Just for off week curiosity sake, I looked over the roster with an eye towards next year.
I believe that all of the "grad transfers" came to Furman with at least two years of eligibility. I've understood Hendrix before to state that Furman wasn't taking one semester and done players. So, I am operating under the assumption that all of our grad transfers will also have eligibility next fall (though I could be mistaken).
There are a chunk of players still impacted by COVID's extra year of eligibility. By now, though, I believe most Furman players have "reclassified" their graduation year by this point. Note, I believe the COVID rules allows players that had their season impacted by COVID in the fall of 2021 to gain an extra year of eligibility (i.e., have 6 seasons to play 4 full seasons)
Honestly, when I started looking at the roster - the most veteran group we've had in Hendrix's tenure - I expected to see a lot of losses to graduation. With our new master's program, though, I'm almost seeing that Furman could return just about this entire team next year.
Of course, every season we'll lose players. Some graduate or move on with life after football. Some will transfer. That happens every season. This is how I understand the state of the roster, though:
QB: Huff would return with some combination of Jones and Wilson. With transfer rules now common, though, even big power schools struggle to go three deep at QB.
RB: Abrams is the only senior listed at RB. However, I still think he has eligibility (this is only his third full season after redshirting in '18 + COVID). Either way, the RB room is stacked - Roberto, Hicks, Robinson, Smith.
WR: The only senior on the two deep is Shiflett. However, I think he still has eligibility - played for MTSU in '18, redshirted in '19, didn't play in '20 - so, this would be his third full season. Even if he doesn't return, this could be the deepest Furman receiving corps in ages next season.
OL: Tomlin is the only listed senior on the two-deep. Again, I think he has eligibility remaining. Tomlin is getting some NFL buzz, so who knows. In theory, Furman could return the entire two deep on (IMO) the SoCon's best offensive line.
TE: Miller might have eligibility, but seems like this is likely his last year as a Paladin. He too has NFL buzz. Gissinger should return as well as some of the lesser used TEs like Youngblood and Henderson. Of course, you're seeing Furman hit this position hard in recruiting.
DL: Coleman and Johnson are both listed as seniors. Again, I think both technically still have eligibility. Sochovka, too, is listed as a grad student and, I think, could play another year if he wanted after being granted a medical redshirt last year.
BAN: Clark and Maier would return with multiple years of eligibility left.
SPUR: Every SPUR on the roster has eligibility remaining
ILB: Gilby is the only listed senior on the two deep. Again, should have eligibility left. Everyone else on a deep group should return.
CB: The only senior listed is Blackshear. Like the others, I believe he still has eligibility. Everyone else should return.
FS: Both FS on the depth chart have eligibility.
SS: Both SS have eligibility to return. Dae'one Wilkins is listed as a senior, but theoretically could be awarded a medical redshirt this year and might have multiple years of eligibility.
K: Every specialist could return.
I don't believe all potentially eligible players will return. That never happens. However, it may explain a bit why Furman has only 8 commits to this point (they had 11 sign last season in the December portion). It could be that the coaching staff expects at least a few of these older guys to maybe enter the master's program after graduation (like Sochovka did).
Even then, it looks like Furman could return a very experienced and very good team next season.
