A lot of seniors would push back against the idea of making a position change going into their final season. Georgia State’s Jontrey Hunter willingly accepted the move and is completing his career on the upswing.
When new defensive coordinator Chad Staggs joined the program with a different scheme, he moved Hunter from outside linebacker to inside linebacker. The move clicked and Hunter is leading the team in tackles and always seems to be around the ball.
“Some guys, when you move them their senior year, they may have a problem with that,” Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott said. “But he’s going to benefit from it in the future and we’re benefiting from it now. That’s a good place to get your fast and big players around the ball. It gives him a chance to be around the ball more.”
A 6-foot-2 Tampa, Florida, native, Hunter has put on 30 pounds since last season and is playing at 230. Some of it was soft weight that he picked up while rehabbing from an offseason bicep-ligament surgery, but that’s been reshaped into muscle through a better diet and the work with strength and conditioning coach Mike Sirignano. The results have been positive.
Hunter like the idea of the move when it was proposed. “It fit our defense better, especially with my size and I still have my speed, so it works well for us. It keeps me on my toes. Playing outside, a lot of stuff just comes to you. Playing inside, you’re flowing with whatever the line does and it’s a lot more hands-on for me.”
So far the move has paid off. In the first five games, Hunter has 39 total tackles – ninth-best in the Sun Belt Conference – one quarterback hurry, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
But the success is not surprising. Hunter has always been one of those guys with a nose for the ball. He was third on the team with 55 tackles in 2022, along with two interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four pass breakups. In 2021 he was fourth on the team with 7.5 tackles for loss, tying a school record with four against Arkansas State. In 2020 he capped a solid season by being named defensive player of the game in the LendingTree Bowl win over Western Kentucky.
“It’s really just running to the ball,” Hunter said. “It’s about effort and when you play defense you’ve got to have effort. A lot of good stuff happens when you run to the ball.
The Panthers (4-1, 1-1 Sun Belt) will have their biggest challenge of the season when they host Marshall (4-1, 1-0) for homecoming at 7 p.m. Saturday at Center Parc Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN2 and broadcast locally on WRAS-FM (88.5) or on the GSU Sports App.
Both teams will be trying to avoid the mistakes that cost them in their last outing. Georgia State had three turnovers – two in the red zone – in a 28-7 loss to Troy. Marshall lost two fumbles and had an interception in its 48-41 loss to N.C. State.
Marshall coach Charles Huff said, “We unintentionally lost respect for the things you need to do to win consistently because we’d gotten by with mistakes and you win, making mistakes and you win. It’s kind of like growing up and your mom says, ‘Don’t touch the stove.’ You touch it and touch it and touch it and it’s not on, then you touch it and it’s on. We learned from that.”
Marshall has many similarities to Georgia State. Both have outstanding dual-threat quarterbacks, a variety of quality receivers and a strong running back.
Marshall features quarterback Cam Fancher, who has thrown for 1,205 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns. The Herd has eight players with nine-plus caches, and back Rasheen Ali has rushed for 538 yards and nine touchdowns.
Georgia State quarterback Darren Grainger has thrown for 1,187 yards and seven touchdowns and run for 288 yards and three touchdowns. The Panthers have five receivers with 10-plus catches, including Robert Lewis (26 receptions, 19.2 yard average, five touchdowns), who this week was added to the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award. Running back Marcus Carroll has run for 583 yards and nine touchdowns.
“We don’t have to do a lot of scout preparation,” Elliott said. “We can just play against each other, and we’re going to be pretty much fine on both sides of the ball.”
Georgia State and Marshall met for the first time last season, with Marshall coming back in the second half for a 28-23 win.
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