Ground attack will be strong once again in 2020
Georgia Southern prides itself on being a tough and physical football team that is going to run the football in its shotgun/pistol option attack and be great in fundamental football.
As cliche as that may sound to a lot of football fans, it works perfectly down in the great city of Statesboro. The Eagles have been running some form of the option for a very long time, but just because it might be an ancient way of running an offense does not mean that it is not successful and they have all the ingredients to have a strong offense once again in 2020.
The option attack will once again be spearheaded by quarterback Shai Werts, who is a very effective runner and an efficient passer, as he has only thrown one interception in the past two seasons. Werts finished last season with 799 yards passing and 733 yards rushing, with 14 total touchdowns on the season. Werts needs to become a bigger threat for the Eagles offense to get back on track after having a bit of a down year in 2019.
Behind Werts will be a good group of capable and explosive backs. Leading the way will be seniors JD King and Wesley Kennedy III. The latter is an explosive threat who led the Eagles in rushing last season with over 800 yards and 11 touchdowns, while averaging nearly seven yards per carry. He has speed for days and is in for an even bigger 2020.
King is the opposite of Kennedy in that he is the tough physical runner of the group. He rushed for 804 yards and eight touchdowns, but his yards per carry was only 4.3 compared to Kennedy’s 6.9. He get the tough yards and Kennedy and Werts get the big plays. Backups Matt LaRoche and Logan Wright are also back for the Eagles, giving their tough ground game depth.
The wide receivers are not going to get a ton of recognition in an offense like this, but Darion Anderson, Najee Thompson and Malik Murray are guys that have experience and can be threats on the field.
The offensive line has the potential to be one of the league’s best. The Eagles have six offensive linemen that have some starting experience. Right guard Drew Wilson and right tackle Jarrod Leeds are back after starting last season and left tackle Brian Miller was a starter in 2018, but missed last season because of injury.
All the pieces are here for the Eagles to have a punishing and explosive offense.