Georgia State Football

HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 236

HAND: 9"

ARM: 31¾"

WINGSPAN: 76⅞"

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40-YARD DASH: N/A

3-CONE: N/A

SHUTTLE: N/A

VERTICAL: 32"

BROAD: 9'3"

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POSITIVES

— Good frame with room for growth if need be.

— Smooth mover who has good speed and change-of-direction skills to help in coverage. Obvious that he's a former defensive back.

— Good eye discipline in zone coverage to locate threats coming into his area. Uses his hands to disrupt routes.

— Has decent range against outside runs with his angles and speed.

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NEGATIVES

— Can be late or a little slow to key and diagnose running plays, leading to him getting caught in the trash.

— Struggles to hold his ground and shed in the running game. Gets stuck on blocks and has short arms.

— Doesn't have much pop behind his pads even when coming downhill.

— Misses way too many tackles. Lunges and dives at ankles instead of bringing his feet and running through the ball-carrier.

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2023 STATISTICS

— 12 G, 96 TOT, 7.0 TFL, 1.5 SK, 4 PD, 3 FF

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NOTES

— Born June 1, 2000

— 2-star recruit as a safety in the 2018 class, per 247Sports

— No major injuries

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OVERALL

Listed as a 6'2" and 205-pound safety recruit coming out of high school, Jontrey Hunter moved up a level on defense and packed on some size during his six years at Georgia State. On tape, it's clear that he has a background as a defensive back, as his movement skills are his biggest asset.

Hunter is good in coverage against tight ends and running backs. He has the change-of-direction ability to stay in phase against shorter routes and the speed to carry deep ones in man coverage. He also has smooth transitions and impressive acceleration to click and close when playing zone.

Speed also helps Hunter's range against outside runs, but he struggles to hold his ground when taking on blocks from offensive linemen and blocking tight ends. He needs to add strength, but his shorter arms could always make it tough for him to disengage from blocks.

With that being said, Hunter has athletic traits worth betting on in the later rounds of the 2024 NFL draft as a potential coverage linebacker. He'll need to make a name for himself on special teams and spend some time in the weight room, but he could blossom into a decent NFL player down the road.

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GRADE: 5.7 (Backup/Draftable — 6th-7th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 199

POSITION RANK: LB15

PRO COMPARISON: Shades of Jabril Cox

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Matt Holder

Visit B/R's NFL Scouting Department hub for scouting reports on all of the top prospects.

Georgia State football head coach Shawn Elliott didn't hold back when speaking with reporters postgame following a heartbreaking 34-24 loss at Auburn on Saturday.

Specifically, Elliott implied that the SEC officiating crew favored Auburn when it upheld a catch that appeared to be incomplete en route to the Tigers' game-winning touchdown.

"They had a little bit of help on that review where the ball was incomplete," Elliott said, per ESPN's Alex Scarborough.

"It should have been put back on the 30-yard line. But you know when you play in the SEC you gotta take the hits. And they gave us a real gut punch on that call. So we appreciate that."

Auburn was losing 24-19 when it earned a 1st-and-10 from the Georgia State 30-yard line with 1:13 remaining. Tigers quarterback T.J. Finley then fired a pass to John Samuel Shenker for a first down at the Georgia State 11-yard line.

The play went to review, and it appeared that the ball deflected off the grass before Shenker controlled the pass. Patrick Greenfield of AL.com provided a replay of the controversial sequence.

The call on the field stood, however. Four plays later, Finley found Shedrick Jackson on a 4th-and-9 for the game-winning touchdown and 25-24 lead.

Auburn got the two-point conversion for the 27-24 edge, but Georgia State still had a shot with 45 seconds left. It wasn't meant to be, though, as Smoke Monday returned an interception for a touchdown and the eventual 34-24 win.

It was undoubtedly a gut-punch of a loss for Georgia State, but the Panthers still played an incredible game. Elliott was proud of his team's effort and specifically praised the defense.

"They controlled the line of scrimmage," Elliott said. "They controlled the passing attack. What a great defensive performance."

He added: "I hurt for them because they put so much energy and effort into it. It's a gut-wrenching thing."

The No. 23 Tigers improved to 3-1 with the win. Georgia State fell to 1-3.

The Georgia State Panthers have won the second bowl game in program history after their 39-21 victory over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the 2020 LendingTree Bowl on Saturday. 

Since moving up to football's bowl subdivision prior to the 2013 season, the Panthers have made four bowl appearances. Their only previous victory was also against Western Kentucky in the 2017 Cure Bowl. 

Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott has led the program to three winning seasons in the past four years.

Western Kentucky entered the bowl game riding a three-game winning streak after a 2-6 start. The Hilltoppers' 5-7 overall record marks their third losing season in the past four years.

The storyline coming into the matchup was if Western Kentucky would be able to keep up its recent offensive surge. The Hilltoppers only averaged 18.8 points per game for the season, but they scored 75 points combined in the last two games of the regular season. 

Georgia State's high-powered offense averaged 36.8 points per game during the regular season, but its defense gave up 32.9 points. 

The Panthers ultimately prevailed because their defense was able to force two first-half interceptions that led to 14 points for the offense. 

          

Notable Game Stats

• Cornelious Brown IV, QB (GA State):16-of-30, 232 yards, 3 TD, INT; 10 carries, 40 yards
• Destin Coates, RB (GA State): 23 carries, 117 yards, TD
• Cornelius McCoy, WR (GA State): 5 receptions, 88 yards, TD
• Tyrrell Pigrome, QB (Western Kentucky): 17-of-33, 180 yards, 2 INT
• Gaej Walker, RB (Western Kentucky): 8 carries, 31 yards, TD; 2 receptions, 30 yards
• Joshua Simon, TE (Western Kentucky): 4 receptions, 84 yards

      

Brown, Coates Lift Panthers to Victory

Freshman quarterback Cornelious Brown IV has had an up-and-down season with 14 touchdown passes and nine interceptions coming into Saturday. 

The LendingTree Bowl included some of the bad moments that Brown is capable of. He only completed 53.3 percent of his attempts, but his completions counted with three first-half touchdown passes. 

After starting the day 1/6, Cornelious Brown has bounced back to complete 4 of his last 5 passes...#GSUFootball

— Ben Moore (@BenMoore247) December 26, 2020

Brown had some help on his third touchdown pass when Cornelius McCoy laid out for an eight-yard catch with 2:07 remaining in the second quarter:

Laying all out for six!! 👏 pic.twitter.com/FASTk4cKMx

— ESPN (@espn) December 26, 2020

In addition to Brown's success through the air, Destin Coates ran through the heart of Western Kentucky's defense. 

After his team fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter, Coates got the Panthers on the board with an 11-yard touchdown. He had 40 of the team's 75 yards on the 11-play drive that took four minutes, seven seconds off the clock. 

The second quarter saw the floodgates open for Georgia State's offense. It went on a run of three consecutive touchdown drives of at least 11 plays and 77 yards. 

In between those scoring drives, the Panthers defense held Western Kentucky to a total of four yards on seven plays over three possessions. The game went from being tied to a 27-7 advantage for Georgia State at intermission. 

That turned out to be more than enough for the Panthers to get the victory. The defense allowed 21 points and 284 yards against Western Kentucky. 

Elliott has built Georgia State into a solid program in just his fourth year. He's still trying to find consistency on both sides of the ball to challenge teams like Appalachian State and Coastal Carolina in the Sun Belt Conference, but the Panthers are trending in the right direction after wrapping up another winning season. 

 

Pigrome's Mistakes Cost Hilltoppers

While no one would ever put Western Kentucky's offense among the nation's elite, the unit was great all season at protecting the football. 

Quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome entered the bowl game with zero interceptions on 264 attempts. Clemson's D.J. Uiagalelei was the only other FBS quarterback with at least 100 attempts and no interceptions. 

The first quarter was following Western Kentucky's formula for success. Both teams exchanged punts on the first two drives, followed by Devon Key picking off Brown in the end zone to give the Hilltoppers possession. 

Pigrome led the offense on a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead. 

This was WKU's longest scoring drive of the season.

— Tyler Mansfield (@TMansfieldMedia) December 26, 2020

That wound up being the high point of the game for the offense, as the wheels came off in the second quarter. 

Pigrome threw his first two interceptions of the season on back-to-back possessions. Georgia State turned both of those picks into touchdowns. 

Western Kentucky did come out of the intermission strong. Pigrome and running back Gaej Walker engineered a 64-yard scoring drive to help cut the Hilltoppers' deficit to 27-14. 

After the defense forced a punt, Travis Collier had the ball knocked out of his hands and Georgia State recovered. The Panthers settled for a field goal, but any semblance of momentum Western Kentucky built on that first drive evaporated. 

Its next three drives resulted in two turnover on downs and one punt. Georgia State opened up a 39-14 lead before Western Kentucky got back into the end zone with a C.J. Jones touchdown run in garbage time. 

Saturday was a familiar story for Western Kentucky, unfortunately. The offense has been so limited all year that it can't afford to make any miscues. 

Pigrome has been so good at avoiding big mistakes all season, but he was finally forced into making two against Georgia State. 

The result is indicative of the work that head coach Tyson Helton still has to do filling out this roster. This was only his second season with the Hilltoppers, and they have played in bowl games both years, so there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

Georgia State quarterback Mikele Colasurdo announced he will not play in the 2020 college football season after being diagnosed with a heart condition related to COVID-19.

https://twitter.com/mikelecolasurdo/status/1296456027509002240

Colasurdo is an incoming freshman at Georgia State. He was ranked as a 3-star recruit coming out of high school and the 61st-ranked pro-style quarterback by 247Sports.

The Sun Belt Conference is one of the smallest conferences to move forward despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with Power Five conferences The Big Ten and Pac-12 already canceling their seasons.

Appalachian State, a member of the Sun Belt, postponed football activities this week after 11 people associated with the program tested positive for COVID-19.

Myocarditis has been found in several athletes who were previously diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. Colasurdo did not specify his specific heart condition. 

Georgia State made very happy campers of its financial backers over the last half of this season, going 6-0-1 against the spread over its last seven games. And, it won five games this season outright as betting underdogs. The Panthers will go off as dogs when they meet up with San Jose State in the inaugural AutoNation Cure Bowl in Orlando.

AutoNation Cure Bowl point spread: The Spartans opened as four-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 29.8-28.4 Panthers

Why the Spartans can cover the spread

The Spartans started 2-3 this season, with losses coming at Air Force, at Oregon State and at Auburn. San Jose State then went through a 3-3 stretch in which two of its losses came by a total of four points, one in overtime. The Spartans then had a chance to finish at .500 with a win in their regular-season finale against Boise State; they led the Broncos late into the third quarter but faded and lost 40-23.

San Jose State only lost the yardage battle to BSU by a 497-474 margin, and 88 of the Broncos' yards came on one play.

Even while missing ATS as eight-point dogs against Boise State, the Spartans are 6-3 ATS over their last nine outings. And prior to that defeat, San Jose State had outgained six of its previous eight opponents.

Why the Panthers can cover the spread

GSU is one of the hottest moneymakers in the land at the moment, with four straight wins, three of those outright upsets as underdogs, finishing the season on a 6-0-1 ATS run. The Panthers began 2-6 this year, but three of those losses came by one score or less, and they gave eventual Sun Belt champion Arkansas State a very good battle, easily covering 17 points. They then won their last four games, finishing with a 34-7 romp over Georgia Southern as three-touchdown dogs.

Georgia State outgained the Eagles by 286 yards and has now outgained its last five opponents by an average of 160 yards per game.

Smart pick

The Panthers actually “earned” a bowl bid, winning six games this season, while San Jose doesn't deserve to be here, after going 5-7. Also, Georgia State is playing in its first bowl and should be jacked. Plus, the Panthers are getting points. Take Georgia State.

Betting trends

San Jose State is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games against the Sun Belt.

Georgia State is 7-23 straight up in its last 30 games.

The total has gone under in Georgia State's last five games.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.

The Georgia State Panthers, one of the newest teams in FBS football, have reportedly submitted a proposal to repurpose Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, as their new home stadium.

Per Doug Roberson of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

University President Dr. Mark Becker and Atlanta real estate development firm Carter provided the Atlanta Journal-Constitution an exclusive look at the proposal on Wednesday. The idea is more than just a stadium. They want to build a $300 million development that will include retail, residential and student housing and will be paid for through a mix of public and private funds.

Turner Field and the surrounding 77-acre area has been the subject of intense speculation since the Braves announced they were to going to build a new stadium in Cobb County that will open in 2017. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said on April 17 that he had already received as many as four proposals for the property.

A $300 million development project is a hefty sum for a small athletic university, although according to Roberson, GSU President Mark Becker does not plan on increasing student fees to finance it.

GSU's football program only launched in 2008. Despite going 1-10 against FCS competition and losing nine games by 21 or more points, the Panthers moved up to the FBS ranks in a transitionary phase last season. They promptly went 0-12 as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, improving slightly in the second half of the schedule.

To date, the team has played its games in the 74,000-seat Georgia Dome—home of the Atlanta Falcons—but kept it at a capacity of 31,994. According to Roberson, the highest capacity they have ever reached was a little over 30,000 in their inaugural game four years ago. And it still made the Dome look "cavernous."

If permitted and fiscally possible, the move to Turner Field would prevent GSU home games from feeling so empty, even it's mostly just an optical illusion. It is also unique and would be a boon for the Panthers on the recruiting trail—or at least they hope that's the case.

The Panthers have already fast-tracked their birth and infancy like few (if any) programs before them, and this would be another move toward becoming a legitimate program as soon as possible.

The Georgia State Panthers football team took disciplinary action Friday against three players involved in a fight outside an Atlanta bar early Thursday morning.  Backup quarterback Bo Schlechter was kicked off the team, while kicker Christian Benvenuto and linebacker Dexter Moody were suspended indefinitely.

According to witnesses, a group of Georgia State students including the three football players confronted a group of patrons at the bar.  As it escalated, Schlechter then attacked one of the men, according to witnesses. 

After police arrived on the scene, six men were taken away in handcuffs.  Among those six were Schlechter, Benvenuto, and Moody.

The loss of Schlechter is not expected to affect the Panthers much, as he was projected to be the third-string QB this upcoming season.  He was also used as a secondary punter last season for the Panthers.

More concerning to Georgia State fans are the suspensions of Benvenuto and Moody.  On a team that scored more than 30 points in a game only once last season, Benvenuto was the second-leading scorer, providing a total of 46 points on PATs and field goals.

Moody was the leading tackler for the Panthers last season, providing 65 tackles from his outside linebacker spot.  He was already on suspension for unspecified reasons, and will remain suspended for his role in the fight.  His future with the team is unclear, especially in light of his detainment by the police Thursday morning. 

Moody was a highly recruited Under Armour All-American coming out of high school, but a series of disciplinary issues led to his offer from nearby Georgia being pulled, and he eventually wound up at Georgia State.

Georgia State recently announced their move from the FCS level to the FBS level, joining the Sun Belt Conference.