The Georgia State Panthers football team was back in the Georgia Dome Thursday night for their second annual Spring Scrimmage in front of 3,403 people. If the first play is indicative, it is going to be a really fun second campaign for Panthers fans.
Slot wide receiver Albert Wilson took a jet sweep 70 yards for a touchdown. You may remember the lightning quick redshirt sophomore from Port St. Lucie, Florida -- he was the blur that flew 97 yards through the Alabama Crimson Tide special teams for the Panthers' lone score in Tuscaloosa.
While many fans were locked in on the two quarterbacks, redshirt sophomores Kelton Hill and Bo Schlechter, I widened my lens. Hill looked much better on this night completing 19 of 32 passes, with several drops by walk on wide receivers, for 141 yards and a TD through the air. KH4 also added 103 yards on the ground and a TD. Keep in mind he was doing this while wearing a green non-contact jersey, so if any defender came within a hand length, the play was whistled dead. Schlechter looked better than average despite going 5 of 15 for 79 yards and a pick.
Newcomer cornerback D'Mario Gunn made his Dome debut and did not disappoint. He broke up at least three passes and forced a fumble that was recovered by safety Brandon Jones. Coach Bill Curry agreed:
"We had some really big plays in the secondary, especially from D'Mario Gunn," said Curry. "We saw a lot of great things from a bunch of players tonight."
While some players found themselves sliding down the depth chart this spring, they've taken a crack a new positions, like former running back Sam Burkhalter who moved to inside linebacker. On Thursday, Burkhalter had several tackles and showed amazing athleticism. While backpedaling, he tipped a Schlecter pass, intercepted it and returned it 25 yards.
"I saw him go down the field, and I thought, ‘Oh gee, I'm going to get emails now saying move him back to running back," laughed Curry. "As well as he did at running back, I know he is going to perform even better as a middle linebacker."
The consensus of the crowd walking out of the Dome: the Georgia State football remix will not skip a beat.