The Georgia Southern football team set the bar extremely high in its first season of FBS play. By winning the Sun Belt Conference title, the Eagles duplicated what just two other teams in the history of college football had accomplished, and became the only team to do it with an undefeated league record. 

With 13 starters back, five on the offensive side of the ball and eight on defense, Georgia Southern will try to meet and surpass that standard in 2015 by reaching the first bowl game in school history.

"We're guaranteed to play 12 games next season, and one of our goals is to play a 13th ball game," said Georgia Southern coach Willie Fritz. "We have to do our part. We have to play extremely well this season and accomplish our goal."

Throughout spring practice, Fritz harped on two major keys in order for the Eagles to reach their goals in 2015. The first is to improve in the passing game and the second is to increase the number of takeaways.

"Offensively, for us to get better, we have to throw the ball more effectively," said Fritz. "We're going to get a lot of man coverage and people packing the box against us because of how effectively we run the football. For us to take a step forward, we have to average another 50, 60 or 70 yards of passing offense a game. Defensively, we have to increase our takeaways. We had 20 takeaways last year, and we'd like to get up to 30."

Looking at the roster and depth chart, the script has flipped from this time a year ago. Conventional wisdom at this time last season was that Georgia Southern would be able to move the ball and put points on the board. The question was, would the defense hold up? The defense proved more than capable last season, so fast forward to the present and the question is, will the offense be able to duplicate what it did with four new starters on the offensive line?

"It's an opportunity for someone, and it happens every year," said Fritz. "You try to replace good players with another good player. Last year, we wondered how we would replace Jerick McKinnon, and Matt Breida stepped up. This year, we need guys to step up on the offensive line."

The Eagles were picked first in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll and have been picked in the top-3 in the league in many of the early preseason prognostications. Fritz's philosophy is that if every individual associated with the team gets better every day, the team as a whole will get better. Make no mistake about it, for Georgia Southern to repeat as Sun Belt Champions and reach that bowl game, the Eagles will need to be better than they were last season.

"We're not going to sneak up on anybody," said Fritz. "We've all got to get better. We're always talking about improving as an individual, improving as a unit and improving as a team on a daily basis. If we all get a little bit better, then our team will get better, and we'll have the kind of success that we want to have."

Quarterback
The Eagles return both quarterbacks who took almost all the snaps last season in juniors Kevin Ellison and Favian Upshaw.

A second-team All-Sun Belt selection a season ago, Ellison, twice named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week, registered 1,096 rushing yards to go along with 1,001 passing yards. Upshaw threw for 285 yards and two scores and rushed for 385 yards and two touchdowns.

The quarterback position is a dual threat in the Eagle offense, which means there needs to be depth. Eagle Nation needs no convincing of that after watching third-stringer Ezayi Youyoute come off the bench and run for 81 yards in the fourth quarter against ULM to lead the Eagles to a victory in the Sun Belt title game last season.

Redshirt freshman Monteo Garrett and junior Vegas Harley, who moved from safety to quarterback in the spring, saw all the live snaps in the spring. Accuracy in throwing the ball down field will be a key for all the Eagle signal callers.

"We just feel like we're throwing the ball better," said Fritz. "Technically, the guys are better. They have been more accurate, I think we're just a better passing team, and that was a big-time point of emphasis for us in the spring."

Running Backs
Junior Matt Breida and sophomore LA Ramsby return to the Eagle backfield with a stable of other runners ready to contribute.

A Doak Walker Award semifinalist, Breida burst onto the scene by leading both the nation and Sun Belt in rushing yards per carry at 8.7 and ranked at the top of the Sun Belt rushing chart at 123.8 yards per game. He had more rushing touchdowns of 50-yards or more than anyone in the nation (7) and had the second-highest rushing touchdowns in the league with 17. He finished with 1,485 yards en route to earning first-team All-Sun Belt accolades.

Ramsby was named to the Sun Belt All-Newcomer team after rushing for 691 yards and 12 touchdowns. Neither Breida nor Ramsby took snaps during any live portions of the spring, which opened up a chance for Thomas Banks, Demarcus Godfrey, Chaz Thornton and Noah Hickey to show their stuff. True freshmen Wesley Fields and Eric Montgomery may also compete for playing time.

Offensive Line
While the Eagles may not return the seasoning up front they had a year ago, the offensive line has gotten bigger. The average height and weight of the 10 players listed in the spring two-deep was 6-2.5, 300.4 pounds.

"A big part of the spring was identifying which of those guys were ready to take a step forward and be a starting-type guy for us," said Fritz. "A lot of those guys have some playing experience, but we're going to have to have some guys step up who haven't played a whole lot of college football."

Senior preseason All-Sun Belt selection Darien Foreman (6-2, 305) is the lone returning starter up front, but senior Maurice Hunt (6-1, 299), junior Andy Kwon (6-2, 295) and sophomore Tommy Boynton (6-4, 300) saw game action last season. The Eagles also added a pair of veteran transfers in junior Max Magana (6-6, 290) and senior Roscoe Byrd (6-3, 319).

Foreman started all 12 games on the offensive line and helped pave the way for the nation's most potent rushing offense, which racked up 381.1 yards per game and two of the top four single-game rushing totals in FBS in 2014. Georgia Southern also set a Sun Belt Conference record for rushing TDs with 55 and added 1,409 yards to the league's previous single-season rushing record with 4,573 in 2014.

Redshirt freshmen Ryan Northrup (6-2, 285), Tristan Hill (6-4, 275), Trayvon Williams (6-2, 318) and Christian Williams (6-0, 300) finished the spring on the two-deep. True freshmen Jeremiah Culbreath (6-3, 295), Jeremiah Theus (6-4, 285) and Curtis Rainey (6-2, 297) are expected to compete for playing time.

In addition to opening up running lanes for the Eagle backs, the offensive line will need to do its part to help the team's ability to stretch the field.

"A lot of our passing game is play action, and when you play-action pass, you've got to protect a second longer, run crisper routes, beat man coverage and catch the ball, and our quarterbacks have got to be more accurate throwing the football so it's a whole team deal." said Fritz. "It's not just the quarterbacks and receivers - a big part of it is the offensive line and running backs providing adequate protection."

Receivers
The Eagles return several deep threat options in juniors B.J. Johnson and Montay Crockett and senior Derek Keaton. Johnson led the squad in receptions last season with 23 and finished with 312 yards and three TDs. Crockett caught three passes for 72 yards, and Keaton recorded five receptions for 42 yards.

Senior Ryan Longoria, junior Keigan Williams and sophomore Myles Campbell put together impressive springs.

Tight Ends/H-Backs
The Eagles return a veteran tight end group with seniors Jeff Ward, Cody Rediger and Junior James Dean.  Ward and Dean played the majority of the snaps last year at and look to add leadership to an offense that led the nation in rushing.

Junior Da'Quan Heard looks to add depth to the position, allowing the Eagle to move junior Nardo Govan, who started the first three games at the position last season, to defensive end.  The tight ends figure to continue to contribute to the Eagles' rushing attack and factor more into the passing game this season.

Defensive Line
The front four on the defensive side of the ball may very well be the deepest position group for the Eagles and should be a strength of the team this season. 

Senior Jonathan Battle, Jr. (6-1, 292), junior Jay Ellison (6-1, 305), an preseason All-Sun Belt selection, sophomore Darrius Sapp (6-1, 320) and junior Jamal Johnson (6-2, 245) saw significant action on the interior last season and combined for 10.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. 

At the defensive end positions, senior Lennie Richardson (6-1, 255), junior Bernard Dawson (6-1, 248), senior Quan Daniels (6-1, 235) and sophomore Ryan George (6-1, 244) all return after combining for 16.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks.

Redshirt freshman Ian Bush (6-1, 301) is expected to see plenty of time on the inside, while sophomore Ross Alexander (6-2, 237) and Govan (6-2, 250) will compete for playing time on the outside.

Linebackers
Senior Antwione Williams will step in and fill the void left by leading tackler Edwin Jackson at the "mike" position, and junior Deshawntee Gallon looks to be the starter at the "will" spot.

Williams was second on the team with 66 tackles, including 45 solo hits, and led the Eagles with eight tackles for loss and three sacks, earning All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention accolades. Gallon logged 44 stops, three tackles for loss, three sacks and an interception, and was the Eagles' Special Teams Player of the Year last season.

Sophomore Chris DeLaRosa, junior Ken Butler, Jr., junior William Bussey and junior Patrick Flowe all saw significant playing time and are expected to contribute.

Secondary
Georgia Southern returns both starting safeties in Matt Dobson and Antonio Glover, who have played a ton of football in their careers. 

Dobson helped the Eagles preserve the win and Sun Belt title with a pass break up inside the one-yard line the final seconds against ULM. He also had a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown, one of two pick-6s on the year. He finished with 62 tackles, three interceptions and three pass breakups to earn second-team All-Sun Belt honors. Glover made 61 tackles (42 solo), with five tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

Seniors Steve Williams and Tay Hicklin along with junior Robert Brice II and redshirt freshman R.J. Murray gives the Eagles plenty of options for their nickel package, which they use quite a bit.

Georgia Southern will look to junior Darius Jones, Jr. and senior Darrius White to fill the corner positions. Senior Caleb Williams and juniors Cliff Saggus and Rayquan Sam will compete for playing time. 

The coaching staff recruited the secondary heavily, and Fritz believes it's very likely that true freshmen will see playing time in both the secondary and on special teams.

"That's probably the area in which we had the most success in recruiting, at least on paper," said Fritz. "We got longer, taller, faster back there, and I think those guys will push for playing time this season." 

Specialists
A veteran group returns in the kicking game. Senior Alex Hanks and junior Younghoe Koo are back as well as senior punter Ryan Nowicki. Hanks made 10-of-14 field goals, and Koo notched 24 touchbacks on kickoffs. 

Nowicki wound up the season averaging 40.18 yards a punt with 16 inside the 20 and six over 50 yards. Both long snappers are also back in senior Jake Banta and junior Jake Abraham.

Keaton and Crockett handled most of the kick returns, and Keaton has been named a preseason All-Sun Belt selection as a kick returner in a number of publications as well as the league's coaches' poll. He averaged 27.81 yards a return with a long of 60 yards. Keaton will get a crack at the punt return duties along with Crockett and sophomore Kameron Maye. 

"We need to do a better job of punting and kicking, and we need to get better in the return game," said Fritz. "We started off the season really well and then kind of faded at the end of the year with our accuracy or our distance. We also had 17 penalties on special teams, and that's 17 too many."

Schedule
The Eagles' slate features two "Power Five" conference teams, four teams that played in bowl games a year ago, and Georgia Southern will host six home games.

Georgia Southern opens the campaign at West Virginia Sept. 5 and travels to Georgia Nov. 21 for a non-conference contest.

The Eagles will host a pair of teams that played in bowl games last season. Western Michigan (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) comes to town for the home opener Sept. 12, and the Eagles welcome South Alabama (Raycom Media Camellia Bowl) Nov. 28. 

Texas State, which finished the season bowl eligible with a 7-5 record, will travel to Statesboro for a Thursday night ESPNU national broadcast Oct. 29. The Eagles will close out the 2015 regular season at home against in-state rival Georgia State Dec. 5. The Citadel visits Paulson Stadium Sept. 19, and the Eagles play host to New Mexico State Oct. 17.

Another season of football rapidly approaches and as usual, expectations are high at Georgia Southern. The school's first bowl game is the ultimate prize, one which for some of Eagle Nation, has been 33 years in the making. Reality that it is finally a very real possibility has set in –it is now in the hands of the 2015 Eagles.