Tennessee football: Five Georgia State Panthers to watch for against Vols

Georgia State brings some talented players into Tennessee football’s opener Saturday. Here are five Panthers to watch for against the Volunteers.

Despite a 2-10 record last year, the Georgia State Panthers have the potential to make a big jump under third-year head coach Shawn Elliott. And as they head into Rocky Top on Saturday, Tennessee football needs to be ready if they don’t want to make this opener a scare.

The Panthers return a ton of their production on both sides of the ball, and that makes this the first team that Elliott has had since he’s taken over the program in which he has the players to run his system and they have experience. That could make for a deadly combination.

There are numerous players on the team who could give Tennessee football trouble, especially considering the fact that the Vols have many questions themselves. While on different levels, both programs are in the same boat after all: they’re trying to have a turnaround year after going through a serious rebuilding process in 2018.

Both teams are relying on specific players for that turnaround, and those players for Georgia State will be on the field Saturday. So what does that mean for the Vols? More importantly, who are these players we are talking about?

In this post, we’re going to break that down. Our first look at a 2019 UT opponent does involve an opponent the Vols should beat, but it’s one that has enough weapons to make things a bit challenging at times.

Jeremy Pruitt has to be prepared for all of these guys and for how Elliott will use them. After all, coming from the South Carolina Gamecocks in the SEC, Elliott is very familiar with the Vols and Pruitt’s tendencies.

So GSU could definitely bring some trouble to Knoxville. But who will he rely on at Neyland Stadium? Where should the Vols put their focus? Find out here with the five GSU players to watch out for when they face Tennessee football.