Chip Lindsey Press Conference - Campbell Pregame

Troy Football Head Coach Chip Lindsey
Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Opening Statement:

'I appreciate everyone being here today. I'm very excited that it is finally game week. It feels like we have been waiting a long time for the chance to play. Now that it has finally arrived, I know our players and our staff are very excited. I'm looking forward to getting on the field Saturday. We've gone through spring ball; we've gone through summer workouts, and just recently we completed fall camp. So, I think our guys are ready to play someone else and get the opportunity to compete.

Today, I'd also like to announce our 2019 captains. The team has chosen four seniors who I think deserve the honor. These are four guys that have been here at Troy for a while and are key members of our team. On offense, we'll have senior Kaleb Barker, our quarterback. Obviously, with Kaleb coming back from an injury, I know he's excited to get back. A lot of times when you miss a season due to an injury, you're very motivated to get back, and I'm very happy with how Kaleb has come back. He's been very focused on trying to be one of the leaders for this team.

Senior B.J. Smith, obviously one of our running backs coming back this season. We're going to lean on him heavily, and he's done a great job for us on and off the field.

Next, we have Melvin Tyus, a safety from Montgomery, who is very deserving as well. Melvin is a guy who is excited to put the uniform on for one last season here at Troy.

Then we have Jarvis Hayes, who is a senior that went through some offseason surgery and is back and ready to go.

Those are four guys who represent our program the right way and I'm excited that they're going to be captains for us this year. Obviously, we're going to look to them for leadership.

This weekend we play Campbell University, an FCS program out of the state of North Carolina. Campbell is program that is really improving. If you look at their history, I think this is only their third year as a scholarship FCS program. They're led by their head coach Mike Minter, who I remember watching when I was growing up. He played at Nebraska and was a really good player there. (Minter) then went on to play in the NFL for the Carolina Panthers. I think he's doing a great job because you can see his fingerprints all over the defense.

Campbell is an up-and-coming program and they have some really talented players. When you look at their roster and the type of team they're building, I think they're doing an excellent job. They're a good-looking football team that is going to be excited to come here to Troy and play, so our guys are going to need to match that, which I think they will. So overall, it should be an excellent game on Saturday. And I'm looking forward to playing at The Vet and getting this going.

On how the 2019 captains were selected:
Our players voted on our captains this season. We have a leadership council that are the leaders of our team. Our team votes on who is selected to that council as well. The coaches really are not involved in that process. I think when you're voted a captain it means that your teammates feel like you're worthy of being one of our leaders. Our leadership council is a little bit bigger of a group than the captains, but these are guys that received votes from their teammates, and I think that's a great honor to have.

On how he feels heading into his first game as head coach of the Troy Trojans:
It feels like it has taken forever to get here. Every night that I go to bed it means that we're one day closer to the season arriving. It's really exciting to me, because Troy is the first place that I was able to be a college football coach under coach [Larry] Blakeney. It's an opportunity to coach in my home state, so it's an honor to be the head coach at Troy. I'm excited to lead our team onto the field and watch them compete against another team. Obviously, I take a lot of pride in being the head coach here, and this is a great university. I'm looking forward to bringing them through Trojan Walk and getting out on the field and running through the 'T' on Saturday.

On the week of practice:
The nice thing about the opening week, is that you get a chance to prepare a little bit earlier. So, we have been working on Campbell for quite a while now. Now we're on a normal game-week schedule, which we tried to simulate last week with our guys to get them used to what a game week is going to be like from Sunday all the way through that next Saturday. Obviously, today we'll go out and practice as we did Sunday. So, we'll get after it the next four days so we're ready to go on Saturday.

On Kaleb Barker returning from injury:
I think Kaleb has been really impressive with how he has handled a new coaching staff and a relatively new offense even though it is similar. But Caleb has handled himself very well and with great maturity. He's a mature kid by nature, and I know he's excited to get back on the field and get back going. This week, he hasn't seemed very jittery to me. I think he's in a good spot mentally and ready to get going.

On center Dylan Bradshaw making the transition to full-time starter:
The center position is extremely important for our offense because it makes all the calls and sets the protection. Obviously, our quarterback will have the right to override those calls, but Dylan has to be the primary communicator in both the run game and pass game. I think Dylan is a smart football player, and a guy that is a no-nonsense hard worker. Offensive linemen don't get a lot of credit. It seems like they only get the blame when it goes bad, and don't get enough credit when we do well. That unit, with Dylan being our center, is ready to have a big year. Obviously, we have some guys back that have played in the past. So, they need to have a good year for us to have a big season.

On the new turf at Veterans Memorial Stadium:
Our turf is brand-new heading into the season, and I think each year the turf fields are upgraded. They're made better and are better quality. I've been really pleased with the way our turf has played so far. We've been on it a few times now, and I think our players really like it. The blades stand up which gives it a great look, but most importantly it's really safe for our players. So, I think they've really enjoyed it so far.

On the key players on the defensive side of the ball:
"I think it starts with Jarvis [Hayes] and Melvin [Tyus], who are both captains for us. Obviously, Jarvis is our starting bandit, while Melvin will start at safety. I think Will Choloh is a young guy that has a chance to make a huge impact again for us. He played really well last year, and we're looking for him to take that next step. I think you need to also talk about [linebacker] Carlton Martial, who was a Freshman All-American for us. He seems to make every tackle in practice so far, so I'm excited to watch him tackle the other team on Saturday.

I think those are four guys that are going to be important for us. We need Will Sunderland to have a big year for us a senior. He's a big defensive back or corner that I'm really looking forward to watching him continue to grow. Will has made a lot of progress for us this fall, so I'm looking forward to seeing him in a game.

Troy University Athletics

Chip Lindsey Press Conference - Campbell Pregame

Players Mentioned

Kaleb Barker

Dylan Bradshaw

Jarvis Hayes

Carlton Martial

B.J. Smith

Will Sunderland

Melvin Tyus

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