Georgia State is making at least three changes to its starters on defense for Saturday’s game at Washington.
Bryan Williams will start in place of Nate Simon at safety. Carnell Hopson will start in place of Shawayne Lawrence on the defensive line and Trey Payne will start in place of Sean Jeppesen at inside linebacker.
Bruce Dukes will continue to start at one cornerback. The other may be a game-time decision between Marcus Caffey, Antreal Allen, Chandon Sullivan and Robert Dowling.
The Panthers (1-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) have struggled in the first three games. The defense is giving up averages of 39.7 points and 490.7 yards per game.
Coach Trent Miles said all of the former starters who are now back-ups will play a lot against the Huskies.
Miles said he liked the way Payne, a redshirt freshman, tackled in last week’s game. He finished with 10 stops. Jeppesen is in his first year as a starter and is still adjusting to the position after moving over from fullback. This will be Payne’s first atar.
Miles said Hopson’s performance in last week’s game and at practice warranted him starting over Lawrence. Hopson, a sophomore like Lawrence, had five tackles last week. This will be Hopson’s first start. Lawrence had started 15 consecutive games.
Williams is one of the few players in Georgia State’s secondary who has made plays this year, with an interception and fumble recovery in the loss to New Mexico State. Simon has had chances to make plays but hasn’t done so.
Additionally, Miles lifted running back Krysten Hammon’s suspension, but he won’t travel with the team to this week’s game. Carries will be split between Kyler Neal, Duvall Smith and Jonathan Jean-Bart. The Panthers are averaging 144.3 rushing yards per game this year. Hammon, a freshman, is the team’s leading rusher with 197 yards and two touchdowns.
Tight end Joel Ruiz will travel, but is unlikely to play after suffering a shoulder sprain in last week’s loss to Air Force. Ruiz has 15 receptions for 223 yards and two touchdowns this year.
Box score change: A change was made to the box score of last week’s game. Outside linebacker Mackendy Cheridor was credited with a sack. The offensive line was charged with a sack allowed because of an intentional grounding penalty, which also resulted in a loss of 17 rushing yards.
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