By: Mike Anthony

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

College Football season is here and the Georgia Southern Eagles are hoping that they will take the field fully healed.

The Eagles were relatively healthy on the injury report throughout 2017, but a final record of 2-10 – the worst in program history – left some lasting blows to the pride of both players and fans alike.

But hope springs eternal and, with Chad Lunsford ready to begin his first full season as head coach, the Eagles certainly give off the impression of a team ready to make a huge leap forward this season.

The main culprit in the Eagles’ consecutive losing seasons has been the disappearance of what had always been a dominant rushing attack. Georgia Southern led the nation in rushing in each of its first two seasons as an FBS member as its option attack routinely left defenses chasing skill players through open space.

The 2016 season brought about new head coach Tyson Summers and new co-offensive coordinators that saw the rushing attack start to spin its wheels despite a senior-laden depth chart.

And last year saw it all fall apart as another new coordinator (Bryan Cook) was ineffective with an offense that was breaking in a freshman quarterback and an inexperienced offensive line.

Georgia Southern now has its’ fourth OC in as many seasons, but there is reason to think that things aren’t looking up. Bob DeBesse now takes the reins of the offense after spending the last five years turning New Mexico into a rushing juggernaut.

The Eagles also have the gift of experience on both sides of the ball. Last year, there were only eight seniors on the roster, making them the youngest team in the nation. This fall, 19 starters return and – while their performance on the field needs to improve – there is plenty to be said for having a veteran starter at nearly every position.

Youth is still key however, as the Eagles pulled in one of the top-rated recruiting classes in the Sun Belt this spring and aren’t afraid to give their freshmen a chance immediately.

Helping out with that strategy is the new NCAA rule that permits players to be redshirted even with up to four games of action.

During a preseason booster event, Lunsford stated that some guys would see action immediately and would be reevaluated after four games. Other freshmen might be kept on the sidelines until the last month for more development and then given an audition in the last month.

Singled out among the true freshmen by Lunsford were C.J. Wright – a 285-pounder who could be the perfect fit as a nose guard in the Eagles’ new 3-4 defense.

Also mentioned was Davarious Bagnare, a receiver in high school who is now a slot back in an offense that needs the position to run, catch and block equally well.

The first two games will be vital for any hope of a big bounceback season.

An opener against South Carolina State should provide a quick win before Massachusetts – who beat the Eagles 55-20 last season in Summers’ final game before his midseason firing – comes to town.

If the Eagles can notch out a pair of early wins, they will be riding high. The Sun Belt projects to have three frontrunners in Arkansas State, Appalachian State and Troy, but the rest of the league is wide open.

If the Eagles’ offense can return to even a reasonable image of their former selves, there’s a decent chance that Georgia Southern could still be in the hunt for a bowl game in the final weeks of the regular season.