The Georgia State football team doesn’t play this week. It’s not a chance to take a breath – that’s not in the vocabulary of the new regime – but rather to get refocused for the onset of the Sun Belt Conference schedule, which begins next week when rival Georgia Southern comes to town.
The Panthers are 2-1 and coming off a dramatic last-minute win over Vanderbilt. It is only the second time Georgia State has beaten an opponent from a Power Four conference. After taking a couple of days off, the Panthers spent most of the week working on individual skills.
“We’re going to get back and make sure we are getting better, developing our entire roster, and working on ourselves before we go into the next opponent,” coach Dell McGee said.
The players will get Saturday off and return Sunday to begin preparations for the Georgia Southern game.
“We’ll get a chance to heal up, get some extra time in the weight room,” McGee said. “Treatment will be very vital to get the team back up to speed from a health standpoint.”
Now that the non-conference schedule is over, here are five things we’ve learned through the first one-quarter of the season.
Christian Veilleux is the right man for the quarterback job
Veilleux came out of the transfer portal from Pitt to join McGee this spring. He emerged from a four-man competition over the summer and in preseason camp to win the job.
Veilleux has become more comfortable in his role and has responded under pressure. Two weeks ago he directed the team to score the go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown against Chattanooga and last week drove the team 75 yards with 1:10 remaining and threw the winning touchdown pass.
Veilleux has completed 63.8% of his passes for 717 yards and six touchdowns, with only one interception. He ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in passing yards and fifth in completion percentage.
Freddie Brock has emerged as top running back option
Last season Brock got zero opportunities to run the ball, what with Marcus Carroll getting almost all the carries. Brock got a chance last season at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, thanks to Carroll’s departure for Missouri, and set a single-game school record.
But once the new staff was in place, the former Maine man was back in the talent pool with everyone else. Through the first three games he has proved to be the most reliable in a stable full of talented backs.
Brock has rushed for 230 yards, a 5.9-yard average, and scored the go-ahead touchdown against Chattanooga. He ranks third in the conference in rushing yards.
Brock said it’s beneficial for the Panthers to have options at running back, and he doesn’t feel the necessity to have all the carries.
“We’ve got a lot of electric guys, so it’s going to be tough for teams to stop all of us because we can rotate and have fresh legs,” Brock said. “I love to rotate. You can’t be a selfish guy. Everybody likes to play. I know that what I went through last season after I transferred from Maine and did not get a carry, you know. I don’t want anybody else having that feeling that I went through last year.”
Receiver Ted Hurst was the best offseason discovery
With his long arms and great hands, Hurst has established himself as a big-play option. He caught the winning touchdown pass to beat Vanderbilt.
Hurst, a junior from Savannah, has 15 catches for 237 yards (15.8 per catch) with three touchdowns. He ranks sixth in the conference in receptions and yardage and is tied for the lead in touchdown catches.
Last year at Valdosta State he caught 38 passes for 596 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games.
“We saw it on the tape,” McGee said. “It’s like we’ve got something here. We were very lucky to get him. Just really pleased with how he’s grown in the offense.”
Outside linebacker Kevin Swint is starting to feel it
The senior from Carrollton showed his ability last week against Vandy. He had eight tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks – forcing a fumble on the first one – and broke up two passes. It arguably was his best game at GSU since transferring from Clemson. Swint help lead the defense hold Vanderbilt to just 110 yards rushing.
As a result, he was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week.
“It was a lot of film work, a lot of preparation,” Swint said. “I sat down with a lot of my mentors and kind of broke down my own film, being my own critic. It was really more about critiquing myself and making improvements on my own.”
McGee said, “He was all over the field. I can’t say enough about his leadership, how he takes coaching and how he tries to lead by confronting and demanding. I’m proud and happy for him.”
The focus on building roster depth is paying off
Injuries last week left the team without all-conference inside linebacker Justin Abraham and starting cornerback Izaiah Guy. But Tavian Robinson and Daniel Heimuli filled in to help Xavier Robinson on the inside. And Chams Diagne finished the game for Guy.
“A lot of our guys had that next-man-up mentality,” McGee said. “That’s why we practice the way we do. That’s why we try to develop our entire roster and make sure everyone is getting reps. As the season progresses, that’s going to happen again, so we’re always going to develop our roster and try to make sure we’re ready to play when our numbers come up.”
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