FUTURE FOOTBALL SCHEDULES
2016
Sept. 1 or 2 vs. Ball State
Sept. 10 at Air Force
Sept. 17 at Wisconsin ($1.2 million guarantee)
Oct. 22 vs. Tennessee-Martin
2017
Sept. 9 at Charlotte
Sept. 16 at Penn State ($1.2 million guarantee)
Nov. 18 vs. Memphis
2018
Aug. 30 vs. Kennesaw State
Sept. 8 at N.C. State ($925,000 guarantee)
Sept. 15 at Memphis
2019
Sept. 7 at Tennessee ($950,000 guarantee)
2020
Sept. 12 at Alabama ($1.3 million guarantee)
2021
Sept. 25 at Auburn ($1.25 million guarantee)
Georgia State will host its spring football game at Panthersville on Saturday.
The game will be part of a day-long Panther-palooza that will include the football game at noon, a softball doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., baseball at 2 p.m. and men’s soccer at 2:30 p.m. followed by a scrimmage at 5:30 p.m. Parking lots open at 9 a.m. All events are free.
But football should be the attraction, and coach Trent Miles hopes to entertain Georgia State’s supporters.
With four exceptions, the teams, one blue, one white were selected by the players. Linebacker Joseph Peterson and wide receiver Donovan Harden picked one team. Injured tight end Joel Ruiz and safety Tarris Batiste picked the other. The offensive lines and defensive lines were picked as groups, whose players were pre-ordered by the coaches as a mix of first- and second-teamers. The players then picked individual players to fill out the rest of their squads. Nick Arbuckle will quarterback the Blue team, whose offense features wide receiver Glenn Smith and running back Kendrick Dorn, and Emiere Scaife will quarterback the white team, with wide receiver Robert Davis and running back Kyler Neal.
The Blue team’s defense features Shawayne and Jalen Lawrence and Mackendy Cheridor, all starters last season, with linebacker Joseph Peterson and Michael Shaw. The White team’s defense features linebackers Alonzo McGee and Trey Payne and defensive backs Chandon Sullivan and Marcus Caffey.
Miles said he wants to see the offensive lines create holes for the running backs. The Panthers averaged less than 100 rushing yards per game last year.
Of course, he said he wants the defensive line to stop the run and pressure the quarterback. The Panthers had problems doing either during last season, when they finished 1-11.
Plays on Saturday will be called by a mix of assistant coaches and graduate assistants. Coordinators Jeff Jagodzinski and Jesse Minter will spend time evaluating individual players.
“We want to see how they respond in a game atmosphere,” coach Trent Miles said. “We still have a lot of young dudes who need to play without coaches on the field.”
The game will feature 12-minute quarters with a running clock. During the last two minutes the clock will operate normally with stoppages.
There will be punts, but no returns. Any fumbled returns will result in a 15-yard penalty. There will be neither kickoffs nor field goals, because the soccer field that will host the game doesn’t have goal posts.
Schedules: Georgia State has added three more nonconference games to its future football schedules.
The Panthers will play host to Tennessee-Martin in 2016, will make a third trip to Alabama in 2020 and will play at Auburnn in 2021.
Georgia State is taking a more regional approach compared with previous years to its nonconference scheduling, having already agreed to games with Tennessee, N.C. State, Memphis and Kennesaw State. The Panthers were beaten by the Volunteers 51-13 in 2012.
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