Feb. 23, 2024 22:51 PM EST

Georgia State Names Former Longtime Georgia Assistant Dell Mcgee As Coach

FILE - Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee speaks with the media Jan. 6, 2018, in Atlanta. McGee, who spent eight years as an assistant at Georgia, was named Georgia State coach Friday night, Feb. 23, 2024. McGee, a Georgia native, replaces Shawn Elliott, who made a surprise decision on Feb. 15 to leave Georgia State and accept a position as assistant coach at South Carolina. (Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via AP) Joshua L. Jones, ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee speaks with the media Jan. 6, 2018, in Atlanta. McGee, who spent eight years as an assistant at Georgia, was named Georgia State coach Friday night, Feb. 23, 2024. McGee, a Georgia native, replaces Shawn Elliott, who made a surprise decision on Feb. 15 to leave Georgia State and accept a position as assistant coach at South Carolina. (Joshua L. Jones/Athens Banner-Herald via AP)

ATLANTA (AP) — Dell McGee, who spent eight years as an assistant at Georgia, was named Georgia State's coach on Friday night.

McGee, a Georgia native, replaces Shawn Elliott, who made a surprise decision on Feb. 15 to leave Georgia State and accept a position as assistant coach at South Carolina. Elliott's abrupt resignation forced the Panthers to delay plans for spring football practice.

The 50-year-old McGee comes to Georgia State with 22 years of coaching experience, including his role as running backs coach and run game coordinator for Georgia's back-to-back national championship teams in 2021-22.

McGee was named running backs coach on Kirby Smart's first Georgia staff in 2016 and was valuable as a recruiter and coach for the Bulldogs' rise in the Southeastern Conference.

“I am forever grateful for coach Smart and the University of Georgia for supporting me in my dream of being of a college head coach,” McGee said in a statement released by Georgia State.

McGee, a native of Columbus, Georgia, and former player at Auburn, will be formally introduced at a news conference on Monday.

Georgia State president M. Brian Blake and athletic director Charlie Cobb announced McGee's hire.

“Coach McGee is an outstanding and authentic man with a strong passion for developing young men," Cobb said in a statement. “His track record of competitive success at the high school and college levels makes me confident that he will lead our football program to its greatest achievements.”

Georgia State, which launched its football program in 2010, has made six bowl appearances in the last nine years.

McGee said Georgia State “is primed for success” and said he looks forward to competing for championships.

In his eight seasons at Georgia, McGee coached four 1,000-yard rushers: Nick Chubb (2016-17), Sony Michel (2017), D’Andre Swift (2018-19) and Elijah Holyfield (2018). Chubb, Michel, Swift, James Cook and Zamir White were selected in the the first four rounds of NFL drafts.

McGee was Georgia Southern's running backs coach in 2014-15 and was the Eagles' interim head coach in 2015, including a win in the GoDaddy Bowl.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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