Troy University Athletics
A Busy Weekend Ahead
8/14/2008 5:00:00 AM | Football
Thursday, August 14
2 p.m.
A Busy Weekend Ahead
As hard as it may be to believe, two weeks from tonight the Troy Trojans will be kicking off the 2008 football season against Middle Tennessee in the annual “Battle for the Palladium”.
With the season quickly closing in, things are getting busier by the minute.
Here's a quick look at what lies directly ahead.
Of course, tonight at 6:30 the Trojans will hold their second scrimmage of the fall. The scrimmage was originally set for Saturday, but was backed up two days to give the players more of a game day feel.
Fans who cannot attend the scrimmage tonight will be able to follow along with Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations Travis Jarome as he provides highlights and insights from the practice on a live chat. You can access that here.
There will still be a Saturday morning scrimmage, starting at 9:30 a.m., but it will be on kicking game elements only.
On Saturday at lunch the Troy Rodeo program will host a catfish fry at their practice facility in south Troy from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. The event is open to the public and free of charge.
Saturday evening will be the annual Football Appreciation Night at the Stadium Club. The event is already sold out and should be a great evening of food and fun with the coaching staff.
On Sunday, all fans will get a chance to meet and greet the Trojans at Fan Day. That event is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. at Trojan Arena and will feature members of the Troy football, volleyball, soccer and cross country teams, as well as the Trojan cheerleaders.
Next week the football team will get to take part in the annual watermelon feed after Wednesday's practice. Even though Mr. John McAfee, who had such a big hand in this event each year, is no longer with us in person, he will still be there in spirit as his son, James, and Alex Bowden carry on this annual event.
Mr. John, as he was known, and Troy coach Larry Blakeney were teammates for one season at Auburn. Mr. McAfee was a senior when Coach Blakeney was a freshman.
Finally, next Saturday, August 23, the 2008-09 Troy University Athletics season will official start when the Troy Soccer team, under first year head coach Chris Bentley, takes to the field to face Faulkner. That game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at the Troy Track & Soccer Complex.
Boris Lee Add Another Honor
Troy University junior linebacker Boris Lee, who has already been named to the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list, was named yesterday to The Butkus Award® preseason list.
The Butkus Award®, instituted in 1985, has been given annually to the top linebacker in college football. The Award, named in honor of Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, is regarded as one of the elite individual honors in college football.
This year, the Butkus family has taken stewardship of the Butkus Award to fully realize it's original purpose of honoring athletic achievement and service to the community. The Butkus Award will be presented January 13, 2009, at the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago.
An independent Butkus Award Selection Committee, headed by Pro Football Weekly's Hub Arkush and comprised of 51 experts including professional, college and high school scouts, and prominent sports journalists, will conduct the selection process.
Ohio State's James Laurinaitis won the award last year and is expected to be a leading candidate again this fall.
Here is the full list of collegiate candidates.
