The best season for Georgia State football ended in Camping World Stadium last December, but news surrounding the program didn’t come to a halt. The Panthers didn’t go on a three month, slumber-filled hiatus after the spring game in April, which gave fans a first look at the 2016 team. Here are the top five events ranked from summer 2016.
5) Panthers named to watch lists
Senior tight end Keith Rucker, Jr. leads all preseason honors for the Panthers with four. Rucker is a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, a member of the John Mackey Award and Wuerffel Trophy Watch List and the second-team All-Sun Belt Preseason team.
Rucker said his favorite preseason honor was being named to the watch list for the best tight end in the nation, which is the John Mackey Award.
“The guy I was behind, Joel [Ruiz] last year, he was on the Mackey Watch List,” Rucker said of the honor. “The thing he always told me, especially after he went down with his knee injury last year, was like, ‘Now it’s on you.’ There should be no drop off when somebody is hurt or can’t play. So for me to step in his shoes, into his role and now I get to be on the same watch list that he was on a year ago, it actually means a lot.”
Senior safety Bobby Baker was named to the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List in addition to being named to the first-team All-Sun Belt Preseason team. Sophomore Penny Hart and senior Robert Davis were both named to the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List and the first-team All-Sun Belt Preseason team. Senior defensive end Shawanye Lawrence was also named to the second-team All-Sun Belt Preseason team and redshirt sophomore center Gabe Mobley was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List.
4) Panthers participate professionally
Five seniors from last season’s Panthers were invited to NFL Rookie Camps. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle accepted an invitation with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and cornerback Bruce Dukes went to the Kansas City Chiefs. Safety Tarris Batiste participated with the Atlanta Falcons, while wide receiver Donovan Harden and kicker Wil Lutz both took a trip up north with the Baltimore Ravens.
“It’s great for me to be able to experience them going through that and asking them how that goes to see if that might be something I want to do in the future,” Hart said of the NFL after a practice, with Davis lurking over his shoulder. “Robert Davis, hopefully, will definitely make something happen in the future being in the NFL, you know, so we can make a few trips after he gets that signing bonus.”
Davis is well aware of the possibility he has of being the next Panther to go pro.
“You don’t want to get too caught up in worrying about what’s going to happen in the future that you don’t enjoy the present. My main focus right now is to be the best college football player I can be,” he said.
3) Team picked fourth in preseason poll
The football team is entering the seventh year of its existence and its third year in the Sun Belt conference. ESPN named the Panthers the worst team in the nation in 2014 and the 2015 preseason polls picked Georgia State to finish ninth in the conference out of the eleven teams. After finishing last season fourth, the team was picked to finish in the same spot this offseason.
While many of the team’s veterans believe this is the most talented team they’ve been a part of at Georgia State, fourth place just isn’t satisfying enough for the group.
“We got the scheme, we got the talent,” fourth year Panther Shawanye Lawrence said. “I really believe it’s just going to be on our guys to show that we want it, so we can get that Sun Belt championship.”
2) The Dunk Contest
In May, the 5-foot-8 Hart, 6-foot-2 Davis and 5-foot-11 junior cornerback Chandon Sullivan battled in a dunk contest that garnered 108 retweets and 171 likes on Twitter.
“He [Hart] texted me one day and he was like, ‘Hey man, I’m about to post this dunk. We’re going to act like we’re going back-and-forth and try to get some more guys involved.’ It’s just all in good fun and showing our competitive side,” Davis said of the contest.
The some of the contest’s most impressive dunks included Hart’s in-between-the-legs dunk off one bounce that started videos, Davis jumping over someone sitting in a chair while catching an alley-oop and Sullivan throwing down a Vince Carter-esque 360 windmill. Sullivan said the windmill makes him feel as explosive as he feels while playing football.
The 6-foot-4 Lawrence joined in the middle of the competition too, by throwing down a walking, 360 in between the legs dunk on a mini basketball goal in a bedroom.
“I believe I won it,” Lawrence said about his jam. “I don’t know what Rob and Penny are going to say, but we can see the video.”
1) Panthers march
Following the deaths of Philandro Castile and Alton Sterling, emotions regarding racial equality reached its peaked in July. So, as one could imagine, no one knew what to expect from the Black Lives Matter protest in Atlanta a day after five officers were shot and killed from a similar protest in Dallas. Leading up to the event, a flyer began to spread around the Georgia State community on social media. The flyer called students to wear their school apparel and to meet at Hurt Park to walk to the protest as one community. The plan was organized by Hart and senior offensive lineman Akil Hawkins.
“I just felt like it was an opportunity to use my platform as a college athlete,” Hawkins said. “A chance to bring a change that is bigger than myself, bigger than what we’re doing out here [playing football], something that affects a lot of people…it was just powerful, because we had students to back us. I just felt like it was my chance to speak up and let my voice be heard.”
Social activism in sports has been a controversial topic this summer. NBA superstars Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and LeBron James opened up the ESPY’s challenging athletes to use their platform to bring social justice. On the other hand, athletes such as Cam Newton and Russell Wilson have been criticized for their lack of speaking on these issues. Anthony once said in an interview that he believes some athletes may not speak on the topics because they are afraid they’ll lose money in endorsement deals. Panthers head coach Trent Miles publicly supported the players that marched with the students on Twitter and he stands firm in giving his players that freedom.
Panthers head coach Trent Miles publicly supported the players that marched with the students on Twitter and he stands firm in giving his players that freedom.
“First off, I’m a human being before I’m a coach,” Miles said at the Panthers preseason Media Day. “My job as a human being and a leader is to help develop leaders and get involved socially…It’s important for them to know the value of what they do has nothing to do with football sometimes. When I look in that locker room, I don’t know who someone might be the next governor in there, somebody might be the next president, somebody might be the next attorney general or doctor. They need to take a vested interest in life and not just narrow themselves to the college life of having a good ‘ole time and worrying about just football. It’s bigger than that.”
