Now that Georgia State’s season is over, coach Trent Miles can tend to his to-do list.
After Saturday night’s 27-16 loss to San Jose State in the Cure Bowl, Miles assessed that he has a lot of work to do to take advantage of the team’s first bowl appearance and first six-win season since the program began in 2010.
“By no means are we satisfied,” Miles said on Saturday in Orlando. “What you saw is a product of only six years. This will propel our recruiting and academics ahead.”
Among his chores, Miles said he needs to keep his coaching staff together because all the right people — players, coaches, administrators and donors — are in place to allow the team to compete for bowl games every season.
He said he and his staff will “recruit our tails off” to add depth to a roster that is slowly starting to find balance by class and position. That is an important element because some of those younger players who have been developing must replace the six key seniors who are leaving.
The team has players who can step in for the linebacker Joseph Peterson in Ed Curney and Chase Middleton, safety Tarris Batiste in Bryan Williams, Cloves Campbell and Ronald Peterkin, center Taylor Evans in Gabe Mobley, wide receiver Donovan Harden in a slew of players and kicker Wil Lutz.
What they don’t have — what they need more than anything else — is a quarterback. Whoever replaces Nick Arbuckle likely won’t be able to match what Arbuckle did in his first two seasons, but will have to do enough to keep defenses honest.
Arbuckle, who was named the Sun Belt student athlete of the year after passing for more than 4,000 yards, became the Sun Belt’s single-season passing leader in the loss to San Jose State. The new record is 4,368 yards, surpassing former Troy quarterback Levi Brown’s record of 4,254.
There are several quarterbacks on the roster, including Emiere Scaife and Aaron Winchester. If either performs well in spring practice, the Panthers could be favored to win the Sun Belt next season. The Panthers will return eight starters on offense and nine on a defense that played progressively better during the four-game winning streak the led to the Cure Bowl. The staff may also sign a junior college quarterback or graduate transfer to create competition at the position.
“Always starts with the quarterback. That’s high school, college and pro,” Miles said.
All six departing senior starters said they will pursue plans to play professionally. If Arbuckle’s plans don’t work out, he said he hopes to attend graduate school in Georgia to pursue a Master’s degree. Batiste, a criminal justice major, said he is interested in pursuing work on protection services in the diplomatic service. Lutz will attend two kicking camps in order to receive an invitation to NFL camps.
The team will also continue with player development in the recently constructed strength and conditioning center to help the offensive linemen become bigger and stronger with the goal of increasing the production in the running game.
The Panthers totaled just 23 rushing yards against San Jose State, a result that was similar to the performances in Miles’ first two seasons when the team won just one game.
If the line can improve its run-blocking, next year’s team could become more like what Miles said he wanted when he was hired after the 2012 season: tough on defense and an offense featuring a reliable running game. The team returns all of its running backs, which should also help.
Miles will also meet with athletic director Charlie Cobb to discuss what needs to be done to create sustainable success for the program.
“If you are staying the same, you’re getting worse,” Miles said.
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