By MONTE DUTTON

It was good to be out and about Tuesday.The Southern Conference held its football media day in Greenville, S.C., giving me another opportunity to review the various routes from my little shoebox in the hills to my college alma mater.

All FCS members were present and accounted for, and I wanted to chat and interact with the coaches and players. I wanted to make some snap judgments of character.

I was already mildly acquainted with Furman’s representatives. Joshua Stoneking, from Raleigh, led the nation in quarterback sacks — What else is he supposed to sack? Groceries? — and tackles for loss.

I watched from nearby as almost everyone there, except me, asked variations of “why in the wide, wide world of free transfer and big money are you still here?”

Stoneking’s polite, forthright reply simply, was, “I wanted to graduate from Furman,” in various iterations.

It made me feel roughly the way I do at the end of a Frank Capra film.

Both the Paladins’ representatives were burly, but genial linemen. Center Chris Luna, from Wesley Chapel, Fla., is on the second all-conference team in preseason on the offensive front. They make me proud I went there.

This might be an admission I shouldn’t make. I talked to a lot of football players, and I don’t know who they were. I know who they played for. It would have been better if they were wearing jerseys. Then I’d have had some reference material.

This is painful. The nicest athletes there were from The Citadel. I talked to them about the rivalry. I immediately identified myself as a Furman graduate, and none of them growled even a little.

Mercer is picked first, newcomer Tennessee Tech second, East Tennessee State third, Western Carolina fourth and Chattanooga fifth. Furman is sixth, Wofford seventh, Samford eighth, The Citadel ninth and Virginia Military 10th.

They don’t let the media vote anymore, and I’m glad. The pattern is clear. Every level of college sports is the same. Many of the best move up. Many of the disappointments move down. At the affluent schools, they go for money and fame. A lot of players in the SoCon just want a shot.

It’s not just the talent. It’s how the talent is put together. Newcomers have to fit, and the time is too short for a jigsaw puzzle.

I enjoy talking each year to Kerwin Bell of Western Carolina, and part of it is because I remember when he played quarterback at Florida. Wofford’s Shawn Watson is a straight shooter. The Catamounts tend to run out of steam late in the season. The Terriers are prone to get better.

They all know that. Furman was 20-6 in 2022-23, 3-8 in ’24 and 6-6 in ’25.

Times are changing. Times have changed. It wasn’t easy in the Paladins’ glorious past, either.

It still helps to have players who want to be there.

Clay Hendrix is the last of the direct coaching descendants of the late Dick Sheridan, who left Furman for North Carolina State in 1985. Every head coach since — Jimmy Satterfield, Bobby Johnson, Bobby Lamb, Bruce Fowler and Hendrix — has either played or coached under Sheridan. The lineage has been prosperous.

I talk to Hendrix a fair amount, most times without a recorder running. He is affable and likes to laugh. Onetime offensive linemen make good coaches.

“We’ve changed a lot of stuff,” Hendrix said. “You evolve in this game. Whether it’s hiring new coaches or recruiting new athletes, you contact the right people and you ask the right questions. You’ve got to have people you trust.

“I feel great about that right now.”

The heir apparent at quarterback, Jake Garcia, has spent time at Miami, Missouri, East Carolina and Michigan. Playing ball is a great way to see the country. Hendrix said Garcia is selfless, talented and fits the program. He plays against type. He loves to play football and wants another shot.

Furman has 14 starters returning as practice beckons..

The sky is the limit this time of year.

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