We’re going to preview the Division I Conferences based on the lesser-known players of all the Division I teams. Let’s have some fun and give some attention to the players you likely don’t know or talk about too much, unless something goes wrong or you say, "Hey, look at that number."

Basically, we’re going to give you each team’s (we hope their starting) Long Snapper, Punter and #69. Then we’ll give you their longest road trip of the season, last conference title, playoff appearance, and a simple Yes or No if they have a new Head Coach. I’m sure I’ll question my choice for doing season previews this way this year, but I’m limited on time due to a myriad of factors. I’ll keep dreaming of being able to do this full time. Maybe one day. If you know of any sponsors, please let us know.

Charleston Southern

• Where: North Charleston, SC

• Last Year's Record: 1-11 (0-8 Conference)

• Longsnapper: Noah Summers (RS JR), Ross Rambo (RS FR)

• Punter: Will Laing (RS JR), Gilbert Brown (SR) most often, also Reid Montgomery (SO)

• #69: None

• Longest Road Trip: 988 miles to Western Illinois

• Last Conference Title: 2016

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2016

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Eastern Illinois

• Where: Charleston, IL

• Last Year's Record: 3-9 (2-6 Conference)

• Longsnapper: Brett Galletti (GR), Jefferson McKinnon (RS FR)

• Punter: Aaron Rice (SO), Mason Miller (GR) (both new transfers)

• #69: Kwan Johnson (OL, FR)

• Longest Road Trip: 841 MILES CHARLESTON TO CHARLESTON to play Charleston Southern

• Last Conference Title: 2015

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2013

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Gardner-Webb

• Where: Boiling Springs, NC

• Last Year's Record: 4-8 (3-5 Conference)

• Longsnapper: Jaylan Mays (SO)

• Punter: Brady Braun (SR), Jackson Dorr (GR)

• #69: Chance Reid (OL, SR)

• Longest Road Trip: 650 miles to Eastern Illinois

• Last Conference Title: 2023

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2023

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Lindenwood

• Where: St Charles, MO

• Last Year's Record: 5-7 (4-4 in conference - alternated win/loss for each conference game)

• Longsnapper: #45 Nelson Pipes (RS SR), Jack Berry (RS JR), Zach Ely (RS FR)

• Punter: AJ Vinatieri (RS JR, the son of Adam Vinatieri. Transfer from Louisville. Also cannot find any actual evidence of the transfer other than Lindenwood’s roster.), Connor Lander (RS FR)

• #69: None

• Longest Road Trip: Charleston Southern

• Last Conference Title: 2009 (Heart of America Athletic Conference, NAIA)

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2021 (DII)

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Southeast Missouri State (aka SEMO)

• Where: Cape Girardeau, MO

• Last Year's Record: 9-4 (if including playoffs, 9-3 otherwise. Also very important to know that they went 1-2 at the end of the year and lost to Lindenwood. Good job!) (6-2 in conference)

• Longsnapper: Judd Cunningham (SR), Jackson Marx (SR)

• Punter: Ryan Kingston (SR), Jeremiah Cunningham (RS FR)

• #69: None

• Longest Road Trip: 894 miles to North Dakota State

• Last Conference Title: 2024 (co-champions with TN Tech, TN State, and UT Martin)

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2024 (The Redhawks lost to the Redbirds in the first round)

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Tennessee State

• Where: Nashville, TN

• Last Year's Record: 9-4 (6-2 in conference)

• Longsnapper: Kyle Hicks (SO)

• Punter: Mark Shenouda (RS SO)

• #69: None

• Longest Road Trip: 551 miles to Charleston Southern

• Last Conference Title: 2024 (co-champions with SEMO, TN Tech and UT Martin)

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2024 (lost to Montana in the first round)

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): Yes, Reggie Barlow left a UFL team mid-season after Eddie George was hired by Bowling Green in March.

Tennessee Tech

• Where: Cookeville, TN

• Last Year's Record: 7-5 (6-2 in conference)

• Longsnapper: Brady Downs (SO)

• Punter: Spencer Ashby (SO) (from Australia!)

• #69: None

• Longest Road Trip: 473 miles to Charleston Southern

• Last Conference Title: 2024 (co-champions with SEMO, TN State, and UT Martin)

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2011 (lost to Central Arkansas in first round) (only one of the 2024 co-champs to not go to the playoffs 🙁 )

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

UT Martin

• Where: Martin, TN

• Last Year's Record: 9-5 (6-2 in conference)

• Longsnapper: Hayden King (RS SO) (played against K-State last year), Jake-Ryan Kruger (JR) and Sawyer Phipps (RS SO) did not play in any games last year

• Punter: Gavin Grant (FR) (5-star recruit!! #8 in CSK rankings) according to his Twitter bio)

• #69: Their roster does not have any information about numbers, but 2024 didn’t have a #69.

• Longest Road Trip: 1,226 miles to UTEP (they also play Oklahoma State)

• Last Conference Title: 2024 (co-champions with SEMO, TN State, and TN Tech)

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2024 (beat New Hampshire in the first round, lost to Montana State in second round)

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

Western Illinois

• Where: Macomb, IL

• Last Year's Record: 4-8 (3-5 in conference)

• Longsnapper: Ben Bergfeld (JR), Daniel Cheveallier (FR, from West Monroe, LA ULM Mentioned)

• Punter: Luke Droegemueller (JR)

• #69: Tyler Sulsberger (FR)

• Longest Road Trip: 1,706 miles to Eastern Washington, a rematch of this 62-56 slugfest

• Last Conference Title: 2002, Gateway Football Conference, FCS

• Last Playoff Appearance: 2017, lost in first round to Weber State

• New Head Coach (Yes/No): No

• FBS Games: They’re going the Illinois Gauntlet against Illinois and Northwestern

Thank you for reading! So many more conferences to come!