Georgia State’s athletic department recently received two commitments totaling $850,000 that will go toward different needs.
The first is a $500,000 commitment that was received from an anonymous donor earlier this year. The total will go toward different areas within athletics.
The second is a $350,000 pledge, most of which is earmarked toward a new weightlifting facility for football. The commitment is from Frank and Judy Strickland, who are graduates of the university. Frank Strickland is a partner at SignatureFD.
“The donor support for our growing athletic department is just amazing,” athletic director Cheryl Levick said. “We appreciate everything Judy and Frank Strickland are doing for athletics, and we hope that other supporters will follow.”
Georgia State has received half of each donation.
An architect has been hired to design the new weightlifting facility, which will be constructed as part of the practice facility on what now is part of the grass field closest to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The weightlifting facility, estimated to be 7,000 square feet, has a projected cost of $2.2 million. Information is needed from the architects before a construction timetable can be established.
“Without a productive football team, we will continue to be an unrecognized institution,” Frank Strickland said in a statement provided by Georgia State. “And we very much want this university to be highly recognized.”
Offensive line: Georgia State's injury-ravaged offensive line took another hit last week when it lost two more centers. Things aren't looking good this week because Tim Wynn, the fifth center the team has used this season, is questionable for Saturday's game against Western Kentucky.
Michael Davis started the season before leaving the team. Cade Yates then took over before suffering an injury. He is out for Saturday. Ronald Martin took over before suffering an injury Saturday. He is set to have season-ending surgery on his injured finger this week. Mark Ruskell came on before leaving with an injury that will keep him out of Saturday’s game.
Coach Trent Miles said he and the coaches are reviewing plans to try to find another center.
“Coach (Harold) Etheridge is shaving and using Grecian formula to see if he can sneak out there,” Miles said.
QB shuffle: Quarterback Ronnie Bell said he wasn't surprised that he was pulled after throwing interceptions on back-to-back series in the first quarter of Saturday's loss at Louisiana-Monroe.
But he said he will work harder this week and learn from those mistakes this week.
“Good thing about football is you can come back each week,” he said.
Backup Ben McLane didn’t fare much better. He threw an interception and lost a fumble near the end zone just before halftime.
“It didn’t work out with either guy at the position,” Miles said.
The starter for Saturday’s game will be decided during practice this week. Miles said he will not use Clay Chastain, who is sitting out this season.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said that Bell and McLane have to shake off their poor performances. They combined to complete 12 of their 30 passes.
“With a quarterback, you have to have short-term memory,” Jagodzinski said. “You can’t worry about making the mistakes. If you do that, you’ll be tight and not able to do anything.”
Jagodzinski said the interceptions weren’t entirely the fault of the quarterbacks. He said the receivers didn’t run precise routes on the second interception. If they had, he said the turnover wouldn’t have occurred.
Running game: Freshman running back Kyler Neal, after rushing five times for 34 yards last week, will see more playing time. Neal, who has played mostly on special teams, is scheduled to enter on the third series of Saturday's game against Western Kentucky. Travis Evans, a senior who leads the team with 333 yards, will play the first series, and Jonathan Jean-Bart, another freshman who rushed seven times for 60 yards last week, will play the second series.
The Panthers need some production from the run game. They have only 751 rushing yards this season with only two touchdowns.
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