Georgia State Football: Panthers developing young team in 2020

Georgia State football is looking to reload this 2020 season with a young team that could be developed into a conference title contender soon.

The Georgia State Panthers have been on a solid path in the past three seasons with Shawn Elliot as their head coach.

In past seasons, the Panthers have accumulated a 16-21 record and two postseason bowl appearances. Coming off a 7-6 season (4-4 Sun Belt) last year, the Panthers have momentum, but they are looking to at a potential reloading season unless they can recover quickly.

As a young program in the Sun Belt, they must pull out some big surprises to gain the upper hand in the recruiting battle. The Panthers’ best head coach in program history in coach Elliot has done a good job of creating something out of nothing. In 2017, the Panthers recruited the fourth-best class in the conference. In the first full offseason for coach Elliot, the Panthers recruited the third-best class in the conference. Finally, in 2019, the Panthers recruited the fourth-best class in the conference.

Even after accounting for a 7-6 record in 2019, the Panthers accounted for the eighth-best recruiting class in 2020. This was after some big wins in the Sun Belt that includes a 52-38 win over the Arkansas State Red Wolves and a 52-33 over the Troy Trojans. They also beat the Army Black Knights 28-21 a year after they accounted for an 11-2 record.

The biggest win for the Panthers this past season was the shocking 38-30 win at the Tennessee Volunteers. Their win over the Volunteers was one of two Sun Belt wins over an SEC last season as well 11 wins in 165 total games versus an SEC opponent. It was their first-ever win over a Power Five school in program history. The Panthers received $950,000 to play the Volunteers in Neyland Stadium and still won.

This win was huge for the program, but it didn’t give them a boost in the recruiting class of 2020. This was due to the continuing rise of the competition in the Sun Belt.

The Panthers are now expected to decline in productivity as a result of the difficulty of their schedule and the starters they must replace from last season. Even if the Panthers decrease in wins, they could still build the program with the starters they could start in 2020.

Look for the Panthers to make some surprises for the season if their record didn’t indicate it.