Every season, most football teams have a group of seniors.
Few have a group quite like Georgia State has this season.
Three of the 20 seniors reported to the Rialto Center for the Arts with the first team two years ago. They’ve all played a role in starting the Panthers’ program.
On Saturday, they will walk off the field at the Georgia Dome after the Panthers’ final game, the game that wraps up their collegiate careers.
Two of that trio, Robert Truitt and Kevin Thompson, practiced in the rain, cold and heat and attended all the meetings, even though they were never put on scholarship and haven’t played a snap in a game. The third, Brandon Jones, has been a key player.
But that could change against Campbell (6-4), the bookend game to a disappointing season. Coach Bill Curry said he hopes each of the two get at least one play.
“It would mean the world,” said Truitt, a defensive tackle from Southwest DeKalb High School.
But there’s something else they would like even more.
“Ultimately, I just want us to win,” said Thompson, an offensive lineman.
Curry, who values leadership and camaraderie, often weaving those words into answers to even simple questions, also would like nothing more because he values what all of the seniors have accomplished.
“They came here as an act of faith,” he said. “They came here and gave us tremendous effort, and we’d like to send them out on a positive note.”
It hasn’t been the dream season expected. The team’s record is 2-8, losers of their past three, after surprising many with a 6-5 record last season.
But Truitt and Thompson say the experience has been worth it.
Both were there two years ago when the team practiced on a field that Curry has said was covered in rocks and other skin-scraping items. This year, they’ve played on a manicured field in a state-of-the-art complex.
“It’s a been a great experience, a humbling experience, coming from nothing to everything,” Thompson said.
Thompson transferred to Georgia State from Savannah State, where he also walked on after playing at Camden County High School. He didn’t plan to play football again until he heard that Curry was going to be the team’s first coach.
“I knew that I had to be on the team,” Thompson said.
Truitt said he’s still not sure why he showed up for the first practice, joking that even he thinks he’s crazy. But he said the experience has been worth it.
“I’m glad I came. It’s one of the better experiences I’ve had because I love football,” he said.
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