By: Colin Lacy

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Year two for Clay Helton at the helm in Statesboro started out with a bang in 2023.

The Eagles jumped out to a 4-1 start and improved to 6-2 after a Thursday night matchup with in-state rivals Georgia State in which Southern obliterated State 44-27 on ESPN2.

Then….it wasn’t so good. The blue and white finished the 2023 campaign losing their last five games including 41-21 to Ohio in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

Although Eagle Nation is hoping for a different ending to 2024, to me “more of the same” is what could be a huge key to the GS success. Coach Helton has brought it up a couple of times leading into the 2024 season the consistency in the leadership for Georgia Southern Football.

That extends not only on the field with names like Jalen White and Marques Watson-Trent, but also to the coaching staff. Not only do the Eagles have Clay Helton continuing to build in year number three, but defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey returns for year two; as well as special teams coordinator Turner West back for year three manning the specialists.

The only coordinator change is the departure of former offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis, who is now on staff at Alabama under first year Head Coach Kalen DeBoer in Tuscaloosa.

While a new offensive coordinator slides into the office, Coach Helton promoted from within and elevated Ryan Aplin to the role of OC. With the stability, virtually all the schemes and language will be the same within the Ted Smith Family Football Operations Building and keep some consistency that frankly hasn’t been there for one reason or another in about a decade.

While the scheme is the same, some new names will be flocking at Allen E. Paulson Stadium and the most notable will be who takes over as the signal caller for the 2024 season.

At Sun Belt Conference Media Day in mid-July, Coach Helton confirmed that the quarterback spot is at least a three-way competition.

The first candidate is a newcomer to the program in Indiana transfer Dexter Williams II.  Williams spent four years in Bloomington, but only saw action in four games which all came in 2022 earning two starts for the Hoosiers.

The Macon native from Mount de Sales Academy only tallied 225 passing yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions in the 2022 season with Indiana.

The other two would-be signal callers were already on the roster for GSU. David Dallas has been on the Eagles roster since January 2022 out of Trinity Christian, but the Sharpsburg native has yet to take a snap.

The final option for the blue and white got a baptism by fire last season as JC French was thrown into 10 games last season with injuries and lack of production at times from Davis Brinn.

French only took 48 snaps on the year but accounted for 122 yards through the air and a touchdown after redshirting at Memphis in 2022.

Outside of the quarterback for Georgia Southern, there is plenty of production returning for the Eagles as Jalen White looks to build off of last year that was injury riddled but still put up almost 900 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.

The Eagles return all three backs that accounted for more than 100 yards rushing (White-889, OJ Arnold-411, and David Mbadinga-112) from a running back room that was disguised as a MASH unit last year.

Receiving wise, the Eagles lose their leading receiver from a year ago, but the core of Derwin Burgess Jr (74 rec., 813yds, 6 TDs), and Dalen Cobb (40 rec., 601yds, 2 TDs) return for another year in the blue and white.

Along with that dynamic duo, some familiar names look to take a big leap forward with Josh Dallas (Brother to QB option David Dallas), Josh Thompson, and Freshman Carmelo Mays could make a splash in his first season in the Boro.

On defense, the Eagles look to take a huge step forward behind one of the best defenders in the league with Marques Watson-Trent who has taken an incredible leadership role within the entire team but is a dramatic difference maker on the field as well.

This was another unit last year that was a revolving door because of injuries down the stretch, but the experience for young guys that were thrust into the fire out of necessity (probably before they were fully ready), will pay off huge dividends in 2024.

To me, 2023 showed what Georgia Southern could be when at it’s best (when it was 6-2). 2024 will show that next step and I think year three under Helton could be big things for Eagle Nation and plenty of times, in the words of Danny Reed, it will be “well with my soul at Paulson Stadium.”