Georgia State opened its second spring practice Monday by paying homage to the FBS national champions.
Coach Bill Curry recruited speed and put it to use last fall, but he wants the Panthers to become even faster, both individually and in their tempo of play.
"Oregon, Auburn, Old Dominion, South Alabama," Curry said, noting teams that have used tempo to their advantage. The latter two did so against Georgia State last fall in its inaugural season. "We saw it last year. Whew. That's good stuff."
Under offensive coordinator John Bond and defensive coordinator John Thompson, practice moved at a more brisk pace than last fall and certainly than last spring. In one 20-minute offense vs. defense session, Bond sped through a full script of plays by shuttling the first and second teams in and out.
"We got all 40 done with 15 seconds to spare," Bond said. A year ago, the offense would have run 24 plays in the same amount of time.
Not only national champion Auburn but Oregon in particular has gained renown for speeding up their pace of play, barely stopping between plays, to wear teams down. Opponents even faked injuries to try to slow down the Ducks.
"[If] somebody's got better football players than you, if you can get them on the run because of tempo, that's a tremendous competitive advantage," Curry said.
The Panthers will need any advantage early, as starting quarterback Drew Little is suspended for all of spring practice and the first four games of the season for violating team rules. Monday, he and other suspended players – wide receiver Danny Williams, safety Fred Barnes and linebacker Evan Bostic – went through conditioning drills apart from the team, occasionally looking up to watch their teammates from afar.
With former backup and Alabama transfer Star Jackson having left the team following the season, Kelton Hill and Bo Schlechter are the only two quarterbacks on the roster.
"That was the tough part [Monday], catching up with the tempo, getting all the plays down," said Schlechter, who began last season at quarterback, moved to wide receiver early in the season and was switched back to quarterback after the season.
With so many repetitions with just two quarterbacks, Schlechter said he was going to have to ice down his arm and drink a protein shake.
The Panthers are more equipped to handle the increased practice rate and intensity this spring after having completed their first season and grown accustomed to the pace of college football. But Monday, it didn't help enough. Through his bullhorn, Curry repeatedly chided players for not moving quick enough for his liking.
"It looked like you were going slow," he said after asking a wide receiver if he was running hard through a drill. "I guess I just thought you were fast."
At the end of the morning practice, the first of 15, the team split into three groups to work on flexibility and running techniques. This spring, strength and conditioning coach Jamal Terry will train the team after each practice as well as over the summer, to improve speed.
"A lot of guys don't know how to run [properly]," defensive backs and special teams coach Anthony Midget said. "We're putting a big emphasis on that."
