Troy University Athletics
Taylor Powell Settling in as Troy's Starting QB
9/16/2021 8:14:00 AM | Football
In the span of a week, Troy quarterback Taylor Powell experienced the euphoria of an ideal start to the Trojans' season and a frustrating night in their loss to Liberty.
One gets the feeling a lot is on the line in Troy's first road game of the season this Saturday when the Trojans face Southern Miss in Hattiesburg at 6 p.m.
"Obviously, we didn't get the win – which is disappointing – but lots to learn from and really some good teaching moments from that game that I think will help us as we move forward," Troy head coach Chip Lindsey said earlier this week.Â
The head coach made it clear Powell has done his part well. The graduate transfer from the University of Missouri completed 18 of 25 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown in the 21-13 loss to Liberty. In the 55-3 opening victory over Southern he was 17-for-28 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He has thrown an interception in both games.Â
Powell's performance Saturday is the epitome of what most coaches are talking about when they say a quarterback's play often is dictated by how well his teammates play around him. On a night when the offensive line struggled and the running game managed just 21 yards, Powell was sacked five times as the unit sputtered between touchdown drives on Troy's opening and final possessions.Â
Immediately after the game, Powell put the blame on himself.Â
"Maybe I could have thrown more RPOs and helped out the box a little bit," the junior quarterback said. "I'll have to go watch the tape and learn. I said last week if we have to run it 50 times or if we have to throw it 50 times I don't really care, as long as we win. …
"It starts with the quarterback, it ends with the quarterback. I didn't get the job done, obviously, and I'll take full blame for that."
A review of the game tape, however, supports another cliché that the quarterback normally gets too much credit when you win and too much blame when you lose.Â
"For the most part we made great decisions at quarterback," Lindsey said. "I know he threw the pick where he left the ball inside. … He's got a very calm presence, seems to be very much in control. The moment's not too big for him.
"We have a lot of things that we do that a lot of people probably don't realize to try to get us in the best pass, the best run that we can be in. I know the long run against Southern, he checked to that. The longest run Kimani (Vidal) had the other night was a check to that one.
"He gets the protection right and so forth. He does a great job of managing what we're trying to do. He studies a lot. … Taylor's been impressive. He's been very accurate and I really think he'll continue to grow and improve."
Lindsey and Powell both noted how fast the game went by on Saturday night. Troy ran just 49 offensive plays. The fewest they had last season was 54 plays in a loss at BYU.
"Credit to coach (Hugh) Freeze and how they game-planned us. They kept us on the sideline all night. For the majority of the game it was hard to get into a rhythm," Powell said, noting that Troy's is an offense that relies on momentum. "We struggled to get that first first down. When we get our first first down it's like we really get going.
"When we get a rhythm going and coach Lindsey and I are feeling each other out and he's calling stuff, it's a feeling you can't describe. You're gelling and everything's clicking. It really helps when you get that first first down."
Lindsey said the offensive line's struggles and lack of balance from the running game were crucial.
"We didn't take as big a step offensively in my mind, especially in the run game, as we needed to," the head coach said. "We need to take another step. … We lost some one-on-one battles in the blocking department up front and didn't maintain our blocks as the game carried on.
"We misidentified some things in the running game. When you ID the running game you try to figure out who are we working to? We've got to do a better job up front of getting all five on the same page every snap. There were some big runs there that we didn't get because of that."
Lindsey noted that Troy's goal is to get 10 explosive plays every game. It got six in the passing game against Liberty and none in the running game.
Powell said he is eager to see what comes next for the Trojans against Southern Miss.
"We're going to learn from it and we've got a lot of season left. I'm excited," the quarterback said.
Â
One gets the feeling a lot is on the line in Troy's first road game of the season this Saturday when the Trojans face Southern Miss in Hattiesburg at 6 p.m.
"Obviously, we didn't get the win – which is disappointing – but lots to learn from and really some good teaching moments from that game that I think will help us as we move forward," Troy head coach Chip Lindsey said earlier this week.Â
The head coach made it clear Powell has done his part well. The graduate transfer from the University of Missouri completed 18 of 25 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown in the 21-13 loss to Liberty. In the 55-3 opening victory over Southern he was 17-for-28 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He has thrown an interception in both games.Â
Powell's performance Saturday is the epitome of what most coaches are talking about when they say a quarterback's play often is dictated by how well his teammates play around him. On a night when the offensive line struggled and the running game managed just 21 yards, Powell was sacked five times as the unit sputtered between touchdown drives on Troy's opening and final possessions.Â
Immediately after the game, Powell put the blame on himself.Â
"Maybe I could have thrown more RPOs and helped out the box a little bit," the junior quarterback said. "I'll have to go watch the tape and learn. I said last week if we have to run it 50 times or if we have to throw it 50 times I don't really care, as long as we win. …
"It starts with the quarterback, it ends with the quarterback. I didn't get the job done, obviously, and I'll take full blame for that."
A review of the game tape, however, supports another cliché that the quarterback normally gets too much credit when you win and too much blame when you lose.Â
"For the most part we made great decisions at quarterback," Lindsey said. "I know he threw the pick where he left the ball inside. … He's got a very calm presence, seems to be very much in control. The moment's not too big for him.
"We have a lot of things that we do that a lot of people probably don't realize to try to get us in the best pass, the best run that we can be in. I know the long run against Southern, he checked to that. The longest run Kimani (Vidal) had the other night was a check to that one.
"He gets the protection right and so forth. He does a great job of managing what we're trying to do. He studies a lot. … Taylor's been impressive. He's been very accurate and I really think he'll continue to grow and improve."
Lindsey and Powell both noted how fast the game went by on Saturday night. Troy ran just 49 offensive plays. The fewest they had last season was 54 plays in a loss at BYU.
"Credit to coach (Hugh) Freeze and how they game-planned us. They kept us on the sideline all night. For the majority of the game it was hard to get into a rhythm," Powell said, noting that Troy's is an offense that relies on momentum. "We struggled to get that first first down. When we get our first first down it's like we really get going.
"When we get a rhythm going and coach Lindsey and I are feeling each other out and he's calling stuff, it's a feeling you can't describe. You're gelling and everything's clicking. It really helps when you get that first first down."
Lindsey said the offensive line's struggles and lack of balance from the running game were crucial.
"We didn't take as big a step offensively in my mind, especially in the run game, as we needed to," the head coach said. "We need to take another step. … We lost some one-on-one battles in the blocking department up front and didn't maintain our blocks as the game carried on.
"We misidentified some things in the running game. When you ID the running game you try to figure out who are we working to? We've got to do a better job up front of getting all five on the same page every snap. There were some big runs there that we didn't get because of that."
Lindsey noted that Troy's goal is to get 10 explosive plays every game. It got six in the passing game against Liberty and none in the running game.
Powell said he is eager to see what comes next for the Trojans against Southern Miss.
"We're going to learn from it and we've got a lot of season left. I'm excited," the quarterback said.
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Players Mentioned
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