Troy University Athletics
Staying Healthy Main Objective On T-Day
3/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
TROY, Ala. - Troy University head football coach Larry Blakeney will put his Trojans through their paces on Saturday afternoon at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium in the annual T-Day game.
The scrimmage is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. and admission is free.
The scrimmage will pit the Trojans' offense, led by returning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Omar Haugabook at quarterback, against the Troy defense, which has eight returning starters back from the Trojans' conference championship squad.
"The most important thing is for us to get through the game healthy," Blakeney said. "I want to see Omar play well and play like we are in a game. I hope to see the offense cut down on turnovers.
The scrimmage will pit Troy's starting offense against the No. 1 defense, with the second strings on both sides matching up. The offense will put up points in a traditional manner and the defense will we awarded points for stops, turnovers, etc.
"We want to make things interesting but, at the same time, we have a few guys who are banged up and we don't want to put guys out there who are not 100 percent," Blakeney said.
One of the main areas of interest in the scrimmage will be the offensive line, which is missing four starters from last fall. Only junior left guard Chris Jamison returns as a starter up front.
"Dion Small has had a good spring at right tackle," Blakeney said. "Some of the other guys who have been here a while, Steve Merkel, Danny Franks and Will Chambliss, are the starters right now, but we are always looking for help there."
The offensive line depth was depleted further early in spring practice when junior college transfer Mark Cogburn went down with a knee injury that will cost him the 2007 season. He is slated to redshirt and have two years of eligibility remaining.
The Trojans will play a half with normal football rules and then will spend the second half working on situations.
Following the T-Day game Troy will have three more practice days next week to wrap up spring drills.
