After last year’s historic season, which saw the program produce a conference championship for the first time in 51 tries, the Mercer Bears are aiming to make a bigger dent on the national scene.
Mercer went 11-3 a year ago under first-year coach Mike Jacobs and won the Southern Conference championship. It was the most success the Macon school has enjoyed since restarting its program in 2013. The Bears reached the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs before losing to eventual national champion North Dakota State.
Although graduation and expected transfer losses yielded a different look, the expectations are high. At the preseason SoCon football meetings, the Bears were picked as the team to beat. When the preseason FCS rankings were released last week, Mercer came in at No. 11.
Jacobs said it still comes down to the lines of scrimmage. The play there sparked last year’s success and will determine how this season evolves.
“More than anything, we place a high value on the line of scrimmage,” Jacobs said. “In my opinion, you have to be able to run the football, and you have to be able to stop the run, and you have to be elite in special teams. Teams that do those three things at a high level give themselves an opportunity to win each week.”
The Bears were outstanding on offense and defense a year ago, but their defense was elite. Mercer led the nation in five defensive categories, including forced turnovers (34), interceptions (25) and run defense (70.8 yards). The defense scored eight touchdowns and averaged 3.29 sacks.
The defense is led by lineman Andrew Zock, a freshman All-American who was chosen as the league’s preseason player of the year. Zock is a 6-foot-2, 250-pound mayhem maker who had 14.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks and two forced fumbles. He finished fourth in voting for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the nation’s top FCS freshman.
Larger programs made overtures to entice Zock to leave, but he returned to Mercer.
“Andrew was open with us, and he communicated,” Jacobs said. “He’s having a good experience here at Mercer. Now that doesn’t mean we’re going to keep him forever, but we were able to take care of him through our collective and some other ways and make it where he felt he could still accomplish his goals here at Mercer.”
The offense was good, too. It averaged 30.6 points and 375.3 yards in total offense in 2024.
The offensive line features tackle Xavier Jennings, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior who was a first-team preseason all-SoCon choice, and guard Tyler Murray, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound sophomore who was a second-team selection.
Their presence will make it easier to replace offensive player of the year Dwayne McGee, who rushed for 1,191 yards last season. CJ Miller, Micah Bell and Autavius Ison, an all-conference transfer from Charleston Southern, are in line as the successors. A pair of preseason all-conference receivers, Adjatay Dabbs and Adonis McDaniel, also helps.
His arrival at Mercer marks the second time that Jacobs has followed Drew Cronic as head coach, neither time as a member of the existing staff. Jacobs took over at Lenoir-Rhyne when Cronic went to Mercer, then joined the Bears when Cronic departed to become offensive coordinator at Navy.
Jacobs was drawn to Mercer after gauging the commitment of the administration to the program and then realizing the amount of talent in Georgia.
“Those two things were really big for us,” Jacobs said. “When you look at the administrative commitment and the proximity to the best high school football in the country. I can drive an hour and be at some of the best high schools in the country, the best high school football players.”
Jacobs credits staff consistency for his ongoing success. Shawn Chaffee, the associate head coach, has been with Jacobs for eight years. Defensive coordinator Jahmal Brown and offensive coordinator Anthony Soto also have long relationships with Jacobs.
The Bears open the season Aug. 23 in a nationally televised showcase game against Cal-Davis, ranked No. 8 in the FCS preseason poll, at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. The Aggies were 11-3 last season and also reached the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
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