STATESBORO - Year Four of the Clay Helton Era commenced Tuesday as the Georgia Southern football team kicked off its 15-practice spring session at Allen E. Paulson Stadium/Evans Family Field. Here are a few takeaways from the first day on the field.

Who's Back and Who's Gone
Georgia Southern returns five starters on offense: center Chance Carroll (7 starts), receiver Dalen Cobb (12 starts), guard Caleb Cook (12 starts), quarterback JC French IV (13 starts) and guard Pichon Wimbley (13 starts). This marks the first time in Helton's four seasons the Eagles return their starting quarterback.

Defensively, Southern returns six starters: lineman Latrell Bullard (12 starts), back Chance Gamble (8 starts), back Tracy Hill Jr. (10 starts), nickel Ayden Jackson (9 starts), back Justin Meyers (8 starts) and lineman MJ Stroud (7 starts). 

Overall, the Eagles enter spring ball with 40 returning letterwinners (17 offense, 21 defense, 2 special teams).

New Faces, New Places
Thirteen new faces to the Georgia Southern squad took advantage of the NCAA's updated transfer year to come play in Statesboro and took to the field Tuesday for the first time. They were: receiver Camden Brown (Auburn), defensive back AJ Brown Sr. (Ole Miss), defensive back Jayden Davis (Cincinnati/Georgia Tech), receiver Dylan Gary (Kentucky/West Georgia), tight end Ahmon Green (Georgia State), receiver Brian Green Jr. (Florida), linebacker Brendan Harrington (App State), tight end River Helms (Western Kentucky), quarterback Turner Helton (Western Kentucky), defensive lineman Uche Iloh (Georgia Tech), defensive back Carlo Thompson (Virginia/UNC Pembroke), linebacker Brandon Tyson (Elon) and defensive back Antonio White Jr. (Rutgers).

One More Time
Four Eagles took advantage of the NCAA's COVID-19 eligibility waiver and returned for an extra year of action: Chance Carroll, Ethan Pouncey, Jackson Wheeler and Caelan Williams. Jacob Ferguson, who played two seasons at JUCO, took advantage of the "Diego Pavia Waiver" to return this season. Kyle Frazier used his COVID season last year, but ended up redshirting and returns as well. Coming in and using their COVID year are: Ahmon Green (Georgia State) and Brendan Harrington (App State). This should be the last season that most players across the country will be around to use this waiver.

Mid-Year Enrollees
Five freshmen took to the field for their first time as Eagles on Saturday after joining the program in January. Those players are: kicker Donal Dempsey (Dunboyne, Ireland), quarterback Charlie Johnston (Moody, Ala.), offensive lineman Tay McKibbins (Atlanta), offensive lineman Brandon Stoner (Louisville, Ky.) and linebacker Colton Veltkamp (Bowling Green, Ky.).

Georgia Southern Roots
Numerous coaches and staff members on the field on Saturday have deep roots to Statesboro as graduates of Georgia Southern. From the coaching staff, defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey, assistant defensive line coach Dillon Springer, assistant special teams coach Anthony Beck II, wide receivers coach BJ Johnson and cornerbacks coach Darius Safford all went to Southern with the latter three playing for the Blue and White. Additionally, staff members Adrian Peterson, Andrew Bevill, Elease Ryals and Matt Wise also graduated from Georgia Southern with Peterson and Wise playing for the Eagles.

Pro Day
Georgia Southern will host its annual Pro Day on Monday, March 10 starting around 9 a.m.. The public is welcome to come watch the outdoor portion of the testing and drills by sitting in the stands. 


The Eagles will return to the field on Wednesday for the second practice of the spring season. The Spring Game, presented by Morris Bank, Southern Exchange, The Sack Company and Savannah/Hilton Head International, will be on April 5 at 1:30 p.m.

Below is the full schedule for the remaining of spring ball, subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen factors:

Week 1
Wed., March 5; 4:40 PM
Fri., March 7; 4:40 PM
Sat., March 8; 11:55 AM

Week 2
Tues., March 11; 4:40 PM
Wed., March 12; 4:40 PM
Fri., March 14; 4:40 PM

Week 3
Tues., March 25; 4:40 PM
Wed., March 26; 4:40 PM
Fri., March 28; 4:40 PM
Sat., March 29; 11:55 AM

Week 4
Tues., April 1; 4:40 PM
Wed., April 2; 4:40 PM
Fri., April 4; 4:40 PM
Sat., April 5; 1:30 PM - SPRING GAME PRESENTED BY MORRIS BANK, SOUTHERN EXCHANGE, THE SACK COMPANY AND SAVANNAH/HILTON HEAD INTERNATIONAL

While practices are open to the public and media, we ask you help us keep a competitive advantage by not posting videos and detailed information (including injuries) from practice on social media.