6 Pack of Questions & Preseason Preview of GSU
By Brock Silvers
In two days is the start of the 2013-2014 season. With it begins "The Path of Success" for The Georgia State Football program. This season will lay the foundation of Coach Miles era. Plenty of tough battles for the Panthers lies ahead as they move to The Sun Belt Conference.
Heres our preseason preview along with our 6 pack of questions for Offensive Coordinator Matt Crock. Each week we will cover GSU news such as game results,recruiting,injuries,preview for next weeks game and etc. We also will do a seperate edition for The rest of The NCAA. With all the being said lets get this started!
Preseason Preview
As we all know this season will be a tough one for The GSU players and its coaching staff. This will be only the 4th year of the programs existance. Along with that moving from FCS to The FBS and being in the Sun Belt Conference the competition will be tougher. Last season The Panthers finished 1-10 in The FCS.
Offense
OC Matt Crock takes over a offense that lacks depth and impact players across the board. The offense will be one of multiple styles with multiple sets. With a 2 QB system this season, Coach Crock hopes to max out the strengths of this players, and put the biggest offensive threat they have WR Albert Wilson out wide,in the slot and some at tailback.
Defense
Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter will be transitioning the defense into a 3-4 defense. The defense has a little more depth but also lacks impact players. Minter will have to use a smoke & mirrors approach to put the defense in a successful position.
Special Teams
All things considering this is probably the strength of the team. Though both Kicker Will Lutz and Punter Matt Hubbard won't be ranked very high in The NCAA or even in The Sun Belt. They do have the potential to be seen as the strongest part of the team.
Outcome for The 2013-2014 season
2-8 or 3-9 is a realistic prediction. With Samford,Chattanooga & Jacksonville State on the schedule and all those games being at home, I think this is where the Panthers have their best chance to pick up some wins.
Keep in mind GSU faced teams like Samford and ended the season with only one win. The Panthers might be able to get a upset win inside The Sun Belt Conference if a team sleeps on the Panthers.
The GSU Panthers will be outmatch in most if not all of their games this season. For each win they do occur it should be credited to the game planning & preperation of the players and coaching staff.
Here is also our six pack of questions for OC Matt Crock.
6 Pack of Questions
Silvers) First off, let me congratulate you on being hired as the oc. Panther fans are excited for the upcoming season and the style of offense you are bringing.
Crock) Thank you, the fans have been great and I am honored to be working for suck as great school.
Silvers) Alright now for your 6 pack of questions, First question we're you surprised of being hired as the offensive coordinator?
Crock) For sure, It's something I know I can handle but when I was interviewing with Coach Miles I thought it was a offensive asst. After my interview he called me back a few days later and said he wanted to offer me the Offensive Coordinator position. I had to have him repeat it because I thought I had misheard what he had said.
Silvers) To start the season, both QB's Clay Chastain & Ronnie Bell are announced as the starters. The rule of thumb is if you have 2 quarterbacks you have 0 quarterbacks. What do you have to say about this?
Crock) I don't agree with that to be honest. Both of our QB's are very different. If we ran on particular style of offense then we would have just one starter, but since we do multiple things its in the teams best interest that we use both QB's and their strengths to our offense.
Silvers) You have said in the past do you use multiple offense's and such. You explain to the fans by what you mean?
Crock) Sure, we are running a offense that uses different styles of offense. We will have the traditional I,Spread,Maryland I,Wishbone and etc. You are being to see this is The NFL. Teams like the 49ers,Panthers, & Redskins are becoming more of a multiple offense. They use some pro style,west coast,spread, and now some read option. Thats what you'll see how of us.
Silvers) With this being your first offensive coordinator job what do you see as your biggest thing to overcome?
Crock) You know I haven't really thought about that. I just take one day at a time and try to improve upon that. If I see a weakness within myself or the team I address it and find ways to improve upon it.
Silvers) With recruiting,Coach Miles has stated that you are in charge of the recruitment process. Hows it going and what are you selling to the players?
Crock) It's still very early to know how its going, though I feel we do have a lot of interest. I sell them on the outstanding education they can recieve here at Georgia State. Also you can come here and have the chance to start right away. I think that prospect really excites them. Yeah you can go to a bigger school but you'll more than likely won't see any playing time till your junior or maybe even your senior season. So the choice is theirs to make.
Silvers) Last question. For the 2013-2014 season what is the key to success for the offense?
Crock) Execution plain and simple. We execute we have a chance. We have to do it every game,quarter,drive and play. We do not have the wiggle room to do otherwise.
We'll thats it! The season is about to begin and hopefully the Panthers can start off the season on the right foot!!! Tickets are still for sale against The Samford Bulldogs so make sure you go out and support the team!!!
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