BREAKING NEWS: Dell McGee is hired by Georgia State; Georgia loses a major recruit as Bulldogs assistant departs to lead Panthers

An excellent recruiter and one of Georgia’s best assistants left for an in-state program.
After Shawn Elliott abruptly left Georgia State, Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee was brought in as the new head coach. McGee, who has coordinated Georgia’s run game since 2019, is expected to sign a five-year contract. Only a few days into spring practice, Elliott resigned from his position to take a position at South Carolina as the run game coordinator and tight ends coach.

Athletic director Charlie Cobb released a statement saying, “Coach McGee is an outstanding and authentic man with a strong passion for developing young men.” “I am convinced he will guide our football program to its highest accomplishments because of his competitive success in both high school and college.” Linda and Dell are cordially welcomed to Georgia State University!”
The 50-year-old McGee has been appointed head coach of a collegiate team for the first time. The loss is particularly noteworthy for the Bulldogs since McGee, who joined Kirby Smart’s first staff in 2016, has been a pillar of support for Georgia and a top recruiter.

Georgia native McGee, an Auburn running back, first joined the Bulldogs in 2016 as Kirby Smart’s first staff’s running backs coach and associate head coach. McGee has led the campaign to sign at least 30 players who would be regarded as blue-chip prospects over the last eight years and has been the main recruiter for nine five-star athletes.

McGee, who is ranked No. 10 by 247Sports as a recruiter for the 2025 cycle, assisted Georgia in obtaining commitments from three-star running back Bo Walker and in-state defensive lineman Justus Terry, who is rated as a top-20 player in his class. Georgia signed five running backs that were in the top 100 nationally in their respective classes when McGee was in charge.

Clearly, McGee’s influence extended beyond the recruiting trail. Thanks in large part to McGee’s work with the running backs and his run game guidance, Georgia has had one of the finest rushing attacks in the SEC. Over the last three seasons, the Bulldogs have averaged at least 190 yards of rushes.

With McGee leading the position, Georgia has also had seven running backs taken in the NFL Draft, including Nick Chubb, a four-time Pro Bowler and 2022 second-team All-Pro selection.

strong connections to the state
Developing Georgia State’s talent pool and gaining significant traction in the state of Georgia—one of the nation’s top recruiting destinations—should not provide any difficulties for McGee. McGee has lived in and near Georgia for the most of his coaching career in addition to being a native of the state.

In 2002, McGee began his career at Harris County High School as the defensive backs coach. At Greenville High School, he was appointed defensive coordinator in 2003. McGee received his first head coaching position at Carver-Columbus High School two years later.

Before moving to Georgia Southern in 2014 to take a position as running backs coach, he was able to use that knowledge to land an analyst position on Auburn’s staff. In 2015, after Willie Fritz departed the team to take a head coaching position at Tulane, he served as the Eagles’ interim head coach and guided them to victory in the GoDaddy Bowl.

McGee has thus spent twenty-three years of his coaching career—all but one season—in the state of Georgia. His background should be extremely beneficial for a Georgia State program that would be wise to develop internally.