Memories of 5 years at Georgia Southern, from fun and games to unforgettable people

My first time covering a college football game went about as well as I thought it would.

Georgia Southern was set to open the 2017 season against Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium. As assistant sports editor for the student newspaper, The George-Anne, I made the van trip with five other students from Statesboro to the Plains. We got to Auburn way too early, our phones were dead, we spent several hours charging our phones while staked out at a Chipotle, covered the first game of a 2-10 season and made it back to Statesboro early the next day. 

Memorable, fitting, cliche weekend for student journalists.

That Sept. 2, 2017 game was the first of 29 GS games I’ve had the privilege of covering. Beyond the gridiron, I was there for another 100-plus basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, golf and swimming events over the course of my five years in Statesboro. 

As my five-year-long layover at GS comes to a close Monday in Paulson Stadium as I graduate college, I’ve been able to reflect on my time in Statesboro which for the most part, as many of you can attest, has been spent around the Eagles.

I invite you to walk down memory lane with me as I recall some of my favorite sports memories with the Savannah Morning News and The George-Anne.

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2018 football season

Perhaps I could write a book filled with memories of this season, but the fondest is the Clemson game on Sept. 15. As sports editor, I helped lead a team of five of us into Death Valley while a hurricane was threatening the Southeast. This game was personal for me, too, as I grew up raised by Clemson fans, like the ones who made their way to the field after the game went final.

It was a great game, too. Two interceptions for the GS defense kept the game close early; it was Trevor Lawrence’s coming-out party; Eagles QB Shai Werts had a touchdown run in his home state; and I went to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s press conference before driving the van back to Statesboro amidst a hurricane.

Then came the historic victory against Appalachian State, movie-like with the rain, the storming of the field, the emotions with everyone involved. Awesome night.

I traveled to the Louisiana-Monroe game. It was my first flight for “work” and I sat next to one of the "Duck Dynasty" girls on the flight there. The Eagles lost, but it was an incredible experience.

And to cap it all off, the Eagles won a dramatic Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama. A storybook ending to a storybook season. 

First Anita Howard interview

Fall 2019 was undoubtedly the most emotional semester of my college career. This was the semester when I really focused on my mental health because of events that are still difficult to talk about, I took a leave of absence from school, from the student paper and Statesboro entirely.

My first opportunity to return to a press box came when Nathan Dominitz, the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News, offered me a freelance article on Anita Howard, the new head coach of the GS women’s basketball team.

So I set up the interview and sat down with Howard for about an hour, talking about everything from basketball to our pasts to our futures. The next week, I covered the Eagles’ 81-56 victory against rival Georgia State on Jan. 25, 2020 and it was one of the most exciting moments of my young journalism career — from Howard’s strut across the court to her husband and the radio team, to the passion from the players in postgame to the energy in Hanner Fieldhouse that day.

Conversations with Mr. Bill, the mailman

There are certain icons that define a school. They are people anyone on campus will wave to and maybe even take pictures with.

One of those Statesboro legends is Mr. Bill the mailman, who drives in his little cart around campus from the Russell Union to Paulson Stadium.

When I was working at The George-Anne, he would come into the newsroom to drop off the day’s mail, sure, but there were other motives. He has an obsession with watches and no one in the room wearing a watch was safe from an inspection.

“Did you get the watch fixed yet?” he’d ask me when I told him my watch was getting a new battery. 

He wears a Fitbit and every other week, Mr. Bill would come into the newsroom and update us all about how many steps he had taken that week. He was a joy to talk with, to wave to and I’m thankful that our paths crossed as often as they did.

Covering Edwin Jackson

I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was Super Bowl Sunday and my editor at the school paper texted me that former GS football player Edwin Jackson of the Indianapolis Colts had been killed by a drunk driver.

My heart sank.

I tried to imagine what the Jackson family and others close to him must have been feeling, but I couldn’t conjure up the thoughts. 

The death of a former athlete also meant that just one month into being a full-time editor, I had to write an obituary and remembrance piece with another news reporter.

I scrolled through social media and read posts from friends, former teammates and coaches and family members, who recalled Jackson’s legacy and impact on their lives. I knew then that I needed to tell the story of Edwin Jackson.

A year and a half later, I was afforded the opportunity to do so when life slowed down. I went to work emailing family members, teammates and coaches from high school to GS to Indianapolis.

The first response came from one of Edwin’s brothers.

“This is Adam Jackson, Edwin’s older brother,” his email read. “David Thornton from the Colts forwarded message to me.”

We went back and forth via the phone and email. After gathering my interviews, I went to work. 

Truthfully, I felt a little overwhelmed. I didn’t feel prepared to tell Edwin’s story and I felt like everyone was waiting for me to write a Pulitzer Prize-level story.

Nearly 2,000 words later, I filed the story to Dominitz and it was published the week of Thanksgiving. Almost immediately, friends and family of the Jacksons commented on the story and shared the story, reminiscing on their memory of their friend.

'Full of life, full of fun':The remarkable story of Edwin Jackson

Then the Indianapolis Colts shared it. Then it was published by the Indy Star. Then the Edwin Jackson Foundation shared it.

Then Adam texted me and asked if I could send the print issues to Jackson's parents.

I was proud and honored that the Jacksons trusted me to tell Edwin’s story.

I think that story and reception of the story was a perfect analogy for my time here in Statesboro.

I’m thankful to my editors and full-time writers at the SMN, fellow reporters and media members covering GS, the coaches, sports information department and the student-athletes. I’m also greatly appreciative of the readers, who were passionate, gave great feedback and have supported me the last five years.

McClain Baxley is a freelance reporter covering Georgia Southern athletics for the Savannah Morning News.