After another tumultuous season on the gridiron, Georgia State football moves into another offseason. As a fan or student it may seem as if the season could not end fast enough.
Could 2015 bring better fortunes for the Panthers?
One thing to keep in mind for next year is that the team is only losing 14 seniors. It may seem like a lot, however, many of this year’s players were freshmen and sophomores. The offense finished 27th in the FBS standings in passing, with averaging 279 yards per game. Trent Miles will be returning many of his offensive standouts from this past season.
One player who will not be returning is junior wide receiver Avery Sweeting who caught 16 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown last season.
As was the case heading into the season, Georgia State still must make improvements on the defensive side of the ball. So many defensive assignments were missed and at times it appeared there was a lack of focus. To the Panthers’ credit, as the season went along the team became ‘thin’ on the defensive depth chart.
In their last game of the season against Texas State there were only 16 scholarship players on the defensive side of the ball. Teams that average at least 23 points a game usually have success, but this can be cancelled out when a team has the defensive difficulties Georgia State encountered.
After the Georgia Southern game, Trent Miles discussed in his postgame press conference how they went out to improve the offense more so than defensively. The offense had its struggles on certain days, but it did put a lot of points on the board, particularly with the pass.
If the coaching staff can improve the defense with recruitment and develop current players in the offseason, next year should be interesting. The defense ranked at 128th in FBS standing, giving up an average of 43.3 points per game. One of the biggest concerns for the team is the lack of penetration the defense had. The defense had very little pressure if any on quarterbacks this season.
There seems to be a physiological frame Georgia State has an awareness of. The mindset of the players should not be “here we go again.” The 2014-15 Panthers were a young team on a young program. But the key to winning all begins with the attitude and mentality of believing it can be achieved then everything else follows trend.
The Panthers were also hampered by a lack of depth on both sides of the ball. The team performed well in the beginning of games, but the third quarter seemed to be Georgia State’s worst nightmare this season.
The in-state rivalry matchup against Southern saw the Eagles offense score 21 unanswered points in quarter number three. There were several games that should have been wins this season. There must be players that step up this offseason to complement the new recruits and the veterans for next season.
“First of all we have to recruit. That’s the main thing which never stops,” head coach Trent Miles said after the loss to Texas State. “We’ve got to get bigger and stronger. We’ve got a lot of young guys that we need to develop and we’ve got some guys that will be back that need to get stronger. If you look across the field and look at us, it’s not the same right now. So, we have to develop in the weight room. We have to develop leadership.”
Key expected returners:
Joel Ruiz (TE): Joel finished the season with 39 receptions and 478 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Joel was an intricate part of the passing arsenal and of Nick Arbuckle’s primary options. The 6’4 tight end is expected to be a redshirt senior.
Donovan Harden: (WR) Harden was the leading receiver this season in receiving yards finishing the season with 60 receptions for 885 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. This was Harden’s breakout year following his knee injury that required surgery.
Nick Arbuckle: (QB): The leader of the offensive passing attack distributed the ball well by finishing this season with 3,283 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Arbuckle finished with a 60 percent passer rating.
Joseph Peterson (LB): Peterson was the leader of the defense and finished the season with 97 total tackles. He was also an all-conference linebacker in the previous season.
Tarris Bastiste (FS): Bastiste is a hard hitting athletic safety that finished with 56 solo tackles. He is expected to be a returning senior.
Georgia State students, fans and alumni understand the program is still growing and improving. This was the sixth year of the program. However, some are growing restless with the team’s consistent issues on the field. This program has talent and needs to use it and begin to create results with wins. Those have to be seen on the field.
