2023 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team

2023 Appalachian State Mountaineers football
2023 Appalachian State Mountaineers football
Cure Bowl champion
Sun Belt Championship, L 23–49 at Troy
Cure Bowl, W 13–9 vs. Miami (OH)
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
	East Division
Record	9–5 (6–2 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Shawn Clark (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Frank Ponce (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro tempo
Defensive coordinator	Scot Sloan (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Kidd Brewer Stadium
	Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Sun Belt Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
James Madison* x	7	–	1	11	–	2
Appalachian State y	6	–	2	9	–	5
Coastal Carolina	5	–	3	8	–	5
Old Dominion	5	–	3	6	–	7
Georgia State	3	–	5	7	–	6
Marshall	3	–	5	6	–	7
Georgia Southern	3	–	5	6	–	7
West Division
Troy xy$	7	–	1	11	–	3
Texas State	4	–	4	8	–	5
Arkansas State	4	–	4	6	–	7
South Alabama	4	–	4	7	–	6
Louisiana	3	–	5	6	–	7
Southern Miss	2	–	6	3	–	9
Louisiana–Monroe	0	–	8	2	–	10
Championship: Troy 49, Appalachian State 23
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules

The 2023 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team represented Appalachian State University during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mountaineers were led by fourth-year head coach Shawn Clark. Appalachian State played home games at Kidd Brewer Stadium on the school's Boone, North Carolina, campus, and competed as a member of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference.

Offseason

Coaching changes

On November 28, 2022, defensive coordinator Dale Jones left the program.^[1]

On January 13, 2023, the Mountaineers hired Scot Sloan to be their defensive coordinator.^[2]

On January 16 Appalachian State hired Frank Ponce to be their offensive coordinator after 2022 offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay left to become the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State.^[3]

Media poll

In the Sun Belt preseason coaches' poll, the Mountaineers were picked to finish in second place in the East division.^[4]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll (East division)
1	James Madison	78 (4)
2	Appalachian State	75 (4)
3	Coastal Carolina	71 (1)
4	Marshall	68 (1)
5	Georgia Southern	52 (1)
6	Georgia State	31
7	Old Dominion	17

Offensive lineman Isaiah Helms and right safety Milan Tucker were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team. Offensive lineman Damion Daley was named to the second team.^[4]

Schedule

The football schedule was announced on February 24, 2023.^[5]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	3:30 p.m.	No. 25 (FCS) Gardner–Webb*	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	ESPN+	W 45–24	36,075
September 9	5:15 p.m.	at No. 17 North Carolina*	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ACCN	L 34–40 ^2OT	50,500
September 16	3:30 p.m.	East Carolina*	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	ESPN+	W 43–28	40,168
September 23	7:00 p.m.	at Wyoming*	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	CBSSN	L 19–22	21,169
September 30	8:00 p.m.	at Louisiana–Monroe	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	ESPN+	W 41–40	19,919
October 10	7:30 p.m.	Coastal Carolina	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	ESPN2	L 24–27	34,252
October 21	7:00 p.m	at Old Dominion	S.B. Ballard Stadium Norfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl)	NFLN	L 21–28	20,017
October 28	3:30 p.m.	Southern Miss	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	ESPN+	W 48–38	32,601
November 4	6:00 p.m.	Marshall	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (rivalry)	NFLN	W 31–9	34,057
November 11	2:00 p.m.	at Georgia State	Center Parc Stadium Atlanta, GA	ESPN+	W 42–14	14,260
November 18	2:00 p.m.	at James Madison	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (College GameDay)	ESPN+	W 26–23 ^OT	25,838
November 25	3:30 p.m.	Georgia Southern	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (rivalry)	ESPNU	W 55–27	31,248
December 2	4:00 p.m.	at Troy	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL (Sun Belt Championship Game)	ESPN	L 23–49	20,183
December 16	3:30 p.m.	vs. Miami (OH)	FBC Mortgage Stadium Orlando, FL (Cure Bowl)	ABC	W 13–9	11,121
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Personnel

2023 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`0`	Milan Tucker	Jr
RB	`1`	Anderson Castle	Jr
WR	`2`	Kaedin Robinson	Jr
RB	`3`	Ahmani Marshall	Jr
QB	`4`	Joey Aguilar	Jr
RB	`5`	Nate Noel	Jr
WR	`6`	Dashaun Davis	Jr
WR	`11`	Grant Tucker	Fr
WR	`12`	Michael Hetzel	So
WR	`13`	Christian Horn	Jr
RB	`14`	Kanye Roberts	Fr
WR	`15`	Makai Jackson	So
QB	`16`	David Hernandez	Sr
QB	`17`	Mason McHugh	Fr
QB	`18`	Ryan Burger	Fr
QB	`19`	Cameron Estep	Fr
RB	`20`	Jaylon Calhoun	Fr
WR	`21`	Reece Larson	Fr
RB	`27`	Michael Dipasquale	Fr
RB	`28`	Maquel Haywood	Jr
TE	`35`	Dylan Castoria	So
OL	`51`	Cayden Sweatt	Fr
OL	`53`	Jake Ganoe	Fr
OL	`54`	Isaiah Helms	Sr
OL	`55`	Seth Williams	So
OL	`58`	Blake Bradford	Fr
OL	`59`	Jack Murphy	So
OL	`60`	Ethan Ryan	So
OL	`62`	Bucky Williams	Sr
OL	`63`	Jayden Ramsey	So
OL	`70`	Thornton Gentry	So
OL	`72`	Markell Samuel	So
OL	`73`	Jaden Lindsay	So
OL	`74`	Griffin Scroggs	Fr
OL	`75`	Damion Daley	Sr
OL	`76`	Logan Randolph	Fr
OL	`77`	Daniel Davis	Fr
OL	`78`	Joseph Solomon	So
TE	`80`	Max Drag	Fr
TE	`81`	Miller Gibbs	Sr
WR	`82`	Chris Lawson Jr.	Fr
WR	`83`	Coen Sutton	So
WR	`84`	Ayden Burkey	Fr
TE	`85`	David Larkins	So
TE	`86`	Kanen Hamlett	Fr
TE	`87`	Eli Wilson	Jr
WR	`88`	Luke Hale	Fr
TE	`89`	August Drews	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`2`	Tyrek Funderburk	Sr
DB	`4`	Nicholas Ross	Sr
DE	`5`	Michael Fletcher	Jr
S	`6`	EJ Jackson	Sr
ILB	`7`	Andrew Parker Jr.	Sr
OLB	`8`	Brendan Harrington	Jr
CB	`9`	Jarrett Paul	Sr
DB	`10`	DJ VanHook	Sr
DB	`11`	Jordan Favors	So
DE	`12`	Shawn Collins	So
CB	`13`	Trenton Alan Yowe	So
ILB	`14`	Jayden Bethea	Fr
OLB	`15`	Thomas Davis	So
CB	`16`	Omari Philyaw	Fr
S	`17`	Jalik Thomas	Jr
CB	`18`	James Edwards	Fr
CB	`19`	Ethan Johnson	So
OLB	`20`	Nathan Kibambe	Sr
S	`21`	DJ Burks	Fr
CB	`22`	DJ Porter	Fr
OLB	`24`	Cahari Haynes	Fr
S	`25`	Jackson Greene	Jr
OLB	`26`	Caden Sullivan	So
S	`27`	Ronald Clarke	Jr
S	`28`	Zyeir Gamble	Fr
DE	`29`	Santana Hopper	Fr
S	`30`	Carter Greene	Fr
S	`31`	Dyvon McKinney	So
ILB	`33`	Derrell Farrar	Fr
S	`34`	Colton Phares	Fr
ILB	`35`	Jack Scroggs	Jr
DL	`36`	Kevon Haigler	Jr
DB	`37`	Andre Hamilton	So
DB	`39`	Tony Harris	Fr
ILB	`40`	Cole Becker	Fr
ILB	`42`	Braxton Veiga	Fr
ILB	`43`	Ryan McKinnis	Fr
OLB	`44`	Brodrick Gooch	Fr
ILB	`45`	Trevor Moffitt	So
ILB	`46`	Isaiah McGuffin	Fr
OLB	`47`	Romelo Bell	Fr
DL	`48`	DeShawn McKnight	Jr
ILB	`49`	Randy Marion III	Fr
DE	`50`	DeAndre Dingle-Prince	Jr
ILB	`52`	Orlando Leon	Fr
DL	`54`	Danny Stevens	Fr
ILB	`56`	Kyle Arnholt	So
OLB	`88`	Donovan Spellman	So
OLB	`90`	Nate Johnson	Fr
DT	`91`	Markus Clark	So
DE	`92`	AJ Mebane	Fr
DE	`94`	Stephen Passeggiata	So
DE	`95`	Montez Kelley	Jr
DE	`96`	Josiah Wyatt	Fr
DE	`97`	Kevin Abrams-Verwayne	So
DT	`98`	Jason Hertz	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`22`	Cash McVay	So
K	`37`	Carter Everett	Fr
P	`41`	Conner Maynard	Jr
LS	`42`	Christian Johnstone	Jr
LS	`44`	Jake Mann	So
P	`49`	Mitchell Lake	Fr
K	`57`	Austin Shook	So
K	`99`	Michael Hughes	Jr

Head coach

Shawn Clark (Appalachian State)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Frank Ponce (Arizona Western)
Offensive coordinator/QB
Scot Sloan (Clemson)
Defensive coordinator/Safeties
Justin Watts (Clemson)
Passing game coordinator/TE
Victor Cabral (Georgia Southern)
Defensive Line
Mike Cummings (Buffalo)
Offensive Line
Travis Cunningham (Gardner–Webb)
Inside linebackers
Lawrence Dawsey (Florida State)
Wide receivers
Brian Haines (Marietta College)
Special teams coordinator/RB
AJ Howard (Appalachian State)
Outside linebackers
Rod West (Alabama State)
Defensive passing game coordinator/cornerbacks
Matt Greenhalgh (Rhode Island)
Director of athletic performance for football

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

References

^ Smith, Ethan. "Jones out as Mountaineers defensive coordinator". The Appalachian. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
^ "Sloan Returns to App State as Defensive Coordinator". AppState Football. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
^ "Former App State coordinator Frank Ponce reportedly set to return". Football Scoop. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Sun Belt Announces Football Preseason Awards & Poll". sunbeltsports.org. July 24, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
^ "2023 Appalachian State Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 3, 2023.

[1] Smith, Ethan. "Jones out as Mountaineers defensive coordinator". The Appalachian. Retrieved March 3, 2023.

[2] "Sloan Returns to App State as Defensive Coordinator". AppState Football. Retrieved March 3, 2023.

[3] "Former App State coordinator Frank Ponce reportedly set to return". Football Scoop. Retrieved November 26, 2023.

[:0-4] "Sun Belt Announces Football Preseason Awards & Poll". sunbeltsports.org. July 24, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.

[5] "2023 Appalachian State Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 3, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Appalachian State Mountaineers football
Venues	College Field (1928–1961) Kidd Brewer Stadium (1962–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Georgia Southern Marshall Western Carolina
Culture & lore	"Hi Hi Yikas" Marching Mountaineers 2007 Michigan game Miracle on the Mountain Yosef
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold