The questions are being asked even more these days as to whether Group of Six schools and conferences are becoming a minor league system for Power Four schools.
My answer is yes, and it’s obviously because of NIL. It is not just happening with players, but with coaches as well.
Let’s take a look at last year’s FBS champion, Indiana. The Hoosiers got their head coach and many from his staff, along with some key players from G6 schools, mainly James Madison.
Curt Cignetti had five successful seasons at James Madison, going 52-9 overall including 19-4 in 2022 and 2023, which were the Dukes’ first seasons as an FBS program.
At the time of his hiring, Indiana was a downtrodden program, going 9-27 the previous three seasons before Cignetti went 11-2 and earned a College Football Playoff berth in 2024. Then of course, Cignetti took it a major step further with the 16-0 national championship season last year.
Among the staff that followed Cignetti to Indiana was current defensive coordinator Bryant Haines and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan.
A classic example of a G6-to-P4 star was cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who was a standout under Cignetti at James Madison in 2023, earning freshman All-American honors.
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Ponds spent the last two years at Indiana and was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the New York Jets, the No. 50 overall selection. Indiana linebacker Aiden Fisher also followed Cignetti from JMU to Indiana and earned two different first-team All-American honors in 2025. He was a seventh-round selection by the Houston Texans.
Those are just a couple examples. The success of Cignetti seems to have opened the door even more for G6 coaches to move on.
Speaking of James Madison, the Dukes lost another coach to a P4 school when UCLA hired Bob Chesney following this last season.
In the American Conference alone, four coaches moved to Power Four schools this offseason. Eric Morris went from North Texas to Oklahoma State. Alex Golesh is now at Auburn after three seasons at South Florida. Ryan Silverfield went from Memphis to Arkansas. Jon Sumrall is now at Florida after guiding Tulane the previous two years.
Look at many of the successful Power Four teams and most have players on their roster who were G6 standouts. Quarterback Darian Mensah had a big season for Tulane in 2024, went to Duke last season, and helped lead the Blue Devils to the ACC Championship before transferring to Miami.
Another area to look at is how many players from G6 schools are being selected in the NFL Draft. This year, there were 257 players selected. Just 15 of them came from G6 schools.
Granted, there were still some talented players such as San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson, selected in the first round by the Miami Dolphins, and Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, a second-round pick by the Cleveland Browns.
Of the 15 players, eight were selected in the seventh round, including Buffalo linebacker Red Murdock, who was picked by Denver as the 257th and final pick, earning “ Mr. Irrelevant” status.
By our count, that was down from 19 G6 players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. So this year, there were fewer players, and the trend may continue.
This past offseason continued the trend of G6 players being recruited (and paid) by Power Four schools, especially at prominent positions.
For instance, quarterback Drew Mestemaker followed Morris from North Texas to Oklahoma State and quarterback Byrum Brown followed Golesh from USF to Auburn.
Mestemaker was the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year while North Texas running back Caleb Hawkins was the American’s Rookie of the Year. Like Mestemaker, Hawkins followed Morris to Oklahoma State.
One reason many Power Four teams are raiding G6 squads is that it is easier to get a developed player, and in many instances, it is less of a risk to pay them than to try to develop a freshman.
It’s a credit to G6 schools that they keep developing players who are desired by so many Power Four squads. But the trends of coaches and players leaving for big P4 bucks only looks like it’ll continue.
While some may be offended by having G6 schools referred to as a minor league system, call it whatever you want. But whatever the name, Power Four general managers will continue to have heavy interest in players who excel at the G6 level.
