2025 Harding Bisons football team

2025 Harding Bisons football
GAC champion
NCAA Division II playoffs
Conference	Great American Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 2
Record	14–0 (11–0 GAC)
Head coach	Paul Simmons (9th season)
Offensive scheme	Flexbone triple option
Defensive coordinator	Roddy Mote (9th season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Luke Tribble (9th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	First Security Stadium
Seasons ←  2024 2026 →

2025 Great American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Harding $^		11	–	0					14	–	0
Southern Arkansas		8	–	3					8	–	3
Henderson State		8	–	3					8	–	3
Ouachita Baptist		7	–	4					7	–	4
Arkansas Tech #		7	–	4					7	–	5
East Central		6	–	5					6	–	6
SW Oklahoma State		6	–	5					6	–	5
SE Oklahoma State		5	–	6					5	–	6
Arkansas–Monticello		2	–	9					2	–	9
Oklahoma Baptist		2	–	9					2	–	9
NW Oklahoma State		2	–	9					2	–	9
Southern Nazarene		2	–	9					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant # – Heritage Bowl participant Rankings from AFCA poll

The 2025 Harding Bisons football team represented Harding University in the 2025 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the Great American Conference (GAC). The Bisons were led by ninth-year head coach Paul Simmons and played their home games at First Security Stadium in Searcy, Arkansas.

The team entered the 2025 season as the 2024 GAC co-champions. They were undefeated in the 2025 regular season, winning the GAC conference outright. ^[1]

In the NCAA Division II playoffs, Harding defeated Northwest Missouri State, Pittsburg State and Texas-Permian Basin, on way to the program's third playoff semifinals. Against UTPB, the Bisons' rushed for 389 yards, pushing their season total to 6,308 yards and eclipsing the all-division college football record of 6,160 yards set by the 2023 Harding squad. The Bisons also broke their own single-season record for rushing touchdowns, scoring four times on the ground to bring their season total to 80. ^{[2] [3]}

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	6:00 p.m.	at Northwestern Oklahoma State	No. 2	Ranger Field Alva, OK		W 49–7	500
September 11	7:00 p.m.	Southwestern Oklahoma State	No. 2	First Security Stadium Searcy, AR		W 55–0	2,750
September 20	6:00 p.m.	at Southern Arkansas	No. 2	Memorial Stadium El Dorado, AR		W 31–12	6,867
September 27	7:00 p.m.	Ouachita Baptist	No. 2	First Security Stadium Searcy, AR		W 24–7	5,125
October 4	2:00 p.m.	East Central	No. 2	First Security Stadium Searcy, AR		W 65–0	2,025
October 9	6:00 p.m.	at Southeastern Oklahoma State	No. 2	Paul Laird Field Durant, OK		W 35–7	1,464
October 18	5:10 p.m.	at Henderson State	No. 2	Carpenter–Haygood Stadium Arkadelphia, AR		W 35–10	3,722
October 25	2:00 p.m.	Arkansas–Monticello	No. 2	First Security Stadium Searcy, AR		W 55–0	1,250
November 1	3:00 p.m.	Oklahoma Baptist	No. 2	First Security Stadium Searcy, AR		W 69–0	3,050
November 8	2:00 p.m.	at Southern Nazarene	No. 2	SNU Stadium Bethany, OK		W 52–14	2,754
November 15	2:00 p.m.	at Arkansas Tech	No. 2	Thone Stadium Russellville, AR		W 47–13	4,713
November 22	1:00 p.m.	No. 14 Northwest Missouri State	No. 2	First Security Stadium Searcy, AR (NCAA Division II First Round)	ESPN+	W 38–16	3,225
November 29	1:00 p.m.	No. 6 Pittsburg State	No. 2	First Security Stadium Searcy, AR (NCAA Division II Second Round)	ESPN+	W 37–21	2,125
December 6	1:00 p.m.	No. 10 UT Permian Basin	No. 2	First Security Stadium Searcy, AR (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)	ESPN+	W 34–28	2,775
December 13	2:30 p.m.	at No. 3 Kutztown	No. 2	Andre Reed Stadium Kutztown, PA (NCAA Division II Semifinal)	ESPN+
Homecoming Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]

Rankings

See also: 2025 NCAA Division II football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
AFCA	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2 (1)
D2 Football	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Personnel

2025 Harding Bisons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 2 Josh Strickland Jr. Jr RB 7 Braden Jay Sr RB 8 Andrew Miller Jr RB 9 Christian Franklin Sr RB 10 Josh Evans-Pickens  So QB 11 Kyler Finney  Fr WR 13 Brady Barnett  So RB 14 Brandon Hines Jr. Jr QB 15 Cole Keylon Sr QB 16 Malik Young Jr QB 17 Camren Cavalier  Fr WR 18 Darius Brown Sr QB 19 Carter Zimmerman  Fr RB 21 Bo Simpson  Fr RB 23 Da'Shawn Chairs  Fr RB 24 Ben Boehm  Fr WR 25 Tristan Wiley Jr WR 26 Bob Patterson  Fr WR 30 Mabry Verser  Fr RB 32 Sam Mitchum  So RB 34 Dax Goff  Fr RB 36 Lawson Sullivan Fr RB 37 Antonio Ford  Fr RB 43 Jax Glendenning Fr TE 46 Talan Owen  Fr OL 50 Jose Lopez Jr OL 51 Mike Ericson Sr OL 52 Gavin Waters  Fr OL 53 Lucas McCain  Fr OL 54 Jake Mitchell Sr OL 56 David Gomez Jr OL 60 Jackson Harrison So OL 61 John Silvestri  Fr OL 62 Josh Lawrence  So OL 64 Jude Steffen Sr OL 65 Joshua Cobb  So OL 70 Jordan McClaine  Jr OL 75 Cobe Williams  So OL 76 Matt Colvin  So OL 78 Dylan Daring Sr WR 80 Drew Porter Sr WR 81 Jackson Richardson  So WR 82 Bodie Neal  So WR 83 Jack Citty  Fr TE 87 Isaac Gray  So TE 87 Levi Mercer  So WR 88 Elijah Carlton  So TE 89 Johnathan Vining  So WR Eli Brooks Fr WR Jordan Brown Fr RB Parker Bruno Fr OL Andrew Dawson Fr OL Braeden Gibson Fr OL Kameron Kauffman Fr OL Bradyn King Fr OL Josh Luallen Fr OL Hayden Miller Fr QB Malikai Miller Fr WR Levi Phillips Fr OL Tate Spray Fr QB Cody Stoever Fr RB Harrison Williams Fr RB DK Wilson Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 0 Jordan Mays  So DB 1 Grayson Lewis  So DB 3 G'Kyson Wright  So DB 4 Deion Campbell Jr LB 5 Kyle Henry So DB 6 Luke Martin Jr LB 11 Luke Janack Sr DB 12 Troy Wiseman Sr DB 15 Corey Dean  Fr DB 16 Lamont Cox  So DB 17 Zach Valcarcel Jr DB 18 Cole Redding Fr DB 19 Josh Gatlin  Fr DB 20 Ty Dugger Sr DB 22 Curtis Jackson Sr DL 23 Tony Agyapong Sr LB 24 Clark Griffin  Sr DB 26 Cedric Twyman Fr DB 27 Drew Nelson  So DB 28 Zac O'Day Jr DB 29 Kelon Fountain  Fr DB 31 Ahmad Jenkins  Fr DB 33 Connor Dean  Fr DL 35 Kaleb Walker  Fr DB 36 Carter Hill  So LB 37 Cooper Parker Fr DL 40 Kaden Spencer  Fr LB 41 Caden Davis Fr LB 44 Kaden Henley So DL 45 Justin Sobczak Jr LB 46 Andrew McCall So DL 47 Will Dunn Sr LB 48 Dane Williams  Fr DL 55 Kaynan Harris Fr DL 66 Noah Ostrander Fr DL 90 Chase Gratt Jr DL 91 Brock Knapton  So DL 92 Bryce Rushing  So DL 93 Josh Garner Fr DL 95 Nii Addy  So DL 96 Joseph Oluwayemi  So LB Kason Brooks Fr DL Nick Carden Fr DL Dylan Chapman Fr DL Vinny Discon Fr LB Carter Henley Fr DB Brett Jay Fr DB Jo Mahop Sr DL Solza McCullough Fr DB Owen Miller Fr DB Champ Robinson Fr DB Josh Smith Fr DB Brycen Spencer Fr DL Parker Todd Fr DB Percy Towns Fr DB Jacoby Wade Fr DL Will Watts Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 38 Luke Mammana Sr K 39 Magnus Lepak Jr LS 49 Xavier Hylton Sr LS 57 Aidan Hall  Fr K, P 84 Griffin Thomas  Fr LS 86 Jack Edwards  Fr	Head coach Paul Simmons Coordinators/assistant coaches Tre'von Biglow Defensive line Sam Blakenship Safeties Kevin Chism Offensive line Ryan Derrick Wide receivers Will Francis Quarterbacks/Fullbacks Roddy Mote Defensive coordinator/Linebackers Luke Tribble Co-defensive coordinator/Special teams coordinator/Defensive backs Matt Underwood Director of recruiting/Slotbacks Kenny Wheaton Offensive consultant Jay Durrell Defensive graduate assistant William Griffin Offensive graduate assistant Jhalen Spicer Offensive graduate assistant Jake Graff Defensive graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: December 7, 2025

References

1. https://hardingsports.com/sports/football/schedule
2. https://www.magnoliareporter.com/sports/southern_arkansas_sports/article_13502580-af42-45d8-b08d-cb65e9fd2427.html
3. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/dec/06/harding-survives-close-call-downs-texas-permian-basin/
4. "2025 Football Schedule". Harding University Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2025.