Georgia State will hold it final scrimmage of the spring practices on Saturday at Panthersville.
The game will start at 1 p.m. Parking lots will open at 8:30 a.m. Admission is free.
The Panthers went 6-7 last season and played in their first bowl game. The team returns nine starters on defense and seven on offense.
The battle that most will want to watch on Saturday will be between the quarterbacks competing for the starting spot to replace Nick Arbuckle, named the Sun Belt Conference football player of the year after passing for more than 4,300 yards last season. Coach Trent Miles said the starter won’t be decided until the day before the season-opening game against Ball State on Sept. 2.
Offensive coordinator Luke Huard said the offense will be fairly vanilla on Saturday.
Here are five players on offense to watch in Saturday’s scrimmage:
Quarterback Conner Manning: Manning is one of three quarterbacks competing to replace Arbuckle. Manning, a transfer from Utah, has a quick delivery with athleticism similar to Arbuckle. Manning is starting to develop a level of comfort in the offense, according to Huard.
Manning completed 13 of 26 passes in the second scrimmage. He also had a 31-yard touchdown pass in the first scrimmage. Huard said that are aspects of Manning’s fundamentals that they will continue to work on that will likely continue until the middle of the next training camp.
Quarterback Emiere Scaife: Huard said Scaife "really flashes" at times with five good plays and then will make two bad plays. The problem is the two negative ones will cover the five positive plays.
“We are in a stage where we are trying to eliminate the negative plays,” Huard said.
Like Manning, Scaife has had moments in the scrimmages. He led a 74-yard touchdown drive in the first scrimmage, but followed that with two interceptions in the second scrimmage.
Huard said Scaife is dedicated to improving, particularly in going through progressions in the pocket.
Quarterback Aaron Winchester: The redshirt freshman is the third competitor, and he brings a slightly different skill set. While Scaife can run, Winchester can really run. He had five completions for 74 yards, including a 55-yarder to Taz Bateman in the second scrimmage.
Tight end Ari Werts: The sophomore tight end brings an X-factor to the offense because of his size, speed and skills. While starter Keith Rucker is returning, Werts can also line up as a second tight end, H-back or even wide receiver. Huard said once Werts improves his route-running he will become a match-up nightmare. Werts will play a lot on Saturday because Rucker will be held out for precautionary measures.
“He can run, he has strong hands,” Huard said. “If it’s in the vicinity he’s going to pluck it. I’m excited about Ari.”
Running back Taz Bateman: He has been the star of the spring practices with big plays in both scrimmages: a 69-yard scoring run in the first and a 55-yard reception in the second. Those are just a few of the plays. He has made several more during practices.
“He’s had a great spring,” Huard said. “He’s one of the most improved players.”
Bateman missed six games last year because of an arm injury sustained in the season’s second game. He finished with 50 carries for 253 yards and 11 receptions for 118 yards.
Huard said that Bateman has developed improved patience in the spring, reducing his number of cuts before he moves up field.
Like Werts, Huard said Bateman can be a match-up nightmare.
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