The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Winchester big gun at QB for Panthers
Three touchdown passes boost his bid for role as starter.
Georgia State’s White team defeated the Blue 26-3 in the scrimmage to end spring practice Saturday at Panthersville.
Quarterback Aaron Winchester, one of three players competing to win the starting job, had a stellar day in leading the White team to four touchdowns.
The biggest winner may have been the program, which made it through the spring with no major injuries as the Panthers look to improve upon last season’s 6-7 record and appearance in the Cure Bowl.
“I saw everything I needed to see today,” coach Trent Miles said.
The team will open the 2016 season hosting Ball State on Sept. 2 at the Georgia Dome.
Here are four observations about the scrimmage:
The quarterback competition. Miles said earlier in the week that the starting quarterback likely won’t be selected until the day before the opening game. He pushed the deadline more into the future Saturday, saying the starter may not be decided until five minutes before the opener starts.
Winchester gave him some more to think about Saturday, completing 9 of 16 passes for 167 yards, including a 32-yarder on a go route to Mattavius Scott that he said was his best throw. He had touchdown passes of 6 yards to running back Kyler Neal, 5 yards to Scott and 39 yards to Todd Boyd. He also rushed for a 7-yard score.
Because the defense kept things basic and didn’t blitz, Winchester was able to use his running ability to buy time to throw or to get down the field. He had four carries for 24 yards.
“For the most part Aaron was outstanding,” Miles said. “I thought I saw good things from all the quarterbacks.”
Winchester, a redshirt freshman, said he thought he did a good job reading the defense and putting his teammates into the proper positions. He said he found a good rhythm, something also noticed by offensive coordinator Luke Huard.
“I felt like during this whole spring I improved every day,” Winchester said. “The big thing was reading the defense and getting into a rhythm.”
Conner Manning, a junior who transferred from Utah, completed 11 of 21 passes for 82 yards. He threw an interception to Justin Otiwu in the third quarter, but the pass was tipped by the wide receiver. Manning said he grew more comfortable in the offense each week during the spring.
Emiere Scaife, a sophomore, completed 5 of 10 passes for 72 yards. He wasn’t helped by an offensive line that allowed him to be sacked at least three times.
The running backs. The Panthers are deep at running back, so much so that Miles said they will share the carries during the season. Most of them played Saturday as if they didn’t want to share.
Glenn Smith had 10 carries for 65 yards, including two runs of 22 yards and then 11 yards. He broke several tackles on his first series. He also caught three passes for 21 yards.
Demarcus Kirk had nine carries for 47 yards. He also ran hard, breaking tackles on a 13-yard run that set up first-and-goal.
Kyler Neal had six carries for 20 yards, and caught a 6-yard touchdown pass.
The linebackers. The coaching staff moved several of the returning linebackers to new positions this spring. Michael Shaw moved from rush end to strongside linebacker. Alonzo McGee moved from strongside linebacker to weakside linebacker. Andrew Everett, a transfer from Old Dominion, moved into rush end.
Linebackers coach P.J. Volker was pleased with what he saw Saturday.
“There was some good and some bad,” he said. “You want to see guys flying around and making plays.”
“New faces.” There were a few solid performances by players who have gotten some playing time the past few seasons, but could earn more this season for reasons related to combinations of attrition at the position or their own improvement.
Receivers Boyd, Scott and Octavious Andrews were three of those players Saturday.
Boyd is a junior who has caught 415 yards in passes his first two seasons. With the graduation of several wide receivers, Boyd has every chance of playing a lot this season. He helped himself Saturday with four receptions for a game-high 107 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown.
Scott is a junior who joined the program in 2014 and had yet to catch a pass in a game. His size (6-2, 206 pounds) can cause matchup problems and he did that in the scrimmage with three receptions for 67 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown. He caught a 32-yard pass on a go route that Winchester said was his best throw.
Andrews, another wide receiver who had trouble cracking the starting group because of last season’s depth, had a scrimmage-high five receptions for 38 yards.