Justin Roper, who already has been recruiting Georgia as well as North and South Carolina for his position as an offensive assistant at Holy Cross, is on the verge of relocating to the South.
Multiple sources tell FootballScoop that Roper, a former University of Oregon quarterback who finished his career by leading Montana to the Football Championship Subdivision title game, has accepted a prominent offensive assistant coaching position at Furman University, where Roper will have a key role on Clay Hendrix’s Paladins staff.
Hendrix’s ability to land the well-regarded Roper, who has previously coached at Northern Iowa and NCAA Division II program Slippery Rock, still doesn’t quite complete the Furman offensive staff.
The Paladins are still seeking a new offensive line coach on the heels of Dru Duke’s departure last week to join former Furman offensive coordinator George Quarles’ ETSU staff in a similar capacity.
Heading up the Holy Cross offense the past two seasons, Roper helped the Crusaders win the Patriot League and advance to the FCS Playoffs during the spring 2021 season, moved back several months in the division due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to those tours, Roper also had a strong influence on the Valdosta State offense in 2014-15 when the program made back-to-back NCAA Division II Playoffs appearances.
Hendrix and the Paladins are coming off a 6-5 season in which they defeated then-No. 24 North Carolina A&T as well as No. 20 VMI and suffered a four-point loss to top-10 ETSU, the eventual Southern Conference winner which advanced to the third round of the FCS Playoffs.