Football Staff Releases Post-Spring Depth Chart

Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics

5/24/2018 1:00:00 PM | Football

Offense Up In Final Part of a Three-Part Series

STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern football staff has released its post-spring depth chart that will be used as the Eagles head into the summer before beginning practice on Aug. 3. Offensive coordinator Bob DeBesse sat down with GSEagles.com to talk about how his group looks heading into the offseason. Keep in mind, more than 20 newcomers are expected to join the program this summer and this depth chart could look different by the time the Eagles take the field against South Carolina State on Sept. 1.

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WR (Z)	11	Malik Henry (6-0, 180, Sr.)
	81	Darion Anderson (6-0, 185, r-So.)
WR (X)	9	Obe Fortune (6-1, 190, r-Jr.)
	23	23 Mark Michaud (6-4, 220, Jr.)
SLOT (H)	12	Wesley Kennedy III (5-10, 175, So.)
	33	Malik Murray (6-0, 170, r-So.)

Coach DeBesse on the Receivers: We're still looking for a couple of go-to guys. There are some guys who have shown some promise and flashes, but I think overall as a group, we need to be more consistent. We're still a little bit of a work in progress in terms of flipping guys around to find their best spots. If anyone jumped out from an explosive standpoint, Wesley showed some signs of that from the slot-back position, and that's a critical position for us. It has to be great summer for all of those guys because we lack consistency. We have four guys coming in who could also factor in here as well. The wide receiver position has always been a spot where a freshman could come in and contribute, so it's wide open and we expect all of the guys on the roster to come in to preseason camp ready to compete.

LT		58	Jeremiah Culbreth (6-4, 320, Sr.)
		70	Jarrod Leeds (6-4, 270, r-Fr.)
LG		64	Jakob Cooper (6-3, 295, r-Jr.)
		55	Jawaski Webb (6-2, 280, So.)
	or	62	Ryan Northrup (6-2, 285, r-Sr.)
C		75	Curtis Rainey (6-2, 290, Sr.)
		52	Drake Grall (5-10, 285, r-Sr.)
RG		74	Lawrence Edwards (6-6, 300, r-So.)
		50	Caleb Kelly (6-2, 285, So.)
RT		61	Drew Wilson (6-4, 300, Jr.)
		56	Brian Miller (6-3, 285, r-Fr.)

Coach DeBesse on the Offensive Line: I think some guys stepped up here. Lawrence Edwards was a pleasant surprise. Drew Wilson being listed as the starter at right tackle is a reflection of his knowledge and toughness, but he's backed up by Brian Miller, who has shown as much promise as anyone. Heading into spring ball, from what I was told, I expected this to be one of the biggest unknowns. Leaving spring ball, it's probably one of the most settled and deepest positions that we have to be honest with you. We're still trying to find the combinations, but we have plenty of numbers coming out of spring in terms of possibilities than I ever expected. I encouraged about this group and we'll find enough guys to have a good line. There's a good mixture of experience, toughness and athleticism. I also expect a guy like Aaron Dowdell based on his size and age to have a shot to come in and be a factor. But I was pleased with the offensive line coming out of spring ball.

TE (Y)	1	Ellis Richardson (6-3, 240, r-Sr.)
	48	Cam Brown (6-2, 235, r-Fr.)

Coach DeBesse on the Tight Ends: I really like Ellis from an athletic and body-size standpoint. He started spring off strong, but then he plateaued a little bit. But I was encouraged with how he finished spring ball. All of our guys have to find that consistency. Cam Brown is more of an attached tight end for us. He's physical and knows what he's doing out there, so he's going to have a role for us. Mark Michaud started taking some reps at the Cruiser position, which for us is an off-the-ball tight end position. I really like what I saw out of him and he embraced it. He's physical enough, but he just needs to get some reps. That Cruiser spot is a critical position for us because of what we ask them to do. The on-the-ball tight end is going to be more of a end-line blocker. The off-the-ball tight end is going to be an end-line blocker and has to be able to get to the second and third levels and be a route runner. We're also going to give Anthony Beck II a look in preseason as well. He's coming in as a walk-on punter, but he has good size and athleticism and could help us out here.

QB	4	Shai Werts (5-11, 200, r-So.)
	2	LaBaron Anthony (6-0, 195, r-Sr.)

Coach DeBesse on the Quarterbacks: Shai really solidified his spot by staying on an upward trend all spring. He kept showing improvement, even if they were baby steps at times. The more comfortable he got, you started to see how he could be a weapon for us. He's explosive, he's got really good quickness and a good burst. He can play the position from a stand point of the run game, but his passing has to continue to improve to become that true dual threat we're looking for. His consistency and mechanics have to improve and he's working hard on those. He went into spring as the guy taking the first snap, but he took it and earned it. Now it's still an open competition come fall, but exiting spring ball, he's the clear starter based on what he did. The other guys were up and down and we need everyone to have a great summer of preparation so we're ready to role come August. We also have Justin Tomlin coming in, but it's hard to come in as a true freshman and pick up everything right away, but he certainly has the skill set and attitude to come in and make us take a look at him.

RB	21	Wesley Fields (6-0, 205, Sr.)
	15	Monteo Garrett (5-10, 190, r-Sr.)
	36	Matt LaRoche (5-9, 175, r-Fr.)

Coach DeBesse on the Running Backs: The first thing you expect from the senior is leadership and even though Wesley and Monteo were injured most or all of the spring, they did an excellent job there. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see more of Monteo before he got injured. We're looking for explosiveness and suddenness and I think he can bring that, I just didn't get a chance to see it. Speedy was hit and miss, but when he was on, he was really good. We need him to be more consistent, but he's a young guy and he'll come around. He's like Wesley Kennedy in that he showed some flashes of excitement, but we have to get him more consistent. I think our running backs and offensive line is where we have our depth and I'd say those are where are strengths on offense lie right now coming out of spring ball. We have a good combination of bigger backs and explosive backs, but we're going to need a few of them. Grant Walker had a good spring and I like the way Logan Wright runs between the tackles. Eric Montgomery has a really good skill set and size combination, but it all comes down to dependability with all of these guys. This group is so deep and top heavy that someone will have to come in and make it impossible for us to keep them off the field, but that's why you practice and I'm excited to see what this offense can do.

RECAPPING
Special Teams
Defense

Full Depth Chart in PDF