The college football season is drawing near, and with the Lone Star Conference Media Day on Thursday, July 23 in McKinney, excitement for the new season is growing.
Last season, the Angelo State football team had plenty of preseason hype before and after the 2025 LSC media day. The Rams began the season as the No. 12 in the country and the top-ranked team in the LSC preseason poll. However, after a season where ASU finished 6-5 and hired two new coordinators, they are unlikely to see the same amount of support from preseason polling and rankings.
According to FloCollege’s way-too-early DII football rankings published in early June, three LSC programs were ranked in the top 25. Last year’s conference champions Central Washington (No.5) ranked the highest, followed by UT Permian Basin (No. 16) and Western Oregon (No.18). Not making the rankings were Texas A&M-Kingsville and West Texas A&M, which handed ASU losses during the final stretch of the season.
Jeff Girsch, who is entering his eighth season coaching the Rams, will be accompanied by All-Conference first team running back Cameron Dischler and senior defensive back Eugene “Tre” Liger at the McKinney ISD Stadium’s Community Event Center.
Here are a couple of important questions as the group takes the stage on Thursday:
What will the Angelo State football offense look like in 2026?
There’s no secret the Rams offense will look different this season with former offensive coordinator Kevin Kilmer departing to coach at Oklahoma State. The Rams decided to hire internally, promoting Jason Johnson from wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator to offensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach. During his introductory press conference, Johnson stressed that not much would change from a schematic standpoint, since they have been one of the better offenses in the LSC for the past few seasons.
The biggest change will come on the personnel front. The 2025 LSC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Braeden Fuller transferred to the University of Arkansas after an embattled final season where he struggled with injuries for most of the season. That left redshirt sophomore Kaeden Smith and redshirt freshman Ayden Arp to take significant snaps, both will be back and fighting for the starting role.
Johnson also highlighted the Rams looking to win in the trenches and along the edges. Luckily, the Rams return their two leading rushers, Dischler and Jayden Johnson, who combined for nearly 1,000 yards rushing.
The question is, what will the play calling look like under Johnson, and will that play style duplicate the Rams previous offensive success with a new quarterback?
Did Angelo state do enough in the transfer portal?
In today’s college football landscape, it is nearly impossible for a Division II program of ASU’s caliber to keep every standout player year-to-year with the transfer portal rules and NIL money. The loss of Fuller to Arkansas and LSC Defensive Back of Year Xavier Walton to the University of Texas-San Antonio will be tough to overcome.
Still, Angelo State was active bringing in pieces on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. They brought in two offensive lineman, one wide receiver, one linebacker and a quarterback, which mostly came from other DII programs.
Junior quarterback Carson Woods will be a name to look out for as fall practices start up. The Bakersfield, California, native spent most of his career at Bakersfield College but also spent a year on the University of North Texas’s roster in 2024. With the quarterback position in flux, don’t be surprised to see him compete for the starting spot. But the question will be: Did the Rams do enough in the transfer portal to keep up with LSC contenders like Central Washington and UTPB?
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at sports@gosanangelo.com. Follow him on X @Paul_Witwer, Instagram and TikTok at pwitwer_sast.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Burning questions for Angelo State ahead of LSC football media day
Reporting by Paul Witwer, San Angelo Standard-Times / San Angelo Standard-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Paul Witwer, San Angelo Standard-Times | USA TODAY Network
