Georgia State encouraged by energy on first day of preseason camp

The first day of practice at Georgia State was closed to the public, but the exited voices could easily be heard from the parking lot at Center Parc Stadium. Now it’s up to the staff to translate the early excitement into on-the-field success.

“Guys had great energy, great enthusiasm,” said Georgia State coach Dell McGee, who is starting his third season. “We’ve still got a long way to go but definitely encouraged by how we started today. The kids were very dialed in in their meetings and they carried those meetings onto the field.”

The Panthers are trying to distance themselves from last year’s forgettable 1-11 season. They brought in 34 players via the portal and signed 16 freshmen. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson returns, but the Panthers have a new look on defense, where Cam Clark and John Haneline take over as co-coordinators.

McGee said the biggest goals for the preseason camp are connectivity, getting the freshmen up to speed and staying healthy.

“You want to create toughness and physicality, but at the same time we have to be smart on how we practice from a physical standpoint,” he said. “Once we get pads on, we’ve got to pick and choose when we’re going to be live and how much of that we want to do.”

The offense may have an advantage because of the return of quarterback Cameran Brown, who threw for 1,296 yards, including 280 against Georgia Southern, but was limited by injuries to six games. He is being challenged by transfer Ayden Pereira, who has rushed for nearly 3,000 yards over the last two seasons at FCS Merrimack.

“Cam brings knowledge, familiarity with the offense,” McGee said. “He’s also a leader that we’re depending on the push this team. He’s done that the entire summer.”

The rest of the offense is a puzzle, especially trying to replace all-conference receiver Ted Hurst, who was drafted in the third round by the Tampa Bay Bucs. The offensive line, which sustained heavy injuries a year ago, and the running back corps are other big question marks.

“When you have a returning quarterback and you have some returning talent, you try to fashion an offense around those guys and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Jackson said.

Much scrutiny is on the defense, which allowed 448.8 yards per game and 58 touchdowns in 2025. Clark spent the last two seasons at Duke. Haneline had been the defensive coordinator the last four years at Youngstown State and was the defensive line coach at Western Illinois when Clark served as the defensive coordinator. McGee also brought in Troy Douglas, who coached cornerbacks when Clark was the DC at Lamar.

“We’ve got three former defensive coordinators in the room and we all ran the same system,” Clark said. “I think that’s great because I don’t think I’ve got all the answers. I want to surround myself with people who I think are smarter than me and can help me do it.”

Haneline said, “Coach Clark and I have a history. He’s like a brother. The opportunity to work with him again was something I was going to jump at, no matter where it was in the country.”

Or in the world. Haneline actually got the job offer from McGee while he was on a mountain in Austria. Haneline’s sister-in-law lives in Nuremberg, Germany, and the family was celebrating Christmas on the slopes while Haneline was ironing out the details on the phone.