Samford Vs. Georgia Southern: Backup Jerick McKinnon leads Georgia Southern over Samford

With the Georgia Southern Eagles trailing Samford 10-7 in the second quarter, the coaching staff decided to make a change, bringing in backup quarterback Jerick McKinnon, who catapulted the offense to a 35-16 victory.

McKinnon rushed 13 times for 162 yards and had two touchdowns in the final three quarters to secure the victory for the Eagles. McKinnon replaced starter Ezayi Youyoute, who finished the the game with four carries for six yards.

Georgia Southern Head Coach Jeff Monken spoke with Matt Yogus of the statesborosherald.com after the game:

"We just didn’t feel like (Youyoute) was getting in a rhythm," GSU coach Jeff Monken said. "He was struggling. He had a couple of passes that just sailed above (the receiver’s) head. He wasn’t getting in the groove in the run game, and we really just put Jerick in there to settle things down and give him an opportunity to carry the ball some. As he started to have some production, we just left him in there."

Georgia Southern improved to 3-1 on the season and 2-1 in the conference after the win while Samford suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the conference.