Miles likes what he saw on Georgia State’s first day

Georgia State coach Trent Miles liked most of what he saw Saturday from his team in its first practice of the preseason camp.

Now, he just wants to see more.

“The guys were eager and excited, flying around, but there are a lot of things we need to work on,” he said. “The tempo needs to get better, and that starts with us as coaches.”

Miles said the work that the players put in over the summer studying the playbook, in the weight room and in seven-on-seven drills showed.

He said the 20 freshmen need to quickly improve in the next few practices on what’s expected.

“We can’t waste any opportunities,” he said.

Miles ended the practice telling the players about the need to be “consistently great” in all aspects, from getting the proper amount of rest, to eating right, to hydrating properly before Sunday’s practice.

“We don’t want to be one-hit wonders, have a good excited first day and then come out here and be flat tomorrow,” he said. “We want to progress every day and be great.”

The Panthers went 1-10 last season. They will open the season Aug. 30 against Samford at the Georgia Dome.

QB competition: Quarterback will be the most-scrutinized position battle during August. Miles said it is the most unsettled of the positions, and he has no timetable for when he will choose a starter.

“It could be the week before, could be four days from now,” he said.

Ben McLane, Ronnie Bell and Clay Chastain are the candidates. McLane started nine games last season, finishing the season with 1,592 yards passing and 10 touchdowns. Bell started two, finishing with 522 yards passing and three touchdowns. Chastain signed in the offseason after one year at Georgia Military College, where he passed for 1,907 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Though the coaches couldn’t be present during summer workouts, all three quarterbacks said they grew more comfortable with Jeff Jagodzinski’s offense after a summer of unsupervised seven-on-seven drills.

“It gave me a feel for all of the receivers and getting on that level with all of them, getting to know them better,” Chastain said.

Bell transferred from Ohio last year and said he’s much more comfortable at Georgia State and expects that will show in his play.

“I feel like I’m back to normal with my speed and quickness,” he said.

Quarterbacks coach Luke Huard said it was evident Saturday that the quarterbacks used the seven-on-seven drills during the summer to improve their recognition of plays and coverages and work through different situations.

“You are starting to see guys not be as robotic and starting to see guys play a little more football,” Huard said.

He liked how Bell put the offensive line into the correct protection scheme Saturday during some of the drills. He also liked how the quarterbacks were able to stretch the field with some accurate deep throws and that they didn’t throw many interceptions.

Huard said he wants the quarterback to take the command of the offense.

“When he gets in the huddle the other 10 guys respond, and when he gets up to the line of scrimmage he understands what he’s doing and he’s able to deliver the football accurately and on time,” Huard said.

Freshmen decisions: Miles said he won't hesitate to play any of the freshmen who signed in February.