It is hard to believe that Georgia State Panthers football is already over a decade old. For a program that literally grew out of a PowerPoint presentation in the late 2000s, the rise was supposed to be meteoric. We saw the bowl wins under Shawn Elliott. We saw the upset over Tennessee in Knoxville that felt like a fever dream. But honestly, if you’ve been watching lately, the vibe has shifted.
The 2025 season was, to put it bluntly, a disaster. A 1-11 record. Zero wins in the Sun Belt. A nine-game losing streak to end the year. For a team playing in the heart of one of the most fertile recruiting grounds in the country, that’s a tough pill to swallow. People are starting to ask if the "blueprint" is actually working or if the Panthers are just spinning their wheels in the red clay.
The Dell McGee Era: Patience vs. Results
Dell McGee was supposed to be the "home run" hire. You’ve heard the resume: he was the run game coordinator at Georgia during their back-to-back national title runs. He’s a legendary recruiter in the state. He knows every high school coach from Valdosta to Dalton. When he took over in February 2024, the expectation wasn't just to compete; it was to dominate the local recruiting trail.
But transition is rarely a straight line. McGee inherited a roster that was gutted by the transfer portal after Shawn Elliott bolted for an assistant job at South Carolina. That’s the reality of modern college football. You don't just lose players; you lose the soul of the locker room.
The 2025 stats tell a story of a team struggling to find its identity. They averaged only 19.75 points per game while giving up nearly 38. That is a recipe for a long, cold winter. McGee is still in the "teardown" phase of the rebuild, but in the "what have you done for me lately" world of the Sun Belt, the leash is never as long as coaches want it to be.
What Happened to the Offense?
If you looked at the roster before the 2025 season, you might have been optimistic. They had TJ Finley, a massive 6-foot-7 quarterback who had started games at LSU and Auburn. On paper, he was the bridge to the future.
It didn't happen.
Finley struggled with a shoulder injury and eventually finished with more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (6). By January 2026, he was already gone, signing with Incarnate Word for his seventh—yes, seventh—year of college ball.
The bright spot? Wide receiver Ted Hurst. The Savannah native became the go-to guy, proving that the Panthers can still develop legitimate perimeter threats. But the run game—McGee’s supposed bread and butter—stalled. Jordon Simmons showed flashes, averaging over 5 yards a carry, but when you’re constantly trailing by three touchdowns, you can’t exactly pound the rock.
The Hue Jackson Factor
One of the most talked-about moves was bringing in Hue Jackson as offensive coordinator. Yeah, that Hue Jackson. The former Cleveland Browns head coach. Some saw it as a brilliant move to bring NFL experience to downtown Atlanta. Others saw it as a desperate play for headlines.
The results in year one were mixed. The pro-style scheme looked clunky at times, especially with the revolving door at quarterback between Finley and Christian Veilleux. Veilleux, the Pitt transfer, showed some spark, but the consistency just wasn't there. If Georgia State Panthers football is going to climb out of the Sun Belt cellar in 2026, Hue's offense has to become more than just a collection of screen passes and hopeful deep shots.
Center Parc Stadium and the Summerhill Surge
You can't talk about Georgia State without talking about the stadium. Converting the old Turner Field was a stroke of genius. It gave the program a permanent home with history, right in the middle of a neighborhood—Summerhill—that is absolutely exploding.
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If you haven't been down there lately, the area around Georgia Avenue is unrecognizable. New breweries, rooftop bars, and high-end apartments are popping up everywhere. This is the ultimate "pitch" for recruits: you aren't playing in a sleepy college town; you're playing in the middle of the A.
However, the "cool factor" of the stadium only carries you so far. When the stands are half-empty because the team is 1-10, the atmosphere suffers. The school is pushing ahead with the "Campus Greenway" and "Panther Quad" projects to make the downtown campus feel more like a traditional university, but the football team remains the primary front porch for the entire institution.
The 2026 Outlook: A Make-or-Break Non-Conference Slate
The 2026 schedule was just released, and it’s a weird one. Honestly, it’s a schedule designed for a team that needs to find its confidence fast.
- Sept. 5 vs. North Carolina A&T: A must-win. Period. You cannot lose to an FCS opponent if you want the fan base to stay engaged.
- Sept. 12 at Kennesaw State: This is going to be spicy. An in-state rivalry against a team that is still relatively new to the FBS level. Georgia State won the last meeting in 2018, but Kennesaw fans are loud and hungry.
- Sept. 19 at UCF: The "Welcome to the Big 12" game. This is the paycheck game, but also a chance to see how McGee’s athletes stack up against a high-octane Power 4 program.
- Sept. 26 vs. Northern Illinois: A solid MAC opponent. This will be the barometer for whether the Panthers are ready for the Sun Belt grind.
Can They Actually Recruit Their Way Out?
McGee’s biggest win so far hasn't been on the field; it’s been in the living rooms. The 2026 signing class is heavy on Georgia talent. They are leaning hard into the "Stay Home" narrative.
They’ve brought in a massive haul of transfers and JUCO players to plug the holes on defense. Watch out for Xavier Esquillen, a pass rusher from Savannah State who put up ridiculous numbers (11.5 sacks) last year. He’s the kind of high-upside gamble the Panthers have to take.
The defense, led by Travis Pearson, switched to a 4-2-5 base, but it was shredded last year, finishing last in the conference in points allowed. They need more than just a scheme change; they need "dogs" in the trenches.
Actionable Insights for the Panther Faithful
If you’re a fan or a student, don’t jump off the bandwagon just yet. Rebuilds in the portal era are volatile.
- Watch the Spring Game: Keep an eye on the quarterback battle. With Finley gone, is it Veilleux’s job to lose, or will a portal addition take the reins?
- Summerhill is the Spot: Even if the football is rough, the pre-game scene in Summerhill is legit. Support the local businesses like Halfway Crooks or Little Bear; it’s part of the GSU experience now.
- Temper Expectations: 2026 probably isn't a 10-win season. Success looks like 5 or 6 wins and a return to a bowl game.
Georgia State Panthers football is at a crossroads. The honeymoon phase of having a "new" program is over. The novelty of Turner Field has worn off. Now, it’s about winning. Dell McGee was hired to bring the Georgia Bulldogs' championship DNA to Atlanta. In 2026, we’ll start to see if that DNA can actually survive the concrete jungle of downtown.
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Everything starts with that opener against NC A&T. If they stumble there, it’s going to be a very long decade. But if the offense clicks and the local kids start playing for the name on the front of the jersey, the Panthers might just remind everyone why they were the "team on the rise" not too long ago.