Troy Football Opens Spring Camp Tuesday; Q&A with Jon Sumrall

TROY, Ala. – Hired on December 5 to lead the Troy football program, head coach Jon Sumrall has spent the past three months building a staff, laying the foundation for the culture of the program and instilling his core principles – Attitude, Discipline, Toughness, Love – as the Trojans went through off-season workouts. On Tuesday, Sumrall and his Trojans get to put a ball down for the first time as spring practice opens at 8 a.m. on the grass fields behind Trojan Arena.

The Trojans will practice Tuesday and Thursday at 8 a.m. this week and follow with a 9 a.m. workout on Saturday. Heading into Tuesday's opening workout, Sumrall shared his thoughts on where the program stands, heading into his first official practice.

Three Main Storylines Heading into the Spring
"The first thing we want to establish in the spring is creating a culture and creating a standard for what our work ethic is going to look like," Sumrall said. "What having continued improvement daily looks like and challenging ourselves to be the best version every time we step on the practice field. We must create a culture of what the expectations are daily.

"Second, learning and identifying who we will be as a football team schematically. We have ideas of who we want to be in all three phases of the game, but we, as coaches, have to embrace our players' strengths as we build out our plans. We're going to be implementing the schemes that we've been working on this off-season but going into greater detail and teaching them to a different level.

"Finally, and most importantly, we want to put a product on the field that can win," Sumrall added. "We're going to compete every day and become winners every day. That is something we will talk about a lot; competing daily."

Later Start
According to CollegePressBox.com, Troy's March 22 start date is the latest in the Sun Belt for spring practice this season, and there were several strategic decisions behind the placement on the calendar.

"With the offseason rules the way the NCAA has them now, we're allowed to do some things that are geared towards football implementation," Sumrall said. "It's helped us get a little more taught and learned in the meeting room or walk-thru situations, almost an OTA setting, without a football.

"Also, (the later start) gives our guys a long period in the weight room to work on strength development. We've had some high numbers set in the weight room. Coach (Rusty) Whitt has been impressed at where our team is right now strength-wise."

A quick search of Troy's official Twitter account (@TroyTrojansFB) or Whitt's personal account (@RustyWhitt), and it's easy to see the progress Sumrall and his staff sees in the weight room. For example, junior bandit Richard Jibunor, who checks in at 235 pounds, did a pair of "Zombie Squat" reps at 365 pounds, while junior offensive lineman Jake Andrews posted a 605-pound deadlift, 450-pound bench and 390-pound clean, and defensive lineman A.J. Pierce squatted a team-best 625 pounds.

What Will the Football Look Like?
With a new staff comes a new philosophy on the field. For the past three years, Troy has been known for its wide-open passing attack, which ranked as high as ninth in the country in 2019. However, Sumrall and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock look to transition the Trojans into a more balanced attack.

"We want to run the football and be physical at the point of attack," Sumrall said. "We want to take vertical shots off the run game and create explosive plays, and we want to dominate the line of scrimmage."

Troy's defense has been known for its attacking style over recent years dating back to when Sumrall was on staff as the assistant head coach, where he worked with Troy's linebackers. In fact, Troy enters the 2022 season ranked second nationally, averaging 1.91 turnovers forced per game since 2016.

"We want to attack on defense and swarm with 11 hats to the football. We're going to be a physical football team that runs the football and stops the run on defense."

It's About the Jimmies & Joes
When it's all said and done, it's about the young men who wear the Troy across their chest daily who will be counted on to make plays. The Trojans return a wealth of talent with 10 starters back on offense, eight on defense, and a plethora of players who have played valuable minutes.

So, how does that all shakeup with a new staff heading into spring practice?

"There are obviously guys who are established players in our program," Sumrall said. "Everybody knows who Carlton Martial is. Everybody knows Kimani Vidal. But within that, every starting job on our roster is Troy's job; it's not any person's job.

"Within the whole program, we're going to be constantly competing for who are the first team guys and who are the second team guys. However, everybody in our program will be getting developed consistently because there are going to be a number of guys who are not deemed starters on day one who are going to play like starters during the year.

"Every day is a new opportunity for each guy on our football team," Sumrall said. "If you don't like where you start, you can change that. Every day you will have an opportunity to prove people right or prove people wrong, so they each have that chance in front of them to take advantage of their opportunity given to them."

The 2022 Season
Troy once again plays host to six exciting games in The Vet, and it's one of the best home slates yet as the Trojans welcome Marshall, Southern Miss, Army, ULM, Texas State and Alabama A&M to town this year. Season tickets are on sale now by visiting TroyTrojans.com/tickets.

Troy University Athletics

Troy Football Opens Spring Camp Tuesday; Q&A with Jon Sumrall

Players Mentioned

Jake Andrews

Richard Jibunor

Carlton Martial

Kimani Vidal

Related Videos