Troy Football Notebook – Scrimmage Recap, Draft Stock, Student Appreciation Rescheduled

TROY, Alabama – As spring practice churns along under first-year head coach Chip Lindsey, the Trojans are entering a critical part of their allotted spring dates as they've passed the halfway point and scrimmages await at the end of each week.

This past Saturday marked the first such occasion as Lindsey led the Trojans through approximately 80 plays inside the Vet.

"There wasn't a whole lot of game planning," Lindsey said. "We were just running base plays that we've been running all spring. I'm really pleased with getting through this scrimmage and getting some good film in game situation. That way, we can evaluate the guys more."

So, what did the film say?

Defensive Breakdown: Saturday's initial scrimmage of the spring wasn't a first just for some of the players, but defensive coordinator Brandon Hall also got his first chance to call the defense.

"Statistically our ones played really, really well," Hall said. "The biggest thing for us is that was the first time they played more than four or five plays in a row this spring. They have to understand there is a big difference between being in shape and being in football shape."

It should come as no surprise that Troy's frontline starters had success as the Trojans return five All-Sun Belt players from the defensive side of the football. Hall and company have spent the spring trying to build up depth across all positions on that side of the ball to balance the returning guys.

"Anybody can come to practice and look out there and see who our guys are," Hall said. "What people don't understand is that we have been giving a lot of reps to our younger guys because we have been trying to define and develop the guys who are twos and threes.

"Our young guys did some good times and made some plays. We have to clean up some mental mistakes and overall giving up too many big plays – that will be the biggest thing between scrimmage one and two.

Offensive Breakdown: Troy's offense produced multiple big plays including a pair of touchdown strikes each to Reggie Todd, Tray Eafford and Bret Clark.

"It was good for us to get out there and see some guys make some explosive plays," offensive coordinator Ryan Pugh said. "It was a little sloppier than we wanted it to be all around and there is a lot of room for improvement, especially up front."

Lindsey and Pugh rotated five quarterbacks through drills with Sawyer Smith, Jacob Free and Gunnar Watson receiving the majority of the snaps – Kaleb Barker is cleared for spring practice but the Trojans are holding him out of team drills.

"As a whole, our guys gave good effort and wanted to play the game the right way," Pugh said. "We have a lot of work to do this week to clean up before next Saturday. The biggest takeaway and need for us this week in practice is playing with awareness and understanding of situational football. We need to know what we are getting from the defense each snap."

Draft Stock: The NFL Draft is right around the corner on April 25-27 in Nashville and pair of Trojans are expecting to hear their name called. Cornerback Blace Brown, who participated in the NFL Combine, and wide receiver Damion Willis have received mid-to-late round grades heading into the Draft.

"Blace and Damion could go anywhere from the fourth round on," Troy's director of strength and conditioning Richard Shaughnessy said. "Damion's stock really rose after he ran very well at our Pro Day and he can be a 220-pound receiver with some speed. He is still here working out every day, and you can tell it's important to him."

Willis posted the best time of Troy's Pro Day with a 4.48 mark in the 40-yard dash, which would have ranked 16^thamong the receivers at the Combine while his 7.00 in the three-cone would have been 10^thbest. Brown posted a 37.5-inch vertical at Pro Day and improved both his 40-yard and three-cone times from the Combine.

"Blace helped himself at Pro Day with his vertical and broad jump and the fact that he ran better than he did at the Combine," Shaugnessy said.

Student Appreciation Part Deux: Mother Nature intervened last week for Troy's annual Student Appreciation Scrimmage as heavy rain pounded the Troy area on Thursday. The Trojans were still able to get their work in on the field, but the student festivities were bumped until this Thursday.

Troy Athletics will have free pizza for the first 300 students in attendance beginning at 3:30 p.m. and a plethora of prizes will be awarded throughout the afternoon – Yeti Cooler, sideline passes for T-Day, movie tickets, Troy football swag, Troy earbuds, Chip Lindsey autographed football and more.

Buy Tickets, Get Stuff
Once again Troy fans have a reason to jump on the season ticket train early. In addition to weekly prizes awarded for fans who have purchased or renewed their season tickets, ALL fans who buy or renew by May 3 will receive a miniature replica of Veterans Memorial Stadium. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets online or call 877-878-WINS.

Troy University Athletics

Troy Football Notebook – Scrimmage Recap, Draft Stock, Student Appreciation Rescheduled

Players Mentioned

Kaleb Barker

Blace Brown

Bret Clark

Tray Eafford

Jacob Free

Reggie Todd

Gunnar Watson

Damion Willis

Related Videos