Georgia Southern Football: Clay Helton is establishing a winning culture

After finishing second in the East and third overall in the Sun Belt conference, Georgia Southern extended football head coach Clay Helton with a new five-year deal that will run through the 2029 season, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Helton has served only three years as the Eagles’ head coach, yet has achieved a 20-19 win-loss record while reaching a bowl game each season. Although that bowl record is 0-3, he could have missed them altogether. And, Helton knows that they are not competing for Myrtle Beach Bowl wins, they are competing for a championship.

Georgia Southern Football: Helton’s hopes for a title

Helton understands how close his team was to competing in the Sun Belt Championship last year, citing the shortcoming as motivation.

“They’re one play away from playing in that championship game last year,” said Helton this spring. “They’ve got a chip on their shoulder, and they’ve kept that chip through spring.”

Tactfully navigating the transfer portal

Helton also understands his players. In what many consider to be the “transfer portal era”, Georgia Southern only lost three players to the portal this offseason at the time of this writing. However, one of those players was backup quarterback Dexter Williams II, who opted to transfer to find a starting job.

Yet when asked about Williams’ exit, Coach Helton put it bluntly. “He introduced it during the bye week. Williams thought it was the right time for him to be able to do it. He thought it was the right time for the team. We talked about it for a couple of days, and he still felt firm about that decision. And I’ll support him in that decision as well as our team.”

The most notable loss to the portal is safety Deontre Morris, who recorded 36 tackles and one interception last season. Although Morris will be missed, the Eagles have added defensive back AJ Brown from Ole Miss, out of the portal.

However, Coach Helton has confidence new defensive coordinator, Brandon Bailey, to keep the unit in check. Helton was quoted as saying, “I feel like one of the biggest areas of growth has been defensively.” Coach Helton has done a tremendous job at retaining his recruits, and players are starting to notice.

I reached out to starting quarterback JC French and asked him if he felt that this retention level gave the Eagles any kind of advantage.

“I absolutely see it as [a] competitive edge because all of our guys have been around each other for a while,” said French. “We have built up chemistry and by having stability in the program, it makes it where we can further that chemistry and build on the firm foundation that took years to create.”

When asked about whether or not French believes this is a product of Coach Helton’s culture, French put it perfectly.

“I credit it all to Coach Helton and the coordinator’s leadership. Without them establishing relationships with each player and making known to them how much they care, it would just be like any other team with tons of guys leaving. Georgia Southern is truly a special place, and it’s the people that make it that way.”

Georgia Southern lost very few players to the portal this year, and that is a testament to Coach Helton. For example, reigning Sun Belt Champions, Marshall, lost the most players to the portal [and their coach].

By now, it should be obvious – coaching matters. That is exactly why Georgia Southern did not hesitate to extend Helton. In a conference where the transfer portal is wreaking havoc, player retention could be the difference between a Sun Belt championship and a Myrtle Beach Bowl.