HERO Sports will take you conference-by-conference with FCS recruiting, and let you know who has the class to be coveted.
Today, we rank the Big South Conference.
Today's ranking (below) takes into account only high school recruits who have committed to FCS schools (NOTE: JUCOs and other transfers will be evaluated later this spring). Further updates will continue through national signing day. How do we rank? We pay more attention to the scholarship offers an athlete received than any kind of star rating from a recruiting service. If an FCS recruit holds 17 offers and 6 are of the FBS variety? That will rank him above a recruit who holds three — we let the colleges do the evaluations of film, they're the ones who get paid well to do that. Full final rankings will be released for teams and prospects on Monday, Feb. 11 at 12 p.m. ET[divider]
RECRUITING SCHEDULE: Conf. by Conf. – And The Grand Finale[divider]
BMAC'S BIG SOUTH TAKE:
| RK | FCS SCHOOL | CONF. | SIGNEES |
| 1 | Kennesaw State | BIG SOUTH | 23 |
| 2 | Charleston Southern | BIG SOUTH | 18 |
| 3 | Gardner-Webb | BIG SOUTH | 22 |
| 4 | Monmouth | BIG SOUTH | 19 |
Kennesaw State has dominated the Big South Conference since 2016, and the Owls are doing the same in 2019 recruiting — which is crucial because the program is now in its first season without its initial signing class, and the roster "talent well" needs to fill up some. The Owls signed a nice group in December but have added three more talented recruits in January — Kent State DB decommitment Donte Justice, DL Demetric Barnes (Troy offer, 14 total offers) and LB William Jenkins (Ball State and South Alabama offers). Also note … talented WR commit Xavier Roberts told HERO Sports that although he didn't sign in the early period, he is still on board with KSU. Stay tuned.
THE WINNER?: Kennesaw State, hands down.
THE UPSTARTS?: This choice is easy — Gardner-Webb's doing a great job cleaning house in the Carolinas and Georgia, and those are some nice hotbeds for talent. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any football program, and when there is a special energy to be sensed — as there seems to be right now with GWU? — that's usually a sign of good things to come on the field, too. Head coach Carroll McCray has to be stoked about what is going on, and what his staff has been able to do so far.[divider]
THE TOP BIG SOUTH PROSPECTS
(Ranked as of Feb. 6)
| RK | FCS CHOICE | POS | PROSPECT | HOMETOWN | OTHER D-1 OPTIONS |
| 1 | HAMPTON | OL | Erik Walker | Gibsonville, NC | N.C. State, North Carolina, Tulane |
| 2 | MONMOUTH | LB | Isaiah Bishop | Boyds, MD | Missouri, 4 FBS, 7 total |
| 3 | CHARLESTON SOUTH. | WR | Kaleb Chatmon | Cartersville, GA | West Virginia, 8 FBS offers |
| 4 | CHARLESTON SOUTH. | WR | Isaiah Stephens | Tampa, FL | Indiana, 6 FBS, 10 total |
| 5 | GARDNER WEBB | DB | Jamari Brown | Covington, GA | USF decommit, 6 FBS offers, 12 total |
| 6 | KENNESAW STATE | QB | Xavier Shepherd | Nashville, TN | 5 FBS offers, 11 total |
| 7 | KENNESAW STATE | DL | Joel Parker | Birmingham, AL | 4 FBS, 15 total |
| 8 | CAMPBELL | WR | Jalen Kelsey | Gainesville, FL | Indiana, 3 FBS, 8 total |
| 9 | CHARLESTON SOUTH. | LB | Kevon Hilliard | Cornelius, NC | 5 FBS offers, 10 total |
| 10 | KENNESAW STATE | RB | Preston Daniels | Sandersville, GA | 5 FBS offers |
| 11 | KENNESAW STATE | DL | Demetric Barnes | Lithonia, GA | Troy, 13 FCS offes |
| 12 | KENNESAW STATE | WR | Traveon Latimore | Danielsville, GA | 3 FBS and 11 total offers |
| 13 | GARDNER WEBB | DB | Adonis Henderson | Charlotte, NC | Toledo, 8 FCS offers |
| 14 | GARDNER WEBB | WR | Jameson Turner | Tifton, GA | Miami (Ohio), Ga. Southern, 7 total |
| 15 | MONMOUTH | LB | Jyair Thomas | Owings Mills, MD | All 3 Academies, 6 total offers |
| 16 | MONMOUTH | TE | Sean Fleming | Dobbs Ferry, NY | Buffalo, 8 total offers |
| 17 | KENNESAW STATE | LB | Jeremy Dees | Evergreen, AL | Air Force, 9 total FCS offers |
| 18 | HAMPTON | DL | Jay'ree Hardy | Suffolk, VA | Marshall, Old Dominion, Temple |
| 19 | NORTH ALABAMA | DB | Riely Evans | Courtland, AL | Southern Miss, FAU, 6 offers |
| 20 | KENNESAW STATE | RB | Nykeem Farrow | Bleckley, GA | Army, 7 FCS offers |
| 21 | GARDNER WEBB | OL | Gabriel Thompson | Spartanburg, SC | Coastal Carolina, 4 FCS offers |
| 22 | GARDNER WEBB | DB | A.J. Thomas | Acworth, GA | Temple, Mercer, SEMO |
| 23 | KENNESAW STATE | LB | William Jenkins | Ellenwood, GA | Ball State, South Alabama |
| 24 | NORTH ALABAMA | OL | Nathan Brown | Spanish Fort, AL | South Alabama, UAB, 6 offers |
| 25 | GARDNER WEBB | WR | Devron Harper | Conyers, GA | Liberty, South Alabama, 6 FCS offers |
