By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

There is one overlooked FCS football program in the state of Georgia.

Mercer reinstated their football program in 2013 after a 72-year hiatus. The Bears have been pretty successful since returning.

They won the Southern Conference championship the last two seasons.

In 2024 they finished 10-2, with one of those losses at #10 Alabama. The Bears were ranked #8 and they won their first-round playoff game against #10 Rhode Island.

The following week they were beaten by powerhouse, #3 North Dakota State. Of course, NDSU went on to win another FCS national championship that season.

Last season they finished 9-3. One of the losses was at Auburn, which is expected. They were ranked #7 and hosted a playoff game against #11 South Dakota. They were beaten 47-0.

They are looking to build on that momentum and win the SoCon again.

This season they are led by 6’4, 210 lbs. senior QB, Jaylen King. He’s from Folkston, GA and he attended Charlton County High. He’s attended a different college every season. He started at Gardner-Webb, then transferred to East Tennessee State and Florida State.

He redshirted last year at FSU and played in one game. As a sophomore at ETSU in 2024, he started 10 games. King threw for 1,536 yards and 9 touchdowns on 116-for-221 (.525) passing with 11 interceptions. He also carried the ball 105 times for 422 yards and five additional scores. As you can see, he’s a dual threat quarterback.

Senior WR Brayden Smith is a Macon native. He’s attended Mercer all four years, which is rare in the transfer portal era of college football.

He’s been named the Southern Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. He’s also one of 30 players named to the Walter Payton Award watch list.

In 2025, Smith accounted for 1,267 all-purpose yards, leading the team in return yards and finishing second in receiving yards (712 yards). He had seven games where he accounted for more than 100 yards.

The coaches also picked the Bears to win the SoCon. They received six first place votes from the ten head coaches.

They also have a few more players that were named to the 2026 Preseason All-Southern Conference First Team. They are OL Brody Balliew, OL Tyler Murray, DL Kobe McInnis and LB Jyarius Carter.

Mercer started the season ranked #21. Week 0 for FBS is the opening weekend for FCS. The Bears played East Texas A&M on ESPN. They won the game, 23-15. They had a 23-0 lead going into halftime and held on to win.

King threw a 12-yard touchdown to TE Jackson Kostmayer. Senior CB Cameron Goggins returned an interception 38 yards for a pick-6. Sophomore K Simon Zeidan made 3-of-4 field goal attempts. After the win Mercer has moved up to #19.

King passed for 177 yards and a touchdown, completing 53.6% of his passes. Smith had 9 receptions for 131 yards. RB Zahmari Palode-Gary had 8 carries for 87 yards.

The remaining schedule is:

9/5 vs Presbyterian*

9/12 vs Furman

9/19 @ Georgia Tech*

9/26 @ #20 Abilene Christian*

10/3 @ VMI

10/10 vs # 24 Western Carolina

10/17 @ Samford

10/31 vs The Citadel

11/7 @ Chattanooga

11/14 @ #12 Tennessee Tech

11/21 vs East Tennessee State

Non-conference games are indicated with an asterisk.

I think the best-case scenario for Mercer is finishing 10-2. One of those losses will be against Georgia Tech since they are a power conference FBS team. The schedule is pretty tough in addition to that, with three ranked opponents.

I think the more likely outcome is eight, maybe nine wins.