Georgia State sets physical tone in spring game

Some college football teams treat their spring games like a game of two-hand-touch. Georgia State took a different direction.

"There's only one way to play football," said Panthers head coach Shawn Elliott. "That's to block and that's to tackle."

Georgia State held their annual scrimmage at Grady Stadium in Atlanta as Turner Field is converted to their new permanent home. The visuals may be different, but the sound was just like fall football: plenty of pads popping.

"We didn't want to tag each other off, we wanted to put on a show, especially for our fans," said linebacker Michael Shaw.

You even saw a hard-hitting version of a no-huddle offense from the Panthers offense, led by 3 touchdowns from bruising running back Kyler Neal.

"With our tempo, we're really trying to beat teams down, wear them out," said quarterback Conner Manning. "Our whole thing, tempo to our advantage, wear teams out."

The team says the physicality in spring -- and it was through spring practices as well, not just the spring game -- is an attempt to instill a new personality on a team with a new coach and a new stadium.

"We're not blessed with a bunch of great talent," said Elliott. "We've got to outwork and out-fundamental people. That's how we do it, blocking and tackling."