STATESBORO - Georgia Southern head football coach Clay Helton Monday announced that Ryan Aplin has been promoted to offensive coordinator of the Eagles and will also take over as the coach of the quarterbacks, replacing Bryan Ellis, who has resigned his post at Georgia Southern to pursue other professional opportunities.

"I am extremely excited for this opportunity and grateful for the trust and faith Coach Helton and administration have in me," Aplin said. I'm excited to keep things rolling and can't wait to get to spring ball."

Aplin, who was a two-time Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Year as a quarterback at Arkansas State, is entering his third season at Georgia Southern. He coached the tight ends and inside receivers and was the pass game coordinator for the past two seasons with Ellis, who served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The 2022 season, his first in Statesboro, was a record-breaking one for Aplin as he helped transform the Eagle offense into an aerial threat. Georgia Southern broke just about every passing record under all-conference quarterback Kyle Vantreese, who finished the year with 4,253 passing yards and 27 touchdowns. Three receivers had over 700 yards apiece, including Khaleb Hood, who broke the school's single-season receptions (87) and yardage (925) marks. In 2023, the Eagle passing offense was once again stout as it finished in the top 20 nationally in passing yards per game. Hood set just about every receiving record in the books, and Jjay Mcafee posted a new school record for catches in a season by a tight end. Both players earned all-conference honors. Hood once again set school records for catches in a season (101) and receiving yards (948) just one year after setting those marks.

"We are excited to announce the elevation of Ryan Aplin to our Offensive Coordinator position," Helton said. "Ryan has been an integral part of building a nationally ranked offense over the past two seasons as our passing game coordinator. He also will be moving to our quarterback room where he was a two-time conference MVP at the position. I look forward to watching Coach Aplin take our offense to even greater heights."

At Arkansas State, where he led the Red Wolves to conference titles in 2011 and 2012 as a player, he coached the running backs in 2021. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he was the co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Western Kentucky. Following his playing career at A-State, Aplin made coaching stops at Auburn (2014-15), North Alabama (2016, 2018-19), UT Chattanooga (2018-19), WKU (2020) and Arkansas State (2021).

Aplin's lone season with the Hilltoppers saw him help lead the program to an appearance in the LendingTree Bowl while serving as co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

Prior to WKU, Aplin was North Alabama's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2018 and 2019. In his final season, UNA averaged 285 passing yards per game as the team eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark over the 11-game season. Quarterback Christian Lopez targeted many different options, with four different wide receivers posting at least 25 receptions, 550 yards and two touchdowns.

A Tampa, Florida, native, Aplin was twice named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012 when the Red Wolves won back-to-back league titles. The three-time first-team all-conference player was also MVP of the 2013 GoDaddy Bowl. The former quarterback still holds the school records for career total offense (12,514 yards), completions (906) and passing yards (10,758), while his 67 touchdown passes stand as the second most.

The search for a new tight end and inside receivers coach will begin immediately.