By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Georgia State University was founded in 1913 and it is one of University System of Georgia’s four research universities.

They started playing football in 2010. They have had some success but their overall record is 61-106 (.365). Surprisingly they have a winning bowl record at 4-2 (.667).

Head coach Shawn Elliott abruptly retired in February 2024. He coached the Panthers from 2017-2024. They started the 2023 season 6-1 and then they lost five straight games. They did win the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to finish 7-6.

GSU hired Dell McGee as their head coach in late February. The Georgia native was the running backs coach/run game coordinator at Georgia from 2016-23. He has 22 years of coaching experience, including the back-to-back national titles while he was at UGA.

“We are proud to announce Coach Dell McGee as our head football coach,” Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb said. “Coach McGee is an outstanding and authentic man with a strong passion for developing young men. His track record of competitive success at the high school and college levels makes me confident that he will lead our football program to its greatest achievements. We welcome Linda and Dell to Georgia State University!”

He is known as a good recruiter but he was hired too late in the recruiting cycle to make a difference for this season.

Roster turnover has become the norm in college football and it’s no different for Ga State. They have 48 new players this season between high school signees, transfers and walk-ons.

Quarterback Darren Grainger was the only three-year starter in GSU history. He graduated so now the Panthers have to find their new signal caller.

“That’s one of the toughest positions in football,” McGee said. “Just looking for how they respond, how they lead, who can throw, and minimize mistakes and play clean football every day.”

Redshirt freshman Braylen Ragland is the only QB that was on the roster last season. He was the No. 54 quarterback in the nation coming out of high school.

Redshirt senior Zach Gibson transferred from Georgia Tech and he’s the favorite to win the starting job. He’s from John’s Creek and played two seasons at Akron, passing for 2,471 yards and 15 touchdowns, before transferring to Tech.

In 2022 he played in six games and made three starts. One of those was an upset of No. 13 North Carolina. He did not see game action in 2023.

Former Coastal Carolina running back CJ Beasley might be the best transfer player. Last season he had just under 1,000 rushing yards.

They also return running back Freddie Brock, who got his first start in last year’s bowl game. He rushed for 276 yards on 24 carries.

The only returning All-Sun Belt player for the Panthers is corner back Gavin Pringle. He had four interceptions, including a pick-6 and four pass breakups last season.

They were the worst pass defense in the conference so the rest of the secondary has to step up.

I think Georgia State is going to have a rough season in 2024. They have a lot of new players, a new coach and a relatively tough schedule. I think they will win 4 to 5 games.

Here is their schedule:

8/31 @ Georgia Tech

9/7 vs Chattanooga

9/14 vs Vanderbilt

9/28 vs Georgia Southern

10/12 vs Old Dominion

10/17 @ Marshall

10/26 @ Appalachian State

11/1 @ UConn

11/9 @ James Madison

11/16 vs Arkansas State

11/23 @ Texas State

11/30 vs Coastal Carolina