Troy University Athletics
It All Started At Middle
8/28/2008 5:00:00 AM | Football
Thursday night, August 28
Members of the
What has started is a quest for a third consecutive Sun Belt Conference title. With the 31-17 victory here tonight, the Trojans have a leg up on the rest of the league for the next month.
While the victory over the Blue Raiders was far from perfect, the game did reveal a lot about the Trojans. Here's my top five things we learned tonight.
1.
2. DuJuan Harris is a star in the making at running back.
3. The
trio of
4. The
5. Quarterback Jamie Hampton is a sophomore, and will probably play like one at times.
I have been around good groups of linebackers in my career, but Woods and Lee have a chance to be very special. That duo, now forever known as the “Killer B's” dominated the game on the defensive side of the ball like few can.
The two juniors combined for 25 tackles, 16 of which were solo stops. Woods, in his first career start, Had 14 tackles, three of which went for losses, including two sacks. Lee had 11 tackles, two-and-a-half for loss, and an interception to set up the first touchdown of the game.
For Woods, the performance was one for the ages.
“This is what I have been dreaming about for a long time,” Woods said after the game.
The smile on his face told the story more than the stats. For a player who walked-on as a quarterback three years ago to have that kind of performance is absolutely amazing.
Lee's performance was more expected. As a preseason All-Sun Belt selection, and candidate for both the Lombardi and Butkus Awards, anything Lee does comes as no surprise.
Of course, his end zone jinx continued. His first quarter interception was the sixth of his career, but only once has he been able to get to the end zone after an interception. The other five times he has either been tackled, or pushed out of bounds, inside the 10 yard line.
The number two story of the game was DuJuan Harris. The
sophomore from
The only negative in the game for Harris was a fourth
quarter fumble, which led to a MTSU touchdown, but he made up for that the next
time
One of my biggest concerns going into the year, and it was a
concern that Trojans coach Larry Blakeney shared, was with the kicking game.
Losing Greg Whibbs and Leodis McKelvin left gaping holes on
While there is still room for improvement, there are reasons for optimism after tonight's performance.
Punter Will Goggans, despite getting two low snaps, one with disastrous results, had a solid first game. He punted the ball five times for a 38.7 yard average and did not allow a single return yard.
Junior kicker Sam Glusman also delivered, hitting from 35 yards on his only field goal attempt and nailing his four PAT kicks. Freshman Michael Taylor was also money on kickoffs, averaging 63.7 yards on six kicks. He put two into the end zone for touchbacks and MTSU averaged just over 16 yards on the four they returned.
On the other side, replacing McKelvin in the return game will be more of a challenge. Sophomore Jerrel Jernigan got most of the return chances with moderate success. The one big negative was a fumble on a punt return.
Not that it should come as a surprise, the Trojans have some outstanding players across the front of the defensive line. While Lee and Woods were piling up the tackles, the defensive linemen were constantly harassing quarterbacks Joe Craddock and Dwight Dasher.
To me, senior Kenny Mainor was especially impressive. Kenny has always been blessed with a world of ability, but I have noticed this summer an improved dedication to being the best player he can be. To see him running sprints after a two hour practice session and keep pace with, or flat out beat, the Troy defensive backs, is amazing.
He had six tackles tonight to lead the group, which, in total, had 19 tackles, five for loss, including two-and-a-half sacks. That doesn't include the fumble that Cameron Sheffield forced and Steve McLendon scooped up and returned 67 yards.
Finally, there is quarterback Jamie Hampton. The sophomore showed signs of his age early in the game, but settled down and led the team when they needed it most.
His final passing line, 17-of-28 for 136 yards and one touchdown, with one interception, won't win any player of the week awards, but he was effective. Early on he appeared to want to pull the ball down and run more than anything, and he did rush for 41 yards and touchdown on 11 carries, but he settled into the pocket more as the game went along.
All-in-all, it was a solid opening game performance with plenty to be excited about, but also plenty to work on.
There is an old axiom in football that a team makes its
biggest strides between the first and second games of the season. Hopefully
this team will live up to that going into next weekend's trip to
The Tigers open their season on Saturday against Appalachian
State, which should be fun to watch. I'll tune it to see what the Tigers look
like this year, but I'll be like all of the LSU fans, who will be keeping an
eye on the
Hurricane Gustav is brewing in the Caribbean Sea right now,
with its sights set on the
Have a great Labor Day weekend.
RH
