The win/loss column may not be where the Georgia Southern Eagles wanted it to be at this point before the season started, but with so many question marks entering the year on the offensive side of the ball, first-year coach Jeff Monken has a better feel for his team’s capabilities six games in.

The Eagles (3-3, 1-2 Southern Conference) have seen playmakers emerge from all over the backfield.

"I think we’ve got a pretty good idea of what each of those guys brings to the table as an individual," Monken said. "It just makes it easier to figure out what you can call and what you can’t."

J.J. Wilcox, a sophomore slotback, has been the big-play guy for the offense. He has 11 catches for 302 yards and three touchdowns through the air, and is second on the team in rushing yardage behind true freshman fullback Robert Brown, scoring twice on the ground and averaging 6.4 yards on 34 attempts.

Wilcox is slow to admit that he’s emerged as a consistent force in all phases of a GSU offense that has figured out who the playmakers are.

"I think we do a little bit," he said. "The more you do, the more you learn."

Fullback Tobi Akkinniranye, who split carries with Lee Banks while Brown was sidelined with injury, is third on the team in rushing yards (216) and second in rushing touchdowns (3) behind quarterback Jaybo Shaw (6).

The offensive line has also started coming around, springing Akinniranye for a 60-yard touchdown run Saturday at Chattanooga.

"So many times there’s a hole there, but you get the backside linebacker or the backside safety getting in there. We got those guys cut off, so they did a good job," Monken said about the scoring play. "We got some good blocks out of those guys on Saturday. We had a couple breakdowns, but they did a good job."

All about the other guys

Akinniranye’s run, the longest of his career, couldn’t have happened without the o-line, if you ask him.

"I don’t even think I got touched. I just ran off of them, trusted them," he said about his blockers, "listened to everything coach says and just ran to daylight. I thought I was just about to walk into the end zone and I looked left and right, saw people coming. Coach always teaches if you’re that close, you better get in there, so I thought, ‘I can’t get caught.’ I had to find a way."

The "Y" word

One consistency on Georgia Southern’s roster has been a lack of upper classmen for the last three years. In other words, the main culprit has been youth.

Needless to say, when senior cornerback Carson Hill sat out the UTC game with an injury Saturday and true freshman Lavelle Westbrooks started in his place, it was one more fresh face on the field.

"It really affected us not having Carson," Monken said. "He’s a veteran guy, he’s made a lot of plays for us, and you’re out there playing with a true freshman."

It’s something the Eagles have had to deal with all season.

"I looked at our film, and at one time we had four true freshmen out there on defense," said Monken." Another one we had three out there on offense. You’ve got Robert Brown, Tray Butler and Dorian Byrd, and had it worked out you could have had Zach Lonas and Darries Robinson and had five of the 11. They’re all playing.

"You don’t want to be in that situation, but that’s where we are. We know pretty much who we are at this point, so we’re making calls and trying to put them in the right position."

Quite the opposite

The 2009 Eagles lost a conference game to Elon and beat Wofford and Chattanooga. So far this year, they’ve done the exact opposite, cruising to a 38-21 win over Elon and dropping two straight to Wofford and the Mocs.

"We’re going to work three times, four times as hard," said Akinnranye. "We hate to lose. We never want to lose. We’re going to keep working hard, trust in the coaches and what they are telling us and trust in each other.

"We know [the SoCon is] competitive and we definitely don’t downgrade anybody. We respect our opponents, so we need to work like we’re going into a championship game every time."