The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Shawn Clark

Followed Scott Satterfield. Shawn Clark moved App State from National Program II to National Program I in 6 seasons.

40–24

2019–2024 · 1 stint

Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. 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).

App State, 6 seasons

+3.6

National Program II → National Program II.

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.

Pass rate — share of offensive plays that were pass attemptsfirst covered seasonmost recent covered seasonfull season-to-season range (3+ covered seasons)

How much that is, against every other stint

Season-to-season pass-rate range for all 258 FBS coaching stints with at least three covered seasons, 2014–2025.

Typical stint7.010.2 median13.9middle half of all stints

App State15.0pt#54 of 258 · more than most

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.

4–5 against his rivals. Just 1–2 against Clay Helton.

Rivalry record

4–5

44.4% · 3 rivals

One-score games

9–9

50.0% · margin ≤8

vs. Blue Blood or better

0–1

0.0%

Rivalry ledger

Coastal Carolina1–325%

Georgia Southern2–250%

Charlotte1–0100%

The toughest matchup

vs. Clay Helton1–2

3 meetings, 2022–2024

’22 L · blew a 7-pt lead’23 W · erased a 11-pt deficit’24 L

33% win rate across a real, 3-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.

Performance by opponent class

Blue Blood

0–1 0.0%

Power Program

1–0 100.0%

National Program

0–4 0.0%

Regional Program

26–14 65.0%

Coaching career

2019–2024

App Statecaretaker

National Program II → National Program I

Shawn Clark moved App State from National Program II to National Program I in 6 seasons.

1st-best App State tenure of 7 by the numbers.

Recruiter or developer?

Outperforms his recruiting talent, on both sides of the ball.

Offense vs. talent

+26.9 pts

#17 of 208 · more than most

Defense vs. talent

+22.1 pts

#23 of 208 · more than most

Recruiting talent is team-wide (no offense/defense split exists in the source data) -- both sides are scored against the same talent input, only the outcome is side-specific.

Followed Scott Satterfield (2014–2018) · succeeded by Dowell Loggains (2025–2026).

Season	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Record & result
Record	12–1	9–3	10–4	6–6	9–5	5–6
Postseason	W bowl	W bowl	L bowl	—	W bowl	—
Recruiting rank	#101	#83	#69	#83	#80	#94
Style — pass rate
Pass rate	38.1	35.5	42.1	43.0	46.9	50.5
Coordinators
OC	—	Tony Petersen	Frank Ponce	Kevin Barbay	Frank Ponce	Frank Ponce
DC	Ted Roof	Dale Jones	Dale Jones	Dale Jones	Scot Sloan	Scot Sloan
Outcome — opponent-adjusted efficiency percentile
Offense	85	66	67	77	77	53
Defense	85	92	96	48	56	24
Tendencies — play-by-play, neutral script (2021+ only)
1st-down pass%	34.4	34.6	43.0	38.8	42.9	42.3
Red-zone pass%	32.9	39.0	33.3	33.3	43.6	42.6
4th-down go%opp. territory	34.1	40.0	51.0	60.5	46.0	51.4

Roster construction · portal era

A typical amount of portal roster-building.

Portal arrivals

2.9★ avg rating

Portal departures

left via the portal

Net portal flow

-5

#112 of 187 FBS stints

Who they bring in

Typical size for position, once adjusted for position mix.

Recruits older, more experienced transfers than most.

Avg. size (raw)

6′2″, 242 lbs

across 39 of 44 arrivals — unadjusted for position mix

Size vs. position-typical

+4.7 lbs

#99 of 255 · a typical amount

Avg. class year

#43 of 255 · more than most

Top states: NC (12), FL (7), GA (6), TX (2), SC (2)

Who won the portal our read

Talent added

52.1

position-weighted

Talent lost

52.1

position-weighted

Net

+0.1

arrivals minus departures

Best addition: Brady McBride (QB) from Texas State

Biggest loss: David Baldwin-Griffin (QB) to the portal

Position-value-weighted (QB/CB weighted highest, depth-decayed within each position) — the same scoring engine as the Portal Heat feed, not a separate grade.

Does the system survive a coordinator change?

OC: Tony Petersen → Frank Ponce · 2021

1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.

1st-down pass rate: 34.6% → 43.0% (+8.4 pts)

Confound, shown not hidden: only 65% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.

OC: Frank Ponce → Kevin Barbay · 2022

1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.

1st-down pass rate: 43.0% → 38.8% (-4.2 pts)

Confound, shown not hidden: only 56% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.

OC: Kevin Barbay → Frank Ponce · 2023

1-season window either side — numbers shown, not enough to badge a verdict.

1st-down pass rate: 38.8% → 42.9% (+4.1 pts)

Confound, shown not hidden: only 47% of offensive production returned the year the coordinator changed — the roster turned over at the same time, not just the play-caller.

DC: Dale Jones → Scot Sloan · 2023the defense collapsed across the change

2-season window either side.

Roster size, by position

Skill positions · usage-weighted (real participation)

Quarterback

218 lbs

6′2″ avg · #223 of 767 · a typical amount

Running back

207 lbs

6′0″ avg · #412 of 791 · a typical amount

Wide receiver

195 lbs

6′1″ avg · #298 of 791 · a typical amount

Tight end

242 lbs

6′4″ avg · #504 of 731 · a typical amount

Trench & secondary · recruited roster, not confirmed starters

Interior line

298 lbs

6′4″ avg · #722 of 779 · less than most

D-line

265 lbs

6′2″ avg · #715 of 753 · less than most

Linebacker

224 lbs

6′2″ avg · #616 of 772 · less than most

Cornerback

190 lbs

5′11″ avg · #395 of 771 · a typical amount

Offensive-line size is one undifferentiated bucket — the source data almost never distinguishes tackle from guard from center, so we can't split them out.

Where the roster comes from, by position

Grows Tight end from high school

100%

#164 of 188 stints

Grows Edge from high school

83%

#179 of 208 stints

Postseason detail2019: Beat UAB 31–17 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl2020: Beat North Texas 56–28 Myrtle Beach Bowl2021: Lost to Western Kentucky 38–59 RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl2023: Beat Miami (OH) 13–9 Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl

6 NFL Draft picks: Darrynton Evans (2020), Akeem Davis-Gaither (2020), Shemar Jean-Charles (2021), D'Marco Jackson (2022), Nick Hampton (2023), Cooper Hodges (2023)

1 player-season honored (All-America / national award): Shemar Jean-Charles (2020)

40–24