Troy Wraps Week One of Spring Practice

TROY, Ala. – Troy spent just over two hours on a perfect Friday morning putting the final touches on their first week of spring practice. Day three meant the Trojans strapped on shoulder pads for the first time after wearing just helmets and shorts the first two days.

Troy returns 21-of-22 starters from last year's squad and the battle to replace Khalil McClain at one of the Trojans' two outside receiver positions is already heating up.

"We moved Marcus Rogers over to the right side and he has had a really good first three days and Luke Whittemore is as steady as he's ever been," head coach Chip Lindsey said. "He was injured early last season and had to really fight through it all season. He looks 100 percent healthy and between Luke and Marcus we're in good shape on that side."

The Boys in the Trenches
Troy returns all five starters along its offensive front, including a pair of guys in Dylan Bradshaw and Austin Stidham who have been multi-year starters. The unit ranked among the nation's best both individually and collectively in pass blocking situations last season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Troy ranked ninth overall and first among schools with at least 400 pass attempts (the Trojans had 494) with a 93.0 pass blocking efficiency rating – The PFF "Pass Blocking Efficiency" rating measures pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed. The Trojans allowed just nine sacks, six hits and 45 pressures all season.

Individually, Austin Stidham ranked second among tackles (98.6), Jake Andrews was third nationally and second among guards (99.2), Grant Betts was ninth nationally and fifth among guards (98.9), while Dylan Bradshaw ranked seventh among centers (98.8).

"We're trying to find eight guys who can play, your five starters and three guys who can mix and match positions as backups," Lindsey said. "We're hopeful to have 10 guy that we feel good about putting in a game, but right now we're not there. We're looking for guys like Deandre Butler, Toryque Bateman and Jordan Chapman to take a step forward this season."

Scheduled Dropped – Backloaded Home Slate

The Sun Belt Conference finally released the 2021 football schedule this past Monday. It is an interesting mix of home and away games for the Trojans with two straight in The Vet to open the year followed by five road games over a six-game period of time before the Trojans close out the season with three-of-four at home, including a rare Saturday contest against South Alabama.

"It's always neat to see the schedule and obviously our league is as good as it's ever been," Lindsey said. "We'll be battle-tested when we make it through the schedule plus non-conference games with South Carolina out of the SEC, Liberty which is a team that broke open last year with an unbelievable season and then a road swing to Southern Miss."

Weight Room Paying Dividends

Lindsey hired Rusty Whitt last offseason to change not only the bodies of the Troy players, but to also help install a culture of hard work and toughness not only in the weight room but in all aspects of the program.

How has the move paid off?

"Just look at our guys," Lindsey said. "When you get to see them up close and personal and see some guys that have gained some weight that needed to and some guys who have lost weight that needed to. Our strength numbers are way up from last year. Rusty and his entire staff have done a great job of helping us define our culture and create some overall toughness and mental toughness."

Troy University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jake Andrews

Toryque Bateman

Dylan Bradshaw

Deandre Butler

Khalil McClain

Marcus Rogers

Austin Stidham

Luke Whittemore

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