A New Era of College Football-NCAA14

[Deuce2223]

PANTHERS LAND 25 INCOMING RECRUITS

With 22 players departing including 16 starters, the Panthers roster will be infused with new blood next season and for some positions in 2015.

TRANSERS
Coach Vader had to be as shocked as anyone in the nation with 5 players contacted the University with hopes of a transfer, including 2 potential starters at QB, a HB with a very bright future and a couple of potential starters on the 0-Line.

6'3 Tim Johnson originally from Gresham Park GA, sat out the entire year at Vanderbilt after a Redshirt season in 2012. Rated a 78 Overall with dual threat abilities (82 SPD, 86 THP, 82 THA), Johnson could very likely be the QB the Panthers need.

Coach Vader "We are super excited to get someone of Tim's talent here at GSU. I am not going to lie, if he was eligible next year he would most likely be our starter Day 1."

Johnson however isn't the only QB or the only Johnson wanting to join the Panthers next season, as 6'2 Frank Johnson out of New Hope NC also requests a transfer. Like Tim, Frank has already used his Redshirt sitting out in 2012 and then was buried on the depth chart at Tennessee. Unlike Tim though Frank is more of a balance QB. Rated 72 Overall, he has ok speed 70 with a solid arm (86 THP/79 THA) but where he shines is his AWR which is a team best 67.

Joining the Johnson's possibly in the backfield in 2015 will be 5'10 214 lb HB Curtis Castillo from Carrolton GA. Castillo originally signed with Auburn out of high school, but after a redshirt season, he too felt like his P.T. was going to be limited moving forward and wanted to be closer to home.

Castillo has the makings of a workhorse who could very well break all the record Durbin set this season. He is a 82 Overall, with 88 SPD, 83 ACC, 78 BTK and 81 TRK.

Anytime you have elite players in the backfield, you still need to build a wall in front of them to allow them to make plays and GSU landed to very good ones.

RS SO TJ Bernard is a 6'5 296 lb Tackle Rated 80 Overall, out of West Augusta GA. Originally signed with Alabama out of high school Bernard saw limited action in 2013 as a backup for the Tide.

Fellow RS SO Jon Dixon is a 6'5 320lb Guard out of Carrollton GA. A high school teammate of RB C. Castillo, the Georgia native spent his last 2 seasons on the roster at UCF. Rated a 77 Overall. Dixon would be a huge upgrade on the Panthers current line.

LATE SIGNINGS

With 17 signings early in the season and the 5 incoming Transfers, Coach Vader was left with just 3 scholarships to hand out in the late season recruiting. However he made the most of them landing his 2 best players of his #33 Ranked Recruiting Class

Both players will come to Georgia State as Athletes and their final position won't be decided until this Spring, but on paper it looks like we could be looking at the 2 new starters in the Panthers backfield.

4* Eugene Muhammad is 6'0 181 lbs from Kahului Hawaii. Rated the #23 Best Athlete in this year's class. Muhammed has a SPARQ Score of 76. He looks like he will most likely play best at RB with 92 SPD,92 AGI, 92 ACC, but he does have 73 CTH, so he could see some action as the potential #1 WR. He has as a 92 Rating in Return and no matter where he lines up on Offense he is a lock to replace Donaldson as the teams return man.

3* JUCO JR John Foster has a similar build as Muhammad at 6'1 184lbs, but he has one thing Muhammad doesn't have. He has a cannon for a arm. Ranked the #57 ATH in the nation out of Brighton Alabama, Foster will most likely be the favorite to lineup under center next season. with a 92 THP ranking. Foster however showed he also has the ability to make plays with his feet with 89 SPD,77 AGI, 88 ACC, 85 CAR. A low rating of 57 AWR could see him move to WR where he boasts a 80 CTH and 84 CIT, as well a 86 RTE. or we could also see him on the Defensive side of the ball where he has a 87 rating in MCV and a 84 in ZCV as well as a 82 PRC.

Vader

Quote:

"Foster is by far the type of player you can put anywhere on the field and he is going to make plays for you. I was honest with him. I told him you could see action as our #1 QB next season, but you could also move to WR or CB the following year. We have to replace Mullins this year, but with the Johnson's in the mix next year, he could just be a 1 year filler until he moves to a place where he can help us even more."

**With the 3rd scholarship I originally went after 4* HB David Small who was from Fort Valley GA. He didn't have any scholarship offers originally, but after my offer, both Georgia and Fresno State jumped into the mix, with Fresno State actually landing him (Guess he wanted to play away from home). Small was the #21 HB in the class. Foster and Muhammad had no scholarship offers, but both were being looked at as walkons to some big schools. Muhammad had USC,UCLA,Texas and Ohio State in his Top-5 behind me. Foster had Michigan,Nebraska,Oklahoma and Notre Dame.**

[R1zzo23]

You lost a TON of talent on the offensive end but it looks like you are bringing in even more capable replacements, though some will need to wait another year. So with the Johnson boys and Castillo having already used their redshirts, will they just lose yet another season of eligibility due to transfer rules? Regardless, having Muhammad and Foster immediately will be great to see how their careers play out over the next four years.

[Deuce2223]

2013 AROUND THE NATION RECAP

COACHING CHANGES

Auburn coming off a disappointing (5-7) record fire their HC and hire R. Kelly who lead Rice to a a (9-4) record including a bowl win over Michigan State.

Penn State also cut ties with their HC after a (4-8) season. The Lions will now turn to T. Walker who lead N. Illinois to a (9-5) record.

Pitt will hope Ohio Sate OC Steve Key can help turn around their school after a (3-9) finish including zero wins in the new ACC.

(5-9) Kentucky- F. Mathis (La Tech 9-5)
(2-10) Minnesota- T. Scott (DC Clemson)
(4-9) USF- Ball State DC
(3-5) Hawaii- South Carolina OC

also all hired new Head Coaches.

With Kelly leaving Rice for Auburn, the Owls will turn their hopes to B. Shelton who lead UL Lafayette to their first 10 win season.

N. Illinois will turn to J. Anderson to replace T. Walker. Anderson led Buffalo to a 11-3 record last year but came up short in the Buffalo's bowl game vs Arkansas.


RECRUITING CLASS

Michigan coming off a disappointing (7-6) record in the new look Big Ten will hope a bowl win and the #1 Recruiting Class in the nation can get them pointed back in the right direction.

Oklahoma also is coming off a very disappointing season. The Sooners lost to instate rival Oklahoma State and failed to make the Conference title game. They then got demolished in their bowl game against Alabama, looking like they had zero talent. That Talent has been reloaded in improved as the Sooners land the #2 class including 5-5* Recruits.

Ohio State cruised to their 8th National Title and look ready to make it #9 as they continue to reload and restock their roster with the #3 class in the nation.

Alabama was the nations favorite to start to the season, and the Tide should see similar expectations next year as they land the #4 Class.

In a complete shock. Kansas State used a Top-15 finish and bowl win over Georgia Tech to help build the #5 class in the nation.

Texas #6, Nebraska #7, Georgia #8, Oklahoma State #9, and LSU #10 Round out the Top-10

#11 Notre Dame, #12 Georgia Tech , #13 USC, #14 Michigan State, #15 Oregon #16 Florida State, #17 Fresno State, #18 Wisconsin, #19 Stanford and #20 Miami Round out the Top-20

Boise State finished #27...

[Deuce2223]

Quote: Originally Posted by R1zzo23

You lost a TON of talent on the offensive end but it looks like you are bringing in even more capable replacements, though some will need to wait another year. So with the Johnson boys and Castillo having already used their redshirts, will they just lose yet another season of eligibility due to transfer rules? Regardless, having Muhammad and Foster immediately will be great to see how their careers play out over the next four years.

To be honest in all my years of playing I have never had more then 1 maybe 2 players transfer in. I would assume yes that they will lose another year of eligibility. But even 2 years of having those guy's help should get the program going in the right direction.

I am still torn on where to put Foster. I only landed 1 QB in my class, Huff who comes in as a 69 Overall. That leaves Handy who I tried as my starter at QB last year, but threw 12 INT with him as my only other QB on the roster if I don't roll with Foster. I edited my post. Foster is actually a JC Transfer so he is a JR. I will only have him for 2 years. I just need to decide if he is a QB for Year 1 and plays a different position Year 2, or do I run with him for 2 years which then leaves me with the Johnson's battling it out for a starting spot as in their Senior year.

Muhammad looks like my #1 HB this year. Next year he will most likely split the carries with Castillo but that might not be a bad thing. Muhammad as the lighting and Castillo as the Thunder.

With my Offense pretty much covered with this year's class and transfers, I will now turn my attention to the Defense. Especially DE and CB. I need to find some playmakers who will help me balance out my turnover issues.

Thanks as always for following..

[Deuce2223]

2014 GEORGIA STATE MEDIA GUIDE

Year 2 of the Deuce Vader reign at Georgia State starts with high expectations with the GSU A.D. setting up a huge Week 1 matchup with #13 Washington on the road. The Panthers then will return home to finish out their non-conference schedule with home games vs Idaho and Old Dominion.

GSU will then continue that homestand as the open up SEC play vs FAU in Week 5 followed by hosting #10 Miami.

GSU looking for revenge on the Tide putting up 89 points on them last year will then travel Tuscaloosa in Week 7 to take on the #3 Tide before returning home in a grudge match with instate rival #7 Georgia.

The Panthers will have a bye week in Week 9 before back to back road games @ Auburn and South Florida. Another bye week in 12 for the Panthers before they return home for another instate rivalry game vs #24 Georgia Tech.

GSU will close out the season with games @ LSU and then home vs South Alabama.

Coach Vader

Quote:

"We are very excited for the schedule that Mr. Dezaron set up for us. Its going to take some major growth for this squad in order to step up and pull off 6 wins and make a bowl game but I believe we have the talent to do so. I am hoping we can get off to a hot start and hopefully pick up those 3 early season wins at home which will give us the confidence going into those battles against Miami,Alabama and Georgia. If we can manage a to win one of those 3 plus pick up a win over Auburn or USF on the road I believe we stand a good chance at getting 6 wins."

The Panthers are very young this season with only 3 starters returning on Offense (TE L. Pitts, FB D Griffith and RG C. Smith) and only 3 starters returning on Defense (DE C. Mitchell, OLB D. Wilson, DT T. Manning)..

So really what was a 4 win team last season is history.. The Roster has 62 active players on it 30 of them are Freshman with only 15 Seniors.

The Panthers will go into the Recruiting season with 18 scholarships available. after accepting 5 transfers last season.


Here is a look at the 2014 Depth Chart

Quarterback

After the end of spring play, 3* JC Transfer John Foster (78) showed exactly who should be lining up under center when the season opens in Seattle. The question is will he be a 2 year starter or just a stop gap until one of the Johnson's can take over.

The person backing him up is a surprise to pretty much anyone who watched the first 4 weeks of the Panthers season last year. RS JR Chris Handy (75 OVR) started the year last year as the #1, but a 5 TD/ 12 INT ratio led him to the bench never to be seen again. Most thought he would transfer but Handy is back but the question is how long will he hold the role and how successful will the Panthers be if they have to put the game in his hands.

True Freshman 6'7 Colt Huff (69 OVR) will start the year as the #3 but don't think the coaching staff is afraid to turn the ball over to him if needed.

Vader

Quote:

" I am a firm believe in 2nd chances. Yes Chris Struggled but he made big improvements this spring (improved by 4) and we believe he can still help this team. We also are very high on Huff though so odds are you will see both players get a opportunity if called upon. However the person we are most excited about is Foster. This kid is explosive and we feel our biggest struggle will be from holding him back to all the things he can accomplish"

HALFBACK

With the graduation of J. Durbin the Panthers were looking for a new #1 HB and they landed one with the potential to be the best player the school has ever seen. 4* Eugene Muhammad (76) #24 will be called a plenty. The Freshman will look not only to handle the bulk of the carries but will also play special teams replacing Donaldson on both Kick and Punt returns.

Joining him in the backfield this year will be 2 more Freshman. True Freshman 3* R. Jones (65) and RS FR M. Bryan (65) will be asked to hold down the fort until RS FR D. Castillo (82) can join the team after transfering over from Auburn last season

FULLBACK

RS SR D. Griffith (72 OVR) returns as only one of 3 starters. Griffith started all 12 games last season finishing the year with 10 carries for 40 yds well also adding 3 catches for 47 yds including a score.

RS FR S. DeLoach (65 OVR) joins the active roster after red shirting last year. He will see plenty of action on Special teams as he looks to take over a starting role in 2015.

WIDE RECEIVERS

With the graduation of #1 Steve Brown and #2 Jeff Reed, the Panthers will have 2 new starters. 3* JC Transfer Pierre Jacobs (76) came to campus with a position but he quickly proved this spring he has the skill set to be the teams #1 this season.

SR Jordan Rodgers (70) started the year as the #3, and moved to #2 after the injury to Brown, but a injury to himself ended his season 4 weeks early. He did manage 39 rec for 583 yds with 3 scores.

Taking over the #3 role this year will be 3* JC Transfer DJ Montayo (68). Montayo is a very balanced receiver who has great size 6'3 to go along with good speed (90).

SR L. Malone (68) will start the year as the #4, but he has proven he can make plays. Malone spent time as a starter last year after injuries to Brown and Rodgers finishing with 17 rec 292 yds.

SO M. Wright (66) started the year red shirting but ended up joining the active roster with 4 weeks to play and he ended up with 8 rec for 76 yds and 2 scores.

SR R. Reynolds (67) spent time as the #3 HB last season but finished with just 2 carries for 7 yds. Looking to carve out some more time on the field, he moves to WR this year and should see some snaps with Wright as the #5. He will also play alot of special teams.

TIGHTENDS

SR Leon Pitts (72 OVR)- proved to be a nightmare for every defense he faced last season as he finished with 94 rec for 1447 yds and 11 scores, well writing his name into the GSU record books. With 10 rec, and 5 TD and a 3 TD game (currently tied with several people with 2) he will own every Panther record.

RS SR J. Jackson (65) proved to be a capable #2 last season with 23 catches for 396 yds and 2 TD. He will some of his PT drop this year as the coaching staff wants to get a look at a pair of RS Freshman who will most likely be battling for the job of replacing Pitts next season. 6'6 AJ Blair (65) has the size and speed (74) you want out of a TE but doesn't have the best hands (68). Robert Hunt (65) is also a big target at 6'5 but seems like a better fit a s a blocking TE.

O-LINE

4 new starters take over but in all honesty the line seems to be much improved.

FR B. Freeman (71) will take over at LT. At 6'7 300lbs he has the type of body you would want from the guy protecting your QB's blindside. Fellow FR J. White (72) also also a giant at 6'6 318lbs. He will line up at RT leaving opposing DE's a tough decision on where to try and attack from.

RS SR C. Smith (69) is the lone returner, but after giving up 9 sacks last season, he could be pushed by FR P. Billings (68) for his spot on the line.

FR B. Cook (76) takes over at RG. Like White and Freeman this kid is huge at 6'6 312 lbs and should be someone Muhammad loves to run behind.

Round out the starters is FR Mike Bullock (66). Originally a 3* Guard recruit he moves to Center

6'7 295 lbs FR David Jones (64) will join Billings as depth until transfers RS SO T.J. Bernard (80) and RS SO Jon Dixon (77) can join the team next season.

Vader

Quote:

" We are very excited as a staff with how the line is shaping up. Having a solid O-Line is the foundation to a great offense. Well these guy's might not go on to play at the NFL level, they are a huge upgrade over what we worked with last season"

Well the Offense always gets top billing, if the Panthers are going to pull off 6 wins this season and have any chance at playing in a bowl game, the Defense is who is going to have to be the real heros, especially the really young secondary were 4 out of 5 starters are Freshman.

Vader

Quote:

"The reality is young guys get excited and sometimes will make mistakes. It's our hopes we can limit those mistakes. DC Trent Patterson is going to have his hands full preparing these young men for battle"

DEFENSIVE LINE

JC Transfer JR P. Arnold (75) steps in as a Impact player on the D-line and will line up at LE, opposite of RS SR C. Mitchell (71) who is one of the 3 returning starters. Mitchell showed he was a capable pass rusher last season with 15 TFL and 4 sacks.

RS SR T. Manning (71) will try and plug the middle and keep opposing teams rushing attacks in check. Manning saw limited action last season recording just 12 tackles. RS JR M. James (69) will rotate in when the Panthers go with a traditional 4-3 lineup

RS SR B. Childress (69), RS FR F. Green (67) will backup Arnold and Mitchell on the outside well, RS SO V. Williams (68) and RS JR M. Johnson (64) provide depth in the middle.

LINEBACKERS

JR D. Wilson (75 OVR) is the other teams impact player. Wilson recorded 44 solo tackles last season. He will start at LOLB, well RS SO B. Patrick (66) will lineup on the right side. Joining him in the middle will be RS FR J. Shelby (69).

RS JR S. Smith (69) RS FR B. Smith (65) RS FR R. Gibson (65), RS FR N. Strong (67) and RS FR C. Brittian (58) provide plenty of depth but only Smith saw limited action last season.

SECONDARY

3*'s B. Walton (68 OVR) and R. Fountain (68 OVR) take over as the starting Corners. JC Transfer JR K Temple (70) will be the starter at FS, well RS FR J. Fordinal (68) will be the starting SS.

3* FR B. Hicks(70) came into camp looking to make plays where ever he could. After spending some time in the backfield, Hicks transitioned to the defensive side of the ball and will be the team's starting Nickle back as GSU looks to run a 3-3-5 Defense.

RS SR H. Louis (66), RS FR J. Atkins (65), RS FR W. Williams (63) will provide depth at CB, well RS SR H. Lewis (67) provides depth at the Safety spot.

SPECIAL TEAMS

R PK S. Watson (77) was a perfect 45/45 last season on XP but made just 9/13 FG attempts and never connected on anything longer then 39 yds. He will need to improve those #'s if his dream of being a NFL kicker is going to come true.

SR Punter A. Johnson (78) returns for another season and will look to try and duplicate the solid #'s he put up last season, Avging over 40 yds per punt.

FR Zach Reese (67) will most likely Redshirt this season with the hopes of becoming a factor in 2015.


FR E. Muhammad (93 OVR) will take over as the teams primary return man with JR WR P. Jacobs(90) also spending some time on the the return team as well.

[Deuce2223]

2014 TOP-25 COACHES POLL

The Defending Champs Ohio State starts in the top spot at #1 after All-Everything QB Cam Brown decides to for go the draft to return for his Senior season. Brown will be the preseason favorite to repeat as the Heisman winner.

The Texas Longhorns will start the year in the same spot they finished last season #2. Texas will kickoff their season with a game against UCLA at home.

Alabama will start the year #3, but the Tide boasts one of the hardest schedules this season including at Week 1 matchup with #14 Florida State.

Virginia Tech will start the year #4. The ACC Champs and winners of the Sugar Bowl will look to repeat last year's success

The Oregon Ducks got demolished in the National Title game but they return a host of talent and will start the year #5

Notre Dame lost 4 games last year including a disappointing loss to Texas in the Fiesta Bow, but like Oregon they return alot of talent and will start the year #6

Georgia will start the year #7, but could have a tough time staying there as they will face off against Auburn in Week 1.

Florida will start the year #8. The Gators are in luck as they draw a friendly SEC schedule that will see them no play Alabama unless its in the SEC title game and they also will not face any of the Georgia teams this year getting both Auburn and LSU at home.

Ole Miss will start the year #9 after a very solid season last year winning the Orange Bowl over Iowa.

Texas A&M rounds out the Top-10 at #10. Like the Buckeyes the Aggies got lucky when JR QB Gene Kiriry decided to try and return for another hot at the Heisman. He will start the year in the Top-5

Here is a look at the rest of the Top-25

#11 Miami
#12 South Carolina
#13 Washington
#14 Florida State
#15 Kansas State
#16 LSU
#17 Baylor
#18 Iowa
#19 Stanford
#20 Clemson
#21 Miss State
#22 BSU *The Broncos will open up in Week 1 vs #9 Ole Miss
#23 Nebraska
#24 Georgia Tech
#25 Oklahoma

[R1zzo23]

Let’s go Texas!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Deuce2223]

PANTHERS COME UP SHORT ON THE ROAD IN UPSET BID!!

In 2013 Georgia State lead the nation in turnovers. The Panthers QB's combined to throw over 32 INT's, and Coach Vader knew if his team was going to have any chance to improving on their 4-8 record things were going to need to change.


Washington won the toss and elected to kick giving us our first look at the new Panther backfield of Foster and Muhammad, and the duo delivered as Georgia State takes a early (14-0) lead over the #13 Huskies as Muhammad scores on the open driving on a 7 yd run followed by a 15 yd pass from Foster to L. Malone 2 series later..

UW will manage to tie the game (14-14) on a pair of runs by HB K. Newberry who happens to be in the Pre-season Top-5 Heisman picks, but just before the half. S. Watson connects on a 32 yd FG giving the Panthers the 3 pt lead going into the half.

The Huskies would open the 2nd half with the ball, and Newberry would make quick work of the Panthers D as he scores on a 34 yd run to give his team the lead. Then after a Foster INT (his first of what I am sure will be plenty) the Huskies extend the lead with a 36 yd FG of their own to make it (24-17) going into the 4th.

A 2nd Foster INT sets up another Newberry TD as the Huskies extend the lead to (31-17).

Georgia State however never lost hope as Foster turns things around leading a 12 play drive that ends in a 1 yd TD pass to TE L. Pitts (31-24) with 2:10 to play. Washington however would just need 4 plays to find paydirt yet again. This time it was through the air as QB C. Robinson connects on a 31 yd bomb to J. Pettaway to make it (38-24) 1:36 to play.

Georgia State trailing by 2 scores with less then 2 minutes to play however would have to try and win it without Foster who goes down with a high ankle sprain on the first play of the series. Backup C. Handy comes in but manages to complete just 2/5 pass's for 35 yds before he too had to leave the game, after a huge sack setting up 2nd and 18.

Down by 14 with now less then a minute to play, the Panthers now turn to the 3rd string QB, Freshman Colt Huff with the ball on the 30 yd line. Huff lines up for his first play, but it's a pitch to Muhammad who breaks lose for a huge 20 yd run before being forced out at the 10 yd line. 30 seconds to play. The game is over as there is no chance GSU will score twice, but Huff isn't ready to toss in the towel. He drops back and hits Jacobs on a 5 yd slant. The Panther call a timeout. The next play GSU goes back to Muhammad but he is dropped for a 4 yd loss. Leaving it 3rd and goal from the 9 with 21 seconds on the clock after GSU uses their 2nd timeout. Huff takes the snap drops back and hits TE L. Pitts for the score... (38-31) but there is only 18 seconds left and GSU only has 1 timeout. They need the onside kick.

The kick looks good, it takes a big bounce, GSU is there as the ball drops into the hands of the Husky return team.. Ball game over..

FINAL SCORE UW-38 GSU-31

**Despite the loss the game actually ranked #3 the schools historic game rankings**

KEY PLAYERS
QB J. Foster-26/45 407 yds 2 TD 2 INT
RB E. Muhammad-22 carries 58 yds 1 TD, 5 KR 117 yds (23.4 avg)
TE L. Pitt-14 rec 233 yds 2 TD
WR J. Rodgers-4 rec 27 yds
WR L. Malone-4 rec 77 yds 1 TD

RB K. Newberry-28 carries 165 yds 4 TD


GEORIGA STATE WILL NOW RETURN HOME FOR A 3 GAME HOMESTAND WITH IDAHO IN WEEK 2