FCS Football Talk: Tennessee Tech GM Justin McMullen on Transfers, Retention

Host Sam Herder’s 29-minute conversation with McMullen covered a series of high‑impact, operational topics central to modern FCS roster-building, as HERO Sports noted in its episode writeup of the Feb. 27 release. The guest was Justin McMullen, identified as Tennessee Tech general manager and director of player personnel, and the Feb. 27 episode ran 29 minutes under Herder’s weekly FCS Football Talk banner.

HERO Sports listed the episode’s focus explicitly: "The role of a college football GM; Recruiting the transfer portal; Player retention; Revenue-sharing; Communication with agents; Tampering; Transfer portal windows; TN Tech program momentum; And more." Those topics framed the conversation’s practical slant, with roster mechanics such as portal windows and agent communication shaping personnel decisions for Tennessee Tech’s offseason work.

The podcast is distributed widely: the HERO Sports episode page directs listeners that "You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and Spreaker." Podcasts Apple lists the show as a weekly FCS podcast presented by HERO Sports and BetMGM, noting Senior FCS Analyst Sam Herder hosts year-round and that FCS Football Central Senior Editor Zach McKinnell joins as a co-host during the season. Recent show entries on Apple include a Feb. 10 episode examining NDSU’s move to FBS and Bobby Hauck’s coaching developments, a Feb. 4 conversation featuring Big Sky Commissioner Tom Wistrcill about season surprises, and a Jan. 7 recap of the FCS Championship Game and the Nashville experience.

McMullen’s titles - general manager and director of player personnel - place him at the intersection of recruiting logistics and program strategy, which explains the episode’s focus on player retention and tampering rules as operational priorities. Those topics carry direct implications for Tennessee Tech’s roster construction and "TN Tech program momentum," a phrase the show used to signal the program-level stakes of decisions around transfers and communication with agents.

Business and regulatory issues surfaced alongside roster talk. Podcasts Apple identifies BetMGM as a presenter of the show overall, while the HERO Sports episode page includes a standard responsible-gambling block listing contact numbers such as 1-800-GAMBLER (Available in the US), 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) for New York, 1-800-327-5050 for Massachusetts, 1-800-NEXT-STEP for Arizona, 1-800-BETS-OFF for Iowa, and 1-800-981-0023 for Puerto Rico. The HERO Sports page also carries promotional terms including that Bonus Bets expire in seven days and that offers are 21+ only, followed by the site copyright lines reading "© 2022 HERO SPORTS."

By packaging transfer-window mechanics, revenue-sharing and agent communication into a single 29-minute conversation, Herder and McMullen offered a concentrated briefing on the operational levers shaping Tennessee Tech’s immediate offseason. The Feb. 27 episode positions Tennessee Tech’s front office practices as the locus of program momentum heading into the next cycle of recruiting and portal activity, and the interview is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and Spreaker for listeners seeking those roster-level details.