Georgia State stressed the importance of beginning Sun Belt play on a positive note. Glenn Smith made sure the wait wasn’t very long.
Smith returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a score, and the Panthers led from the first touch to the last in a 27-21 win over Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
“It’s huge,” GSU special-teams coach Rusty Wright said. “Football’s a game of momentum. Just like life, it’s never even. It’s up, it’s down. To go on the road and get started well, watch their sideline go down and ours go up, that’s a huge thing, especially on the road. It’s hard to overcome those things.”
The momentum-snatching return occurred one week after Smith rushed for a career-best 90 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-0 win over Charlotte. He didn’t have a rushing attempt in the first two games.
“Well it just happens,” Smith said with a light laugh. “I don’t try to make a big play, it just happens.”
GSU is 2-2, with Smith proving vital to both wins in two phases of the game. In the Panthers’ initial struggles, Smith was silent.
In the opening 17-10 loss to Tennessee State, Smith returned a kick 33 yards, but contributed only one catch for three yards. In a 56-0 loss to Penn State, Smith touched the ball just twice on returns, for 34 yards.
But it’s becoming clear that when Smith’s involved, good things happen.
“He’s got a knack for seeing things, and he’s a really good returner,” Wright said. “He returned the first one for a touchdown, and the second one, he actually hit the crease and got it out past the 30 and did good with that. For the most part, we’re putting bodies on bodies and giving him a chance to hit the seam. And he doesn’t dance with it. He tries to take it and do what we ask him to do. It takes a special person to be back there and return punts, return kicks.”
“It’s a big momentum shift,” Smith said. “Quiets the crowd, gets momentum on our side.”
A native of Warner Robins, this will be Smith’s last season with the Panthers. He began his career as a receiver before shifting to running back, where he led the team in rushing in 2015.
Entering the season, Smith ranked fourth in school history in all-purpose yards, with 2,033. As for his impact on the program, he just hopes his play has helped put the school on the map.
“Still building a legacy,” he said. “Still trying to get this program going so people will notice us.”
As for the common theme among GSU players – make a bowl game – Smith agrees that would be an acceptable ending to his college career.
“It would mean a lot,” he said. “I’m a senior. There’s no better way to go out than a bowl game, a bowl win. Get a ring on your finger.”
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