National Signing Day is upon us and, according to my calendar, marks the beginning of the new football season. Teams are releasing the names of their 2023 recruiting classes throughout the day and possibly while reading this.

This week, the focus will be less on specific names and more on what I hear around the industry about each team’s class, along with more coaching news and two All-Americans from Angelo State entering the transfer portal.

Southland Conference

Houston Christian currently ranks sixth in FCS and sits atop the 247 team rankings. The Huskies are bolstered by three 3-star high school players and a 3-star transfer from Louisiana-Monroe. Next week, keep an eye on TexasFootball.com for a feature piece on how head coach Braxton Harris and staff put together a record-setting recruiting class in just a few months at HCU.

Southwestern Athletic Conference

Prairie View A&M has been silently putting together a solid recruiting class. According to sources, the Panthers coaching staff led by head coach Bubba McDowell are very happy with each of their expected signees. Sources added that the staff focused on taking their time and recruiting the right fit for the program; they believe they got it right this year.

Western Athletic Conference

UTRGV announced the addition of John Simmons to the football staff. Simmons will serve as the Director of Football Operations and Administration. He will work closely with Vaqueros head coach Travis Bush and Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque. Simmons spent last season as athletics director and head football coach at Canyon Middle School in New Braunfels.

The Rio Grande Valley is excited about college football heading to the region in 2025. UTRGV announced it has surpassed 1,000 season ticket deposits in less than six weeks. Fans can reserve season tickets by visiting UTRGVTickets.com and making a $25 deposit.

Dave Campbell's Texas Football has confirmed that Tarleton will name Mason Miller offensive coordinator. Miller will likely assume playcalling duties from head coach Todd Whitten. Miller spent the last three seasons on Mike Leach's staff at Mississippi State. This is a return to Tarleton for Miller, who served as associate head coach and offensive coordinator for the Texans from 2014-2016. He also spent five years on the staff at McMurry, including one season as the War Hawks head coach in 2013. Miller's first collegiate job was on Hal Mumme's staff at Southeastern Louisiana.

K.C. Keeler developed a recruiting strategy that led to a national title for Sam Houston in 2020 and saw no reason to change the successful approach heading into FBS and Conference USA.

Lone Star Conference

Angelo State has lost two All-Americans from last year’s national semifinalist to the transfer portal. Offensive lineman Jake Long and linebacker Daron Allman recently announced their entry into the portal. This is a significant blow to a Rams team seeking a national title this year.

According to sources, UTPB expects to add 45 high school athletes, including 12 from the Permian Basin and 19 transfers to its recruiting class. Head coach Kris McCullough reportedly addressed the quarterback situation by adding transfer Kenny Hrncir from East Central. A native of Needville, Hrncir completed 56.7 percent of his passes for 4,731 with 37 touchdowns and 20 interceptions over the last two seasons.

Texas A&M-Kingsville hired Jamison Bisch to be the Javelinas' defensive coordinator. Bisch spent last season as defensive coordinator at fellow LSC member Eastern New Mexico. Before joining the Greyhounds, he was defensive coordinator at Bemidji and helped lead the Beavers to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Division II playoffs.

West Texas A&M announced the addition of Shayne Shade to the Buffs coaching staff. He will serve as running backs and tight ends coach. Shade spent the last eight years as a member of the Nebraska-Kearney coaching staff. He began coaching defensive line and linebackers at UNK before moving to the offensive side of the football. Shade served as the Lopers' recruiting coordinator, running backs, tight ends, and inside wide receivers coach last season.

American Southwest Conference

Mary Hardin-Baylor added to its coaching staff on Monday with the announcement of offensive line coach Alex Farah. Farah spent the previous season at FCS Arkansas-Pine Bluff. His coaching career began at Appalachian State, where he started coaching linebackers and defensive line as a student assistant before transitioning to a graduate assistant position coaching the offensive line. Farah also had stops at Texas State, Glenville State, Hutchinson CC, and Independence CC before joining UAPB.