Having their season opener yanked away has forced the Georgia State football staff to re-evaluate the way practices are conducted.
The Panthers took their foot off the gas pedal after the Ohio Valley Conference and Murray State backed out of the Sept. 3 opener at newly renamed Center Parc Stadium. Now Georgia State will not play until Sept. 19, a delay that has led to a more measured practice schedule.
“It’s frustrating to some degree,” Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott said. “Sometimes it makes practice tougher, but they understand what type of situation we’re in and how unpredictable it is. We’ve got a plan in place to actually move forward with the knowledge that we have, and they understand that.”
The Panthers have changed their preparation mode. Now it’s one heavy day of practice, followed by a light day.
“It’s a physical game, and you’ve got to be in great condition,” Elliott said. “You can’t go out there and practice like you’re going to play Sept. 3. We’re taking the approach where it’s almost like a day on and a day off. We’ll have a full day of practice (Tuesday), and the next day we’ll have a special-teams practice. We’ll be doing that moving forward because our opening opponent is on the 19th now.”
The additional two weeks will give the staff more time to evaluate the starting spots that remain up for grabs, chief among them at quarterback.
“It gives us more time to see all our players,” Elliott said. “And we’ll get more reps at that quarterback spot, maneuvering the offense and putting us in good shape. It benefits our whole football team.”
Each of the quarterback candidates are freshmen. Holdovers Cornelious Brown and Kierston Harvey both played last year when Dan Ellington was injured. But the most intriguing options appear to be Jamil Muhammad, a transfer from Vanderbilt, and prized signee Mikele Colasurdo, who was Mr. Football in South Carolina last season.
The situation remains fluid and likely will continue to change.
“It’s an up-and-down scenario,” Elliott said. “There are good days, bad days and days in between. You stay the course with it, and over time they’ll develop that consistency we’re looking for and the leadership we need at that position, and it will start to solidify itself.”
The growth of the quarterbacks will be aided by the presence of Ellington, who joined the staff this spring as running backs coach. He’ll provide another asset for offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brad Glenn, who has developed a reputation for developing quarterbacks.
“What Dan does is give the quarterbacks some opportunities to ask questions they want to ask in meetings,” Elliott said. “Just a short time ago he was their teammate, and they can be open and honest with one another. Not to say they can’t be with coach Glenn, but you know how it is when you’re palling around with your buddies, it’s easier to talk about some things.”
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