Sam Herder (FCS analyst, HERO Sports) on FCS championship, major portal news, '26 outlook

Now that the dust has settled on the 2025 FCS season — and now some of the air has cleared on top FCS players coming back or jumping in the portal — how are things looking for 2026?   Will South Dakota State, with Power Four prospects Chase Mason and Quinten Christensen poised to stay and lead in Brookings, bounce back into national championship contention?   Should South Dakota — having lost quarterback Aidan Bouman (eligibility), All-America running back L.J. Phillips (visiting Iowa this week), receiver Larenzon Fenner (committed to Cincinnati), and defensive lineman Caden Crawford (committed to Iowa State) — be trusted again to replace its best players and remain a Top 10 team?   What about national champion Montana State, blue bloods North Dakota State and Montana, and runner-up Illinois State?   If only someone who has covered the FCS full-time for a decade can answer those questions and tackle the extremely nuanced and messy advantages and pitfalls of the mad, mad, wild west portal world.   That man is Sam Herder, the senior FCS analyst for HERO Sports, and he is one of the two guests on Thursday's "Happy Hour with John Gaskins."