ATLANTA--Throughout the first week of Georgia State's preseason practice, one of the surprise standouts has been junior running back Malcolm Smith, and Wednesday's first scrimmage was no exception.
The Panthers held their first controlled scrimmage Wednesday morning at the GSU Practice Complex, complete with officials.
One of the first things head coach Bill Curry said after the 108-play scrimmage was, "We had another excellent individual effort from Malcolm Smith."
Smith, a junior from College Park, Ga., played primarily on special teams last fall while working behind Rosevelt Watson, Travis Evans, Parris Lee and Sam Burkhalter at running back. Burkhalter has moved to linebacker, but Watson, Evans and Lee all return. That trio combined for 713 yards and seven touchdowns last fall. Smith added seven attempts for 38 yards.
"It's going to be hard to keep [Smith] off the field, but it's going to be hard to keep several of them [running backs] off the field," said Curry. "That's a good problem to have."
As expected for a first scrimmage, the execution was spotty at times but Curry was satisfied with the effort.
"The effort overall was good," he said. "I was pleased that the guys flew around and fought hard. Little details like huddle breaks, being on side, hearing the snap count have to improve, and we'll be better the next time and the next.
"Both the offense and defense had stretches where they looked really good, and they had stretches when they looked really poor," he added.
On defense, Curry cited the play of a pair of cornerbacks.
"DeMarius Matthews had a great pick-and-run, and so did Nate Anthony," said Curry. "Those guys come to work the same way every day, work their hearts out. They had big plays today because they are ready when their time comes."
Matthews, a sophomore from Powder Springs, Ga., played as a backup last season and made one interception. Anthony, a sophomore from Decatur, Ga., is making the transition to defense after playing wide receiver last fall.
The long scrimmage enabled the coaching staff to look at a number of young players and backups.
"We had encouraging work from our third units on both sides of the ball," noted Curry.
Freshman wide receiver Nathaniel Minor, a walk-on from Brookwood High School, has been making some nice catches.
Following the scrimmage, the officials addressed the team on key rules changes for this season.
Preseason practice continues with two workouts Thursday. The Panthers open the 2011 season by hosting Clark Atlanta on Friday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Georgia Dome. Season and individual game tickets are on sale now (866-GA-STATE or GeorgiaStateSports.com).
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