AUGUSTA -- When the news came about that Chris Hatcher had been dismissed as head coach of Georgia Southern, many Eagles fans were longing for the days of when Paul Johnson was the coach. Well, he wasn't leaving Georgia Tech. But his top assistant did.

That'd be Jeff Monken, who took the job back in December. Monken was here in Augusta tonight at the annual Eagle Club meeting. This is Monken's first head coaching gig but not his first time with GSU. He had been an assistant with Johnson since 1997, when they were together in Statesboro for five years. And to the delight of Eagles fans, the option is coming back!

"In terms of our offense, it'll be the same offense we ran when we were here under coach Johnson," said Monken. "The same offense I've that I've been a part of with him the last 13 years. Very similar and we'll try to have similar success."

And don't forget -- former Georgia Tech quarterback Jaybo Shaw is transferring to Georgia Southern so Monken will have a quarterback who is already familiar with the option offense in uniform this season.