Georgia Southern Football Preview 2025: Experienced Eagles Can Win the Sun Belt

Miami Herald

05-06-2025

Clay Helton has a good thing going at Georgia Southern.He was able to flip the program around to his style relatively quickly, and while it hasn't always been smooth, the Eagles have gone to three straight bowl games and are coming off an excellent eight-win season.But can he and the staff tie up all the loose ends?The offense was great in the red zone, but it's all short-to-midrange throws with WAY too many turnovers. The team won the penalty battle by a massive margin, but couldn't come up with a third down stop.
It beat a slew of good teams, lost to a few mediocre ones, and while getting to bowl games is nice, the Eagles are 0-3 in them under Helton.But it's Year Four, he's found a home post-USC life, and he's the type of coach schools want to see succeed. Even with all of the tweaking and issues, Georgia Southern has been consistently good - last year it showed signs of being one of those find-a-way-to-win programs.This season's team doesn't have a ton of depth in key spots, but overall, it should be Helton's best one yet.
Georgia Southern Eagles Preview 2025: Offense
X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- The offense didn't quite work as well as it should've, and there were too many turnovers, but the midrange passing game was okay, and now there's enough back to do even more, starting with quarterback JC French. He's a good runner, three for over 2,800 yards and 13 touchdowns, and now he has to cut down on the picks, throwing 11.
- The receiving corps is getting help from the transfer portal with Dylan Gary (West Georgia) for the outside and Camden Brown (Auburn) in the slot. Veteran Josh Dallas is back in the slot after catching 46 passes for 614 yards and a team-high six scores.Tight end River Helms (WKU) should be a major short target, catching 41 passes for five scores over the last two years.
- Jalen White and his 13 rushing scores are gone, but No. 2 man OJ Arnold is back after averaging over five yards per carry, and ultra-quick David Mdabinga should do far more. Both can catch.- The offensive front returns full of veterans. It wasn't great at keeping teams out of the backfield, but the ground game should be better behind all-star guards Pichon Wembley and Caleb Cook.
Georgia Southern Eagles Preview 2025: Defense
- The defense got ripped up too easily, allowing 429 yards per game. However, there was plenty of bending without a ton of breaking, giving up 23 points or fewer seven times. The Eagles won all seven games.- Linebacker Marques Watson-Trent left for Nebraska after earning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year honors. Davon Hicks will be one of the leading tacklers in the middle of the corps after making 43 stops as a key backup. App State transfer Brendan Harrington is in his seventh season - he knows what he's doing.
- The line has to get into the backfield more. Davion Rhodes did his part, finishing second on the team with six tackles for loss with three sacks at one edge spot. There will be a rotation for the other spot, with senior Jacob Ferguson the likely first one getting a look.The tackles are really, really thin - in depth, not bodies. 360-pound Latrell Bullard is back on the nose, making 35 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss on the inside, joined by Georgia Tech's Uche Iloh. The pressure is on for those two to hold up and anchor the line.
- There's a lot to like about the secondary, starting with safety Antonio White (Rutgers), a monster get from the transfer portal. Justin Meyers made 61 stops and should be a statistical star at strong safety. The corners are even better, with Chance Gamble an All-Sun Belt playmaker, who led the way with three picks. He and Tracy Hill combined for 84 stops.
Georgia Southern Eagles Key to the Season
The turnovers have to slow down.There has to be more of a downfield passing game, the pass rush has to show up, and a third down stop would be nice, but turnovers continue to be a huge issue.The 2018 Eagles turned it over five times. The 2019 team turned it over 11 times. There were 17 turnovers in 2020 and 2021, 21 in 2022, and a whopping 31 in 2023. The 22 turnovers last year were an improvement, but there were still too many, closing the season with five in the bowl loss to Sam Houston.
Georgia Southern Eagles Key Player
Latter Bullard, DT Sr.A few untested 300+ pound redshirt freshmen will be a part of the rotation, meaning the 340-pound Bullard is the only experienced giant who can park it in the middle of the line. His main job, though, is to stay in one piece until the rest of the tackles can get up to speed.
Georgia Southern Eagles Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss
Top Transfer In: Dylan Gary, WR Jr.The Eagles need more downfield plays, and that's where Gary comes in. He started out at Kentucky, went to West Georgia, and last year caught 48 passes for 810 yards and nine touchdowns for the Wolves, including a 94-yard scoring play.Top Transfer Out: Marques Watson-Trent, LB Sr.It's a bit of a miracle the Eagles were able to hold on to him this long. A guided missile of a linebacker made 356 tackles and six sacks with 27 tackles for loss over the last three years. He'll be a monster for Nebraska.
Georgia Southern Eagles Key Game
at James Madison, Sept. 27The Dukes have been fantastic since moving up to the FBS level, but Georgia Southern hasn't flinched. The Eagles won 45-38 in 2022, got whacked in 2023, and won at home last year 28-14.It's the Sun Belt opener, and it's on the road. With away dates at Arkansas State, App State, and Marshall still to deal with, winning this matters.- 2025 Georgia Southern Schedule Breakdown
Georgia Southern Eagles Top 10 Players
1. Chance Gamble, CB Sr.2. Pichon Wimbley, OG Sr.3. Caleb Cook, OG Sr.4. Davion Rhodes, EDGE Sr.5. Justin Meyers, S Sr.6. Josh Dallas, WR Jr.7. Antonio White, S RFr.8. JC French, QB Jr.9. Dylan Gary, WR Jr.10. River Helms, TE Sr.
Georgia Southern Eagles 2024 Fun Stats
- Penalties: Opponents 110 for 1,007 yards, Georgia Southern 73 for 628 yards- Fumbles: Georgia Southern 22 (lost 11), Opponents 16 (lost 6)- 4th Quarter Scoring: Georgia Southern 116, Opponents 75
Georgia Southern Eagles 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
Every Sun Belt game is a 50/50 battle.Georgia Southern was good enough to beat Marshall and James Madison last year, but lost to Old Dominion and a mediocre Troy squad. This year's version will be like that again.A fourth straight bowl and seventh in eight seasons are a given, but every game will be a fight. On the plus side, though, not playing Louisiana, South Alabama, or Texas State is huge this season.
There's too much experience not to be in the Sun Belt race until late, but not having a home game for a month over the second half of the season will make it tough.Set The Georgia Southern Eagles Win Total At … 6.5Likely Wins: Jacksonville State, Maine50/50 Games: at App State, at Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, at James Madison, at Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern MissLikely Losses: at Fresno State, at USC
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