Aaron Sears is a home body by nature but the Texas native said making the transition to playing at Georgia Southern has gone smoothly.

The senior defensive back transferred to Georgia Southern from Stephen F. Austin where he helped lead the Lumberjacks to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs last year while playing for now Eagles defensive coordinator Mike Mutz.

When Mutz, who was the SFA defensive coordinator, left Sears entered the transfer portal and it didn’t take long to find a new home.

“A few days after Coach Mutz left I got a call from someone on the staff at Georgia Southern,” Sears said. “They said they were interested in me. I got on the phone with Coach Mutz and we talked about it.

“He laid it out on the table and told me what was the plan and what was in store for me,” Sears said. “I came here on a visit and loved everything about it.

“Everyone was so welcoming and the coaches had open arms. They made my family feel at home and it was just a good decision for me. I played for Coach Mutz for a couple of seasons. I knew his system and felt this was the best move for me.”

Once the decision to leave SFA and his hometown of nearby Tyler, Tx., was made Sears hasn’t looked back. He has quickly become a main cog in the Georgia Southern defense.

Sears and the Eagles, coming off a 31-24 loss at Jacksonville State despite limiting the Gamecocks to 302 yards, 80 under their average, will get a strong test Saturday when they take on No. 25 Houston (2-1) at 4 p.m. at Paulson Stadium.

The game marks the return of former Georgia Southern coach Willie Fritz and the Cougars figure to be in a foul mood after losing at Texas Tech, 28-26, last Friday night.

Sears will be going up against Houston for the second year in a row. Last year Houston beat SFA, which went on to post an 11-3 record, 27-0, in the season opener for both teams.

“Being from Texas I’m looking forward to playing them,” Sears said. “They’re a good team. It’s a good program. I have some friends there.

“This is a big game for us, getting a Power 4 team, a ranked team coming into Paulson for the first time ever,” Sears said. “There will be a lot of electricity in the air. We just have to be ourselves, play our game.”

Assimilating into a new team, new town and new school several hundred miles from home was made easier, Sears said, when his new teammates learned he had played for the new defensive coordinator.

“The transition has not been hard,” Sears said. “We have a good brotherhood and it has allowed to be myself. I’m a very quiet, very shy person.

“At first, I would sit at my locker but after a week or two I started getting adjusted to the guys, started opening up and talking to them.”

What they discussed a lot, Sears said, was the defense Mutz was installing and what players could expect of Mutz as a coach and person.

“Guys would come to my locker and ask me questions about the defense, about Coach Mutz and how he operates,” Sears said. “That’s what opened us up more, jelled us together.

“I already knew the system and could help them out. That just made our bond stronger and made it easier for us every day.”

The biggest adjustment he’s had to make, Sears said, was being away from home and his family.

“When I was at Stephen F. Austin it was about a 90-minute drive home,” Sears said. “I could go home on the weekends, go home in the middle of the week if I had the time. I miss that but I feel comfortable here.”