Georgia State University
Launches inagural Football season

by Dave Cohen

Georgia State has never fielded a football team in its ninety-plus year history. This fall, that’s all about to change.
Led by veteran head coach Bill Curry, who’s had previous coaching stops at Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Kentucky, the Panthers squad will see a years worth of work and preparation become reality when they take the field for the first time ever on Thursday night, September 2nd against Shorter College. One of the players to emerge as a leader has been center Ben Jacoby. A product of the successful program at Buford High School, Jacoby signed with Ball State coming out of high school and was a reserve on the Cardinals 2008 team that played in that year’s GMAC Bowl. A coaching change there and good timing at Georgia State prompted his decision to transfer back and become a Panther.  I had a chance to talk to both coach and player as the team gets ready for its inaugural season.

Coach Curry, your thoughts on Georgia State playing football and how it will benefit the university beyond just the final score of the games.

One way to look at it is the law of supply and demand. Fundraising and building libraries and the kinds of things that can be done by quality football programs. I use Penn State as an example all the time because the football program can help build a quality academic institution if things are geared the right way. Then it makes more sense to spend the money to get the hundred thousand people in, or in Georgia State's case, the students are spending the money. So these are not state funds. This is money that the students voted for themselves to pay so that they can have another rallying point to bring people back on campus to improve the value of the degree, have a good time at a football game, understanding that the football is not what matters. It's the educational mission that matters.

After practicing all of last season with no games to be played, how does he feel now that there are twenty-nine practices remaining before the opening game against Shorter on September 2nd?

Honest to goodness I can't wait to get out there with our whole team in place for the first time because a bunch of the guys that we signed, over half of our signed grant-in-aid players, have not been on the football field with us yet but they will be in August and I can't wait to have the whole team, look them in the eye and say, "Here's what you got to do to play," and then get them ready to play. We've got twenty-nine practices to get them ready and then go play.

Twenty-nine practices does not seem like enough time to get ready for the season opener. Does that worry you a little?

No coach ever has enough practices. We'll work them as long and as hard as well can and as much as they can tolerate and get ourselves ready and then we get to actually go play.

There has been a lot of publicity with regards to the transfers the program has been able to add. Two offensive lineman from Georgia Tech, quarterback Star Jackson from Alabama and Bailey Woods from Auburn as well as some highly touted junior college players.

Makes me feel wonderful and it makes me surprised. I didn't know that this kind of situation could exist, especially the ones that have already graduated after three years, talking about Clyde Yandell, Joseph Gilbert, and Bailey Woods. They graduated from a great school and now that have two years yet to play and they choose to come with us, I just think that's wonderful.

As a transfer from Ball State I would imagine that you are more than ready to get back on the playing field after being away from game action last year?

Ben JacobyJ: I can’t wait. The practice sessions last year were necessary and it’s going to help us be a better team but there was also another side to it. It was hard to go week by week without a goal at the end of the practice week. Just being able to finally hit someone in a different colored jersey, I cannot wait!

As a center you’re in a good position in that your head coach, Bill Curry, played the position at the highest level in the NFL. How has it been to be in a position to learn from a coach with his experience?

BJ: Absolutely. He’s always got an eye on me so somehow or someway if I make a mistake he’s right there helping me correct it and that really been good. In addition to that he’s keeping an eye on us off the field too in terms of academics and things like that.

Anybody who has had the opportunity to see this team at practice or who saw the spring game knows that this team will be better than what a lot of people expect from a start-up program. Agreed?

BJ: It’s funny that you say that because that’s out main goal. To not come out and be, “Oh, we’re a start-up program.” It’s to come out and be a good football team, to define Georgia State football in our first season. We’ve got guys who are working their butt off, guys who are studying the playbook for hours. The dedication that we have right now really goes in line with our team goal which is to come out and be a great team in our first season.

It’s an interesting schedule for the first season with Shorter in the opener and then playing at Alabama in the season ending game.

Definitely. You can’t say that somewhere the Alabama game isn’t in the back of our minds throughout the preparation but we’re going to take it on a week by week basis. We start with Shorter and that’s who we are worried about and that’s who we are preparing for and it’ll go week by week after that.

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