The Statesboro football team had their ups and downs last season, but they definitely finished on a high note. The Blue Devils advanced to the second round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2013 after an impressive 49-27 victory over Tucker in the opening round.

Statesboro saw two key seniors sign with Power-5 programs and a few others will continue their football careers as well, but head coach Matt Dobson has liked what he has seen over the spring and in summer workouts from his returning players.

“I felt like overall we had a good spring,” Dobson said. “We were shorthanded at spots, but overall we got better and I liked the attitudes of the players as well as the number of players we had out there.”

One area that was pretty lean in the spring, but Dobson has high hopes for this fall is the Blue Devil offensive line. They will be returning a few players who missed significant time last year, and a couple who only missed the spring.

“We had two guys who started every game for us last year out with minor injuries this spring,” Dobson said. “Hamp Haralson was a starter as a sophomore but missed all of last year with an injury, but we expect him back pretty soon. We also had a rising junior offensive lineman returning from an ACL injury. We had a total of five offensive linemen out which was a blessing and a curse. The good thing is I feel like we built some depth there in the situation we were in.”

Dobson is happy to have T.Y. Chambers back at running back where he looked impressive at the end of the season. One of the possible keys to a successful season this year could be the progress the Blue Devils get from a couple of young quarterbacks. Kam Mikell is off to Colorado and the two players currently vying for starting signal caller are rising freshman Beckham Jarrard and Brandon Gay who is a rising sophomore.

“They are the two we rotated in together this spring,” Dobson said. “Both are super smart kids who just need some game reps. They are tough and talented and we saw progress from both throughout the spring. They are both going to be great football players for us. I think it will help to have a solid offensive line and a really good running back to help those guys. We will rely a little more on the run game to start off the year but I have confidence those two will progress and help us open things up.”

On defense the Blue Devils have four starters back and are counting on some of their rising juniors who saw limited playing time to step into some of the starting roles.

“Xavier Spells and Cam Jackson are two guys we are excited about coming back and both are rising juniors,” Dobson said. “Avery Jackson saw a lot of time up front last year as a freshman and has looked good. Rashad Chambers played a lot at linebacker and continues to impress. Javon Gibson is our leading tacker returning at safety and then a lot of guys who played minutes for us but didn’t start will be filling in the gaps like Keon Childers, Jo’Kori Cope and Jeron Tisby are guys we will be counting on this year.”

Statesboro opens at Southeast Bulloch in Brooklet August 16.