TIFTON — Georgia Southern coaches Tyson Summers and Larry Dixon stopped in Tifton Wednesday night for the Coaches Caravan tour at Spring Hill Country Club, promoting the upcoming seasons and talking about fundraising.

For head football coach Summers, Wednesday was homecoming. The Tifton native and Blue Devil alumnus had many in attendance from arguably his second family, his coaches at Tift during his high school and playing days, as well as some he worked with during his stint as an assistant at the high school.

With Dixon, an assistant basketball coach, it was a return to Tifton after being part of the Coaches Caravan last year.

This year’s Caravan took on more of a forum format, with Summers and Dixon answering set questions before opening the floor to the audience.

Dixon’s first statement was “Thank you guys for having me back for the Tyson Summers Invitational.”

The Eagles were 18-15 this season, but Dixon said the team was not completely satisfied.

“We didn’t finish like we wanted,” he said.

Georgia Southern has a core of young players returning, only graduating two seniors. Among the incoming freshmen is Tyshaun Crawford, a 7-footer from Griffin. Another new player, David-Lee Jones, was described to Dixon as being “a walking bucket,” someone who scored at will.

The Eagles’ increased reputation on the hardwood has led to scheduling woes, said Dixon.

“People don’t want to play at Hanner [Fieldhouse] as it’s a tough, tough environment.”

Others didn’t want to invite Georgia Southern to their gyms for fear of being defeated by a smaller school.

Dixon said there were challenges to recruiting. Though Hanner has a reputation as being noisy, it was difficult to replicate the experience in an empty gymnasium. An audience question later asked about renovations. Lighting, exits and a brighter front entrance had improved the facility.

Summers began his portion of the questions by talking about staff changes.

After a 5-7 debut season, Summers changed offensive coordinators, switching from David Dean and Rance Gillespie to Bryan Cook.

It was hard to self-evaluate, said Summers, to “have the guts to make changes you need to make.”

Cook was a B-backs and quarterbacks coach at Georgia Tech following a stint as offensive coordinator at Cal Poly.

Referring to Georgia Southern’s reputation for offense, Summers said Cook is “certainly well-versed in option and flexbone.”

In addition to Cook, the Eagles picked up Bob Bodine to coach the offensive line and Juston Wood to mentor the wide receivers. Olten Downs will take over coaching safeties and Pat Bastien will coach linebackers.

Summers said the Eagles would be young in 2017.

The team had two-five year seniors and freshmen at quarterback last year. To bridge the gap, signees included junior college player Kado Brown, a player Summers said is a “tremendously intelligent young man.”

Others coming in for this season include Tomarcio Reese, who played for Colquitt County before going to Northwest Mississippi Community College.

Summers said the Eagles would have very few seniors. He does not mind that as he would “much rather coach a young guy with a chip on his shoulder.”

Georgia Southern will start the season at Auburn. The Tigers’ reputation does not bother Summers. After all, they have a reputation for knocking off Southeastern Conference teams, such as their 2013 26-20 win over Florida in Gainesville.

Summers referred to that contest, adding “we expect to win every game we’ve got.”

They will also play Indiana during the season as well as Appalachian State.

The floor was opened to questions after Summers talked about fundraising and athletic budgets.

Summers was asked where quarterback Seth Shuman fit into the offense. Shuman is currently splitting time with baseball, where Summers said the Eagles were 10-0 in his appearances.

The coach also praised Tift alum Malik Henry, who will be a sophomore on the team in 2017.

“Malik is as talented as he can possibly be,” said Summers. “He does not mind challenges.”

Names were drawn for raffle items following questions. Items were a baseball signed by the 2017 team, a pair of sideline passes for the Georgia State football game and a Summers-signed football. The latter two were won by Tift basketball assistant Anthony Bateman.

During the evening, all Georgia Southern athletic department members encouraged fans to participate in the True Blue 120 program, which was introduced in December. The program asks for a minimum of $10 per month, or $120 per year.

Videos played to show the value of donations. One showed the improvements to J.I. Clements Stadium, named for the longtime baseball coach and Ray City native. Another video profiled former quarterback Favian Upshaw. More information can be found at GSEagles.com/TrueBlue120.