Mercer Bears
Southern
9-3 (8-0 conf)
Ratings
2025
- SP+
- —
- SP+ Offense
- —
- SP+ Defense
- —
- SRS
- -20.2
- FPI
- —
- Elo
- —
- Talent
- —
- Recruiting
- 16 (#167)
Schedule
record 9–3
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Margin | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsPresbyterian | FCS | 10-15 | -5 | L |
| 3 | vsWofford | FCS | 22-21 | +1 | W |
| 4 | @The Citadel | FCS | 38-0 | +38 | W |
| 5 | @East Tennessee State | FCS | 38-34 | +4 | W |
| 6 | vsSamford | FCS | 45-21 | +24 | W |
| 7 | @Princeton | FCS | 38-14 | +24 | W |
| 9 | vsVMI | FCS | 62-0 | +62 | W |
| 10 | @Furman | FCS | 52-28 | +24 | W |
| 11 | @Western Carolina | FCS | 49-47 | +2 | W |
| 12 | vsChattanooga | FCS | 63-17 | +46 | W |
| 13 | @Auburn | +11.6 | 17-62 | -45 | L |
| 15 | vsSouth Dakota | FCS | 0-47 | -47 | L |
Quarterbacks · 3
2025 · 41
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Braden Atkinson | — | — | — | — |
| QB | 2nd | DJ Smith | — | — | — | — |
| QB | 3rd | JP Pickles | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Running Backs · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB | 1st | CJ Miller | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 2nd | Micah Bell | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | 3rd | Tyrell Coard | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 4th | Billy Martin | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 5th | Carlos Benjamin | — | — | — | — |
Wide Receivers · 9
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Brayden Smith | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 2nd | Adjatay Dabbs | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 3rd | Adonis McDaniel | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 4th | Kendall Harris | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 5th | Ty Doughty | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 6th | Travion Solomon | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 7th | Trenton Jones | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 8th | Camauri Simmons | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 9th | Javarius George | — | — | — | — |
Tight Ends · 4
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | Sam Albee | — | — | — | — |
| TE | 2nd | Malik Simmons | — | — | — | — |
| TE | 3rd | Apollos Cook | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| TE | — | Sawyer Burt | — | — | — | — |
Defensive Line · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL | 1st | Dan Hicks | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 2nd | Andrew Zock | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 3rd | Justin Gilbert | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 4th | Kobe McInnis | — | — | — | — |
| DL | — | Ean Johnson-Kelley | — | — | — | — |
Linebackers · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Drew Clare | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 2nd | Isaac Prince | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 3rd | Julian Fox | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 4th | Mac Bradley | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 5th | Antonio Butts Jr. | — | — | — | — |
Defensive Backs · 7
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | 1st | KJ Thomas | — | — | — | — |
| CB | — | Myles Weston | — | — | — | — |
| S | 1st | Tommy Bliss | — | — | — | — |
| S | 2nd | Juwan Johnson | — | — | — | — |
| S | 3rd | Carmelo O'neal | — | — | — | — |
| S | 4th | Donovan Watkins | — | — | — | — |
| S | 5th | Kaleb Hutchinson | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Special Teams · 3
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1st | John Mcconnell | — | — | — | ★★ |
| P | 2nd | Kody Arnold | — | — | — | — |
| PK | 1st | Reice Griffith | — | — | — | — |
Scoring Trend
2025 · pts/game
PPG For
36.2
PPG Against
25.5
Differential
+10.7
— Points for— Points against
dots: W / LResults
2025
- Overall
- 9-3
- Home
- 4-2
- Away
- 5-1
- Conference
- 8-0
- Non-Conference
- 1-3
- One-Score (≤8)
- 3-1
- Avg Margin
- +10.7
Situational Splits
2025 · record · pts
| Split | Record | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | |||
| Home | 4-2 | 33.7 | 20.2 |
| Away | 5-1 | 38.7 | 30.8 |
| Competition | |||
| Conference | 8-0 | 46.1 | 21.0 |
| Non-conference | 1-3 | 16.3 | 34.5 |
Season History · last 12
0 AP top-10 · 1 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9-3 | 8-0 | — | — | — |
| 2024 | 11-3 | 7-1 | — | — | — |
| 2023 | 8-3 | 6-2 | — | — | 1-1 |
| 2022 | 7-4 | 5-3 | — | — | — |
| 2021 | 7-3 | 6-2 | — | — | — |
| 2020 | 0-3 | 0-0 | — | — | — |
| 2019 | 4-8 | 3-5 | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 5-6 | 4-4 | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 5-6 | 4-4 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 6-5 | 4-4 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 5-6 | 2-5 | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 6-5 | 1-5 | — | — | — |
Recent Form · last 5
3-2 SU · 2-2 ATS · O4/U0
Betting Profile
2025 · 10 w/ line
| Straight up | 9-3 |
| ATS | 6-460% |
| Over / Under | 7-3 O-U |
| — ATS splits — | |
| As favorite | 6-3 |
| As underdog | 0-1 |
| Home | 2-2 |
| Away | 4-2 |
vs closing line · splits show cover–no cover
Recruiting Classes
avg #161 · 0 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★14 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #167 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | #179 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | #139 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2018 | #138 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2017 | #138 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2016 | #187 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2015 | #176 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | #160 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
2025
Portal in 8net +3Out 5
Portal avg stars (in / out)2.7 / 3.0
Notable Portal Moves
| ▲ | Darrian King | IOL | 3★ | ← Samford |
| ▲ | Blake Martin | IOL | 3★ | ← Coastal Carolina |
| ▲ | JP Pickles | QB | 3★ | ← UTEP |
| ▲ | Fabian Scott | S | 3★ | ← Florida Atlantic |
| ▼ | Arias Nash | DL | 3★ | → Virginia Tech |
| ▼ | Whitt Newbauer | QB | 3★ | → Oklahoma |
| ▼ | Brayden Manley | EDGE | 3★ | → Georgia Tech |
| ▼ | Chris Joines | S | 3★ | → Rutgers |
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2025
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
0 items
No recent news.