SETTING THE SCENE
For the first time since 2009, the Valdosta State football team will open the season in August as the Albany State Golden Rams visit on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.   The Blazers also will honor the 2004 National Championship football team for the 20th anniversary of the championship.  
 
CALLING THE GAME
TALK 92.1 FM will broadcast the Blazer games all season long with Wade Beale and Scott James having the call.  The game also will be streamed live on FloSports with Dave Garner and Taylor Biddle providing the call of the game.  Fans can access links to the radio broadcast and video broadcast at vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page.
 
FOR OPENERS
The Blazers and the Golden Rams meet for the 16th time to open the season in 2024 and the first time since 2019 as VSU won the last season-opening meeting 38-3 in Albany on Sept. 7, 2019, in Albany, Ga.  VSU is 13-2 all-time in season-openers versus Albany State and are 7-0 in Valdosta in openers against the Golden Rams.  VSU is 29-12 all-time in season-openers and has won its last five openers with the last loss coming to ASU on Sept. 2, 2017, in Albany by the score of 29-12.  Last season, the Blazers posted a 63-10 win over Point University on Sept. 2 in Valdosta in a game for the ages.  The game was played without power in the stadium due to the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia and VSU sophomore kicker McCall Bennett became the first female to play in a VSU football game, kicking the final extra-point of the game.  The Blazers have outscored the opposition 1,144 to 588 in season-openers for a 27.0 to 14.5 points per game average. 
 
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Season tickets and single-game tickets currently are available for purchase online at vstateblazers.com or by calling the Athletic Department Ticket Office at 229-333-SEAT (7328).  The Athletic Department Ticket Office is Open Monday-Friday and tickets can be purchased until 2:45 p.m., the day prior to each home game (i.e. Friday at 2:45 p.m. for Saturday home game).  The Athletic Department Ticket Office is located in The P.E. Complex on Sustella Avenue until 3 p.m. the day before a game.
 
WATCH ON FLOSPORTS
All VSU home and GSC road football games will be broadcast on FloSports once again this season.  For fans eager to watch fall sports, subscribe to pay $14.99 per month or $99.99 per year ($8.33/month). Additionally, those who use a .edu email from a GSC member institution will be able to sign up at a discounted subscription price of $9.99 per month or $69.99 for the year ($5.83/month). The negotiated promotional pricing for GSC fans will be available on the landing page. Fans choosing to sign up via other links or pages may not receive the full benefit of promotional pricing. As part of their subscription, fans receive access to all FloSports verticals. Subscriptions can be canceled at any time.
 
AGAINST THE PEACH STATE
The Blazers are 92-25-1 all-time against teams from Georgia and 51-11-1 against non-conference schools in the state.  Albany State is one of two schools (Shorter) the Blazers face this season from Georgia.
 
AGAINST THE PALMETTO STATE
The Blazers will earn their frequent flier miles to South Carolina this season as they visit the Palmetto State three times with trips to Newberry (Sept. 7), Erskine (Sept. 21) and North Greenville (Oct. 12).  The Blazers are 3-1 all-time against Newberry and 5-0 all-time against North Greenville.  This will be the first meeting on the gridiron against Erskine.  Overall, the Blazers are 9-1 all-time against teams from South Carolina.
 
SOUTH GEORGIA LABOR DAY CLASSIC
Third-year head Blazer football coach Tremaine Jackson has named this game the first South Georgia Labor Day Classic.  VSU has not played a game in August since 2009 and has not had a home game in August since 2008 when the Blazers downed Fort Valley State 56-3 on Aug. 23.  That year the Blazers had two games in August with a 14-9 win the following week (Aug. 30) at Newberry.  The Blazers are 10-2 all-time in the month of August and 4-1 at home with the lone loss coming to Newberry, 31-24, on Aug. 29, 2009 in the last game in August. The Blazers are 2-0 all-time on Aug. 31 with a 42-16 win at Gardner-Webb in 1996 and a a 26-0 win at Albany State in 2002.  The Blazers and the Golden Rams have played in August six times with VSU winning each time and the last being a 21-3 win in Valdosta on Aug. 30, 2003.  
 
CHANGES IN THE GSC FOR 2024
Gone this season are West Georgia (Division I) and Shorter (Independent DII), while Erskine (Due West, S.C.) joins the league in 2024 in football only.  Chowan is in the league for its second season, along with Delta State, Mississippi College, North Greenville, Valdosta State, West Alabama and West Florida.
 
PRESEASON ACCOLADES
Senior quarterback Sammy Edwards and senior tight end Noah Gillan were named to the Preseason All-GSC Team, while Edwards was named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 list and named to the Lindy's Magazine Preseason All-America Team.  Edwards, a native of Saint Augustine, Fla., stepped into the starting role under center for the Blazers and put together a record-setting campaign capped with finishing third in the prestigious Harlon Hill Award.  He earned GSC Top Ten honors for 2023-24 and was named VSU Male Athlete of the Year in April.  He earned Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year and was named D2 Conference Commissioners Association Super Region Two Offensive Player of the Year in 2023.  He finished second nationally for passing yards this season with 4,223, just three yards shy of tying the school-record for passing yards in a season.  He went 327 of 494 passing for 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, while is 34 touchdown passes put him third all-time in a single season in program history.  The 4,223 yards passing is third-most all-time in league history.  Nationally speaking, Edwards finished 11th in completion percentage at a 66.2 clip, while he finished sixth in completions per game at 23.36.  He finished 20th nationally in passing efficiency (156.3) for third in the league, while his 34 TD tosses were sixth-most nationally.  Edwards finished with 301.6 yards passing per game for fifth nationally and he was fifth in total offense at 321.0 yards per game.  Gillan, also a native of Saint Augustine, Fla., played in all 14 games with two starts last season.  He finished with 19 receptions for 174 yards and a touchdown.  Gillan has played in 36 games for his career with 23 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
 
A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
The Blazers have had an outstanding 41 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 333-137-4 record (.707) behind Grand Valley State (439-148-3) with a .747 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 221-77 overall.
 
THE 2004 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
The 2004 National Championship Team will be honored at halftime of Saturday's game and the team captains from that team will be the honorary captains for the coin flip prior to the game.  The 2004 Valdosta State football team capped off the Blazers' rise to glory as the squad won the school's first NCAA Division II Football National Championship under former Blazer great Chris Hatcher. After dropping its first game of the year, the team rebounded to win 13-straight games, finishing the season with a 36-31 victory over Pittsburg State in the national championship game.  A then-school record six All-America honorees played for the squad while 11 players off the team earned All-Gulf South Conference honors. The team went a perfect 9-0 in Gulf South Conference play and won VSU's fifth GSC football title. The national championship trophy was Valdosta State's first in football and second overall title, and the first since the baseball team won the 1979 championship.  For Saturday's game, there are expected to be over 40 players returning from the 2004 team, along with captains Torrey Howard, Spencer Fortson, Fabian Walker, and Terel Toomer.
 
NO SHUTOUTS
The Blazers lead all of NCAA Division II with 378 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 365 games without being 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 then-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), Buster Faulkner (Georgia Tech), Doug Belk (USC), Joe Cauthen (Utah State), Danny Verpaele (Army), Kerry Webb (Western Carolina) and Jeremy Darveau (Pittsburg), Kade Bell (Pittsburgh) to name a few.
 
THIS WEEK IN THE GSC
Delta State visited Mars Hill to open the 2024 season on Thursday evening, while St. Andrews visits league-newcomer Erskine on Saturday, Miles travels to West Alabama and VSU hosts Albany State to conclude the first Week Zero football games in the GSC in NCAA Division II history.    
 
BLAZERS TOP GSC PRESEASON POLL
For the first time since 2022, the Blazers were tabbed the league favorite in the GSC Preseason Coaches Poll.  The Blazers topped the poll with five first-place nods as they collected 46 total points after finishing in the national quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 2023.  West Florida was picked second with 42 points and one first-place vote, while Delta State was third with 41 points and the remaining two first-place votes.  West Alabama was selected fourth with 30 points, followed by North Greenville (24), Mississippi College (21), while Chowan and league newcomer Erskine tied for seventh with ten points. The points were awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale and schools were unable to vote for themselves. 
 
TEN THINGS FROM 2023

• VSU finished the 2023 season with a 12-2 record and a 7-1 mark in GSC play, winning a share of the program's tenth Gulf South Conference title
• The 12 wins marked the tenth time of 12 or more victories in a season in program history
• Current senior quarterback Sammy Edwards finished third in the prestigious Harlon Hill voting a season ago as he earned multiple All-America honors and was named Super Region Two Player of the Year
• VSU improved to 31-15 all-time in the NCAA postseason tournament, going 2-1 in the playoffs last season as the 31 playoff victories are good for fourth-most in NCAA Division II, while the 19 appearances are tied for fifth-most
• Edwards came within three passing yards (4223) of tying the school-record for passing yards in a season (Lance Funderburk, 1996 / 4226) as he finished third in passing yards for the season in NCAA Division II in 2023
• After not beginning the season ranked or receiving votes, the Blazers finished 2023 eighth in the final AFCA Top 25 and ninth in the final D2Football.com Top 25
• Current running back Bud Chaney had 12 rushing touchdowns in 2023 to lead the team and the GSC for 26th nationally
• Sophomore punter Noah Botsford finished the season fifth nationally in punting at a 43.8 average for the second-best average all-time in school history for a season
• Among all All-America outlets, the Blazers had four All-America selections (Edwards, Botsford, Devin Hannan, Jacob Harris) marking the most since 2018 with six
• Head Coach Tremaine Jackson was the only African-American coach to win his conference in all divisions outside of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

 
SOPHOMORE TURNAROUND
The Blazers won 5.5 more games in 2023 than in Tremaine Jackson's first year as head coach VSU went 5-6 in 2022.  Jackson finished 12-2 in 2023 and 7-1 in GSC play last year.  The 5.5 game improvement was third-best in all of NCAA Division II.  Central Missouri and Miles each led the way with a six-game improvement.
 
SEVEN BLAZERS EARN ALL-GSC HONORS
A total of seven Valdosta State football players were named to the All-Gulf South Conference football teams, announced in November 2023.  Graduate student wide receiver B.K. Smith and graduate student defensive back Jacob Harris were first team selections.  VSU had five selections to the second team including; junior quarterback Sammy Edwards, along with junior wide receiver Council Allen, junior tight end Noah Gillan, graduate student offensive tackle Devin Hannan and graduate student defensive back Kyle Cass. 
 
LAST TIME OUT VERSUS ALBANY STATE
The Blazers fended off a pesky Golden Rams squad in the second game of 2023 in Albany, Ga., for a 21-16 victory as linebacker Tyler Morehead came up with two huge sacks on the final ASU drive of the game in front of over 4,000 fans.  Trailing 21-16, the Golden Rams took over at their own seven-yard line with 2:41 remaining, following an outstanding punt from freshman Noah Botsford, who had five punts for a 41.4 average for the game.  ASU quarterback Isaiah Knowles hit Rashad Jordan for 32 yards, but a holding penalty on ASU negated the gain.  Knowles later hit Javion Jackson for 16 yards to the VSU 45 and then Knowles called his own number for an 18-yard scamper to the VSU 18.  Morehead came up with his first sack with 29 seconds left and then, on third and 13 from the VSU 21 and six seconds to go, Morehead rushed Knowles again and sacked him for a 16-yard loss as time expired.  Blazer newcomer Eric Watts had 11 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Sammy Edwards went 10 of 16 passing for 79 yards and one interception, while he had ten carries for 53 yards on the ground.  The VSU "D" held ASU to 268 yards of offense and just 71 yards on the ground.  
 
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH ALBANY STATE
VSU leads the all-time series with Albany State 21-2 and has won the last four meetings in the series dating back to a 29-12 loss in Albany on Sept. 2, 2017.  The Blazers are 11-0 all-time against ASU in Valdosta and are 10-2 against the Golden Rams in Albany.  The Blazers have outscored ASU 643-277 in the previous 23 meetings.
 
IN DEPTH
In looking at the Blazer Depth Chart for week one, Sammy Edwards is listed as the starting quarterback while Noah Gillan (TE), Xavier Williams (WR), Rodney Bullard (WR), Steven Mauro (LT), Kenley-Mary Asse (RG) and Daniel Morales (RT) are returnees on the offense from last season.  VSU has a number of new faces with Jaedon Henry (RB), Graeson Malashevich (WR), James Robinson (LG) and Will Flowers (C).  Defensively, Allan Baugh (DE), Jamorey Jones (N), J'Quan Hicks (T) highlight returnees up front, while Sterling Roberts (LB) and Dav'Juan Dezeme (LB) comprise the returnees in the front seven.  Jordan Billups (SS) and Theron Stroops (CB) highlight the backline anticipated starters.  As for special teams, the Blazers return standout punter Noah Bottsford and longsnapper Reid Brass, newcomer Ethan Eddins (K) earns the top kicking honors.  
 
COACH TREMAINE JACKSON POSTGAME SHOW
The Coach Tremaine Jackson Postgame Show will be available each Sunday at vstateblazers.com on the football page throughout the season as it will include interviews from Jackson, select players and highlights from the previous game.  Scott James and Dave Garner host the show throughout the season and Jamie Abbott of Crashandannie Productions directs and produces the show. 
 
BIG NICK'S TREMAINE JACKSON COACHES' SHOW
Starting on Thursday, Aug. 29, the weekly Coach Tremaine Jackson radio show moves to Big Nick's new restaurant at 1201 Baytree Road next to the Dollar General in Remerton.  The show will be Thursday evenings throughout the season from 7 to 8 p.m. and broadcast on TALK 921.1 WDDQ FM and at www.talk921.com.  The show will highlight the upcoming game with insight from Jackson and select players and coaches and recap the previous game.  All Blazer fans are welcome to attend as there will be raffle prizes for those in attendance.  
 
TWO-MINUTE TIMEOUT COMES TO COLLEGE FOOTBALL
For the first time in college football, there will be a two-minute timeout in the second and fourth quarters similar to what the NFL does.
 
JACKSON NAMED TO NCAA FOOTBALL RULES COMMITTEE
Blazer head football coach Tremaine Jackson was named to the NCAA Football Rules Committee serving until Aug. 31, 2028.  
 
D2FOOTBALL.COM WEEKLY PICKS
Cory Guinn of D2Football.com returns for 2024 for his weekly picks, but this week he not only predicted the winners, but also gave his prediction for the conference poll.  VSU was tabbed first, followed by West Florida, Delta State, West Alabama, North Greenville, Mississippi College, Chowan and conference newcomer Erskine was eighth.  This week, he has VSU defeating Albany State, West Alabama downing Miles, Erskine winning over Saint Andrews and Delta State winning at Mars Hill.
 
NEW LOOK STAFF
The Blazers have a number of new faces on staff this season, including a new offensive coordinator in Graham Craig who came to Titletown from Memphis, but also had stops at West Georgia and was a quarterback for the Blazers and was a member of the 2012 Blazer national championship team.  Offensive line coach Brice Carlson came to VSU after two stints at West Georgia, while new wide receivers coach Bryson Abraham came from Jackson State and Texas State.  New running backs coach Alex Nelson served for the last three years at Tusculum and prior to that on Dan Mullen's staff at Florida, along with stints at Georgia State and Florida Atlantic.  Former Blazer national champion LaVonne Gauthney (2018) returns to help on coach the offensive line, while former Blazers Javiontae Martin, Brett Buckridge and Flip Williams continue coaching in 2024.  New defensive backs coach Darren Garrigan came this spring after a two-year stint at Texas Southern, as well as time at Incarnate Word and also the NFL.  
 
ABOUT ALBANY STATE
The Golden Rams were picked as favorites in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Preseason Coaches Poll.  ASU had two players named to the Preseason All-SIAC Team in offensive lineman Ahmed Brimah and tight end Xavier Herndon, both earned all-league honors in 2023.  The Golden Rams finished the 2023 season with a 6-5 record under head coach Quinn Gray in his first season at the helm of the program.  The Golden Rams went 6-2 in SIAC play a season ago, losing 47-10 in the conference title game.  ASU was picked fifth in the HBCU Division II Coaches Poll Powered by Boxtorow as Virginia Union led the way, followed by Virginia State, Fort Valley State, Fayetteville State and Albany State.  Benedict was sixth, followed by Miles, Tuskegee, Johnson C. Smith and Bowie State rounded out the top ten.  
 
A VICTORY OVER ALBANY STATE WOULD . . .

• Give VSU a 1-0 record this season and a 30-12 record all-time in season-openers
• Give VSU an 11-2 all-time in the month of August
• Give VSU a 14-2 record all-time in season-openers against Albany State
• Give head coach Tremaine Jackson a 18-8 record at VSU and a 28-11 record in his coaching career
• Give VSU a 22-2 record all-time against Albany State
• Be the sixth-straight year of opening the season with a victory
• Give VSU its 175th (174-55-1) victory all-time at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium and 184th victory (183-59-1) at home in program history
• Give VSU its 93rd victory (92-25-1) all-time against a team from Georgia and 52nd (51-11-1) against a non-conference foe from the Peach State

 
UP NEXT
The Blazers travel to Newberry for a 7 p.m. kick on Sept. 7 in Newberry, S.C.  The game marks the first time the teams have met since Sept. 8, 2011, in a 24-17 victory by VSU in Valdosta.