Over 20 students showed up to Hanner Fieldhouse Thursday in hopes of walking onto the men’s basketball team.

Competition was intense as the students made their case in front of the coaches and a few of the scholarship players. Head Coach Mark Byington ran the participants through a three-man weave drill, then had them scrimmage full court the rest of the time.

“He gave everybody a fair chance,” Trey Tolbert, sophomore exercise science major said of Coach Byington.

Coach Byington emphasized that he was looking for a locker room presence rather than a star player, as the Eagles return all five starters from last season. Byington told the students competing that three to six of them would be contacted for an interview. Aab Gruduah, sophomore civil engineering major, summed up what it takes to make the team as a walk on.

“I’m an ambitious player,” Gruduah said, “I’m going to go for it; I don’t care how big you are.”

Georgia Southern opens its regular season on November 11 against North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C. They finished 14-17 overall last season, with a 10-10 Sun Belt Conference record.

The Eagles’ first home game is November 14 against Coastal Georgia.