Georgia Southern Extra: Football coach Clay Helton making the rounds at Eagle Club Tour stops

Depending on the sport at Georgia Southern, the teams are dealing with the past, present and future — and often all of the above.

Head football coach Clay Helton, for example, has been a prime attraction at the Eagle Club Tour stops this offseason. The new coach attended the event May 5 at Effingham County High School in Springfield and talked about his experience since he was hired Nov. 2, 2021.

He loved the energy Eagle Nation brought to the April 23 spring intrasquad game, which motivated the current players, including 16 newcomers playing in their first college football "game." 

The atmosphere also likely impressed the football recruits in attendance, he said, which is important. He noted that many recruits in attendance last season when Georgia Southern hosted nationally ranked BYU signed with the Eagles program.

Helton mentioned how impressed he has been with the passion of Eagles fans and the support of the community in Statesboro. He enjoys coming to work every day and being in the same building with Georgia Southern's "football royalty," all-time greats Adrian Peterson and Tracy Ham (both members of the athletics administration).

The great ones, he said, give back to the program.

Helton and the coaching staff have hit the road in May, attempting to reach their goal of visiting all 159 counties in the state, which they accomplished earlier this year.

Helton shared a recruiting tale illuminating how determined he was as a Memphis assistant coach to sign a "program changer." Helton and another Memphis coach visited top prospect DeAngelo Williams for 18 straight days in Arkansas until he signed. 

Williams indeed positively changed the trajectory of the Memphis football program as an All-America running back and later was a Pro Bowl player in the NFL.

Schedule changes

The GS football program and administration also have been working behind the scenes.

The Eagles' 2024 schedule is shaping up. The team is adding a road trip to Reno to play Nevada on Sept. 7, 2024, followed by the addition of a home game against South Carolina State on Sept. 14 at Paulson Stadium. Times are to be announced.

The current schedule has Georgia Southern hosting Boise State on Aug. 31 as well as a road trip to BYU on Oct. 12, 2024 as the second part of a home-and-home contract. BYU visited Paulson Stadium on Nov. 20, 2021.

However, BYU and Georgia Southern mutually agreed to cancel the 2024 game, with GS Director of Athletics Jared Benko signing a memorandum Jan. 13, 2022, and BYU AD Thomas Holmoe signing on May 10. The Savannah Morning News viewed digital copies of the contracts and memorandum provided by Georgia Southern University.

Nevada has guaranteed Georgia Southern, as the visiting team, $100,000 — the same amount BYU was due to pay GS before that game was canceled. The agreement was signed April 28 by Chris Davis, Georgia Southern Deputy Athletics Director, and by a Nevada administrator on May 3.

South Carolina State is guaranteed $337,500 to play in Statesboro. Georgia Southern is guaranteed $1.6 million to play Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi on Sept. 21, 2024.

Also look for Georgia Southern to be adding assistant football coaches. The athletic department will make personnel announcements when the contract is signed and the employee begins work. Milan Turner has signed a contract to begin work June 1, while Jarae Thurmond, 35, tweeted Tuesday that he is joining the staff as an offensive assistant working with tight ends and inside receivers. He indicates that he is retired from the Navy, having been an instructor in San Diego.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Roster additions, subtractions

There's roster movement on the men's basketball team as head coach Brian Burg has been very active.

The Eagles, as an NCAA Division I program, have 13 full athletic scholarships. 

The team are losing fifth-year senior guards Tre Cobbs and Grant Weatherford. In his lone season with GS, Cobbs started all 25 games he played and averaged 5.2 points, 2.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds per contest.

Weatherford, 25, finished his Georgia Southern career with 120 points, 95 rebounds, 57 steals, 37 assists and four blocked shots in two seasons, as well as a degree.

Also graduating are Elijah McCadden, Gedi Juozapaitis and Prince Toyambi.

McCadden, who as a senior guard last season was the Sun Belt Conference's Sixth Man of the Year, will use his extra, NCAA-sanctioned "COVID" year as a transfer at Memphis. McCadden led the Eagles in scoring (11.7) and assist (2.6) average as a senior. For his career, he totaled 1,065 points, 469 rebounds, 229 assists, 118 steals and 20 blocks in 115 games at Georgia Southern.

Guard/forward Gedi Juozapaitis, one of the Eagles' sharpshooters, will use his extra year as a transfer at Maine. The native of London, England averaged 7.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists as a senior. In two seasons in Statesboro after transferring from Flagler College, Juozapaitis totaled 346 points, 99 rebounds, 64 assists, 11 blocks and 28 steals. He shot 35% from 3-point range and 95% from the free-throw line. 

As a redshirt junior last season, 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward/center Toyambi averaged seven points and 5.2 rebounds a game, and shot a team-best 60% from the floor.

Burg said Toyambi, who made 2021-22 CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and graduated with at least a 3.0 GPA, will forgo his remaining basketball eligibility to attend medical school.

The coach is bringing in talent to Statesboro, including Jalen Finch, a 6-1, 165-pound transfer point guard from Jacksonville State. Last season he started 29 of 31 games for the 21-11 squad, and averaged 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 29.3 minutes while totaling 132 assists, 35 steals and 59 turnovers.

Tai Strickland is a 6-2, 180-pound graduate transfer from Temple, where in 21 games as a redshirt sophomore last season, he started four and averaged 8.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 22.4 minutes while totaling 33 assists, 18 steals and 26 turnovers.

Strickland is the son of Rod Strickland, an All-America guard at DePaul who played 17 years in the NBA (1988-2005).

Point guard Tyren Moore is a 6-1, 180-pound guard who is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and played last season at Moberly (Missouri) Area Community College.

Nate Brafford is a 6-9, 180-pound forward from Waynesville, N.C., out of Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, a private college prep school in Rabun County, Georgia.

The Eagles also have received a verbal commitment from Eren Banks, a 6-1, 150-pound point guard and Class of 2023 from Putnam County High in Eatonton.

WOMEN'S GOLF

Season concludes for Eagles

NEW ORLEANS — The Sun Belt’s representatives saw their seasons conclude in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional on Wednesday. Sun Belt women’s golf champion Georgia Southern finished seventh at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Florida, with a 54-hole score of 39-over-par 903 (300-303-300).

Sophomore Abby Newton tied for 12th at 4-over 220 (72-76-72) to lead the way for Georgia Southern. 

The Eagles earned the Sun Belt’s automatic NCAA berth by virtue of their four-stroke victory over Coastal Carolina in the 2022 Sun Belt Women’s Golf Championship. The win was the first Sun Belt title in program history for the Eagles.

Georgia Southern finished three spots and 12 strokes back of advancing to the 2022 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship. 

For more coverage of Georgia Southern athletics, go to https://www.savannahnow.com/sports/college/georgia-southern/

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz