Furman Makes Midseason Change at Offensive Coordinator
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- With Furman's offense struggling to both score points and sustain drives, a change was made in offensive leadership Sunday, as Justin Roper asked to relinquish his play-calling duties and was let go effective immediately. Quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Drew Dudzik will take over the play-calling duties for the remainder of the season.
Roper was extremely vital to helping Furman win 20 games, win its first outright SoCon title (2023) in 34 years, and make a pair of FCS Playoff appearances in his first two seasons as the Paladin OC.
The rare mid-season change by Furman 10th-year head coach Clay Hendrix was made with precision timing and with much consideration, as the 2-3 Paladins will look to make a charge at a 16th Southern Conference title and 21st playoff bid after starting the league campaign in positive fashion by knocking off two-time defending champion and then No. 14 Mercer, 20-13, a couple of weeks ago.
Back-to-back losses at home to No. 16 SC State (L, 20-17) and at No. 19 Richmond (13-9) were enough to prompt the immediate change. Furman's defense held the Spiders to just 13 points and forced four turnovers, however, weren't able to find the end zone against an FCS opponent for the first time in five seasons and ended up with a second-straight loss, squandering a golden opportunity at a second win over ranked opposition in 2026.
The Roper Era
Roper assumed the play-calling duties for the Paladins when he was hired from Holy Cross prior to the 2022 season, which would turn out to be his most successful campaign leading the Paladin offense.
He joined the Paladin staff as offensive coordinator after George Quarles was hired as the new head coach at East Tennessee State, as then ETSU head coach Randy Sanders abruptly retired following an 11-win, SoCon title-winning season for the Bucs. The dominoes started to fall into place for Clay Hendrix to go out and hire Roper from Holy Cross.
In 2022, the Paladins averaged 33.3 PPG and 421.9 YPG, even out-gaining FBS No. 6 Clemson (383-376) in what was a 35-12 loss. However, the Furman offense would see a gradual decline since that season, as the Paladins would go on to win 10 games and finished the season ranking 29th nationally in total offense, 15th in rushing offense (212.8 YPG), 38th in team passing efficiency (139.6), 25th in scoring offense (33.1 PPG) and 29th in third down conversion percentage (0.434).
Furman's 2023 Playoff Run
Furman would be noticeably less efficient offensively in 2023, however, with Tyler Huff leading the charge, the Paladins would still have more than enough to make a deep run to the FCS Quarterfinals in the playoffs before losing to Montana, 35-28, in overtime.
Furman might have hosted that game had it found a way past Wofford in the regular-season finale, which was a game that the Paladins lost without the services of Huff, who got injured in Furman's SoCon title-clinching, 17-14, win at Chattanooga a couple of weeks earlier.
Carson Jones, who was making just his second start, couldn't solve Wofford's stout defense on that particular afternoon, and the Paladins likely forfeited a Top four seed as a result, dropping a 19-13 game.
Huff not only posted a 19-4 overall record against all competition at Furman, including an unbeaten 13-0 against Southern Conference competition, he also managed to post a 16-2 record against FCS teams in his career, with the only two losses in games he started coming in the FCS playoffs in both the 2022 and '23 campaigns, both were games that the Paladins could have easily won, as both Incarnate Word (L, 41-38/2022 FCS Second Rd) and Montana (L, 35-28 OT/2023 FCS Quarterfinals) accounted for the only two FCS teams to defeat Furman when Huff started under center in 2022 and '23.
Huff also ended his Paladin career having never lost a home game, having gone a perfect 10-0 inside the friendly confines of Paladin Stadium during his career. He was named SoCon Offensive Player of the Year as a senior.
Furman would also lose one of its best running backs in the modern era of the program, in Dominic Roberto, who exercised all of his eligibility. Roberto finished his career as one of the greats to ever tote the pigskin for the Paladins, and finished out a strong career with 2,871 rushing yards to go with 32 career touchdowns. He finished his standout career ranking eighth in school history in career rushing yards.
At that time, Roper helped develop Huff as the Furman quarterbacks coach, and having Huff under center allowed Roper to call plays that suited his overall strengths. After all, Roper helped develop former Holy Cross quarterback Matthew Sluka in 2021, helping guide the Crusaders to back-to-back Patriot League titles.
The Paladins weren’t overwhelming statistically during the 2023 season. Furman finished out the '23 season ranking 69th in the FCS in total offense (346.6 YPG), 43rd in rushing offense (156.9 YPG), 75th in passing offense (189.7 YPG) and 45th in scoring offense (27.4 PPG). The Paladins also ranked 47th in the nation in third down conversion percentage (.402).
TURNING POINT
The real downfall for Roper and the Furman offense would start in 2024, and with a mass exodus of 46 departing seniors, there weren't huge expectations for the '24 Paladins, despite being picked to finish second in the SoCon.
Roper's offense struggled with true freshman Trey Hedden, the player that would end up leading the offense, as it would turn out to be one of the worst seasons offensively in the modern era of Furman football.
Most chalked it up to starting a freshman quarterback for a large chunk of the season, however, that didn't account for Furman's failure to have any kind of ground attack.
Not only did the Paladins finish with just a 3-8 record overall, including a 2-5 league mark, they also struggled in all facets offensively, finishing averaging just 315.0 YPG, including 89.8 YPG on the ground.
The Paladins finished with just 988 rushing yards for the season, averaging just 2.6 yards-per-rush and a total of just 4.7 yards-per-play. Furman scored just 216 points, averaging just 19.6 PPG. Only five times since 1973 has a Furman offense averaged less than 20 PPG.
Passing Records, But Offensive Struggles Continue
The 2025 season didn't see Furman fare much better, as Furman would see Trey Hedden have a record-setting season as a passer, breaking Ingle Martin's single-season passing yardage mark set back in 2005.
Hedden set single-season records for passing yards (2,967), eclipsing former Paladin legendary quarterback Ingle Martin in Furman's run to the FCS Semifinals in 2005, as the Florida transfer passed for 2,959 yards in 14 games.
Hedden finished out his two seasons as Furman's quarterback, connecting on 287-of-420 passes for 4,734 yards, with 30 TDs and 22 INTs. He opted to transfer to New Mexico State following the season.
All told, Furman finished out the 2025 season ranking 70th in total offense (350.8 YPG), 116th in rushing offense (100.5 YPG), 21st in passing offense (250.2 YPG), 68th in scoring offense (24.4 PPG) and 57th in third down conversion percentage (39.1%).
The Paladins did at least see improvement in the win column, finishing a respectable 6-6 overall, including a 4-4 mark in league play.
Furman head coach Clay Hendrix re-assigned Justin Roper after a tumultuous two seasons under center for Hedden, as Roper was entrusted to bring in a quarterback to elevate on what Tyler Huff had done in two seasons, which was get Furman back being a perennial contender atop FCS football.
Hedden's addition and style under center was quite the opposite, with his lack of mobility leading to Furman allowing 60 sacks in two seasons.
2026 Struggles Force a Change
With 19 sacks yielded already through five games, the Paladins now have surrendered 79 sacks over the course of the past 28 games, dating back to the start of the 2024 season.
The Paladins currently rank 92nd nationally in total offense (302.2 YPG), 110th in scoring offense (15.0 PPG), and 119th out of 124 teams ranked in sacks allowed (19/3.80 SPG).
The Paladins brought in a pair of talented quarterbacks--Connor Ackerley from Western New Mexico and Jake Garcia from Michigan. The Paladins haven't scored more than 20 points in any game this season, and despite having one of the best defenses in the SoCon and FCS, sit just 2-3 overall, including back-to-back losses to No. 16 SC State (L, 20-17) and at No. 19 Richmond (L, 13-9).
In Roper's defense, Furman had to replace its top two receiving targets (Evan James and Colton Hinton). James ended up being a record-setting target and is currently playing a big role for the Iowa Hawkeyes this season.
James finished off a record-setting freshman campaign with 65 catches for 796 yards and seven TDs, averaging 12.2 YPR in 2025, and is a big reason why Furman was able to chart its 39th season of the past 48 campaigns with a .500 or better mark.
Currently, Furman is on pace to have one of the worst offensive seasons in the modern era, and after the Paladins failed to score a touchdown in four quarters against Richmond, marking first time since a Sept. 25, 2021, 24-3, home loss to Mercer, it was time for a change to be made.
With Roper as the offensive coordinator (54 games dating back to 2022), the Paladins scored 30 or more points just 15 times in 54 games, with 10 of those 30-point games coming in 2022 and '23, while the Paladin offense has produced just five 30-point games in the past 29 games.
Furman is 13-2 in games in which it has scored 30 or more points in the past four-and-a-half seasons.
Up Next: The I-85 Rivalry
Furman is set to host Wofford Saturday at Paladin Stadium in the I-85 rivalry.
The Terriers have won three-straight against Furman, having held the Paladins to just 13 points in each of the past three meetings, including blowing out the Paladins 31-13 last season in Spartanburg.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. EST this coming Saturday at Paladin Stadium.
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