When former Blessed Trinity football star Sam Burkhalter committed to Georgia State as part of their first recruiting class in 2009, he knew things wouldn't be easy. Georgia State didn't even have a game scheduled until September 2010, which for Burkhalter meant 12 straight months of practicing with no games to look forward to each Saturday.

The 12 months of practice finally paid off four months ago when GSU kicked off their inaugural season against Shorter College. So what was it like for Burkhalter to run out onto the field at the Georgia Dome after over a year of hard work and practice, "It was a great relief to get on the field after not playing a game for a whole year.," Burkhalter says. "My feelings of that first game -- running on to the field -- was realizing that everything we had been working for in that whole year of just practicing had come to fruition. It was pretty surreal." GSU won their opener 41-7. Burkhalter had three carries for 29 yards in the game.

Burkhalter, a redshirt freshman this past season, made his mark on the field pretty quickly. In an October 9 game against Savannah State, the former BT football star scored the first and second touchdowns of his college career. Ironically, the lifelong running back got into the end zone for the first time on a touchdown catch. "My first touchdown came on a play where we have two running backs in the game," Burkhalter says, describing the play that resulted in his first TD. "We had been running a play where I make a block on the defensive end. After running it a couple more times the defense started to catch on so we just ran our fake version of the play where I go out for a pass instead of stay in and block." Burkhalter also tacked on a fourth quarter rushing touchdown in the Panther's 55-21 win.

Although Burkhalter says GSU's first game against Shorter was probably his most exciting memory from the Panthers inaugural season, he says playing at Alabama was pretty cool too. "It was a once in a lifetime experience playing at Alabama," Burkhalter says. "It is a stadium with so much history and most people dream of just walking on that field. It was exciting going up against the national champions."

After putting together a 6-5 record in season one, Burkhalter says the Panthers have the potential to be dangerous in the future, "The sky is the limit on how good we can be as a football team," the redshirt freshman says. "We have all the tools to be successful."

And of course, an interview with a former Blessed Trinity star can't end without a few words about the retirement of Titan football coach Ricky Turner. "Coach Turner has had a huge impact on my life with football, school, and everything you can think of," says Burkhalter, who made the Dean's list in his first semester at the school. "He has been a part of my football career ever since i started in seventh grade."

Burkhalter finished his first college season with 101 rushing yards, 23 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers, an FCS (I-AA) school, will kick off season number two in September.