College Football
Tailback U
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
A lot has been written about Georgia’s success when it comes to recruiting quarterbacks over the last few years. Signing 5-star QB’s in three straight classes tends to lend itself to those accolades.
One position I expect to see the Bulldogs copy that type of success with is in the backfield; partially because of the accomplishments their running backs are seeing on the collegiate level, but mainly because of what is starting to transpire among their backs in the NFL.
Outside of Herschel Walker, Georgia has always had good, but not great running backs in the NFL. Guys like Garrison Hearst and Knowshon Moreno certainly had respectable careers, but I’m not sure too many 17-18 year olds have any idea who they are.
However, they do know the name Todd Gurley, and more than likely at least familiar with Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.
Gurley’s accomplishments are obvious, and even though Kirby Smart didn’t technically coach him at Georgia, that’s still a heck a name drop he can use in recruiting.
Chubb and Michel are just beginning their careers, but both are in good situations. Chubb is the featured back in Cleveland and has a great opportunity to solidify that position for years to come.
I do realize saying a player can be successful in Cleveland carries about as much weight as saying Dwight Schrute is the best beer farmer in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but along with Baker Mayfield, Chubb can play a huge part in turning the franchise around.
As for Michel, as long as he can stay healthy, being in New England will give him plenty of notoriety and he’ll be learning from the best in the business, Bill Belichick.
Even if neither of those two become upper echelon running backs, as long as they turn into consistent starters that will give Georgia three starting NFL running backs, and another talking point for Smart on the recruiting trail.
It’s not as if Georgia isn’t already bringing some heat from the tailback position, especially with D’Andre Swift. A consensus top five recruit at his position, Swift has really been a spark for the Bulldogs over the last month.
Although he’s just a sophomore, Swift has proven to be not only an effective runner but also capable of catching the ball out the backfield; something that will help his transition into the NFL.
Along with junior running back Elijah Holyfield, Georgia boasts one of the best backfields in college football. Like I said, it’s not as though Georgia is hurting in the tailback department.
Over the course of college football there have a been a plethora of teams given the moniker “Quarterback U”, used to display a particular dominance that program has shown over the years at the quarterback position. In most instances it revolves around the quarterback’s success at the professional level as opposed to college
Technically there isn’t a “Tailback U”, although Southern California was humble enough to give themselves that nickname a few years back.
Georgia still has a little ways to go before their name is added to that particular conversation, but they are on the right path. When you look at what they’re achieving at the collegiate level, along with how former players are performing in the NFL, the Bulldogs are beginning to show signs of being a prime destination for tailbacks.
As if Kirby Smart needs any more assistance when he walks into a recruit’s living room.
Not The End
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Georgia Southern football.
On one hand, it’s tough to say that the team has been disappointing. After all, the same Eagles that suffered their worst season ever in 2017 took the Sun Belt by surprise in racing out to a 7-1 start. Seven wins was about the highest win total anyone had projected for the Eagles, much less their mark two-thirds of the way through the schedule.
But as the season carries on, expectations have a way of changing. So, when the Eagles came up punchless in Monroe two weeks ago and then allowed 32 unanswered points to Troy last weekend, those seven wins somehow don’t seem like such a feel-good story.
That’s not an indictment of the team or even its play over the last two weeks. That’s just sports.
Coaches will drone on and on each year about how their teams aren’t as good as their best win, nor are they as bad as their worst loss. The cliches and platitudes might not do much for ailing fan bases, but there is plenty of truth behind them.
Rarely can a team look back at an entire season and not see a few places where an extra play here or there could have meant a couple of extra victories. And, if that same team is being honest with itself, it’s also usually true that it could identify a spot or two where wins could have turned into losses if not for some good fortune.
The fact is that nothing the Eagles can do over the final two weeks of the regular season will make 2018 anything other than a success. Head coach Chad Lunsford is steadily gaining folk hero status points for the job he’s done.
He has quickly turned around the program and the young guys who were thrown into the fire last season are steadily proving they are capable of forming the core of Georgia Southern squads that can compete for conference championships in the immediate future.
The current season is already a success, but the next test is whether or not that’s good enough for the 2018 Eagles.
There won’t be a top-25 ranking or a New Year’s bowl and a shot at the Sun Belt title is all but mathematically impossible. However, there is still a chance for another bowl win, a possible 10-win season and two more chances to pay back conference foes for losses suffered last season.
Georgia Southern isn’t a world-beater. The fast start was nice and there have been tons of positives when compared to 2017, but the plain truth is that there are plenty of things that need to continue to improve if the Eagles want to head into the final month of 2019 with another good shot at winning the Sun Belt.
The good news is that the players seem to realize that. The better news is that there are still a few games remaining in this season to get a head start.
Much is always made about how a team deals with success after a big win or how it handles adversity after a loss. What the Eagles need to do is figure out how they want to deal with themselves.
Either they can stay at their current level and notch some accolades with upset wins here and there while not quite having the consistency to make it to the finish line, or they can continue to improve and become a team that is feared rather than just favored.
One would assume that the Eagles want to be in the latter category. And with two possible payback games left on the schedule this season, now is as good a time as ever for them to start being feared.
Eagles High And Lows
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As a lifelong baseball fan, I grew up with the old adage that “a winning streak is only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher.”
That sentiment isn’t exclusive to baseball as prolonged success in any sport is only attainable if a team is able to check all of the boxes and do all of the little things correctly from one game to the next.
Simply put, the huge wave of emotion and momentum that swept over the Georgia Southern football team after beating a nationally ranked Appalachian State squad didn’t carry over to the Eagles’ next game.
For every inspired play made against App, the Eagles had a flat-footed look as UL Monroe stormed its way to a victory. For every fortunate bounce Georgia Southern found against its arch rival, it seemed that an equal and opposite disaster was lying in wait against the Warhawks.
This isn’t a calling out or a tsk-tsking of the Eagles or their effort. It takes a nearly perfect team to make it through an entire season without suffering a game where things just don’t work out and – for all their success this season – the Eagles are still far from being perfect.
It is impressive that a team with so many new coaches and so much youth in key roles took so long to get around to such a disastrous game but the timing of everything certainly makes things sting a bit more for the team and fans alike.
For a team that has such high hopes for both the remainder of the season and for the immediate future, Saturday’s loss needs to serve as a lesson that is quickly learned and corrected.
Early in the season, the Eagles found success by doing all of the little things right, even if the big plays weren’t always there. Sheer athleticism powered the winning effort against South Carolina State and an impressive intensity allowed the Eagles to hang with Clemson for four quarters even while dealing with a hostile environment, a truckload of injuries and an impending hurricane.
They rose to the occasion in crunch time against Arkansas State and Texas State and they buried Appalachian State under a sea of turnovers and momentum.
But out in Monroe, all of the little things went lacking just as all of the big things – like blown coverages and an inability to gain first downs – also went wrong.
Georgia Southern proved it could overcome a slow start on the road in a convincing win over New Mexico State last month, but the Eagles were able to do that by going back to basics and playing a disciplined final three quarters.
Against the Warhawks, the penalties and negative first down plays continued throughout the game. And when two huge momentum plays – a pick-six and a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown – went their way, they were unable to capitalize and immediately gave back the points to fall further behind.
So now the Eagles are faced with a task that is unique for this season.
For the first time this week, the Eagles will enter a game coming off of a disappointing performance (it’s hard to count a loss to Clemson as too disappointing).
The last two months have been a steady stream of the Eagles and their fans building up performance and expectations with each passing week.
Now is the time for Georgia Southern to prove that it’s the effort and process of preparing for a big game that matters more than riding a winning streak.
Still Buzzing
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I have to revisit something I said about Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson about one month ago.
After the opening week the Yellow Jackets lost three consecutive games. Then they bounced back and won two in a row, topping 60 points each game in the process. The wins were only against Bowling Green and Louisville but they were still impressive.
That was followed up by a homecoming loss to Duke. Yes, Duke football. The Blue Devils have won four of the last five meetings. At that point, it looked like it was time to get rid of Paul Johnson.
The Ramblin Wreck traveled to Blacksburg for a Thursday night game. This was a real turning point in the season. Starting quarterback TaQuan Marshall was injured so Tobias Oliver made his first career start. Oliver ran for 215 yards and three touchdowns to lead them to a 49-28 win. He only attempted one pass and did not complete it.
Oliver seems like the more explosive player so I thought he would remain the starter. Marshall returned last week and played against North Carolina.
“I feel like it’s pretty evident that I can get in and play,” Oliver said. “But at the same time, we’re at the point in the season where I don’t want to get too much that I should be the starter. As of right now, I just want to win.”
Oliver was inserted in the game on the fourth drive, still in the first quarter. He had another great game on the ground with 120 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed both of his pass attempts for 104 yards and a touchdown.
He threw an 86-yard touchdown pass to Qua Searcy, the team’s longest since 2009.
Georgia Tech, which entered the game averaging a nation-leading 366.5 rushing yards per game, ran for 461 yards against a North Carolina defensive line depleted by injuries and suspensions. It was the Yellow Jackets’ fifth 400-yard rushing performance of the season, a school record.
They got off to a 28-10 lead before holding on to win 38-28.
“It got a little crazy there. I thought maybe when we came out and opened the third quarter and put together a nice, long drive for a touchdown and then we got ’em pinned back inside the 20 on the kickoff that maybe we’d get away from them a little bit. But to their credit, they kept playing and they fought back and we did most everything we could to try to help them,” Johnson said.
Now they have five wins and only need one more win to become bowl eligible. They also still have a shot to win the ACC Coastal division. The next two games are home against Miami and Virginia. I know they can win at least one of those games, more than likely against the Cavaliers.
The Miami game is going to be a rare night game at Bobby Dodd Stadium. CPJ has a losing record against Miami and Mark Richt. The Hurricanes have lost their last three games so they are not playing well. This is a very winnable game for Tech.
It looks like Paul Johnson will do just enough to save his job after getting off to a slow start.
The Eagles Return
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Georgia Southern since they transitioned from the FCS to the FBS in 2014.
Their short-lived tenure on the FBS level reminds me of Darius Rucker’s music career (yes, I just heard Hootie & Blowfish 0n the radio and now I can’t stop thinking about how the Dolphins make him cry).
The inaugural season, in which they won the Sun Belt outright, was far more successful than anyone could have imagined; much like “Cracked Rear View Mirror”. The following seasons were basically like every other Hootie album that came after their debut album.
This current season, a redemption of sorts, is kind of like Rucker’s exploration into country music I guess.
Anyway, bad pop culture references aside, the Eagles are making another unexpected run at the Sun Belt, which gained steam after their home win over Appalachian State.
Even though the Mountaineers lost their starting quarterback on the first series, and their backups made Nathan Peterman look like Joe Montana, Georgia Southern completely dominated the game.
While you can’t look too much into all the turnovers Georgia Southern forced because of Appalachian’s quarterback situation, you can’t say the same about the other side of the ball.
Appalachian entered the game with one of the stingiest defenses in the country, which Georgia Southern promptly dominated upfront and ran all over them.
I’m not saying Georgia Southern is as good as Penn State, but as someone who has watched every App. St. game this year, I haven’t seen them be handled like that on defense all season, including the Penn State game.
With the Sun Belt’s new division alignment, and conference championship game, the next few weeks will be interesting. The big game for Georgia Southern is their November 10th matchup against Troy. If both teams win their upcoming games, the winner will take sole possession of first place within the East Division.
(The Louisiana Monroe game this weekend could be a sneaky one for Southern since it is positioned right in between the Appalachian and Troy games. Georgia Southern is the better team, but ULM is good enough to give them fits if the Eagles are looking ahead to Troy.)
If Georgia Southern beats Troy they’ll own the tiebreaker with both Troy and Appalachian State, with only Coastal Carolina and Georgia State remaining on their schedule; two teams they should defeat easily.
A loss would require Southern fans to root for Appalachian to beat Troy in the season finale, which is like asking a Georgia fan to pull for Florida to win, causing a three-way tie for the division title.
Of course, all of this would require each of those three teams to win their remaining games, outside of the ones I just outlined.
Saying a team “controls their own destiny” is one of the most clichéd sports lines there is, so I’ll simply make this statement: at this point Georgia Southern has the “authority to decide whether or not they will take advantage of the situation ordained to them by a higher power.”
Regardless of the outcome, the Eagles have begun re-staking their claim as one of the better programs within the Sun Belt Conference.
With Appalachian State and Troy both residing in the same division, having Georgia Southern back makes the East Division one of the most exciting and competitive ones in all of college football.
Eagles Continue To Soar
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Despite its early season success, there was plenty of reason to believe that Georgia Southern would struggle as it traveled to New Mexico on Saturday night.
The Eagles have a track record of underwhelming performances on long trips out west and — seemingly following the script — GS fell behind 14-3 early at New Mexico State.
And then the Eagles made their biggest statement of the 2018 season, so far.
Playing with a hobbled starting quarterback and without its leading running back and nearly a third of its usual starting defense, the Eagles absorbed some big shots from the Aggies (2-6) before rallying hard to take a halftime lead and putting the game out of reach by the time the fourth quarter rolled around.
When the dust settled, the Eagles were on their way out of town with a 48-31 victory and – with their sixth win of the season – bowl eligibility for the postseason.
Logan Wright rushed for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Wesley Kennedy III went for another 99 yards and two more scores and Monteo Garrett and Shai Werts rushed for 78 yards each as the Aggies were bowled over time and time again by a relentless Eagle attack.
New Mexico State and its fast-paced spread offense made way early on. Christian Gibson opened the scoring with a 5-yard run and Jason Huntley’s 9-yard run midway through the first quarter gave NMSU a 14-3 advantage, but that’s when the Eagles took over.
Nursing sore ribs and avoiding the amount of contact that is normal for an option quarterback, Werts was able to contribute 155 total yards. Georgia Southern scored touchdowns on its final three drives of the first half and led by as much as 45-17 midway through the third quarter before both squads quickly transitioned to emptying their benches.
Josh Adkins (25-38, 295 yards) padded stats and kept the game moving over the final quarter of action.
Jason Huntley rushed for two of his three touchdowns in the final quarter, but only after the Eagles had taken a stranglehold of the action.
Georgia Southern was able to come away with the win despite dealing with a host of injuries.
Werts was protecting his ribs throughout the game, and he never as able to turn the ball over to Wesley Fields.
On the defensive end, linebackers Rashad Byrd and Todd Bradley were out, along with safety Sean Freeman.
But, as the Eagles have done all season, they adapted and overcame. Saturday’s win was another chapter in what has become one of the biggest turnaround stories in the country.
The Eagles finished 2-10 in 2017, but Chad Lunsford, named interim head coach midway through 2017 and given the permanent title before the end of the 2017 campaign, has been on a war path to put the Eagles back on the national scope.
The Eagles have found the spotlight. Now, it’s just a matter of how well Georgia Southern can run with it.
Georgia Southern will get most of its celebrating over the NMSU win done as the Eagles catch a flight back to the Atlantic coast.
A short week awaits before arch-nemesis Appalachian State invades Paulson Stadium on Thursday night in front of a nationally televised audience.
Resting Dawgs
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The notion that the week before the Georgia Bulldogs take on the Florida Gators is an “off week” is, frankly, laughable.
It’s one of the greatest and most ferocious rivalry in college sports and both teams are always hungry to beat the other, regardless of the context within the season as a whole.
For the Bulldogs in particular, after suffering a loss at the hands of LSU in Week 7, the bye week is a big opportunity to get some much-needed work in before they head to Jacksonville. With some of the holes becoming more apparent in the Georgia roster, there are a handful of young players that could use the extra time to work out and step up.
The first person who comes to mind who is capable of grabbing the bull by the horns is freshman quarterback Justin Fields. He arrived in Athens with plenty of fanfare, and Jake Fromm’s Cinderella season in 2017 can only carry so much goodwill in 2018.
That being said, it’s hard to blame Fromm for a bad game in a very hostile environment but he is likely going to be watched closely and scrutinized all the more going forward, and especially against the Gators.
If Fields can keep his nose to the grindstone during the off week and show Kirby Smart that he’s ready to grab the brass ring, Fromm’s leash might get even shorter than it had been.
Robert Beal is another player to watch. The Bulldog defense was pretty fairly maligned for its performance against the Tigers, but Beal picked up his first career pick. It was easy to overlook in a loss of that magnitude. If Beal steps up and helps D’Andre Walker start to elevate the level of play on D, Georgia will benefit immensely.
Demetris Robertson’s future with UGA might rest in the balance of his work rate during this bye week. Expectations were set very high for the wide receiver despite his injury and late arrival at fall camp. He will need to prove that he is ready to grind if he ever wants to make an impact for UGA.
If Robertson can practice well, in his blocking, route running and pass catching, he could see an increased work load against Florida. Up to this point, Georgia really only uses Robertson as a gimmick player. He needs to practice and play more like Riley Ridley if he is going to contribute to Georgia this season.
A loss like the one that the Bulldogs were handed by the Tigers never truly comes at a good time but having a week “off” to lick their wounds could arguably be a big benefit to UGA. More than that, the loss brought into focus the fact that Coach Smart will need to spend this bye week whipping his team into shape.
The Florida Gators are lurking just around the corner, and the team that showed up in Baton Rouge cannot be the same team that suits up in Jacksonville. The Gators always manage to find another gear when they take on Georgia and UGA needs to spend their extra practice time (time that Florida also has, mind you) figuring out ways to reach that extra gear as well.
The Bulldogs took a loss in 2017 before running up to and through the SEC Championship and into the National Championship, so there’s no reason to think that their season is over based solely on their Week 7 performance.
However, they will need to show up and impress against Florida to remain in the contention conversation. They’ve got an extra week. They need to utilize it.
On The Radar
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Summer is a time for reckless speculation when it comes to college football and – for Sun Belt schools whose summers are especially long and oppressive – there is no shortage of time spent obsessing over how things will play out once the fall arrives.
It has taken nearly two months, but the first cool nights have finally arrived in the Sun Belt just as the race for the top of the conference standings is starting to really pick up the pace.
As for the preseason projections, it’s a mixed bag. The general idea of how things would play out in the conference seems to be going along with the script, but there have been just enough curve balls thrown in that it is anyone’s guess how the second half of the season will play out.
Three teams were the trendy picks to win the Sun Belt in 2018. Troy and Arkansas State are dealing with issues while Appalachian State is steaming right along.
But another contender now has to be acknowledged.
Georgia Southern entered the season with even the most optimistic predictions simply thinking that the Eagles could attain bowl eligibility.
But at the halfway post of the regular season, the Eagles are already just one win from qualifying for the postseason and – more importantly – the owners of a gaudy 3-0 mark in Sun Belt play.
The Eagles found themselves as big favorites in a midweek road game at Texas State last week, only to find themselves in a dogfight.
Georgia Southern’s option offense never got on track, but the defense held tough, stifling the Bobcats throughout the night and denying a late two-point conversion attempt to slip away with a 15-13 victory.
Georgia Southern will take a step out of the Sun Belt this weekend as they embark on another long road trip to New Mexico State.
The Eagles hope to return to Statesboro as a bowl-eligible team, but the real drama lies just a bit farther down the road as an East Division showdown between the Eagles and Appalachian State is quickly approaching.
While the Troy Trojans still control their own destiny in the East Division, their season has taken a drastic turn over the last two weeks.
During an otherwise uneventful steamrolling of Georgia State on Oct. 4, Troy starting quarterback Kaleb Barker went down with what was later found to be a season-ending ACL tear.
The Trojans and air-raid savant head coach Neal Brown were hopeful that backup Sawyer Smith could step right in, but Smith was shaky and the rest of the Trojans looked even worse as they were upset by first-year FBS program Liberty over the weekend.
If there is a silver lining, it’s that Troy is now able to reassess itself during a bye week. The rest will be welcomed by regular starters and the extra time before conference play resumes will be vital for getting Smith and the Trojan offense back on track.
While Troy’s role as a conference title hopeful is suffering due to injury, Arkansas State’s presumed shot at another Sun Belt championship is fading of its own volition.
The Red Wolves were picked to cruise to the top spot in the West, but have been beaten up by the East, losing to Georgia Southern and Appalachian State in consecutive weeks to begin its conference schedule.
Arkansas State still controls its destiny as the rest of its division hasn’t fared any better against the East.
However, a season finale with Troy would be a high hurdle to clear if it’s a necessary win for ASU to make the conference title game. The Wolves’ offense has shown enough flaws over the last two weeks to cause plenty of concern even against divisional rivals that didn’t appear to be threats at the beginning of the season.
Wide Open Fields
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When Justin Fields, the No.1 rated quarterback in the 2018 class- depending on which recruiting site you read- signed with Georgia, it made sense.
Even though Jake Fromm was a returning sophomore, coming off a season in which he had played well and led his team to a national title game, you could see a scenario playing out similar to Clemson’s. Fromm would start the season and ultimately give way to Fields.
Worst case scenario for Fields, he would split time this season and take over as the starting quarterback next year.
If the remainder of this season plays out like it has so far, especially if Georgia were to make the playoffs again, Fields may have a decision to make about his future; one that doesn’t include the Georgia Bulldogs.
To the joy of many Georgia fans, Fromm has shown the type of improvement this year those fans were hoping for and has proven he is capable of leading the Dawgs back to the playoffs.
At the same time, given a drastic shift in his play, he has not shown the skill level needed to be successful at the next level. Not that it’s an indictment of Fromm, but he looks like a four-year player. This is where the conundrum with Fields lies.
Fromm is playing at a level that makes it difficult for Smart not to have him out the field a majority of the time. If he is able to lead Georgia back to the playoffs and plays well, then it makes it even more difficult to sit Fromm in favor of Fields.
I know benching a quarterback that has led you to back to back playoff appearances isn’t unprecedented. Jalen Hurts is sitting at Alabama but I’d argue that Fromm is actually a better quarterback than Jalen Hurts.
Plus, had the national title game not played it out like it did last year, I’m not completely convinced that Hurts wouldn’t be the starter this season.
Include the likelihood Fromm will be in Athens for another two years, there is a realistic possibility Fields will have difficulty seeing the field- no pun intended- if he were stay.
No matter how good a kid Fields may be and from everything I’ve seen and heard, that is a lot of patience to ask from someone that was highly recruited.
I’m sure Fields wants an opportunity to get consistent minutes and show off his skill set.
And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean any of this as a knock to Georgia, Smart, or either of the quarterbacks.
I mean quite the opposite, in fact. To consider that Georgia may find itself in this predicament in a few months from now means they are winning (probably resulting a another playoff appearance) and Fromm has exceeded expectations.
It’s a situation 95% of the other programs in college football would love to be in. It doesn’t change however, that following this season it will be difficult to keep both quarterbacks happy, increasing the chance one will leave.
That said, anything I’ve mentioned possibly transpiring won’t happen until after the season is over.
As for this season, it couldn’t be working out any better. Georgia is on track again to compete for a national title and as of right that is all that should matter.
As for the next few years, they look as promising as ever in Athens; just don’t be surprised if Justin Fields isn’t part of it.
High Flying Party
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Celebrations were breaking out all around Statesboro on Saturday night and for good reason.
The Eagles’ bounce back season continued to gain steam as a dominating 48-13 victory over South Alabama put them at 4-1 on the season and kept them atop the Sun Belt Conference standings.
Aside from the win on the field it was also homecoming, giving Eagles young and old alike an excuse to have just a bit more fun than usual.
But for all of the frat get togethers and house parties that carried on well into Sunday morning, one of the best places to appreciate the Georgia Southern win didn’t even require fans to leave the proximity of Paulson Stadium.
Following Saturday’s game – just as the case has been after the first three home games – a huge postgame tailgate was hosted by Eagle supporter Bubba Hunt near the soccer field.
Plenty of RV’s remained in the main lot, with the glow of the late games on television hazed over by the smoke of grills preparing victory dinners, but Hunt’s party is an animal all of its own nature.
The food is professionally cooked. There’s plenty of variety and it’s impossible to walk away wanting more. Through Hunt’s generosity, the food is also served up free of charge to anyone wanting to swing by.
But the tailgate isn’t special because it’s big or free. It’s one-of-a-kind because of the guest list.
At a table underneath a tent by the main food spread, quarterbacks coach Juston Wood is picking apart some ribs and raving about how Shai Werts continues to grow as the leader of the Eagles’ offense.
Inside linebackers coach Travis Cunningham was guiding his wife and child through the buffet line while outside linebacker counterpart Jeremy Rowell was recounting Alvin Ward’s interception for a touchdown that had capped a big win less than an hour before.
And over by some golf carts, defensive line coach Vic Cabral was doling out chest bumps and hugs to anyone who wanted one.
Each week, the entire football coaching staff has cleared out the locker room and then headed to the tailgate to mingle with the fans and boosters that support them.
In a sport that tends to obsess over salaries that put coaches on a different level of existence and 20-hour workdays that paint coaches as anti-social football robots, the postgame tailgate couldn’t be farther from those stereotypes.
A week ago, offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse likely went over his game-winning reverse play call a dozen times as fans listened in while head coach Chad Lunsford was high-fiving kids up well past their bedtime and discussing the creative process he goes through with the wrestling moves he’s prone to show off for the camera.
It’s as unique a tradition as any in college football and the perfect embodiment of the heart and soul of Georgia Southern Football.
The Eagles reached the top of the mountain once before with coaches who worked out of trailers and held public court over coffee each morning.
Sure, there are more bells and whistles attached to the program nowadays – and that is necessary and for the better – but the only thing better than watching your team win on a Saturday is to share a victory toast of ribs and a sauce-filled smile right afterwards with the coaches that helped bring home the victory.
