By: Mike Anthony

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Georgia Southern offered one of the best turnaround stories in recent history last season as the Eagles rebounded from a program-worst 2-10 mark in 2017 to go 10-3 last fall, capped by a walk-off victory in the Camellia Bowl.

It was one thing to regain success. Now it’s time to see if the Eagles can retain success.

One thing they certainly have retained is plenty of talent. That begins with quarterback Shai Werts, who returns for his third season as Georgia Southern’s starter in its unique option attack.

Werts made national headlines to begin August when he was arrested for possession of cocaine, but the charges were quickly dropped and Werts – as well as the rest of his team – is eager to focus only on football moving forward.

Werts lost a pair of running backs to graduation, but new projected starters Logan Wright and Matt LaRoache saw plenty of quality action last season.

Also returning is junior Wesley Kennedy III. Kennedy has been a playmaking threat since his true freshman season and will be the most versatile weapon at Werts’ disposal as he can run, catch and block from the backfield or lined up out wide.

Perhaps the most important bit of continuity for the offense comes in the press box. Offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse returns for his second year in Statesboro, making this the first season since 2015 where the Eagle offense retains a play-caller from one season to the next.

DeBesse has shown the ability to build an intricate and effective playbook at his previous stops, so with plenty of returning talent and another year’s worth of familiarity with the offense, there are high hopes that the Eagle offense will go from being merely good last season to dynamic and explosive in 2019.

The offense usually grabs all the headlines in Statesboro, but this fall could feature one of the better Georgia Southern defenses in program history.

The Eagles lost key players at every level to graduation, but – much like with their running back situation – there seems to be no shortage of players filling up the depth chart that have plenty of game experience already on their resumes.

Raymond Johnson III and Ty Phillips adjusted nicely to the switch to a 3-4 front last year and will line up at end and nose tackle, respectively, again this year.

Rashad Byrd came on strong in one of the pivotal middle linebacker spots last season and will now be joined by Furman transfer Reynard Ellis, who frequently looked like the best linebacker on the roster while participating on last year’s scout team.

Georgia Southern is replacing a pair of safeties, but there is again plenty of experience to draw from as Kenderick Duncan and Darrell Baker Jr. have both started games and will be joined by two-season Savannah State starter Donald Rutledge who joined the Eagles as a grad transfer.

The corners will be patrolled by the best 1-2 punch in the Sun Belt – and maybe in the country – as seniors Monquavian Brinson and Kindle Vildor have spent the preseason racking up honors. Both are seen as potential NFL draft targets.

A brutal schedule features road trips to LSU, Minnesota, Appalachian State and Troy, but there is no doubting that the Eagles have the talent and coaching infrastructure in place to prove that 2018 was no fluke.

While the Eagles are predicted to finish third in the Sun Belt East behind Appalachian and Troy – the same result as last season – both of those rivals are dealing with overhauled coaching staffs and the Eagles will be waiting in the wings to seize any chance to get back to the top of the standings.