Georgia State began Monday’s practice and preparation for the season-opening game against Charlotte slowly before finishing strongly, coach Trent Miles said.
Miles attributed the lack of pace to the first day of school.
“Once we understood the tempo they needed, they picked it up,” Miles said.
The team spent part of Monday preparing for the 49ers, which they will play on Sept. 4 at the Georgia Dome.
Charlotte is in its first year of FBS football and is coached by former Georgia assistant Brad Lambert, whom Miles knows when they were assistant coaches at Oklahoma together.
“They can score points in a hurry,” Miles said of the 49ers. They return 55 letterwinners and 16 starters from a team that went 5-6 last year against FCS opponents.
Scrimmage review: After reviewing film of Saturday's scrimmage, Miles said he was pleased with the lack of mental mistakes and turnovers.
He said the defense graded at 90 percent for effort, but on the last drive – a drive in which the offense scored – that grade decreased to 56 percent because Miles said the players were “a little gassed.”
He said the offense did poorly on third-down conversions in the scrimmage, but he attributed part of that to the defense putting them in a lot of third-and-long situations. He said the offense ran the ball well.
Nick Arbuckle completed 14 of 23 passes for 194 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Avery Sweeting had two touchdowns, a 23-yard reception from Arbuckle and a 33-yard reception from backup quarterback Emiere Scaife. Wide receiver Nyiakki Height, a transfer from UAB, caught four passes for 49 yards. Running back Kyler Neal had a 2-yard touchdown run during a two-minute drill.
Outside linebacker Michael Shaw had a sack and tackle for loss. Defensive end Mackendy Cheridor had a tackle for loss and defensive lineman Shawanye Lawrence had a tackle for loss and batted down a pass.
“Very solid scrimmage,” Miles said.
Injuries: Starting cornerback Bruce Dukes (hamstring) is expected to rejoin practice soon, Miles said. … Linebacker Kight Dallas will become a student-assistant coach after sustaining another concussion. Miles said Dallas will apply for a medical redshirt. Dallas signed with the Panthers as part of the Class of 2013 and played as a freshman. He was forced to miss last season because of concussions. … Back-up running back Marcus Caffey (concussion) returned to practice. … Starting wide receiver Robert Davis didn't participate.
Depth chart: Miles said the coaching staff was going to set the depth chart Monday afternoon.
Booth or sidelines: Miles said they will determine which coaches are going to work the sidelines and which will work from the booth after Thursday's mock game at the Georgia Dome.
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