Dowell Loggains
In his own words
We were gonna play a lot of people early. I didn’t think I did a good job of that last year
We’re really excited to be able to open this game at home versus an opponent that’s got a really rich tradition of winning
You have to lead to your own authentic self. Colton sacrificed a lot to get to the point he’s at right now
The players know the guys who play well, and for us to have a quarterback unanimously voted as one of the team captains was a big deal for us
I think coach Stevens has done a really good job; he played defensive line, and I think the strength of their team is their defensive line
Been a really good summer
Malachi came in here and did a really good job and earned the team’s respect and was a unanimous captain and played really well
We did a big study on the Seahawks, because I think they played four Thursday night games, and they were pretty successful last year in these things
The biggest thing it does for our football program is it creates competition
Career arc
Peak stature class reached, season by season, across every program he’s coached. Node color marks the tier — that’s the y-axis, so it stays the tier’s color, not the team’s. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.
Reached National Program in his 1st career season — faster than 41% of the 675 FBS coaches who have ever reached National Program (rank #1 of 675 by seasons-to-arrival).
Style position and drift
Where each stint’s offense sat between run-first and pass-first, and how far it moved from one season to the next. The band is that stint’s real season-to-season range, not a fixed-width box.
The big-game ledger
How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.
1–2 against his rivals.
His own effect, isolated
A statistical estimate of this coach’s contribution to team performance, separated from that season’s roster talent, returning production, and his coordinators — pooled across his whole head-coaching career.
Model fit as of 2026-09-04.
Coaching career
5th-best App State tenure of 7 by the numbers.
Underperforms his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.
Followed Shawn Clark (2019–2024).
| Season | 2025 | 2026 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record & result | |||
| Record | 5–8 | 0–0 | |
| Postseason | L bowl | — | |
| Recruiting rank | #116 | #59 | |
| Style — pass rate | |||
| Pass rate | 55.3 | 45.8 | |
| Coordinators | |||
| OC | — | Mike Anthony | |
| DC | D. J. Smith | D. J. Smith | |
| Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile | |||
| Offense | 17 | — | |
| Defense | 20 | — | |
| Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only) | |||
| 1st-down pass% | 45.5 | 47.8 | |
| Red-zone pass% | 48.5 | 41.2 | |
| 4th-down go%opp. territory | 43.2 | — | |
A portal-built roster.
Typical size for position, once adjusted for position mix.
Recruits younger transfers than most — more of a development bet.
AI Narratives — “App State — stat check”.