Georgia State is looking at the Kirby Smart coaching tree for its next head football coach. A trio of coaches with ties to UGA have emerged as candidates for the job that recently came open.

Seth Emerson and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported Wednesday that Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and Georgia running backs coach Dell McGee are strong candidates to land the position.

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Faulkner was on Smart’s staff before landing an on-field opportunity with the Yellow Jackets. The 42-year-old from Lilburn, Georgia was a quality control assistant with the Bulldogs from 2020-to-2022.

Faulkner played quarterback at Valdosta State. He became the school’s QB coach in 2007 after a stop at UGA as a graduate assistant. Faulkner’s coaching resume also includes stops at Central Arkansas, Murray State, Middle Tennessee State, Arkansas State and Southern Miss.

McGee, 50, has been on staff at Georgia for all 8 seasons of Kirby Smart’s tenure. A force on the recruiting trail, McGee has helped make Georgia a popular choice for the title of “RBU” by sending multiple running backs to the NFL.

An Auburn alum, McGee played professionally from 1996-to-2001 before getting into coaching. He was a high school coach in Georgia before returning to AU as an analyst in 2013. McGee was on staff at Georgia Southern for the 2014 and ’15 seasons.

FootballScoop mentions Bryan McClendon as a potential candidate. The former Georgia wide receivers coach recently left for an opportunity with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but has not signed his contract with the club.

Georgia State is the only current FBS opening. Shawn Elliott resigned as head coach to return to South Carolina as the Gamecocks’ tight ends coach.