Eagle Football Kicks Off 2010 Season Versus Savannah State
9/4/2010 5:45:00 AM | Football
STATESBORO, Ga. - It's time to play.
First-year Head Coach Jeff Monken and his Eagle football team have spent the 29 practices during the preseason in preparation for the 2010 season opener vs. Savannah State on Saturday, September 4. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Georgia Southern begins its 29th year of collegiate football in the modern era with 356 games played since the re-start in 1982. The Eagles have put together a 256-99-1 (.729) record and only two teams have a better overall winning percentage than Georgia Southern: Notre Dame at .736 and Michigan at .740.
The 2010 season marks three anniversaries for the Georgia Southern program. The Eagles will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first championship in 1985, the 20th anniversary of the 1990 championship and the 10th anniversary of the 2000 championship. The 1985 team will be honored at the Wofford game October 9th and the 1990 and 2000 teams on November 6th at the Appalachian State game.
The Eagles will run the option offense in 2010 and employ a 4-3 defensive scheme. Junior transfer Jaybo Shaw (Flowery Branch, Ga.) will start at quarterback for the Eagles and true freshman Robert Brown (Macon, Ga.) is slated for the nod at the fullback spot. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore nose tackle Brent Russell (Comer, Ga.) will anchor a defense where the 11 projected starters have made at least one previous start during their careers.
Jeff Monken, with 21 years of coaching experience, begins his first season as head coach of the Eagles. Monken served for five years as an assistant coach on Paul Johnson's staff at Georgia Southern from 1997-2001. During that time, 62 victories were recorded against only 10 losses. The Eagles won five straight SoCon championships and won two national championships during that stretch.
The Tigers' Julius Dixon leads his Savannah State squad in his first year. Dixon, a top defensive back at Furman and longtime assistant coach for the Paladins, spent the last two seasons as Savannah State's defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach. Dixon was a member of the Furman team that faced Georgia Southern in the 1985 national championship game and a captain of the Paladins' 1988 national championship team.
Georgia Southern and Savannah State last met in 2003 with the Eagles taking a 35-0 win in the season opener. The Eagles own an overall 8-0 series advantage over the Tigers. The two teams met for the first time in Savannah at Memorial Stadium in 1983 where Georgia Southern prevailed 15-0.
Announced earlier this summer, the football playing schools of the Southern Conference will show their support for those being negatively impacted along the Gulf Coast by wearing helmet decals with the initials "GC" during the 2010 season. More than 170 SoCon football players come from states that share a coastline being affected by the oil spill. The institutions that play SoCon football agreed to display the decals to express their support and encouragement for the people living in the region.
Saturday's 6 p.m. matchup can be heard on the 17-affiliate Georgia Southern Radio Network with "Voice of the Eagles" Chris Blair calling the play-by-play action. Eagle standout Terry Harvin provides the color commentary and Ryan Chambers brings the sideline experience to the broadcast. The Tigers-Eagles game can be heard locally in Statesboro on 102.9 WPMX-FM or globally online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision. A complete list of affiliates can be found at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/radionetwork.
