831791 Georgia Southern

GS Football Georgia Southern wide receiver Derwin Burgess Jr., right, gets a foot down to score the game-winning touchdown in the Eagles' victory over James Madison last season. - photo by SCOTT BRYANT/staff JOSH AUBREY jaubrey@statesboroherald.com Published Jul 13, 2023, 8:18 AM The 2022-23 athletic year for Georgia Southern had quite a few ups and downs. Football survived an end of the season let down but managed to right the ship in time to be selected for a Bowl game. The men’s basketball team struggled to a 17-16 record and coach Brian Burg was let go at the end of the season. Women’s basketball managed to have their first 20-win season in 20 years and lost in the Sun Belt semifinals. Coming off hosting the NCAA Regionals the Georgia Southern baseball team struggled to a 27-29 record and were put out in the opening round of the Sun Belt tournament. The softball team ended up 17-34 and failed to make the tournament. The men’s golf team were ranked in the Top-20 and after advancing to the NCAA Regionals fell one shot shy of getting back to the NCAA Championships while the women missed the postseason after advancing for the first time the previous season. Among the other sports the Eagle rifle team continued their success and the women’s soccer team won the Sun Belt title. Men’s and women’s tennis were nationally ranked and continue to show progress and according to Eagle athletics director Jared Benko as a department he likes what is happening, but is far from satisfied particularly with how a few higher profile sports are doing. “We would have loved to have been a little more successful in the post season this past year,” Benko said. “Overall, we are still following the plan and trying to progress. I’d say we had a good year, but not a great year. We had some great individual performances, but not as many as a team. Our goal is to have a great year and so I am optimistic about 2023-24.” Among the sports Benko expects to see progress is with the Eagle football team and the men’s basketball team under first year head coach Charlie Henry. “Our focus is of course to make great strides in football and with coach Helton in year two we are very optimistic with the progress made in the off season,” Benko said. “Men’s basketball is a sport we really need to get better in. Last year with 17 wins it’s disappointing when we feel we should be competing for championships. In baseball I think coach Hennon would say we underachieved last year as we expect to compete for championships in that sport as well.” The countdown to kickoff at Georgia Southern is on as the start of preseason camp is less than a month away. The Eagle football team looked to be a shoe in for the post season, but after a three-game losing streak, they managed a big win over Appalachian State to secure a bowl bid in coach Clay Helton’s first season. Benko expects even greater strides this year. “I think one of the biggest areas of growth from last year to this year in football is with the roster,” Benko said. “We had some real challenges last year with depth at skill positions after injuries. I was talking with offensive coordinator Bryan Ellis the other day and we are now trying to hone in on our eighth receiver, compared to figuring who was going to start late last year. There are battles throughout the roster because we now have depth. Defensively I’m really excited about what defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey is doing. We are also much bigger up front and I think on the back end with a few of our transfers we are much more secure.” Basketball season is still about four months away but Benko is eagerly anticipating seeing what coach Henry is doing on the practice floor transitioning to live game situations. “From what I have seen we are much more offensive minded,” Benko explained. “We have a lot more shooters and scorers which we badly needed. We are bigger and longer, and what I have really liked from what coach Henry has done with the roster is we can match up with people differently than we have before. We are going to be fast paced on offense and our offensive categories will go up significantly. What’s even better is on the other end we will have an attacking style like we saw at Alabama. I think coach Henry is a tremendous teacher but is also someone who holds people accountable which is a great mixture.”