The Reclamation Initiative | The Coaching Career of Nico Augustine

[Soapy]

Heisman him!

I'd vote against the Ohio State job for the reasons that everyone has stated. Going from Ark St HC to Ohio State HC would be a stretch but from OC to HC? If you want to play some big boy football, maybe an OC job at a P4 school if one is available

[djp73]

I agree from a realism standpoint and I hate ohio state so those are my reasons to not take that job but it is also a video game with a yearly cycle so do whatcha wanna

[Captain Canada]

SMU taps A-State OC Nico Augustine as new football coach
By Veronica Downs | SMU Daily

DALLAS, TX -- Arkansas State offensive coordinator Nico Augustine has been named the replacement for Rhett Lashlee as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University, the school announced Monday afternoon.

Lashlee is heading back to his alma mater in Arkansas, where he played three seasons as a quarterback and broke into the collegiate ranks as a graduate assistant with the Razorbacks in 2006.

Augustine was hired by former Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones ahead of the 2025 season as the team’s offensive coordinator after being out of football for a few years. He had previously been the head football coach at Western University in Canada. Augustine has led the Red Wolves to back-to-back Sun Belt championships while fielding the nation’s most productive offense.

“Making this leap isn’t a decision I made lightly,” Augustine said in a statement posted to his social media accounts after the hiring was announced. “I could have easily remained in my role in Jonesboro and maneuvered in comfort for years to come. It was time to move on and I’m happy to be joining the Mustang family.”

Augustine was named the Broyles Award winner as the nation’s best coordinator and was integral in Arkansas State’s 12-1 season in tandem with Griffin McCarley, who was named the Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Award winner in his first season as the boss for A-State.

Augustine was mentioned in rumors to be heading to Ohio State, but it seemed as though that’s all it ever was. Despite his name being in the lights for his dominance in the SBC and being integral to quarterback Jaylen Raynor winning the 2026 Heisman Trophy, the Buckeyes opted with poaching Oregon’s Dan Lanning from Eugene to replace Ryan Day. Day announced that he intends to become the next boss at Washington.

The team welcomes Augustine to his first head coaching job at the FBS level but acknowledges that his experience as a head coach up North should be credited for something. “He’s only interested in maintaining our most recent success and continuing to usher in an era of greatness for SMU football,” said Scott Gray, the Director of Athletics & Recreation. “He’s a no nonsense guy, and we’re excited to see what he has to offer our great program.”

Minnesota, looking to replace P.J. Fleck, who quit to become the offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after almost ten years with the Golden Gophers, was heavily interested in Augustine.

[The JZA]

My boy in Dallas! Where da hoes at!

[Captain Canada]

My boy in Dallas! Where da hoes at!

[Captain Canada]

2026 Arkansas State Red Wolves Statistics & Accolades

New Records
Career
Passing Touchdowns » QB Jaylen Raynor (86 touchdowns)

Single Season
Sun Belt
Passing Touchdowns » QB Jaylen Raynor (46 touchdowns)
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Passing Touchdowns » QB Jaylen Raynor (46 touchdowns)
Rushing Yards » HB Telly Johnson Jr. (1,398 rushing yards)

Single Game
Receiving Touchdowns » WR J.J. Harrell (T-4 touchdowns)

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All-Americans
First Team
QB Jaylen Raynor (Sr)
WR J.J. Harrell (Rs So)

All-Sun Belt
First Team
QB Jaylen Raynor (Sr)
HB Telly Johnson Jr. (Jr)
WR J.J. Harrell (Rs So)
EDGE Elijah Baldwin (Rs So)

Second Team
C Gabe Fortson (Rs Jr)

Freshman Team
DT Dan'Tay Ward Jr. (Rs Fr)
CB Malekhi Weedon (Rs Fr)
FS Evan Brown (Rs Fr)

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Team Statistics

Passing
QB Jaylen Raynor (Sr) -- 278-388 (71%), 3,896 passing yards, 46 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 192.0 RTG, sacked 34 times
QB Matt Chadwick (Rs Jr) -- 47-82 (57%), 492 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 97.9 RTG, sacked 2 times
QB Bryce Baker (Rs Fr) -- 15-20 (75%), 165 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 193.7 RTG, sacked 0 times

Rushing
HB Telly Johnson Jr. (Jr) -- 291 carries, 1,398 rushing yards, 4.8 AVG, 15 touchdowns, 27 broken tackles
QB Jaylen Raynor (Sr) -- 120 carries, 682 rushing yards, 5.7 AVG, 7 touchdowns, 6 broken tackles, 5 fumbles
HB Devin Spencer (Jr) -- 140 carries, 568 rushing yards, 4.1 AVG, 6 touchdowns, 15 broken tackles
HB Trevor Hatchett (Rs Fr) -- 12 carries, 67 rushing yards, 5.6 AVG, touchdown
HB Cedric Hawkins (Rs Jr) -- 15 carries, 59 rushing yards, 3.9 AVG, touchdown, 3 broken tackles

Receiving
WR J.J Harrell (Rs So) -- 90 catches, 1,452 receiving yards, 16.1 AVG, 15 touchdowns, 10 drops
WR Jordan Faison (Sr) -- 54 catches, 826 receiving yards, 15.3 AVG, 6 touchdowns, 4 drops
WR Hunter Summers (Rs Jr) -- 50 catches, 788 receiving yards, 15.8 AVG, 11 touchdowns, 5 drops
TE Tyler Fortenberry (Rs Sr) -- 32 catches, 336 receiving yards, 10.5 AVG, 5 touchdowns, 3 drops
WR Romel Stevens (So) -- 26 catches, 326 receiving yards, 12.5 AVG, 3 touchdowns, 3 drops
HB Devin Spencer (Jr) -- 27 catches, 256 receiving yards, 9.5 AVG, 3 touchdowns, 2 drops
TE Tyler Little (Sr) -- 18 catches, 178 receiving yards, 9.9 AVG, 2 touchdowns, 2 drops
HB Telly Johnson Jr. (Jr) -- 16 catches, 136 receiving yards, 8.5 AVG, 2 touchdowns, drop
WR Damarcco Blanton (Sr) -- 8 catches, 98 receiving yards, 12.3 AVG, drop
WR Chauncy Cobb (Rs Jr) -- 10 catches, 87 receiving yards, 8.7 AVG, 2 touchdowns, 2 drops

Blocking
RT Cameron Ambrose (Rs Sr) -- 185 snaps, 0 sacks allowed, 8 games played
RG Tristian Smith (Rs Sr) -- 383 snaps, 0 sacks allowed, 14 games played
C Mason Myers (Rs Jr) -- 150 snaps, 0 sacks allowed, 14 games played
C Gabe Fortson (Rs Jr) -- 850 snaps, 0 sacks allowed, 14 games played
LG Trason Hunt (Rs Fr) -- 169 snaps, 0 sacked allowed, 11 games played
C Vysen Lang (Rs Jr) -- 225 snaps, 0 sacks allowed, 8 games played
RG Hayden Christman (Rs Jr) -- 958 snaps, 2 sacks allowed, 14 games played
LT Cade Channell (So) -- 365 snaps, 3 sacks allowed, 14 games played
LT Riley McGehee (Jr) -- 996 snaps, 4 sacks allowed, 14 games played
LG Zuri Madison (Rs So) -- 943 snaps, 5 sacks allowed, 14 games played
RT Malachi Carney (Rs Jr) -- 887 snaps, 5 sacks allowed, 14 games played

Defense
CB James Reed III (Rs Sr) -- 72 tackles, interception, 8 pass breakups, forced fumble
CB Malekhi Weedon (Rs Fr) -- 57 tackles, tackle for loss, 2 interceptions, 5 pass breakups, forced fumble
SS Cedric Franklin II (Rs So) -- 56 tackles, tackle for loss, interception, 5 pass breakups, forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries
SAM Jordan Sample (Rs Jr) -- 51 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, interception, 3 pass breakups, forced fumble
FS Daniel Demery (Rs Jr) -- 51 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups, forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries
WILL Aaron Alexander (Rs Sr) -- 50 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups, forced fumble
SS Duke Golden (Fr) -- 46 tackles, tackle for loss, 2 pass breakups
EDGE Elijah Baldwin (Rs So) -- 43 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, forced fumble
FS Evan Brown (Rs Sr) -- 39 tackles, 2 pass breakups
CB Josh Stone (Rs So) -- 38 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, interception, 6 pass breakups
MIKE Luke Hodge (Rs Sr) -- 37 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 pass breakups
DT Ian Jeffries (Rs So) -- 31 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, pass breakup
EDGE Ryan Reese (Rs Sr) -- 30 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks
MIKE Joey Spears (So) -- 28 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, pass breakup
DT Cody Sigler (Rs Sr) -- 27 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, pass breakup
CB Seth Procter (Fr) -- 21 tackles, 4 pass breakups
EDGE Davon Webber (Rs So) -- 19 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks
EDGE Henry Cooper (Rs So) -- 16 tackles, 4 tackles for loss

Kicking
K Clune Van Andel (Sr) -- 13/24, 44 FG long, 100% XP

Punting
P Alex Colbert (Rs Jr) -- 43 punts, 33.7 Net Avg, 2 inside the 20, 3 touchbacks, 42 long

Returning
WR J.J. Harrell (Rs Fr) -- 15 KR, 399 yards, 26.6 AVG, 7 PR, 73 yards, 10.4 AVG
WR Damarcco Blanton (Jr) -- 12 KR, 292 yards, 24.3 AVG, 4 PR, 73 yards, 6.8 AVG

Team Stats
Scoring Offense: 42.3 PPG
Passing Yards Per Game: 325.2
Rushing Yards Per Game: 201.2
Third Down Conversion: 53%
Fourth Down Conversion: 76%
Red Zone Efficiency: 74%
Scoring Defense: 21.0
Yards Per Game Against: 334.2
Pass Yards Per Game Against: 217.4
Rush Yards Per Game Against: 116.8[/font]

[Captain Canada]

Augustine fills out staff with former NM State HC Tony Sanchez, unproven Kerry Abraham at DC
By Veronica Downs | SMU Daily

DALLAS, TX -- Newly-minted head coach Nico Augustine has begun filling out his first initial coaching staff, announcing the hires of former New Mexico State head coach Tony Sanchez as the team's offensive coordinator and Delaware State defensive coordinator Kerry Abraham to fill the same role for the SMU Mustangs.

Arkansas State wide receivers coach Kwame Aguyei, who was brought onto the staff alongside Augustine when he was first hired to the Red Wolves in 2025 by Butch Jones will also join Augustine's staff in Dallas in the same role, with Sanchez expected to fill out the remaining roles left over.

Sanchez coached the New Mexico State Aggies to a 2-10 record last season, finishing 11th in the C-USA conference, only finishing with a better offense than Western Kentucky and Delaware. Sanchez, an alumni of the Aggies from his time has a wide receiver in the 1990s, came to the team after a tenure as the head coach for the high school powerhouse Bishop Gorman in Nevada. He would go on to spend the next four years at UNLV before joining TCU as an offensive assistant. From there, he made his way to the Aggies, joining as the wide receivers coach for two seasons before getting the big chair in 2024.

"His high school record says he knows how to inspire greatness, he's never not won the championship," commented Augustine on the hire. "College is a different world, that much I can admit. Between the two of us, getting to collaborate on how to be innovative and productive. I'm confident he's the man for the job."

Sanchez was reportedly weighing offers from Boise State and Northwestern and had even been in contact with Arkansas State to replace Augustine.

On the defensive side of things, the team hires the young, unproven Kerry Abraham from Delaware State. In his two seasons as the defensive coordinator under head coach and former NFL All-Pro wide receiver DeSean Jackson, Abraham produced one of the most sound defenses in the league. He was looking to jump to Division I regardless, also weighing the Boise State job, similar to his offensive counterpart, Sanchez.

"He's creative and inventive, which were two key traits I was looking at. I've spent enough time around Griffin [McCarley, Arkansas State head coach] to know that you need someone who is willing to risk it to get the biscuit. We've got that in Kerry."

The team will continue to work to fill the staffing positions, as they have a tall task ahead of them, with former All-ACC quarterback Ken Jennings now a thing of the past.

[Google[Bot]]

this is top notch

[YaBoyRobRoy]

solid move to SMU. Good luck in the ACC! Lots of fun environments to play in over there.

[Chillcavern]

Let's see how the jump to the ACC with a new team goes!

Bring back the Pony Express success now that paying players is legal

That tease with Minnesota though