GSU Has To Limit Turnovers
The Georgia Southern Eagles are coming off a season in which they went 6-6 and made it to the Myrtle Beach Bowl against Ohio University. But if they want to compete in a tough Sun Belt Conference, they are going to have to cut down on turnovers. They were tied at the top of the FBS with Nebraska last season with 31 turnovers, and those are numbers that they cannot have this year if they hope to make it back to bowl eligibility.
Head Coach Clay Helton has made an impact at GSU and will be in his third full season this year. He has put in an offense that sees the Eagles pass the ball over 60% of the time, and that is what has led to so many turnovers. With their starting quarterback from last season, Davis Brin, moving on, they are needing to find someone who can make good decisions at that position if they hope to be successful.
They will have two players competing for that role with redshirt freshman JC French, who appeared in 10 games last season, and Indiana transfer Dexter Williams coming in with starting experience. They are going to have to find their guy to lead the passing game that threw for over 4,000 yards last season.
They lost a big receiver in Khaleb Hood, but Derwin Burgess should step up and be targeted more. He did lead the team in touchdowns last season with 6. Dalen Cobb will be another target, as will Auburn transfer Tyler Fromm at tight end. They will be stronger at running back this season as both main guys are returning and have continued to improve. Jalen White rushed for 889 yards last year and may get over 1,000 this season. OJ Arnold averaged 5.5 yards per carry last year and will get more touches this year as well.
The offensive line will return center Chandler Strong and guard Pichon Wimbley, but they are going to have to get transfers Justin Kanyuk from North Carolina, and Kyle Frazier from Savannah State to step up on day one and perform.
On defense, they will have a big line that was solid against the run last year, but they need to improve their pass rush. They will be led by a monster in the middle, 340 lb. Latrell Bullard. Justin Rhodes will also be on the inside and is a quicker defender. At defensive end, they will look to Isaac Walker and Davion Rhodes to try to seal the ends and hopefully be better at getting to the quarterback.
Marques Watson-Trent is the key for the linebackers, and was one of the best defenders in the Sun Belt last season. They will add Washington State transfer Davon Hicks to the mix, and MJ Stroud will also see time. They both will have to make an impact. At safety, GSU will have two of their top defenders in Marc Stampley and TJ Smith. They combined for 173 tackles last season and should be big for the Eagles again this year.
For GSU to compete, it is really going to come down to turnovers. The Eagles threw three or more picks in four games last year, and that is not going to cut it this season against a tough Sun Belt Conference.
The Eagles will kick off the season on August 31 against Boise State in Statesboro at 4:00 p.m.
