It wasn’t the season that Georgia State football coach Bill Curry expected.
After leading his team to a 6-5 record in their inaugural season of 2010, the Panthers stumbled to a 3-8 mark in 2011.
The team was forced to use three different quarterbacks, each of whom had different skills than the other. The constant changes affected the offense’s consistency so much that it averaged only 22.6 points per game, five less than in 2010, and scored only 34 points in the fourth quarter.
The offensive line was hampered by injuries and a disciplinary measure. The defense couldn’t find a scheme that it seemed comfortable with until halfway through the season. The Panthers allowed 31.2 points per game, five more than in 2010.
The special teams were disappointing throughout the season. Penalties hampered every unit’s production and progress. The team was flagged 74 times, nine times more than in 2010.
But there were positives.
“The guys didn’t quit,” Curry said. “They kept fighting down the stretch. Even though we didn’t do well in the fourth quarter, which was the most obvious shortcoming of all, neither did we fold the tent.”
It won’t get any easier. The team will play in the Colonial Athletic Association next season, which means a tougher schedule and longer road trips await.
Curry recently sat down with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to discuss the season. Questions and answers have been paraphrased or combined when similar topics were discussed.
Q: What will be the emphasis in the offseason for the team?
A: The priority coming off the severe disappointment is to have a plan to immediately get to work on the things that really matter [including recruiting].
No. 1 is final exams.
No. 1a is any sort of misunderstandings or controversies related to academics ... violations, that sort of thing.
We have to go right to work, getting ready for our football team to be improved. We are already back in the weight room. The team is enthused to work, to get better starting now; not starting in January, starting now.
Coaches are meeting with players, talking academics and performance. And I am meeting with players. I’ve met with 20 so far. We will talk about goals, aspirations, why we played the way we did. We’re trying to incorporate their goals into what we are doing. We started doing this last Monday.
Q: What position is the priority in recruiting?
A: We really need some of everything. That's the truth. We need defensive linemen, linebackers, a corner; we need a wide receiver, we need some offensive linemen, a quarterback. We have backups that will be ready on the offensive line. Defensively, we need more people.
Q: Speaking of the defense, will you switch your base to the 4-3, instead of the 3-4? The change seemed to work.
A: We have discussed it. We won't get into that. Right now the coaches are mostly on the road recruiting. We will make decisions about structure and strategies and those kinds of things after we get back off the road.
Q: Do you anticipate any changes on the staff?
A: There's always a possibility that there could be changes, but there hasn't been any change to this point.
Q: To be more direct, will you make any changes on the staff?
A: I haven't made that decision yet.
Q: How did this year better prepare the team for the CAA in 2012?
A: I think it was slap in the face, a reality check. 'Here's what you have to do to win.' Everybody knows we are going to play tougher teams next year. I think five of them are still playing [in the playoffs].
It was, I think, a huge spark, to launch our enthusiasm. It is evident in our work already the last few days.
Q: A lot of coaches like to use different scores or moments from the previous season to motivate the team for the next season, Nick Saban using the Auburn game as an example. Is there anything you will use from last season?
A: I've never been big on looking back. We've already had a team meeting and talked about what happened and specifics. We'll only look back to reference what we have to do going forward.
There may be a phrase that we will come up with when we come back in January. For now, it’s strictly school business, getting in the weight room, keeping your body working right.
Q: Was there a position group that you were pleased with?
A: I'm proud of our running backs for hanging onto the ball. It's hard to go through a season without turning over the ball. I almost don't want to talk about it. I don't want to jinx it. Our running game improved. It wasn't 100-percent consistent, but it improved. We hung onto the ball well.
Q: You still plan on coaching through your contract [which expires in 2013]?
A: Yes.
Q: You and athletic director Cheryl Levick will talk about a succession plan at some point?
A: We will talk about it.
Q: To say a succession plan will be discussed implies one might be needed, that you won’t coach after your contract. Or is it just that you will decide once your contract is done?
A: You've got it right, when the contract is done [I'll decide].
Q: Will you continue to look at transfer players?
A: Yes. I didn't expect to have this many. Of course, we never anticipated having this many seniors. But you don't turn down [former Georgia Tech players] Joseph Gilbert and Clyde Yandell if they show up. If we are fortunate and if we have a spot, then we anticipate that there will be some. It's a fact of life in today's football.
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