Troy Opens Chip Lindsey Era Saturday at The Vet

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TROY, Ala. – Chip Lindsey took control of the Troy football on January 10 and 233 days later he will lead the Trojans onto the field at The Vet for the first time when Troy hosts Campbell in the season opener Saturday; kickoff is set for 5 p.m.

"It feels like it has taken forever to get here," Lindsey said. "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. I take a lot of pride in being the head coach here, and this is a great university."

The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and the Troy Sports Radio Network will have full coverage beginning at 3 p.m. Trojan Walk is set for 3 p.m. and gates to The Vet open at 3:30 p.m.

Saturday marks the return of senior quarterback Kaleb Barker after the Trojan signal caller missed the final seven games of the 2018 season after suffering a knee injury. Barker finished last season with the highest completion percentage (73.0) in school history, a number which would have ranked second nationally if he qualified.

Complimenting Barker and the passing game will be Preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year in senior running back B.J. Smith who rushed for nearly 1,200 yards last season to go along with 13 touchdowns. Smith will run behind an offensive line with a combined 91 starts among the projected starting five including four returning full-time starters.

On the other side of the ball, Troy returns four players who started eight or more games last season with four others who started multiple games.

Safety Melvin Tyus leads the group with 17 career starts and sophomore linebacker Carlton Martial is back after a Freshman All-America campaign last year. Martial ranked fifth nationally against the run according to Pro Football Focus last year, and three of the four players ahead of him were selected within the first 13 picks of the NFL Draft – Quinnen Williams, Ed Oliver and Christian Wilkins.

The Troy defense has been a disruptive force over the last three seasons with a nation-leading 87 turnovers and 57 interceptions over that time period. Additionally, the Trojans rank fourth nationally since 2017 forcing a negative play on nearly 15 percent of the opponents' snaps.

Know Your Foe
Campbell heads into its 12th season of FCS football in 2019. The Camels brought football back to the Creek in 2008 after a 58-year hiatus, playing as a member of the Pioneer Football League from 2008-17. The Camels made a successful transition to the Big South Conference in 2018, their first season as a scholarship program. Campbell finished 6-5 overall and 1-4 in its inaugural Big South season, securing back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the program's modern era (since 2008). Campbell was picked to finish fourth in the Big South and nine Camels were named to the Preseason All-Big South Team.

Quotable – Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"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."

Notable
• Quarterback Kaleb Barker, running back B.J. Smith, safety Melvin Tyus and defensive end Jarvis Hayes were voted Troy's permanent team captains by their teammates this week.

• Troy has won 31 games over the last three seasons including wins over LSU and Nebraska; the win total ranks eighth nationally and tied for the most among all Group of Five Conference schools.

• Senior fullback Zacc Weldon enters Saturday's game with 39 consecutive starts under his belt, which ranks as the second-longest current streak in the country.

• Troy's all-time 70.2 winning percentage at The Vet (224-94-3) ranks 34^thnationally among all active stadiums; Troy is 15-3 at home over the last three seasons

Troy Opens Chip Lindsey Era Saturday at The Vet

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Players Mentioned

Kaleb Barker

Jarvis Hayes

Carlton Martial

B.J. Smith

Melvin Tyus

Zacc Weldon

Troy University Athletics