Georgia Southern Eagles
Overall Rank: #4
#2 Southern
Georgia Southern Team Page
2010 Record: (10-5, 5-3)
2010 Postseason: FCS Playoffs
Coach: Jeff Monken (10-5 at Georgia Southern, 10-5 overall)
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Robert Brown, FB, 1,004 yards
Passing: Jaybo Shaw, QB, 1,233 yards
Receiving: J.J. Wilcox, WR, 551 yards
Tackles: Josh Rowe, LB, 104
Sacks: Brent Russell, DT, 8.0
Interceptions: Laron Scott, CB, 6
Georgia Southern had a very successful transition back to the option offense under first year coach Jeff Monken. Quarterback Jaybo Shaw, who spent some time at Georgia Tech, fit right into what the Eagles wanted to do. He did not pass very much, but he was relatively efficient and smart when the ball did go in the air. More importantly, Shaw rushed for 514 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Strengths:
The offense is still coming along, but the defense will again be one of the best in the country. They made some scheme changes prior to the 2010 season, but quickly picked up the new look. The depth and talent on the front line would make many FBS teams jealous. Brent Russell will vie for defensive player of the year accolades after tallying 8.0 sacks and 71 tackles a year ago. He is a major force in the middle of the line. Roderick Tinsley was a second-team all-conference honoree last year, but he is being pushed by sophomore Blake Riley. Whether Tinsley loses his starting job or not, the interior of the line will be able to rotate some very talented players in and out. The situation on the ends is the same. John Douglas and Dion DuBose are the returning starters and Javon Mention and Josh Gebhardt will get plenty of action. John Rowe is back to man the middle of the linebacker corps. He led the team with 104 tackles last season. Darius Eubanks also returns, but one of the few losses is fellow linebacker E.J. Webb, who ranked fourth on the team with 67 tackles. Look for junior John Stevenson to fill in for Webb and for the linebackers to not be overlooked as much as they were last year. But it is easy to overlook the linebackers when the defensive line is so dominant and the secondary is full of stars. Laron Scott picked off six passes in 2010 and is one of the best corners in the nation. Teams will avoid him even more this year, but Lavelle Westbrooks is no pushover. Safeties Derek Heyden and Michael Butler are experienced players who should be in the mix for some All-Southern Conference accolades.
Weaknesses:
The defensive improvement was not really the story last year while Georgia Southern made a run to the Final Four of the FCS Playoffs. The story was about the new option offense. Coach Monken watched some good quarterbacks leave the program, but Shaw did a good job running the new offense. The problem is this team ranked just sixth in the conference in total offense and scoring offense. The style of play certainly lends itself to low scoring games, but for a team that rushed for an impressive 261.20 yards per game, they should be able to put up more total yards. Full back Robert Brown rushed for over 1,000 yards as a freshman and bigger things are expected from him this year. With a slew of talented linemen back, including All-American tackles Brett Moore and Dorian Byrd, the ground game should be very impressive. However, the competition is on to the Eagles now. They can try and contain Shaw and the option attack and force him to throw the ball. When that happens, can Georgia Southern get it done? In 2010 Shaw threw for just 1,233 yards and five touchdowns. His top receiver, J.J. Wilcox, caught just 22 passes. The better defenses out there will have a good game plan for Georgia Southern and the offense will need to be more dynamic at times if they hope to win the conference and make another run at an FCS championship.
The Bottom Line:
Georgia Southern started off a little slow while running their new offense and defense last season. They were just 4-4 when they hosted top ranked Appalachian State and beat them in overtime. The team did not see their fifth loss until they ran into Delaware in the semifinals of the playoffs. With so many starters returning, it is very easy to say that this is a much better team than last year, and they were really darn good team by the end of last season. If they keep improving like they did throughout last season, this is a Georgia Southern team that will make some serious noise in the playoffs.
Projected Postseason: FCS Playoffs
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 261.20 (4th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Passing Offense: 84.73 (116, 8)
Total Offense: 345.93 (63, 6)
Scoring Offense: 27.53 (40, 6)
Rushing Defense: 127.00 (28, 1)
Pass Defense: 159.93 (11, 2)
Total Defense: 286.93 (9, 2)
Scoring Defense: 18.47 (11, 1)
Turnover Margin: .13 (51, 6)
Sacks: 1.67 (72, 7)
Sacks Allowed: 1.53 (40, 6)
Madness 2011 FCS Football Recruit Rankings:
#2 Zay Sharp
#5 Jonathan Battle
#79 Riyahd Jones
#82 Wilson Hudgins
#118 Joshua King
