One of the reasons for Georgia State’s early struggles – an 0-3 start and outscored by 89 points — can be traced back to March 10, 2011.
Some 18 months before this season started, coach Bill Curry announced that quarterback Drew Little, who had started every game during the Panthers’ inaugural season, would be suspended for the first four games of the 2011 season for violating a team rule.
From that day to Saturday’s demoralizing 38-14 loss to Texas-San Antonio, Curry has had to use five different quarterbacks, including Little, due to suspension, injuries or ineffectiveness. The team has lost 11 of those 14 games as it prepares to host Richmond (2-1) on Saturday.
A portion of the fan base has become discouraged. The Panthers have watched other start-up programs like UTSA (3-0) or Old Dominion (3-0) start to gain traction, while Georgia State seems stuck in place.
It’s hard to build a program that will move to football’s highest level next year when the quarterback, the most important piece of the puzzle, keeps changing.
“It’s incredibly difficult but if you have to do it, you have to do it,” Curry said. “It would be great to have consistency at that spot but something intrudes every time we think we have found the right guy. There’s an injury or a personal situation. I’ve never seen anything like it. But it’s a fact.”
With Little starting every game in 2010, the Panthers went 6-5 against what many would consider a soft schedule, averaging 27.5 points. Little completed 60 percent of his passes for more than 2,100 yards and 18 touchdowns. He left the program last year having already lost his starting spot.
As the quarterback carousel has spun since then, the offense hasn’t been as productive, averaging 20.1 points per game. Last year, Little, Bo Schlechter and Kelton Hill combined to complete an average of 50 percent of their passes for 2,039 yards with 16 touchdowns.
This year, the offense has regressed further. Redshirt freshman quarterback Ben McLane, who has taken most of the snaps, has completed 44.3 percent of his passes for 118.7 yards per game and has scored two touchdowns. Neither McLane nor backup Ronnie Bell, who passed for 95 yards and a touchdown against UTSA, had taken a snap before this fall. The offense has scored three touchdowns and has yet to produce more than 307 yards in three games.
“We’re still just a bunch of puppies in a lot of areas and sometimes when you are puppies in certain areas, it’s not so good,” offensive coordinator John Bond said.
Bond has tried to establish McLane as the definitive starter, going so far as to agree to move Hill, who started five games last year, to another position. But McLane has struggled. Though very accurate in practice, he is completing 44.3 percent of his passes and has fumbled eight times in the last two games.
It’s not all McLane’s fault. He has had several passes dropped and has tried playing through injuries. But the offense isn’t trending up.
“Whether it’s the pros or Pop Warner, if you don’t have one of those guys show consistency at the position, in football in this modern time with all the things you see, it’s hard to be a good football team until you get that position solidified,” Bond said.
In the meantime, Bond said McLane will continue to start.
“In order to get a guy, you’ve got let a guy play,” Bond said.
McLane said he feels he is “extremely close” to being able to put it all together.
“I like how I’ve progressed,” McLane said. “If I can keep progressing more, I can put us in position to win some games.”
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