One of the biggest questions of Georgia Southern’s preseason received an answer Monday afternoon as head coach Tyson Summers announced that Shai Werts will be the starting quarterback in the team’s season opener at Auburn on Sept. 2.
    Werts, a redshirt freshman, was one of the most celebrated recruits in the Eagles’ 2016 signing class, turning down rumored offers from both Appalachian State and South Carolina. He was forced to the sidelines as the veteran duo of Kevin Ellison and Favian Upshaw ran the offense last fall and — when both were injured — it was Seth Shuman who received the only other starting nod at quarterback throughout the season.
    With all three of those players either graduated or playing baseball for the Eagles, the door was open for Werts to take control of the offense and he has shown what all the hype was about during his recruitment.
    “Shai came in during the spring and took the majority of the snaps with the 1’s,” Summers said. “He knows what he’s got to work on to get better at, but he’s done a tremendous job from a leadership standpoint on the field and in the classroom.”
    Fall camp opened with Werts, junior college transfer Kado Brown, true freshman Jaalon Frazier and LaBaron Anthony — the only current Eagle to take a snap for the team last season — all battling for the starting nod. With each player having strengths and weaknesses pertaining to running ability, passing, raw athleticism and experience.
    Werts has slowly been taking up more of the reps with the presumed starters and now officially knows that his number will be the first called in the opener.
    “I didn’t find out until about five minutes ago,” Werts said. “I was eating and saw that I had about 15 Twitter notifications. All of the hard work I’ve been putting in - it’s paying off. I just called my mom and she went crazy.”
    Werts will be tasked with heading an offense looking to replace a slew of weapons from last season while simultaneously adjusting to Cook’s new option scheme and trying to live up to the expectations of a fan base that expects to see an exciting and explosive running game each week.
    Throughout fall camp, Werts has looked comfortable reading defensive fronts and getting the ball to the right person in the option scheme. And despite a physical frame that makes him look like more of a sprinter than a power runner, Werts has also shown the ability to put a shoulder down and fight through tackles for tough yardage.
    On the other end of the offensive game plan, Werts has proven that he has the arm to get the job done when Georgia Southern takes to the air.
    Werts doesn't sport the size or raw arm strength of a prototypical FBS passer, but has shown the ability to get the ball downfield and can do so even when on the move via scrambling or a designed run-pass option that figures to make up a good portion of the Eagles' passing playbook.
    “He can make the throws we need him to make,” Summers said. “We aren’t going to be a team that throws it 70 or 80 percent of the time, but I think he’s got the accuracy to allow us to make some explosive plays.”
    Werts will immediately find himself thrown into the fire as he leads the Eagle offense against an Auburn squad that projects to be a top-20 defense this season. Kickoff for the Sept. 2 game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern.