Georgia State travels to Tennessee for season opener
The opening week of the 2019 college football season arrives after an off season of transition for Georgia State Football. During the spring and summer the Panthers coaches’ offices, and team meeting rooms were moved into Georgia State Stadium. Add to that a brand new state of the art weight room and student housing, where the player will be living, just across the street. That's right, as the Panthers prepare for their third season at Georgia State Stadium, they can truly say that it feels just like home.
All the more reason why this weekend's season opener will be unique. When Georgia State heads to Knoxville to take on Tennessee it will mark the first time in the program's 10 year history that a season opener has been played on the road. It will also be the first time that Georgia State has played a season opener on Saturday. Eight of the Panthers season opening games have been played on either Thursday or Friday, with one opener on Wednesday.
Shawn Elliott will began his third season as head coach of the Panthers with more experience on the offensive side of the ball, where nine starters return from 2018. Last season Georgia State finished at (2-10), but posted the best season running the ball since the program’s inception. Senior quarterback Dan Ellington is capable of directing a potent offensive attack and after a recent practice Elliott talked about the team's progress.
"If you watched us in the last week or so, we are a group that has really come together," says Elliott. " I think Dan has done an excellent job getting us into the right play calls. I think that we have all jelled. The offensive (coaching) staff is working well together and the players are working well together. I'm expecting great things from our offense. I'm just excited to watch them."
Seven starters return on a Panthers defensive unit that was forced to grow up in hurry in 2018. A rash of injuries forced a number of freshmen and redshirt-freshmen to play heavy minutes in the secondary. Now a year older and a year wiser the secondary is ready to start the 2019 season. "I feel like the secondary has come a long way since last year," says sophomore cornerback Jaylon Jones. “Guys are older and a bit more experienced. They are more comfortable and confident."
The curtain will go up on the Panthers 2019 season with the awesome backdrop of Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. Former Alabama and UGA assistant Jeremy Pruitt begins his second season as head coach of the Volunteers who posted a (5-7) mark in 2018. The Vols are young, but talented. Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who is now in his 4th season in the Tennessee program has had a different Offensive Coordinator each year. This Tennessee team has a peachy flavor, as there are 25 players from Georgia on the roster for 2019.
Georgia State has played at Tennessee before, falling to the Vols 51-13 in 2012. None of the current players would remember that trip, but Shawn Elliott has faced Tennessee 7 times while an assistant at South Carolina. To get his team ready for what they will hear on Saturday afternoon, the Panthers practiced for two days last week while the song "Rocky Top” was played non-stop, and piped through the Georgia State Stadium public address system.
"Every time it came back on it was beating at my nerves," says running back Seth Paige. "It's irritating! Even after they cut the song off I can still hear it in the back on my head.”
The Panthers will hear that song a lot less if they can throw a shock into Tennessee this Saturday afternoon. The Voice of the Panthers, Dave Cohen, Harper Le Bel and me will have the call for the GSU Panthers Radio Network. It all starts with the Panther Pregame Show at 3pm with Kickoff at 3:30 on 1380AM WAOK in Atlanta or tune in from anywhere on RADIO.COM.
