Troy University Athletics
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JOHNSON'S JOURNAL - Troy Football Post-Spring State of the Program
4/22/2026 8:39:00 AM | Football
Head football coach Gerad Parker refers to it as Troy Wi-Fi.
"Like, our Wi-Fi has to be five-bar connected at all times," Parker said at the conclusion of spring drills, his third in charge of the Trojans.
"This is how organizations have to be run, especially in college athletics and in football, because there are so many people."
With a bevy of transfers mixed in with a solid core of returners from a Troy team that finished 8-6 last season and won a Sun Belt West Division title, Parker is pleased with the connection of his squad.
"These guys who have been here have welcomed them (transfers) in," Parker said. "And to be quite honest with you, our personnel department, our staff and everybody … we have done a good job finding the guys who fit Troy, so our Wi-Fi is good.
"We haven't won any games yet, but I would say I love the connection of this football team - the welcoming of our new players and then our older guys that have set in and held the standard."
A new look offense
The Trojans began implementing a different offense during the spring under new coordinator Adam Austin, who describes it as a wide-open spread that's RPO (run-pass-option) based.
It revolves around being an aggressive, downfield attacking run game matched with a vertical passing game.
Returning starting quarterback Goose Crowder, a senior, believes the offense has adapted well to the change.
"New offensive scheme and new thought processes, but I've been playing college football for a long time, and you can only run so many concepts in so many different ways," Crowder said of being comfortable with the change.
"Some stuff is easier than others, but Coach Austin is doing a great job breaking it down for us, so it's been a pretty smooth transition."
Crowder is excited about what he sees on a daily basis from the new OC.
"I mean, every day on the field that guy brings it," Crowder said.
Crowder has battled injuries over the past two seasons and keeping him healthy will be a priority for the Trojans' offensive linemen.
"For us to get to where we want to go, we've got to protect Goose and our quarterbacks better," Parker said.
One offensive lineman who has caught Parker's attention is Luke Petit, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound senior transfer from Furman.
"Luke Petit has really gained a lot of respect from his teammates to be a new guy," Parker said. "All he does is work and has grabbed a hold of young players and helped them. He serves this place very well. He's a Troy guy."
After taking some time off, Crowder will be eager to get back to it and build on what's already been accomplished this spring.
"When we come back in the summer, pick up where we left off," Crowder said. "Work on situational stuff … route recognition, details in routes versus different coverages … and just grow closer and build that bond in the offseason."
Defense blending well
Though there will be plenty of new faces on the defensive side of the football, one who is expected to be a leader is now well known to Troy fans.
In his first season with the Trojans a year ago, after transferring from East Central (Miss.) Community College, Donnie Smith led the Sun Belt and ranked eighth nationally with 11 sacks from his Bandit linebacker slot.
He's expected to be the anchor of the defense going into this season, and he takes the responsibility seriously.
"I know there are a lot of eyes watching me, like, 'What is Donnie doing?' so it's me making sure I'm doing the right thing," Smith said.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder likes the progress the unit made during the spring.
"There's a lot of new faces in the locker room, but I think a big thing in the spring was that we just had to build our chemistry," Smith said. "As the weeks go by, I think we've been doing great in that aspect.
"At the beginning, we really had to work on us just connecting. We really weren't connecting because there were a lot of new faces. I feel like we've gotten better at that as the spring has gone by.
"We've got a lot of depth; we've got a lot of talent. There's a lot of new faces you're going to hear about."
Like Smith, Parker has been pleased with the defense but also continues to seek improvement.
"The next step for us to be a dominant defense here at Troy is making sure we have gap control at all times, because there are some unique things that we do on defense," the coach said.
"And then we have to be better tacklers at times. As simple as that sounds, I think that's going to be the biggest step for us from year two to three is can we tackle the football better in close space and gap control."
A newcomer on defense Parker has really been impressed with is senior defensive tackle Ty Clemons, who transferred from Boston College.
"Ty Clemons has made a huge step in leadership, maturity and is about the right things," Parker said. "He will have a big impact."
Crenshaw leads special teams
Senior punter Evan Crenshaw was named Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Year last season and earned several first team All-America honors.
Parker knows he has a real weapon in Crenshaw, who had 21 punts of 50-plus yards and placed 29 of his 68 attempts inside the 20-yard line last season. He averaged 45.69 yards per punt, which ranked second in program history.
"We have what we believe is the best punter in the country," Parker said of Crenshaw. "We're biased, but I think it's the facts … we have the best punter in the countryk and we have the best punt team in the country."
The Trojans are seeking a replacement for placekicker Scott Taylor Renfroe, who graduated.
"Our kickers are taking steps and are well past where they were in practice one," Parker said. "We've just got to keep on growing it, because it's a key piece to us winning games."
Crenshaw, who also serves as the holder for the placekickers, likes what he's seeing from those competing for the job.
"I think all of them have taken a lot of big steps," Crenshaw said. "I'm always rooting for them, and I try to make their job as easy as possible … just put the ball through the uprights."
Crenshaw has tried to take on somewhat of a mentorship role on special teams.
"Scott Taylor (Renfroe) was one when I came in who mentored me," Crenshaw said. "I feel like it's my responsibility to kind of give back and mentor those guys the way I've been mentored in my career.
"Now that I've seen everything that you can probably see, I can mentor guys in ways just from my past experiences in how I handled it, or how I should have handled it differently."
Troy opens the season on Sept. 5 with a home game against Sam Houston.
"Like, our Wi-Fi has to be five-bar connected at all times," Parker said at the conclusion of spring drills, his third in charge of the Trojans.
"This is how organizations have to be run, especially in college athletics and in football, because there are so many people."
With a bevy of transfers mixed in with a solid core of returners from a Troy team that finished 8-6 last season and won a Sun Belt West Division title, Parker is pleased with the connection of his squad.
"These guys who have been here have welcomed them (transfers) in," Parker said. "And to be quite honest with you, our personnel department, our staff and everybody … we have done a good job finding the guys who fit Troy, so our Wi-Fi is good.
"We haven't won any games yet, but I would say I love the connection of this football team - the welcoming of our new players and then our older guys that have set in and held the standard."
A new look offense
The Trojans began implementing a different offense during the spring under new coordinator Adam Austin, who describes it as a wide-open spread that's RPO (run-pass-option) based.
It revolves around being an aggressive, downfield attacking run game matched with a vertical passing game.
Returning starting quarterback Goose Crowder, a senior, believes the offense has adapted well to the change.
"New offensive scheme and new thought processes, but I've been playing college football for a long time, and you can only run so many concepts in so many different ways," Crowder said of being comfortable with the change.
"Some stuff is easier than others, but Coach Austin is doing a great job breaking it down for us, so it's been a pretty smooth transition."
Crowder is excited about what he sees on a daily basis from the new OC.
"I mean, every day on the field that guy brings it," Crowder said.
Crowder has battled injuries over the past two seasons and keeping him healthy will be a priority for the Trojans' offensive linemen.
"For us to get to where we want to go, we've got to protect Goose and our quarterbacks better," Parker said.
One offensive lineman who has caught Parker's attention is Luke Petit, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound senior transfer from Furman.
"Luke Petit has really gained a lot of respect from his teammates to be a new guy," Parker said. "All he does is work and has grabbed a hold of young players and helped them. He serves this place very well. He's a Troy guy."
After taking some time off, Crowder will be eager to get back to it and build on what's already been accomplished this spring.
"When we come back in the summer, pick up where we left off," Crowder said. "Work on situational stuff … route recognition, details in routes versus different coverages … and just grow closer and build that bond in the offseason."
Defense blending well
Though there will be plenty of new faces on the defensive side of the football, one who is expected to be a leader is now well known to Troy fans.
In his first season with the Trojans a year ago, after transferring from East Central (Miss.) Community College, Donnie Smith led the Sun Belt and ranked eighth nationally with 11 sacks from his Bandit linebacker slot.
He's expected to be the anchor of the defense going into this season, and he takes the responsibility seriously.
"I know there are a lot of eyes watching me, like, 'What is Donnie doing?' so it's me making sure I'm doing the right thing," Smith said.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder likes the progress the unit made during the spring.
"There's a lot of new faces in the locker room, but I think a big thing in the spring was that we just had to build our chemistry," Smith said. "As the weeks go by, I think we've been doing great in that aspect.
"At the beginning, we really had to work on us just connecting. We really weren't connecting because there were a lot of new faces. I feel like we've gotten better at that as the spring has gone by.
"We've got a lot of depth; we've got a lot of talent. There's a lot of new faces you're going to hear about."
Like Smith, Parker has been pleased with the defense but also continues to seek improvement.
"The next step for us to be a dominant defense here at Troy is making sure we have gap control at all times, because there are some unique things that we do on defense," the coach said.
"And then we have to be better tacklers at times. As simple as that sounds, I think that's going to be the biggest step for us from year two to three is can we tackle the football better in close space and gap control."
A newcomer on defense Parker has really been impressed with is senior defensive tackle Ty Clemons, who transferred from Boston College.
"Ty Clemons has made a huge step in leadership, maturity and is about the right things," Parker said. "He will have a big impact."
Crenshaw leads special teams
Senior punter Evan Crenshaw was named Sun Belt Special Teams Player of the Year last season and earned several first team All-America honors.
Parker knows he has a real weapon in Crenshaw, who had 21 punts of 50-plus yards and placed 29 of his 68 attempts inside the 20-yard line last season. He averaged 45.69 yards per punt, which ranked second in program history.
"We have what we believe is the best punter in the country," Parker said of Crenshaw. "We're biased, but I think it's the facts … we have the best punter in the countryk and we have the best punt team in the country."
The Trojans are seeking a replacement for placekicker Scott Taylor Renfroe, who graduated.
"Our kickers are taking steps and are well past where they were in practice one," Parker said. "We've just got to keep on growing it, because it's a key piece to us winning games."
Crenshaw, who also serves as the holder for the placekickers, likes what he's seeing from those competing for the job.
"I think all of them have taken a lot of big steps," Crenshaw said. "I'm always rooting for them, and I try to make their job as easy as possible … just put the ball through the uprights."
Crenshaw has tried to take on somewhat of a mentorship role on special teams.
"Scott Taylor (Renfroe) was one when I came in who mentored me," Crenshaw said. "I feel like it's my responsibility to kind of give back and mentor those guys the way I've been mentored in my career.
"Now that I've seen everything that you can probably see, I can mentor guys in ways just from my past experiences in how I handled it, or how I should have handled it differently."
Troy opens the season on Sept. 5 with a home game against Sam Houston.
Players Mentioned
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QB
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BAN
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Donnie Smith - T-Day
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