When Old Dominion travels to Atlanta to play Georgia State on Saturday, the Monarchs will face a team that is using a punter at quarterback.

Georgia State had a rough offseason at quarterback. Kelton Hill was arrested in June on a forcible entry charge.

He received a one-game suspension from Georgia State coach Bill Curry. Meanwhile, Curry had already suspended last year’s starting quarterback, Drew Little, for the Panthers’ season opener for a violation of team rules.

In stepped punter Bo Schlechter, who led the Panthers to a 41-7 victory over Division II Clark last Friday.

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The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Schlechter threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns and, according to Curry, has earned the starting nod for Saturday.

“The difference between this week and last week is we have all the disciplinary matters dealt with so it will be all hands on deck,” Curry told reporters in his weekly news conference. “The next guy in would be Drew Little, and following him would be Kelton Hill, and they are all eligible to play.”

Schlechter was recruited as a quarterback, but after playing the position in 2009 during Georgia State’s red-shirting practice season, he moved to wide receiver and took over punting duties.

The scheme is nothing new for the Monarchs. ODU senior quarterback Thomas DeMarco began his career as a punter at San Diego State before deciding he wanted to return to his high school position of quarterback. DeMarco transferred to a junior college to play quarterback before ending up at ODU.

Ground game planned? Or a misdirection play?

Asked what the Panthers need to do to beat Old Dominion, Curry said the Panthers have “to generate… a real steady ground game that can drive the ball down the field, milk the clock, score points and throw the ball little, if any.”

Monarchs moving up the charts

Old Dominion’s winning streak of six games, dating to last season, is the fifth-longest in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The Monarchs knocked off, in order, Georgia State, Hampton, VMI, Savannah State and North Carolina Central to finish their 2010 campaign. They opened the season with a 41-14 victory over Campbell.

Quick kicks

ODU drew 19,818 in official attendance Saturday, a record for renovated Foreman Field. The stadium capacity grew by 36 seats in the offseason. The new seats are in the south end zone of Ainslie Football Complex…. Georgia State has eight players on its roster who began their college careers at Football Bowl Subdivision programs.

By Rich Radford, The Virginian-Pilot
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/09/georgia-state-uses-punter-fill-qb-vacancy