Our chat with GSU’s 247 blogger, Brady Weiler
The Q&A returns this week, fresh off an upset of #10 Florida State. For the Yellow Jacket’s first game at home, and in the United States this season, we welcome into Bobby Dodd, The Georgia State Panthers.
The Panthers are coming off a tumultuous offseason which saw their head coach leave after the start of spring practice. They also lost much of their starting lineup as well in the spring transfer window. So what will GSU look like on Saturday at a sold out BDS? We chatted with Brady Weiler of 247’s PantherTalk to give us his take on the first iteration of The Marta Bowl.
- Can you catch us up on the Ga State coaching staff? I know the originally-hired guy left in February after spring practice had already started. That sounds insane?
Yeah, it was a bit of a whirlwind! Shawn Elliott, who had been the Panthers’ head coach since 2017, took the position of tight ends coach/run game coordinator at South Carolina on February 16th, on the morning of what was supposed to be the third practice of spring. I know this because I was going to head down that morning and grab some post-practice interviews and instead woke up to the news that, no, I wouldn’t be doing that!
So spring practice got postponed while the coaching search went on, and after Dell McGee was officially re-hired a little over a week later, they set a new date for the remaining 13 practices – which finished with the Spring Game on April 12th. It was a wild couple of months to cover, but because of how early spring practice had been set by Elliott before he left, GSU still got in their allotted 15 practices before a large number of other FBS programs wrapped up theirs. So at a certain point, the craziness leveled off.
And then Dell McGee has a small amount of experience as HC, so what’s expected of the team after a tumultuous start to the year?
Coach McGee has instantly injected a lot of excitement into the program and into the fanbase, going gangbusters on the recruiting trail – the 2025 class already has 22 commits, including what would be the first high school 4-star signee in program history (RB Ladainnian Martin) if he sticks. The staff is littered with power-conference coaching experience – a lot of it in the SEC, with quite a few staffers following McGee from Athens – and they know the type of operation Dell wants to install here.
As for 2024 expectations, it’s a mix. The program’s multi-year starting QB (Darren Grainger) is gone. 1,350-yard rusher Marcus Carroll is at Missouri. The top receiver from a year ago, Robert Lewis, is an Auburn Tiger. There’s going to be a lot of new contributors on both sides of the ball and Year 1 success is going to depend on how well Dell and his coaches can get them up to speed.
But while the program never reached the pinnacle of the Sun Belt in Coach Elliott’s time in Atlanta, they made bowl games in 5 of the last 7 seasons. Even understanding that the best days are likely at least a season or more away, Panther fans want to leave the days of losing seasons back in the mid-2010s.
2. What is the GSU offense expected to look like under Jim Chaney? Did former GT QB Zach Gibson win the starting job?
Gonna use the buzzy word coaches love to throw around – it’s a “pro-style” offense. That’s about all we know for certain from speaking to coaches and players in the spring and fall. Understandably they’re keeping a lot of it close to their vest.
Georgia State fans are accustomed to seeing a run-first offense after the last seven years under Shawn Elliott, and I think that trend will continue but it’ll look a lot different. Still lots of plays out of shotgun, lots of handoffs – especially in a game like this where it’s in GSU’s interest to shorten the game – but also a more diverse passing game that opens up the route tree a little bit.
The QB battle is still unofficially open, though at this point I’m sure the coaches know what the plan is. On the depth chart that was put out this week, Pitt transfer Christian Veilleux was listed above Gibson but with an OR between them. Gibson is maybe a safer pair of hands – look more at the job he did as Akron’s QB in 2021 than his time in Midtown – and Veilleux is an upside play with superior arm talent. There’s pros and cons each way and we’ll all find out Saturday night who’s going to be the guy.
3. Are we all okay with just referring to this as the Marta Bowl going forward?
100%. Already used the name in my own game preview piece coming out today and I’m totally jealous I didn’t come up with it first. It’d be even better if there was a station named for Georgia Tech like there is a Georgia State station, but alas!
4. On the defensive side, who are the Panthers’ standout players? Who will the GT offense be keeping an eye out for?
Despite finishing last in the Sun Belt in passing yards allowed in 2023, I actually think the returning talent in the secondary is solid. Corner Gavin Pringle was an instant impact addition from FCS Bucknell last year and led the team with 4 interceptions – he’s back along with sophomore Izaiah Guy, who held his own after injuries forced him into early duty as a redshirt freshman last season. Jeremiah Johnson is back at one of the safety spots and will likely pair up with a familiar name for Jackets fans – Kenyatta Watson II, who joined along with Gibson in the winter and switched to safety.
Closer to the line, ILB Justin Abraham is the returning leading tackler and he and OLB Kevin Swint (Clemson transfer) tied for the team lead with 8 tackles for loss. There’s going to be a lot of rotation along the DL – 13 players were listed across the line on the depth chart – but Henry Bryant and Fuches Lewis will be counted on as reliable anchors in the middle.
5. As a 2 year Summerhill residen nowt, I can’t thank Ga State enough for the investment they have put into the neighborhood. It’s literally unrecognizable since the Braves left. When is construction on the baseball facility slated to begin? I know I’m excited to attend the other half of this football home and home in 2026
The Board of Regents approved the stadium project back in May and the planned opening date is February 2026. When it’s ready, I’m sure we’ll see the MARTA Bowl: Baseball Edition. It’ll be in the Green Lot, on the site of old Atlanta Fulton-County Stadium and, per the GSU Athletics release, “The statue of home run king Hank Aaron that currently sits in the entry plaza at Center Parc Credit Union Stadium will be moved to the baseball site in honor of Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run.”
6. And finally, how do you see this game going? Does State hang in there? Does Tech cover?
I think the secondary will be the determining factor in how well Georgia State can hang. After going so heavy in the run game against Florida State, I expect GT offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to look to cut loose and try to draw up some shots for Haynes King and the Yellow Jacket receivers. If the Panthers’ corners keep their assignments and even bait King into some mistake throws and force a couple turnovers, that’s the recipe for sticking around in a game where you are >3 TD dogs.
The Georgia State offense will also have to play mistake-free football, and there’s a lot of questions there with a new QB – whoever it ends up being – and four new starters on the offensive line. I think the Panthers can keep it within the 21.5 spread, but they’ll have to bring their A-game AND catch the Jackets on an off-night to pull off a Metro Atlanta shocker
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Thanks again to Brady and 247 for taking the time to chat with us. You can check out their coverage of all things GSU football over at Panther Talk.
We’ll see you at Bobby Dodd on Saturday night.
As always, go Jackets!