Halloween is near and Georgia State is home to a few scary athletes. But not scary in the sense of looks or size, no these athletes strike fear in a different way. They spread fear by their abilities and what they can do to opponents in-between the white lines on a game day. Size does not matter when it comes to fear appeal. Some of Georgia State’s most intimidating sports figures are not the biggest people on campus. To opponents however, these athletes strike fear into their hearts and minds as they spend late nights preparing to face them. Here are the top five scariest athletes throughout Georgia State athletics.
- Football Nick Arbuckle 6-1 215 pound senior quarterback
Photo submitted by Georgia State Athletics
Football is a physical sport. There are plenty of very big and powerful human beings crashing into each other on a weekly basis that could be considered intimidating or even downright terrifying to the average person. But to these giants on the field and coaching staffs around the Sun Belt Conference the 6-foot-1 senior quarterback Nick Arbuckle strikes as much fear in opponents as any player in the conference. Arbuckle is in the top 15 in the country in passing yards after six games in the season. He has tallied up 1,961 yards through the air and connected on 11 touchdown passes so far. Arbuckle, when hot, has the ability to singlehandedly carry an offense and help a team win. The threat of Arbuckle heating up and torching a team’s secondary is enough to give opponents nightmares weeks in advance of facing the Panthers’ offense.
- Basketball T.J. Shipes 6-7 225 pound forward
Photo by: Jason Luong
Shipes is a very big man. He is also a former football player that likes the physical contact and in college basketball the wars that occur down low in the painted area of the court are not for the light of heart. Shipes is also an impressive athlete that is very powerful going to the rim as seen in the GSU Jam where he won the team’s dunk contest. Shipes is also a presence in the shot blocking category as he blocked a total of 17 last season. The combination of size and athleticism puts opponents on notice because at any moment Shipes could swipe their hope away with one quick swat of the basketball or maybe throw down one of his thunderous dunks on the opponent that will be poster worthy. No athlete wants to be on another athlete’s highlight reel and that’s the danger of playing against Shipes.
- Softball Ivie Drake 5-8 Sophomore catcher
Photo by: Dayne Francis
Drake was a record breaking machine in 2015. Her stat sheet speaks for itself and it bears resemblance to that of a four year player that has had a great college career, but here’s the scary part; Drake was only a freshman. This means that whatever she was weak at last year, has been worked on throughout the offseason and she is now more comfortable in college which means Sun Belt softball teams have to deal with a mega talented young player just scratching her surface. Drake’s skillset will make teams fear even pitching to her or running on her when she’s behind the plate. Drake is the Panthers’ best offensive player and also an outstanding catcher as she broke offensive and defensive records as a freshman in 2015.
- Baseball Ryan Blanton 5-11 180 pound junior outfielder
Blanton spent most of 2015 as the leadoff man for the Panthers. Blanton is a combination of all the skills that keep pitchers and opposing coaches up and on their toes during the game. Blanton is fast, he can get hits, he can hit the ball out of the park, he can drive in runs, he has a good eye for the strike zone and when he’s on base he can steal bases or at the very least get in the pitchers’ head with the threat of him stealing the base. All of this from a leadoff hitter. To an opposing team facing Blanton can be a scary proposition. An opposing team has to fear being down 1-0 before fans even have settled into their seats. It’s like stepping in a beehive right at the beginning of a game. Blanton is also a very good defender because of his athleticism. Blanton has the ability to break an opponent’s heart after stealing home runs and extra base hits from his center field position.
- Volleyball Deidra Bohannon 5-11 senior outside hitter
Bohannon is an aggressive outside hitter. She leads the team in kills. Opponents run the risk of Bohannon taking over a game every time she steps on the court as she is excellent at handling opponent’s returns and sending them back at the opponent faster than it was originally served. Bohannon is also a threat on sand as well as the hard court as she is part of the beach volleyball team as well.
