After bouncing between cornerback and safety as a freshman, Georgia State’s Chandon Sullivan became an all-conference player last season when he was able to focus on one position, cornerback.
If the junior from Winder continues to develop, coach Trent Miles said more good things will come.
“He has a chance to develop into a guy that, if he masters his craft, can play on the next level,” Miles said of the NFL. “I want him to continue to grow into that. He has the ability, size, length, speed and brains. I want him to continue to develop so that he will make us better and be a lock-down corner.”
Sullivan’s Sun Belt honor came after 50 tackles, eight pass break ups and two interceptions. Paired with either Bruce Dukes or Jerome Smith on the other side, the Panthers allowed an average of 224.5 passing yards per game. That was seventh-best in the Sun Belt, but the average of 6.5 yards per reception was second-best in the conference.
To try to improve, Sullivan said he is working on leadership, tackling and playing off coverage. He typically prefers to play as a press corner.
Sullivan has a plan to make those changes.
“Watch more film,” he said. “Take the drills as seriously as you can and apply them when you go live. It should pay off in the fall.”
Sullivan said one of the reasons that he has improved is because of the quality of the wide receivers he faces in practice.
“I feel like we have the best receivers in the Sun Belt,” he said. “Going against them every day, it can only make us better.”
He is learning how to read Georgia State’s quartet of quarterbacks, which is another valuable skill for a cornerback.
He knows Emiere Scaife well because he has faced him the past two years.
He said he is impressed by Conner Manning, though he is still learning his “tells.”
He likes Aaron Winchester’s mobility in the pocket.
“They bring something different every down,” he said.
