If you had been in Georgia State Stadium early last week, you would have heard Rocky Top blaring through the speakers in the baseball-field-turned-football-stadium. The tune is a song commonly associated with Tennessee athletics, the Panthers’ non-conference season-opening opponent, and is played at many of the Volunteers’ home games, such as Saturday when they host Georgia State in Knoxville.
“I’m tired of that song to be honest with you,” starting quarterback Dan Ellington said. “It’s kind of catchy a little bit, though. I guess, we’re used to it. I don’t think it’s gonna affect us.”
Coach Shawn Elliott decided to play the song in practice to prepare the team for the inevitable crowd noise in the season opener, and to “annoy the guys to death,” he said, laughing.
The non-conference matchup is the first of a 12-game schedule and will be the Georgia State regular-season debut for new offensive coordinator Brad Glenn. Glenn is joined by five other assistant coaches beginning their tenures with the Panthers.
Glenn’s focus has been on increasing the tempo of Georgia State’s offense, which has taken some adjusting by the Panthers.
“Certainly, the ideas that he’s brought in have been a little bit different from what we’ve done in the past,” Elliott said. “Those are things we really need to hone in on and make sure that we have the understanding heading into this first ball game.”
The Panthers return their starting quarterback in Ellington and four of their top five running backs, including senior Tra Barnett, providing some stability among coaching changes.
Ellington, who’s in his second season with the Panthers, wants to lead Georgia State back to a bowl game amidst a hopeful Sun Belt player-of-the-year campaign. Georgia State failed to earn a bowl game last season, after winning the 2017 Cure Bowl, the program’s first bowl win and second-ever appearance.
Meanwhile Barnett is focusing on becoming a person younger players can turn to, who can help pull the team together when things are falling apart.
“We have a lot of good leaders. I want to be one of them,” he said. “Take the pressure off, be somebody they can lean on.”
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
In his second season, wide receiver Cornelius McCoy is looking to build off his impressive work as a freshman, when he was the Panthers’ second-leading receiver, earning him honorable-mention All-Sun Belt honors. This season, he hopes to make first-team all-conference and reached 1,000 yards receiving.
Despite his age, Elliott sees leadership potential in McCoy, who was one of four freshman to start last season, and hopes McCoy continues to impact the Panthers’ offense.
“He’s a guy with a great personality that kind of fuels our football team from a contagious stand point,” he said.
While McCoy is building his legacy, Barnett and Ellington are hoping to leave something behind that they can be proud of.
“It’s not going to last forever,” Ellington said. “Some of the lucky ones go out there and go play at the next level. I just want us to just go out and just have fun each and every day and just go play the game we love.”
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