Notes and Quotes from Georgia Southern’s Sun Belt Media Day

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Representatives from all 14 Sun Belt Conference members descended upon New Orleans this week as the conference kicks off the fall with their annual media day.

Georgia Southern was represented by head coach Clay Helton, running back Jalen White and safety TJ Smith. GATA Central has composed a list of some notable nuggets from the trio’s nearly 20-minute appearance.

The first notable acknowledgement during Helton’s opening statement was his praise of the Georgia Southern defense, which is entering year two under Brandon Bailey. He made it known how high he is on this Eagle defense, highlighted by six preseason All-Sun Belt selections. The continuity of the unit should result in a massive leap in on-field production.

Helton also stressed the importance of scheduling tough out-of-conference opponents, something echoed by Sun Belt Conference commissioner Keith Gill. The entire conference believes that the Sun Belt is the premier Group of Five conference and the opportunity to take down big name opponents would only give the conference a better chance to secure a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.

It was brought up that the Sun Belt is the last conference in all of Division I to utilize divisions, somethinng that Helton put his support behind. He cited the fact that a number of beloved rivalries may fail to occur every year if the conference were to abolish divisions, something he believes no fan wants to see.

Helton was bluntly asked whether he had named a starting quarterback yet, which he quickly shut down. The competition will extend into fall camp, he said. However, if you want to read into anything, David Dallas was the first name out of his mouth when answering the question. Don’t expect an answer to this question until the Eagles take the field against Boise State. White also spoke highly of the quarterback room as a whole.

Coach Helton also highlighted the fact that Georgia Southern will again attempt to run a more balanced offense in 2024. The depth of the running back and wide receiver rooms makes this possible in his eyes. He mentioned nearly every running back on the roster, including freshmen Bryce Baker and Taeo Todd. Expect to hear a lot of names out of the Eagle backfield this season.

Smith closed out the trio’s availability by singing the praises of the defensive backfield. The team captain spoke to the leadership of a number of his teammates and Coach Bailey.