Takeaways from Georgia Southern's dominant effort in coach Clay Helton's debut

STATESBORO — Maybe Clay Helton will have a honeymoon period after all.

The new head coach of Georgia Southern had a grand opening game as the host Eagles dominated Morgan State, an FCS program, 59-7 on a rainy Saturday night before 15,183 at Paulson Stadium.

"To have been out of it for almost a year, to be back at this electric stadium with that crowd and being able to be around a great group of kids, man, just a really special night," said Helton, who was hired last November after being fired at Southern Cal two games into the 2021 season.

Some key takeaways from the dawn of the Clay Helton Era, with the Eagles enjoying a night packed with highlights in the season opener for both teams.

Recap: Georgia Southern routs Morgan State 59-7 in season opener

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'We want to be a national program': Here are Clay Helton's aspirations for Georgia Southern

Kyle Vantrease is armed and dangerous

The Georgia Southern offense was as advertised, once the Eagles got past a shaky three-and-out on their first possession. They got their timing down while striving to test the Bears defense's stamina with a fast pace. GS scored the last 52 points of the game.

Kyle Vantrease, a sixth-year transfer from the University of Buffalo, made his debut for the Eagles and became the sixth 300-yard passer in Georgia Southern history.

Now, the Eagles' history is full of running quarterbacks in a run-heavy offensive scheme. It's a new playbook in Statesboro, with Vantrease heating up as the game progressed.

He finished with a 154.4 passer rating, completing 29 of 46 passes (63%) for 367 yards (fourth-most in GS history) and four touchdowns — tying a school record. Even his one interception, while getting hit, was a touchdown, returned 50 yards by the Bears' Jordan Toles, a transfer from LSU, in the second quarter.

He'd like that one back, no doubt, but the rest of the night was a keeper.

He connected with 10 different receivers in posting the first 300-plus game since Nov. 15, 2008 when Lee Chapple put up 323 yards at Furman. The last time an Eagle passed for four TDs was Oct. 2, 2004, when Chaz Williams and GS played at Elon.

Not surprisingly, Vantrease's 367 yards are a school record for a season opener and for passing yards in a first career start at Georgia Southern. The 46 attempts were third most for a GS QB in one game.

"We've got playmakers all over the field," Vantrease said. "There are a lot of guys, you give them the ball, good things are going to happen. You saw it tonight. The ones you saw it tonight, those aren't the only ones on the field who can do it."

Seven different Eagles scored, including kicker Alex Raynor, and Jalen White and O.J. Arnold, running backs who each scored two touchdowns.

"Offensively, we've got a lot of playmakers. We're blessed to have those guys in the backfield, out on the perimeter. But really the playmakers are up front,"  Vantrease said of the offensive linemen. "Tonight, they did a great job protecting, opening up the run game there late. As a quarterback, it's not your job to throw that big ball. It's your job to get the ball to the playmakers and let them go and play football."

Players — like Jeremy Singleton and O.J. Arnold — make plays

Vantrease worked in tight windows, trying to place passes where only his receivers could grab them, or nobody could (in theory).

Raising the acceptable level of risk on Saturday paid off more often than it cost Vantrease and the Eagles, who have a slew of receivers confident they can make the special plays routine.

He connected on the second drive of the game with slotback Khaleb Hood and tight end Beau Johnson, who each made nice grabs, but the drive stalled.

The first big play of the game for the Eagles was Vantrease's 28-yard sideline connection to senior transfer Jeremy Singleton (University of Houston) near the close of the first quarter. The drive continued in the next period, and Vantrease found a new target in slotback Sam Kenerson (team-highs with seven receptions and 99 yards), who slashed through defenders for a 17-yard pickup.

The team was rewarded with some very good fortune, as on third-and-goal from the 4, Vantrease forced a pass into tight coverage in the end zone, where Hood (six catches, 88 yards) was covered by Kaleb Coleman. The pass deflected backward to true freshman running back Arnold, who had circled out of the backfield and pounced to get under the rebound for an unconventional but official touchdown pass with 12:20 left before halftime.

"Kyle threw the ball," Arnold said after the game. "I saw the defender had his back turned. I was just thinking, if it hits his back, it's going to bounce somewhere, so I just ran there and it came to me."

Arnold anticpated and got the rebound.

"I've got a little basketball in me," he said.

Vantrease was happy for the good bounce and for Arnold being there for the catch.

"Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good," Vantrease said. "It's a game of football. Crazy things happen. Should I have thrown that ball? Probably not. Got lucky."

Vantrease's next scoring toss was by comparison a thing of beauty. On third-and-seven from the 12, Vantrease lofted a pass to the back right corner, where Derwin Burgess Jr. stretched out and gathered in the ball with one hand. Burgess, a sophomore who has been making acrobatic catches for two seasons in practice and in some games, registered his second career touchdown catch. He finished with four receptions for 33 yards and the score.

It seemed only a matter of time until another receiver would step up. Among those who did was Singleton (five catches, 60 yards), who went to the left side of the end zone on second-and-2 from the Morgan State 8. Vantrease kept him in his sights and fired the ball into a small space where Singleton, like a baseball player, gave him a target and caught the rocket pass for a touchdown with 12:47 left in regulation for a 45-7 lead.

The defense never rests for Georgia Southern

Morgan State hung around through the first half but the Bears rarely challenged on offense and did not score, as their defense accounted for their only points.

Eagles inside linebacker Todd Bradley-Glenn, in his seventh year with the program after overcoming one adversity after another including missing all of 2021 with an injury, made a triumphant return and led the defense with seven tackles.

Career-first interceptions were recorded by Tyler Bride, Isaac Walker and Jalen Denton (formerly of Ole Miss), the latter one of the key transfers that has bolstered the defensive backfield.

"Defensively, I can't say enough," Helton said. "You look up and not one point given up by our defense tonight. To create four turnovers, (to hold Morgan State to) 2 of 13 on third downs, you should score 59 points when you have that type of stellar defensive production — especially where they gave us the ball."

Morgan State finished with 250 total yards, 78 through the air and 172 on the ground in a tough debut for new head coach Damon Wilson.

Georgia Southern had twice as many yards with 504, 367 by passing, 137 on the ground. GS had more plays (78-59), more first downs (26-12) and created more turnovers (4-1).

The Eagles had less where it counts — penalties, with just three for 34 yards, while Morgan State was whistled for seven for 59 yards.

Smooth day for special teams

The Eagles' special teams units were solid throughout the night, including special teams ace NaJee Thompson snagging teammate Anthony Beck II's punt on the fly at the Morgan State 3 in the third quarter.

The battle for field-goal kicking duties was won this week by incumbent Alex Raynor, who made a 20-yard field goal and was 8-of-8 on extra-point attempts.

Beck averaged 42.8 yards on four punts.

"I can't say enough about NaJee Thompson and Anthony Beck, two of the more special players at that phase in the country," Helton said. "Every time you looked up, it felt like the ball was inside the 10-yard line because of those two guys and what they did with the coverage unit."

Up next

The Eagles (1-0) go on the road to play Nebraska (1-1) next Saturday at 7:30 p.m ET at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, with the game shown on FS1.

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

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Southern and coach Clay Helton win in debut over Morgan State