It was only one practice session, but Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott already feels better about the direction his team is taking after he hit the reset button and made some tough changes following last year’s disappointing 4-8 season.
The Panthers opened their preseason camp Tuesday with a new strength-and-conditioning coach, a new defensive coordinator, and a different approach that Elliott believes will help the program contend for a Sun Belt Conference championship.
“Last year, our first practice was one of the worst I’d ever been around,” Elliott said. “And this year it may be just the opposite. We were on point. You can tell we had great focus and great leadership, and we excelled out there. It was a solid day.”
The Panthers were picked to finish sixth in the seven-team East Division by the Sun Belt coaches. James Madison was picked to win the division.
Elliott decided after the season-ending loss to Marshall that he would change the approach, ruffle a few feathers and shake loose anyone who wasn’t willing to buy into the new plans.
“It looked really ugly early on because a lot of people didn’t want to face the music and hear what had to be said and what needed to be done,” Elliott said. “We had to start taking action toward our team, toward our staff, toward everybody in the room.”
Here are five things to watch as the Panthers prepare for the season opener against Rhode Island on Aug. 31 at Center Parc Stadium.
The ongoing impact of strength coach
It isn’t often that a strength coach will have such a huge impact on the team, but Elliott credits strength-and-conditioning coach Mike Sirignano for helping reshape the team’s entire approach. Elliott said Sirignano, who worked at Louisville and Appalachian State, has helped the entire roster get bigger and stronger since he came on board in January.
“We’re in great shape,” Elliott said. “We’ve got to get in football shape, and we will do that over the course of the next 25 practices to get ready for our first game. I think we look poised. I think we look fast.”
Elliott said Sirignano has helped the team get tougher and embrace a return to a grittier approach.
“I knew he was going to lay a foundation in that room that had to be laid,” Elliott said. “It was a struggle early, and just like everything else, we overcame that struggle. And the next thing you know, it was the highlight.”
Difference in defensive philosophy after coordinator change
Chad Staggs joined the program after spending four seasons as defensive coordinator at Coastal Carolina. Staggs acted as interim head coach for Coastal at the Birmingham Bowl when Jamey Chadwell left to take the head coaching position at Liberty.
The Panthers will continue to field an aggressive defense that puts a premium on creating turnovers. Players already have noticed that Staggs is more vocal during practice than former DC Nate Fuqua, who took a job at the University of Cincinnati.
“It was a lot more intense,” senior linebacker Jordan Veneziale said. “He said it was going to be intense. He was getting after us and it was a good day.”
The heightened role for Grainger
A fifth-year senior and third-year starter, quarterback Darren Grainger has added 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason and is listed as 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. He was named to the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, given the nation’s outstanding college football player.
“He can bench press more than me now,” Elliott said.
Granger completed 58.6% of his passes and threw for 2,433 yards and 18 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions, in 2022. He also ran for 734 yards (ninth-best in the Sun Belt) and six touchdowns.
Granger enters the season ranked second in program history for touchdown passes, fourth in passing yards and total offense, and seventh in rushing yards.
“Being here for the third year and knowing the offense inside and out, being comfortable around coach Elliott and the staff and just being accountable,” Granger said. “I feel like my confidence is at an all-time high.”
‘Mr. Muscles’ takes over as the go-to back
Marcus Carroll will be the go-to back this season after the graduation of Tucker Gregg and Jamyest Williams, the team’s thunder-and-lightning combination from 2022. A local product from Hapeville Charter, Carroll has 786 career yards and nine touchdowns. He ran for 622 yards and six touchdowns last season, including 163 yards and three touchdowns at Southern Miss.
“He is as good of a running back as Georgia State football has ever seen,” Elliott said. “A lot of that has to be determined by those guys up front, but he’s big, he’s strong, he can pass protect, he can run inside, he can run outside. He is a man among men.”
Other newcomers will make an impact
A dozen players transferred into the program, including wide receiver Jacari Carter, who moved over from FCS Merrimac and could fill the void left by the departure of leading receiver Jamari Thrash. Others new faces expect to make an impact are offensive linemen Tyden Ferris and Lamar Robinson, defensive lineman Henry Bryant III and outside linebacker Kevin Swint. And speedy redshirt freshman running back K.Z. Adams is a big play waiting to happen.
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