By Ethan Smith, News Editor
es15173@georgiasouthern.edu
The Chad Lunsford era of GSU football officially kicks off this Saturday. Once again, the Eagles, under a new head coach once again following the dismissal of Tyson Summers, express the motive to improve from their 2-10 season last year. Here is what you could expect from the Eagles for the 2018 season.
The Eagles will play six home games for the first time since 2015, two of those being played to open the season. The Eagles kick off their season this Saturday with a game against South Carolina State, a team that the Eagles have never lost to once within their seven meetings. The Eagles will also play Clemson, a member of the College Football Playoff last season that lost to Alabama in the semifinal. The Tigers are ranked number two in the preseason poll, so the biggest foe of the season is evident to Lunsford’s team.
The Eagles are bringing back loads of talent from last season with the likes of senior Wesley Fields, sophomore Shai Werts and senior Logan Hunt. Watch out for redshirt-freshman Grant Walker and true freshman CJ Wright as they look to make an impact in their first seasons with the Eagles. The offense looks to improve after a subpar season last year while the defense has returning starters that look to shut down opposing offenses.
Coach Lunsford gave his insight into Armstrong students’ prospective involvement this season,
“People will come to Paulson and see a great gameday environment. They’ll see a great atmosphere. They’ll have a lot of fun. It’s about Georgia Southern winning football games. If Georgia Southern wins football games, people are going to come. So, it’s making sure we do that to ensure people can come to games and have a good time.”
With the transformation of going back to the triple option and a 3-4 defense, the Eagles are treading in the right direction under coach Lunsford. With favorable matchups against the Sun Belt Conference in Paulson’s top competition, the Eagles could surprise many people in the college football scene. The Eagles should nearly run the table at home, despite potentially losing one contest in Paulson. That would lead them to an end-of-campaign impressive 8-4 (6-3) record.
