High temperatures can’t slow energy at Georgia State’s opening practice
Georgia State quarterback Christian Veilleux wasn’t going to lie. The first day of football practice was hot, even by Atlanta standards: 92 degrees.
Still, by all accounts, it was a productive way for the program to kick off its second season under coach Dell McGee.
“I mean, the first day is always going to be tough,” Veilleux said. “I was dripping sweat all day, so definitely going to have a couple more towels tomorrow to kind of offset that. But for the first day I felt it was good. All the work that we put in through the summer kind of added up to today.”
The Panthers have plenty of new players on the team this season. There are 45 holdovers from last season’s team that finished with a 3-9 record and 77 newcomers — 34 freshmen and walk-ons and 43 who entered via the transfer portal.
“I feel like we played with great energy,” inside linebacker Damaine Wilson said. “We’ve got some young guys in there who have been playing, and we’ve got some older guys who can really lead us young guys to play even better than what we did last year. I just felt like we came out with the right energy.”
McGee chuckled when he was asked to recall his first day of practice as a freshman at Auburn. There were three-a-days under legendary coach Pat Dye — 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. — and McGee acknowledged having many anxious moments back in the day.
That much hasn’t changed.
“Kids are always anxious on the first day, so you could kind of see some of that anxiety,” McGee said. “And when you have anxiety from a mental standpoint, it reflects from a physical standpoint.”
Three-a-day workouts now are ancient history, and today’s coaching staffs adhere to standards that are better suited to the welfare of their players. Water breaks are mandatory these days, and there isn’t a bottle of salt tablets anywhere close to the locker room.
McGee and his staff are concerned about keeping players safe and healthy by what they eat and drink.
“We are really pushing nutrition because of the heat,” McGee said. “We’ve been doing that all summer. Our kids have really bought into eating the correct meals, putting the right stuff in their body, hydrating. And when you get to camp, all those things are vital to have another good practice the next day.”
McGee begins his second season as coach with two new coordinators. He hired Hue Jackson as offensive coordinator and Travis Pearson as defensive coordinator.
Jackson, who has extensive experience on the college and professional level, was GSU’s recruiting coordinator last year. Pearson had been the cornerbacks coach at Troy for the previous two seasons.
The idea is to turn every practice into a competition for playing time.
“We want to bring competition at every single position, which I feel like we’ve done,” McGee said. “And when you have competition at every position, it really pushes the depth chart. We don’t really have a true depth chart right now. We’re just sort of repping guys on both ends of the field, and there will be a place and time to set all that.
“That will be determined by how guys play, how they pick up on the mental game and the players that have the least number of mistakes will be the ones that play.”
McGee said the first weeks of camp will be focused on in-house improvement and cohesiveness, with the final week shifting toward preparation for the season opener at Ole Miss on Aug. 30.
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
