In February, Georgia Southern promoted passing game coordinator Ryan Aplin to their vacant offensive coordinator position. Longtime fans of the Sun Belt Conference will likely remember Aplin's time with another SBC program.
In both 2011 and 2012, Aplin led the Arkansas State Red Wolves to the Sun Belt Conference title. The Florida native was also Sun Belt Player of the Year in both of those seasons.
Aplin recently appeared on G5 Football Daily's podcast to discuss his time at Arkansas State, as well as his current work with Georgia Southern.
"Probably the best times in my life," Aplin said of his days in Jonesboro.
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Aplin is still the Arkansas State record holder for career total offense (12,514 yards), completions (906) and passing yards (10,758). A three-time All-SBC selection, Aplin also threw 67 touchdown passes in college and was the MVP of the 2013 GoDaddy Bowl. As his playing career drew to an end, his final home game with the Red Wolves still stands out as his favorite memory from that chapter of his life.
"I felt like it was like a Disney movie," Aplin said.
In that contest (which predated the institution of the league championship game), Aplin threw three touchdowns and ran for one in a 45-0 win over Middle Tennessee.
"I had my entire family there. I'm from Florida. So to have thirty-plus people come to my last home game and for it to end the way it did it was really, really cool."
Shortly after his playing career ended, Aplin began his coaching career at Auburn in 2014. He's since had stints as an offensive assistant at North Alabama, Chattanooga, Western Kentucky, and even a season at his alma mater in 2021. Aplin joined Georgia Southern in 2022.
"Probably the biggest thing for me is the relationships," Aplin noted of what made him want to don the headset and whistle. "Watching these kids grow, not just on the field, but in life."
Listen to the full interview below or download it here.
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