The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

Georgia State features the Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Year in quarterback Nick Arbuckle and Freshman of the Year Penny Hart as well as the league’s Coach of the Year Trent Miles, and 12 GSU individuals earned recognition on the All-Sun Belt Conference teams announced Wednesday.

 

Miles, the third-year head coach, was recognized for guiding the Panthers to their first-ever bowl game in just their sixth year of existence and third at the FBS level. Georgia State (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) reeled off four straight wins to earn a berth in the AutoNation Cure Bowl vs. San Jose State, Dec. 19 in Orlando, Fla. Predicted to finish ninth in the Sun Belt, the Panthers exceeded all expectations with a fourth-place showing.

 

“I’m very honored and humbled, but the award really goes to our coaching staff,” Miles said. “It’s not me, it’s the coaching staff. I want to recognize and thank all our coaches and their families, and my wife, Bridget.”

 

Leading the way for Georgia State has been Arbuckle, the senior quarterback who is nearing a Sun Belt record with 4,160 yards passing, along with 26 touchdowns. The Camarillo, Calif., native ranks sixth in the FBS, averaging 346.7 yards passing per game. He was a three-time choice as Sun Belt Student-Athlete of the Week.

 

Arbuckle’s top target is Hart, the freshman from Buford and King’s Ridge Christian Academy who leads the Sun Belt with 70 receptions for 1,085 yards and eight touchdowns. Hart ranks second among all FBS freshmen in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

 

Along with Arbuckle and Hart, wide receiver Robert Davis and safety Tarris Batiste earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors. Linebacker Joseph Peterson, tight end Keith Rucker and punter Wil Lutz made the second team. Wide receiver Donovan Harden, linebacker Alonzo McGee, cornerback Chandon Sullivan and defensive end Shawanye Lawrence were honorable mention selections, and safety Bobby Baker, a transfer from UAB, represents Georgia State on the All-Newcomer team.

 

Davis, a junior from Warner Robins, Ga., ranks right behind Hart in the Sun Belt with 60 catches for 979 yards and six touchdowns. Georgia State’s top four pass catchers made the all-conference team, with Rucker (39 receptions, 522 yards, six touchdowns) on the second team, and Harden (36-672-4) on the honorable mention list.

 

Batiste, a senior from Cartersville, Ga., who was also honored this week as the AutoNation Defensive Player of the Week, has a school-record four interceptions this season, along with 95 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss.

 

Peterson, the senior from Dothan, Ala., leads the team and is second in the Sun Belt with a Georgia State-record 106 tackles. He ranks fourth among all active FBS defenders with 371 career tackles, the GSU record.

 

McGee (school-record 12 tackles for loss), Sullivan (two interceptions and eight pass breakups), Lawrence (37 tackles, three tackles for loss) and Baker (66 tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles) are also key pieces for a GSU defense that has held five straight opponents, and six of the last seven, to 23 points or fewer.

 

Peterson appears on the All-Sun Belt team for the third straight year, while Arbuckle, Davis and Harden are being honored for the second time.

 

“It’s great for our student-athletes to be recognized, and all who were honored really deserve it, but they all know they wouldn’t be able to do any of this without their teammates,” Miles said. “The awards are a reflection of what our team has accomplished.”

 

Student-Athlete of the Year: Nick Arbuckle, QB

Freshman of the Year: Penny Hart, WR

Coach of the Year: Trent Miles

 

First-Team All-Sun Belt

Nick Arbuckle, QB

Penny Hart, WR

Robert Davis, WR

Tarris Batiste, S

 

Second-Team All-Sun Belt

Joseph Peterson, LB

Keith Rucker, TE

Wil Lutz, P

 

Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt

Donovan Harden, WR

Alonzo McGee, LB

Shawanye Lawrence, DE

Chandon Sullivan, CB

 

Sun Belt All-Newcomer:

Bobby Baker, S