There’s no doubt the 2017-2018 Panthers had a talented roster. The 2017 Cure Bowl champions have now landed three more players in the NFL; Chandon Sullivan, B.J. Clay and MacKendy Cheridor.
Georgia State has never sent a defensive player to the NFL and this year it has three.
Senior cornerback Chandon Sullivan was perhaps the most desired Panther in free agency after the 2018 season. Sullivan is a three time All-Sun Belt Conference selection and holds the school record for career interceptions with seven after playing in 49 games and starting in 44.
Sullivan also became the first Panther to be invited to the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. He signed as a free agent to the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sullivan also works hard off the field and graduated magna cum laude with a 3.84 GPA. He was named to the 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-America first team and has been on the Dean’s List every semester since the spring of 2015. Sullivan was named one of 13 finalists for the National Football Foundation’s William V. Campbell Trophy, a prestigious award for the top scholar-athlete in college football.
B.J. Clay is another Georgia State cornerback who found his way onto an NFL roster. Clay signed to the Los Angeles Chargers as a free agent. The Chargers struggled on both sides of the ball last season and have tried to revamp their defense with the draft this year. Their first four picks in this year’s draft were all defensive players.
Clay has three career interceptions, two of which came in a game against UT Martin in 2016. He has played in 46 games in his career and started in four.
MacKendy Cheridor is the third player entering the NFL this year and the first defensive end in Panthers history to make it to the league. MacKendy was picked up as a free agent by his hometown team, the Atlanta Falcons.
Cheridor will have a chance to learn from some talented young defensive ends in the league in Vic Beasley and Takkarist McKinley. Beasley led the league in sacks two seasons ago with 15.5 leading up to the Falcons Super Bowl run. McKinley had an impressive rookie season in 2017 and his six sacks were the second most on the team and one sack short of the franchise record for a rookie.
Cheridor, a four-year starter from Decatur, Georgia, was a huge part of Georgia State’s defensive. He holds the school record for career sacks (10.5) and forced fumbles (6).
The three graduates will join four active Panthers in the league; Robert Davis, Ulrick John, Will Lutz, and Albert Wilson.
