Georgia Southern needs to win the special-teams battles in their quest for a successful season.

The Eagles won most of those last season, posting better averages than their opponents in kick returns (23.9 yards to 19.4), punt returns (5.8-1.5) and net kick average (56.2-38.3). Luke Cherry returns to boot kickoffs and punts.

One area in which they didn’t do as well was field goals. The Eagles missed 14 of their 22 attempts, including five of eight from between 20-29 yards. Redshirt freshman Connor Tierney is expected to try to improve the team’s performance in that area.

The Eagles also must find a replacement for J.J. Wilcox, who was a dangerous kickoff returner last season, with an average of 25.2 yards per attempt. Speedy Johnathan Bryant is penciled in to handle kickoff returns. He averaged 20.8 yards on six returns last season.

Tray Butler may be asked to return punts. He returned one last season for 20 yards.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Jackson State players celebrate victory over South Carolina State in the 2024 Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Tigers are once again in contention for a spot in the bowl game. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2024)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Featured

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — pictured at an August rally in Peachtree City that also featured Vice President JD Vance — appears to have scored another legal victory over gubernatorial rival Attorney General Chris Carr in their battle over campaign finance issues. (Arvin Temkar/AJC 2025)

Credit: Arvin Temkar / AJC