By: Mike Anthony

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

In 2017, Shai Werts was a redshirt freshman who was thrown into the fire as the quarterback of an inexperienced offense that ended up posting the worst record in Georgia Southern history.

Last season, Werts entered the year with plenty of question marks around his ability to run the offense and take control of games.

He answered the questions with plenty of big plays and bold statements as he fueled one of the best turnaround stories in college football history. Werts looked smooth in driving the Eagles’ option attack and didn’t turn the ball over once all season en route to a 10-3 record and a bowl victory.

Now entering 2019 as a grizzled veteran and unquestioned team leader, Werts is ready for the added expectations.

“I feel good,” Werts said as he relaxed on a couch at the Ted Smith Family Football Operations Center Monday afternoon. “We’re ready for a big year. We’ve got a lot of games that will make it tough to top last year’s record, but that’s what we’re setting out to do.”

Werts was cheery and casual with his answers, but he isn’t taking anything for granted. His demeanor was the same coming off of a 2-10 season where not much of anything went right for him.

The cheerfulness is part of his outward personality, but it only partially hides a more serious side under the surface. That focus and determination played a large part in getting the offense on track last season and is still burning even after the success of 2018.

“We took a lot of pride in what we accomplished last year,” Werts said. “I know some people are still picking us to finish behind Troy (and Appalachian State) again this year. They are really good teams, but we definitely take it to heart that some people don’t think we can beat them.”

For each of his first two seasons, Werts had the benefit of some senior leadership in the backfield with him.

There is still plenty of talent at the skill positions, but several offseason transfers and the graduation of running backs Wesley Fields and Monteo Garrett and tight end Ellis Richardson leave Werts with far more career snaps under his belt than anyone else who will line up in the backfield.

That can be an issue in the Eagles’ triple-option scheme. Even if running backs have all the vision and speed in the world, all of the timing between players has to sync up perfectly in order for reads, gives and pitches to work as designed.

That’s where Werts is stepping up as a leader. “We have a thing at least once a week called ‘Blue Collar’,” Werts said. “It’s player-led, with no coaches. We’re just going over plays individually. We’re getting on the same page right now. When fall camp starts, that’s when it will be time to execute in game situations and see who steps up.”

The 2019 Eagles are a complete unit, with all incoming true freshmen checked in for their first day on campus. Workouts, meetings and a few team bonding activities will fill up the calendar in the coming weeks, with fall camp slated to begin during the first week of August.

Georgia Southern kicks off the 2019 regular season on Aug. 31 with a trip to Baton Rouge to take on LSU.