Five Things to Watch Heading Into Scrimmage #1
Georgia Southern will play their first scrimmage of the Summer tonight, August 9, 2025, at Paulson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM and is open to the public and free to attend.
Heading into that scrimmage, here are five things to watch:
1) QB Position
JC French, with a full season under his belt, has likely solidified his spot as QB1
Freshman QB Weston Bryan, who is 6’3”, 250+ Pounds, will likely get some snaps at QB in short yardage and goal line situations
There is a battle for the QB2 role with Turner Helton, Tyler Budge, Weston Bryan, and Charlie Johnston, so it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff handles this and who gets the most reps
2) TE Position
This is by far the deepest tight end room Georgia Southern has ever had
Incoming transfers River Helms (6’4”, 230 Pounds), Ahmon Green (6’2”, 245 Pounds), Jackson Long (6’4”, 230 Pounds) along with 2025 signee Henry Gregory (6’7”, 225 Pounds) are added to a group that already had Aubrey Heath (6’1”, 200 Pounds), Elija Walton (6’5”, 230 Pounds) and JP Mikhael (6’3”, 225 Pounds)
Look for Coach Ryan Aplin to get the tight end position much more involved in the offense in 2025
3) WR Position
Derwin Burgess and LV Bunkley Shelton played their final seasons in 2024, DeAndre Buchannon and Sam Kenerson transferred after the 2024 Season
Josh Dallas, Dalen Cobb and Marcus Sanders Jr. return to lead the group heading into 2025
Camden Brown (Auburn), Brian Green Jr. (Florida), Dylan Gary (West Georgia) along with a solid freshman signing class should contribute to the success of this group
Look for Josh Dallas to take a leap into a bona fide WR1 and potential Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year candidate after a breakout season in 2024
4) Defensive Backfield
Chance Gamble, Ayden Jackson, Prince Green III, Justin Meyers and Tracy Hill Jr. all return in 2025 so this group has plenty of leadership
Carlo Thompson (UNC Pembroke), AJ Brown (Ole Miss), Antonio White Jr. (Rutgers), and Jayden Davis (Georgia Tech) all transferred to Georgia Southern after the 2024 season and will add major talent to an already solid defensive backfield
Watch for this group to be much improved in pass coverage and continue to play fast and force turnovers in 2025
5) Front Seven
Davon Hicks, Jacob Hammonds, CJ Allen Jr., Davion Rhodes, Latrell Bullard, Jacob Ferguson, and MJ Stroud all return in 2025
After losing Marques Watson-Trent, Isaac Walker, Elhadj Fall, Troy Pikes and more to the transfer portal along with a slew of defensive players who finished out their eligibility, this group had to rebuild in a hurry
Brandon Tyson (Elon), Brendan Harrington (App State), Caleb Moore (USM), Kwon McGinney (Ark State), Uche Iloh (Ga Tech), Marcus Downs (UCF) and Devan Lowe (Hutchinson CC) all transferred to Georgia Southern during the offseason
Watch for Brendan Harrington to try to fill the shoes of Marques Watson-Trent on the defense. The 6’0”, 235 Pound linebacker is a 7th Year player after sustaining some serious injuries early in his career at Appalachian State. He led the Mountaineers last season with 66 tackles and will have a big role and some big shoes to fill in Statesboro in 2025
