« Back to Issue Issue 16 - Georgia Southern Index | 11/11/2012

Georgia Southern stars

by Jeff Dantzler

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Number 6 Dominique Swope, FB
5-11, 221 Soph.
Buford, Ga. (Buford H.S.)
As dynamic as Georgia Southern’s quarterbacks
have been in their years of greatness, the success
of the “Hambone” triple option starts with
the fullback. The Eagles have had plenty of great
ones before, most notably Adrian Peterson, who
goes down with Ham as the two best players in
school history, Joe Ross and Gerald Harris. Well
the Eagles have a dynamite quarterback/fullback
duo again in 2012. Swope is a big time player
with power and speed. When he is running
strong up the gut, then the Eagles are doubly
dangerous on the perimeter. Swope was the
Southern Conference Freshman of the Year last
season, chalking up 1,033 yards and seven
touchdowns, while averaging over six yards per
carry. Swope, who has missed a couple of games
this year, is producing over 100 yards a game and
a touchdown per game. He and McKinnon are
two of the front-runners for Southern Conference
Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Number 1 Jerick McKinnon, QB
5-9, 208 Jr.
Marietta, Ga. (Sprayberry H.S.)
A front-runner for the Walter Payton Award, the Division
I-AA/Football Championship Subdivision’s version
of the Heisman Trophy, McKinnon is a dynamic
threat who’s running sparks reminiscences of past
Eagle greats Tracy Ham, Raymond Gross and J.R.
Revere. The Eagles don’t throw the ball very much,
attempting around seven passes per game, but
McKinnon is the trigger-man for the best FCS rushing
attack in the country, as Georgia Southern averaging
nearly 400 yards on the ground. As a
sophomore, McKinnon threw, caught and ran for
touchdowns. He also intercepted two Maine passes
in a playoff game. This season, he is posting nearly
100 yards per game, and distributing to a stellar collection
of skill personnel. The Eagles have another
outstanding quarterback, Ezayi Youyoute, who takes
a lot of snaps and puts up big numbers. This is a
terrific duo of quarterbacks who provide numerous
problems for opposing defenses. The rare times
they do throw, the Eagles have big play potential.

Number 66 Brent Russell
6-2, 300 Sr.
Comer, Ga. (Madison County H.S.)
One of the dominating forces on the defensive line in
the nation, Russell has had an exceptional senior campaign.
He is fifth on the team in tackles, and leads
the squad in sacks and tackles for loss. He also has a
blocked kick. As a big body on the defensive interior,
one of Russell’s primary duties is to tie up blockers.
He does that – and makes plays. He started the season
opener as a true freshman against Georgia in
2008, but injured his knee, missed the rest of the year
and was redshirted. Russell came back strong as was
the Southern Conference Defensive Freshman of the
Year. Since, he has simply been the best defensive
lineman in Division I-AA. Russell was a consensus first
team All-American and finalist for the Buck Buchanan
Award in 2010 and 2011. He was the Southern Conference
Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and is a
leading contender again. Russell is in the conversation
as arguably the greatest defender in Georgia Southern
history.