On Day 1 of Sun Belt Media Days, nearly every head coach who assumed the big podium delivered nearly an identical message – beefing up the offensive line.

“When I arrive to Hattiesburg, we had something like nine offensive linemen on the roster,” said Southern Miss head football coach Will Smith. “Now we have seventeen.”

“The offensive line is where we’ve seen the biggest improvement,” said Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones, naming a number of transfer athletes like Hamilton Hall, Jayden Cunningham and Jacob Bayer who have made an instant impact in the trench.

Jones and Smith weren’t the only coaches preaching at the alter of offensive beef. Both of the West’s front-running coaches, Kane Womack (South Alabama) and Jon Sumrall (Troy) said that gains were made on the offensive line – out of necessity. Increasingly, the Sun Belt has transitioned away from its Fun-n-Gun reputation and towards winning the battle at the line of scrimmage.

“The Sun Belt used to be known as the Fun Belt,” said Coach Jones. “It’s a more complete conference now.”

Coach Mike Desormeaux from Louisiana admitted that his approach changed from speed to strength in the off season, acknowledging that power has become the currency in the Sun Belt. However, speed still has a place in the Sun Belt.

“We timed the offensive lineman this summer,” said Cole Cavallo, tight end for Southern Miss. “We had one guy hit 21 miles per hour.” Yikes.

The Word Cats Are a Different Kind of Transfer Team

GJ Kinne arrived to San Marcos over the off season and brought about a dozen Incarnate Word Cardinals with him. Joining them more than a dozen additional transfer students from various programs, meaning the Bobcats are a mostly-new team in 2023.

But this is a different kind of Sun Belt roster. The Incarnate Dozen – which includes five offensive linemen – already understand Kinne methods, leading the team in drills before the coach even gets on the field. Instead of 30 guys arriving to campus catching up to learn the system, Kinne has what amounts to a dozen assistants bringing the entire team up to speed.

The West is Feel’n It

For the third straight season, the Sun Belt Champion has hailed from The West, and neither Troy nor South Alabama appear to have lost a single step in 2023. As a result, the vibe among all coaches seemed more confident this year, with few even paying a nod to the Sun Belt East. Instead, the talk was about winning a championship over rebuilding a program. Even the bottom of the division was feeling it.

“My record in year three is 30-9,” said Butch Jones. “Am I saying we’ll see the same success? I believe we have the talent for a successful season.”

The Sun Belt is Standing Pat

As the college football universe threatened to realign its neutrons and protons, Commissioner Keith Gill the Sun Belt has elected to stay at 14 teams, destroying my hopes and dreams of seeing Army join the Belt.