SETTING THE SCENE
The Valdosta State Blazers open the 2023 season with National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) foe Point University Saturday, September 2, at 3 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  The Skyhawks enter after a 51-13 loss at home to Bethel (Tenn.) last Saturday night. 
 
NO BLAZER WALK SATURDAY
Due to Hurricane Idalia, there will be no Blazer Walk prior to the game.  The next Blazer Walk is scheduled prior to the Keiser game on Sept. 16.
 
POWER OUTAGE
Due to Hurricane Idalia, there is a possibility of no live stats, streaming or radio for the game Saturday afternoon.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for further updates.
 
CALLING THE GAME
TALK 92.1 FM will broadcast the Blazer games all season long with Mike McDowd having the call.  Fans also can access the broadcast at www.talk921.com.  In addition, Dave Garner and Taylor Biddle will have the call of all home games this season on the webstream, which can be accessed at vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page.
 
FLOSPORTS
The Gulf South Conference enters its second year of a four-year agreement with FloSports to broadcast all GSC football games this fall.  ALL VSU football home regular season and road conference livestream broadcasts will be available exclusively through FloSports.  Check out vstateblazers.com for how to sign up for FloSports.
 
AGAINST THE PEACH STATE
This marks the first time the Blazers and the Skyhawks have met on the gridiron as VSU is 88-25-1 all-time against teams from Georgia and 49-11-1 against non-conference schools in the state.  Point is one of two non-conference teams (Albany State) and four teams (Shorter, West Georgia) overall VSU plays this season from Georgia.
 
FOR OPENERS
The Blazers are 28-12 all-time in season-openers and 17-4 at home in season-openers with 2022 being the third-straight year of opening at home.  Last season VSU downed Keiser 36-21 in the opener and the Blazers have won their last four openers dating back to a 29-12 loss at Albany State on Sept. 2, 2017.  VSU has won its last six openers in Valdosta and Point is the 15th different opponent VSU has opened the season with in program history.  The Blazers have outscored the opposition 1,081 to 578 for in season openers for a 27.0 points per game average for to a 14.5 points per game average against.
 
SMITH AND THIELE EARN PRESEASON ALL-GSC HONORS
Blazer graduate students B.K. Smith and Estin Thiele were named to the Preseason All-GSC Teams, announced in August.  Smith was named to the team as a wide receiver, while Thiele earned the honor as a punter.  Smith played in all 11 games and started ten in his first season as a Blazer at wide receiver.  He led the team with 726 yards receiving on 42 receptions.  Smith registered six touchdown receptions and averaged 17.3 yards per reception.  He averaged 66.0 yards per game and had a long reception of 72 yards at North Greenville (10/29/22).  Smith had a season-high 148 yards receiving on five catches versus Mississippi College (10/15/22) and had eight receptions and three touchdowns against Virginia Union (9/10/22).  He recorded four punt returns for 28 yards and a long of 12.  Thiele had 30 punts for a 39.57 average with a long punt of 64 yards.  He had two touchbacks, three fair catches, nine punts inside the 20 and ten punts over 50 yards.  He also had 38 kickoffs for a 64.0 average and 24 touchbacks.  Thiele went 17 of 22 in field goals last season for 20th nationally in field goal percentage (.773).  His 17 made field goals were good for second in the GSC and he was third nationally in field goals per game at a 1.55 clip to lead the GSC.  He finished 44 of 45 in extra-points for the season, finishing 19th nationally in scoring at 8.6 points per game for fourth in the GSC and 95 total points for fifth in the league.
 
WHAT'S RETURNING
The Blazers have a number of new faces this season for second-year head coach Tremaine Jackson as the team with over 80 new players for the 2023 season.  Junior quarterback Sammy Edwards, who has been the backup the past two seasons, steps in replacing former Blazer Ivory Durham under center.  Graduate student B.K. Smith returns at wide receiver, along with sophomore receiver Ted Hurst and junior WR Council Allen.  Graduate student kicker/punter Estin Thiele also returns, while defensively sophomore Terrell Dudley returns at linebacker.  Smith earned second team all-conference honors in 2022. 
 
WHAT'S NEW
The Blazers have a plethora of new players for 2023 and a number of very talented transfers including sophomore Valdosta native Harrison Hamsley (TE), junior linebacker Kennedy Parker, junior defensive lineman Jay Hinkle and sophomore linebacker Sterling Roberts who all were part of the GSC Newcomer Watch List. The team features seven Valdosta natives among the players who have numbers and six of them are first year transfer players returning home. 
 
THIELE NAMED TO FRED MITCHELL WATCH LIST
Graduate student kicker/punter Estin Thiele was named to the Fred Mitchell Watch List to begin the season.  Thiele was named finalist for the prestigious Fred Mitchell Award in 2022, while he earned second team all-GSC honors in 2021.  Thiele is 31 of 40 in field goals for a 77.5 clip, while he is 117 of 119 in extra-points for his career at VSU.  He has scored 210 points for ninth all-time in school history in scoring.  He has made 38 punts for 1,529 yards and a 40.2 average, while he has 130 kickoffs for a 62.2 average and 71 touchbacks.  He is ninth all-time in scoring at VSU with his 210 points and is 18 points from tying Dominique Ross (1992-94) for eighth all-time with 228 points. 
 
ON THIS DATE
The Blazers are 3-2 all-time on Sept. 2 and last played on this date in 2017 in a 29-12 loss at Albany State.  VSU is 2-0 at home on this date and 1-2 on the road.  VSU lost at Georgia Southern in 1989 on thi date (31-10), but won over Mount Scenario 65-0 in 1993 and won 34-21 at home in 1995 against Gardner-Webb.  VSU won in 2006 at Albany State (20-16) prior to the 2017 game on this date.  
 
A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
The Blazers have had an outstanding 40 years of football since the program began in 1982.  The Blazers have the second-highest winning percentage all-time in NCAA Division II with a 321-135-4 record (.704) behind Grand Valley State (428-146-3) with a .744 clip.  VSU went 88-27 from 2010-2019 for a .765 average which is good for eighth in NCAA Division II for the decade and tenth in overall wins.  The Blazers then went 104-20 (.839) from 2000-2009 for the fourth-highest winning percentage and overall wins for that decade. Since 2000, the Blazers are 209-55 overall.
 
NO SHUTOUTS
The Blazers lead all of NCAA Division II with 364 consecutive games without being shutout dating back to a 12-0 loss to Central Florida on Sept. 14, 1991.  VSU only has been shut out five times in program history.  Grand Valley is just behind the Blazers at over 353 games without a shutout.
 
VALDOSTA STATE COACHING TREE RUNS DEEP
Since football began in 1982 at Valdosta State, there has been an outstanding lineage of coaches who have come through Titletown.  Beginning in 1992, Hal Mumme took over the Blazer program and was off and running in 1994 with the program's first playoff berths in both 1994 and 1996.  Under Mumme, who is considered the founder of the air raid offense, has a fantastic coaching tree.  Both he and Mike Leach conceived the Air Raid Offense at Iowa Wesleyan College and perfected it in Titletown.  Among the coaches under Mumme who came to Titletown are; current Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach, current Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen, Guy Morriss (Kentucky, Baylor, Texas A&M-Commerce), current Samford head coach Chris Hatcher (also Blazer head coach), along with current Samford offensive line coach Shawn Bostick.  Former Blazer head coach Gary Goff played wide receiver for Mumme at VSU, and now is the head coach at McNeese State, while Leach was his offensive coordinator and Holgorsen was the quarterback coach of Hatcher.  Hatcher then took over as head coach at VSU in 2000.  On is inaugural coaching staff were Bostick, current University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, along with current Georgia analyst Will Muschamp, who also served as head coach at Florida and South Carolina.  In addition, former Blazer head coach and two-time Blazer national champion David Dean served on Hatcher's staff.  Dean now is the head coach at West Georgia and is the only Blazer head football coach to win two national titles in 2007 and 2012.  On January 10, 2020, Leach became the third former Blazer assistant football coach to be named the current head coach at a Southeastern Conference school.  (Leach, Mississippi State), Smart (Georgia) and Muschamp (South Carolina).  Former Blazer head coach Kerwin Bell, who won the national title in 2018, now is the head coach at Western Carolina.  Along with the coaches listed above, some other notable coaches who have come through Valdosta include; Seth Wallace (Iowa), Doug Belk (Houston), Joe Cauthen (Buffalo), Danny Verpaele (Kennesaw State), Kerry Webb (Western Carolina) and Jeremy Darveau (Western Carolina), to name a few.
 
HEAD COACH TREMAINE JACKSON
Valdosta State Director of Athletics announced at a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, Tremaine Jackson as the 11th head coach in Blazer football history. Jackson, in his second season leading the Blazers, is known for raising the bar both on and off the field and has quickly made an impact on the total program in Titletown. The 2022 squad ranked in the top 15 nationally in eight different statistical categories including sacks allowed (2nd – 0.27), total offense (5th – 475.6), red zone offense (6th – 0.918), tackles for loss allowed (9th – 3.91), turnovers lost (11th – 12), scoring offense (12th – 36.6), passes had intercepted (13th – 6) and passing yards per completion (15th – 14.71) and was the only program in Division II to rank in the top 25 in both total rushing (16th – 213.5) and total passing (21st – 262.2).  In the classroom, the team earned a combined 2.84 grade point average, the highest in program history, which included 54 student-athletes with a 3.0-or-better GPA, 19 over a 3.5 GPA and four with a perfect 4.0 GPA.  The Blazers were also active in the community throughout the 2022-23 season, accumulating over 1,100 hours of service in Valdosta, assisting with Earth Day Road Cleanup, Habitat for Humanity, Blazer Kids' Day, Jacobs Ladder Therapeutic Riding Center and the #ValdostaMiracles Softball Game.
 
NOT ALLOWING THE SACK
Last season VSU finished second nationally in sacks allowed at a 0.27 clip and just three sacks against for the season.  In 2021, VSU led the nation in fewest sacks allowed at a 0.29 clip and just four total sacks allowed for the season.  In 2019, the team finished fifth nationally in sacks allowed at an 0.73 clip and eight for the year.
 
THIS WEEK IN THE GSC
VSU and Point is the Gulf South Conference game on Saturday as each of the other teams in the league play either Thursday or Friday.  Last season, VSU opened the season on a Thursday for the first time since 1993.  West Florida opens the season seventh nationally in the AFCA Top 25, while Delta State is 10th and West Georgia is 22nd.  West Alabama is among others receiving votes in the poll.  According to D2Football.com, West Florida is eighth, while Delta State is ninth and West Georgia is 19th. 
 
BLAZERS FIFTH IN GSC PRESEASON POLL
Delta State was picked as league favorite garnering 61 points and six of nine first-place nods, while West Florida, who also shared the league title with the Statesmen in 2022, was picked second with 56 points and two first-place votes.  West Georgia picked up the remaining first-place nod with 52 points for third.  West Alabama was picked fourth with 44 points, followed by the Blazers (33 points), just ahead of Mississippi College (32 points).  North Greenville was picked seventh (24 points), followed by Shorter (13 points) and league newcomer Chowan was ninth with ten points.  Chowan joins the league this season as an affiliate member of the GSC.  Chowan is located in Murfreesboro, N.C., and the Blazers visit the Hawks on Sept. 30, at 1 p.m.
 
ABOUT POINT UNIVERSITY
The Skyhawks, who are from West Point, Ga., enter with an 0-1 record after a 51-13 loss to No. 8 (NAIA) Bethel (Tenn.) on Saturday at home.  The Skyhawks were picked fourth in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Preseason Poll with 26 points.  Point returns senior quarterback Mitch Gossett who went 75 of 160 passing for 1,009 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions last season, along with junior linebacker Kemorian Larking who had 57 tackles and two sacks a year ago.  Also returning in the defensive backfield is Davyon Dukes with 39 tackles, two TFL, two INTs and four pass breakups a season ago.  Head coach Trevor Zeiders is in his second year as head coach as he was the defensive coordinator for two seasons prior.  This past week, the Skyhawks dropped their season-opener in Week 0.  PU and Bethel were tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter and Bethel held a 17-13 lead at intermission, but outscored the Skyhawks 34-0 in the second half.  Bethel held a 424-257 advantage in total offense in the game and ran back two interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter on back-to-back possessions for a 44-13 to that point.  Gossett went 9 of 27 passing for 127 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the game, while Sensir Carnes had ten carries for 48 yards.  Both Emery Bryant and Kareem Keye each had touchdown receptions.  Defensively, Kemorian Larkin had nine total tackles with two pass breakups and one hurry.
 
A VICTORY OVER POINT UNIVERSITY WOULD . . .

• Give VSU a 1-0 record and be the fifth-straight season starting out with a victory
• Give VSU a 4-2 record all-time on September 2 and a 3-0 mark at home on this date
• Be the 32nd victory in program history (321-135-4)
• Be the 177th victory at home in program history (176-57-1) and the 168th victory at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium (167-53-1)
• Give Blazer head coach Tremaine Jackson his 16th career coaching victory (15-9) and his sixth at VSU (5-6)
• Be the 89th victory all-time against a team from Georgia (88-25-1) and the 50th against a Georgia non-GSC team (49-11)