Wide Receivers Coach Jeff Kastl to the OC slot.
• The Roadrunners signed a total of 12 recruits through the early signing period, including a former four star quarterback.
• Breaking down each member of FIU’s 2019 early signing class.

Sun Belt

• It’s frankly baffling that Troy Head Coach Neal Brown isn’t a hotter name on the head coaching market despite bringing so much success to the Trojans.
• Georgia Southern won their bowl game in dramatic fashion, as it all came down to kicker Tyler Bass.
• Jake Spavital has signed 10 players to kick start his first recruiting class as a head coach.