Georgia State Football: Panthers developing young team in 2020

Offense looks to reload at quarterback, running back

Last season, the Panthers were highly-successful with their productivity on the offensive side of the ball. They finished 47th in the nation in points per game (31.2) and 12th in the nation (third in the Sun Belt) in rushing yards per game (241.6). The Panthers can think their stout offensive line and their two biggest playmakers in quarterback Dan Ellington and running back Tra Barnett.

While they return eight starters from last season, the loss of Ellington and Barnett will be highly significant. Ellington was their efficient dual-threat playmaker for the past two seasons. Last season, he passed for 2,447 yards, 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 227 completions (out of 355 attempts) while rushing for 668 yards and six touchdowns. He was named second-team All-Sun Belt.

Last season, Barnett led the Sun Belt in total carries (248) and rushing yards (1,453 yards) and was third in rushing touchdowns (12). He was named first-team All-Sun Belt at running back along with Louisiana’s Elijah Mitchell.

The Panthers are expected to drop in productivity on offense due to the loss of their two premier playmakers. They will need to find two reliable starters for 2020 to ensure they can keep the same efficiency in scoring. They believe they have found a reliable starting running back in junior Destin Coates. Last season, Coates rushed for 546 yards and seven touchdowns on 82 carries. Coates played in 10 games this past season as a reliable backup role player.

The Panthers are down to redshirt freshman quarterbacks Cornelious Brown and Jamil Muhammed for the starting job. Brown saw limited time as a backup to Ellington last year while Muhammed showed promised as a dynamic, explosive dual-threat quarterback in high school. Muhammed was originally signed with Vanderbilt but enrolled with Georgia State.

Offensive coordinator Brad Glenn will be entering his second season with the Panthers and will be enduring the challenge and revitalizing the offense to the same proficiency as last season.

The Panthers are returning four of their top five receivers from last season. Junior wide receiver Cornelius McCoy returns as the leader of a productive receiver corp as he caught 70 passes for 757 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore Sam Pinckney returns after having a stellar freshman season.

The Panthers will have two reliable tight ends in seniors Roger Carter and Aubry Payne as well as two reliable slot receivers in junior Terrance Dixon and senior Jonathan Ifedi.

The offensive line will be the most reliable position unit on the offensive side of the ball. They return four offensive linemen that started last season for 2020. Senior left guard Shamarious Gilmore has been a starter since he was a freshman in 2017. Gilmore was named to Athlon Sports’ first-team All-Sun Belt for 2020. He is the lone senior projected to start in 2020.

The Panthers’ offensive line is a unit that consistently creates push for their ballcarriers and rarely surrenders losses.