Shai Werts
Wounded Eagles
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Nothing ever goes exactly as planned in football, especially on offense.
To look at a play as it’s drawn up, every run appears to have enough blockers to spring the ball carrier.
Similarly, every pass seems to have plenty of protection and the perfect combination of routes that should lead to a receiver breaking into open space for the quarterback.
Yet, a quick look at even a few plays of any game show that the efforts to move the ball more often resemble a well thought-out plan that tries to hold together as long as possible before dissolving into chaos.
To be sure, the Georgia Southern offense isn’t flailing or in disarray after two games, the current state of the unit isn’t what was hoped for back in the summer.
A lot of that can be chalked up more to who isn’t playing than negative things being done by those who are on the field.
Starting quarterback Shai Werts was knocked out in the first half of the LSU game and remains doubtful to return this week after being held out against Maine.
Slotback Wesley Kennedy III has yet to play a down as he serves out an academic suspension.
Linemen Drew Wilson and Jarod Leeds missed time in preseason camp with concussions while starting tackle Brian Miller was lost for the season with an injury suffered two weeks before kickoff.
And in one final easy-to-see blemish, the second half of Saturday’s game featured a host of wayward snaps that came after starting center Jakob Cooper left with an injury.
For the most part, the scariest injury situation seemed to work out the best for concerned Eagle fans against Maine.
Werts will be welcomed back when he is healthy, but backup quarterback Justin Tomlin looked confident and ran hard on his way to 195 yards of total offense and a touchdown.
But Tomlin also had some sore spots as he contributed to the Eagles’ seven fumbles and seemed less sure of running the option when going to his left.
Cooper appears to be on track to return to the middle of the offensive line this week at Minnesota, but Saturday raised a red flag for Georgia Southern if the need to replace him pops up again. Spring practice featured a constant cycle of potential centers, with all having their trouble with inconsistent snaps.
Aaron Dowdell was called upon against Maine. His efforts keeping Tomlin guessing, ultimately highlighted (or lowlighted?) with a high snap that sent Tomlin scrambling 15 yards backwards and stalled what could have been a game-clinching touchdown in the second half.
As for the rest of the skill position players, the health is good, but the consistency hasn’t shown up quite yet.
Matt LaRoche had a career day with 154 rushing yards and a touchdown on Saturday while Logan Wright went for 114. But J.D. King was held to 16 yards on 12 carries aside from his one rush of 25 and the game plan didn’t appear to be comfortable showcasing any slotback in the manner that would be expected if Kennedy was on the field.
The yo-yoing nature of the Eagles’ early opponents continues this week as Georgia Southern travels to Minnesota.
Another long road trip against a P5 school it is facing for the first time might make it hard to make evaluations of the offense any clearer after this weekend, but the fact remains that continued explosiveness and more overall consistency is needed for the Eagles to end up where they want to be.
Eagles To Soar In 2019?
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.
Putting In The Werts
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.
