Trojans prepare for battle against the ASU Hornets
After defeating the Sam Houston Bearkats, the Trojans focus their attention on the Alabama State Hornets.
Troy trailed Sam Houston at the start of the game but quickly evened the score and did not surrender the lead to the Bearkats for the rest of the game. Head coach Gerad Parker said this resilience is a positive to see out of this new unit for the Trojans.
“Anytime you can win games like that against a group of six opponents, comparable opponents with similar backgrounds,” Parker said. “It was a good sign for us to be able to keep our poise about us when we got down in the game and go through some adversity throughout a game together that we have yet to experience.
“It is an all-new roster, and I think it is good for us to see that.”
A key factor in Troy’s win was a dominant rushing attack. The Men of Troy ran for 177 yards in the win this past weekend.
Junior transfer running back Gavin Griffin accounted for 81 of those yards in his Trojan debut. The former JUCO tailback attributes his success on the ground to those in the trenches.
“I build off the O-line,” Griffin said. “Those guys do not get a lot of credit, but they go out there and fight hard for us, and we get all the credit. Those guys and my teammates just kept me up.”
While Troy’s offensive line saw success on the ground, the group allowed quarterback Goose Crowder to be sacked four times. Coach Parker is expecting the biggest improvement from them.
“They're better than they played up front,” Parker said. “We need to take a step and do what we practice.
“I expect our offensive line to play better and be better up front this week.”
Troy’s defense settled in early. The Trojans only allowed one touchdown in the second half and started the half with a pick.
Coach Parker believes that, in previous years, this adjustment from the defense would take a few weeks to see results,
“I think for us to have gotten settled after a half, and to have done it with maturity, we did not have an emotional breakdown of things,” Parker said. “There was nothing on our sidelines of panic.
“I thought our staff and our players really tied to each other well and got some things fixed and settled.”
Looking ahead to Alabama State, the Hornets started their season off 2-0, defeating Southern, 30-17, and Lane, 34-0. Dual-threat quarterback Andrew Body is leading the Hornets this year.
Body has accumulated 305 passing yards this season with two touchdowns and one interception, while on the ground, Body has rushed for 66 yards on only 12 attempts. In his two starts in previous years against FBS opponents, he has thrown five touchdowns with zero interceptions and a 70 percent completion percentage.
“In our age of college football, the hardest guy to defend is a guy that can throw it and run,” Parker said. “He is a very good runner. He has decent top-end speed, but he breaks a bunch of tackles.
“He is smart with how he runs and escapes, and then he can throw it down the field, and he gets the ball out of his hand. Both abilities make him unique and make him a very good player.”
The last time the Trojans faced off against the Hornets was in 2017 at home. Troy defeated Alabama State 34-7 in front of over 29,000 fans.
With the drive from Montgomery only an hour away, Troy is expecting the stadium to be packed out for this matchup as well.
“It is going to be a great crowd,” Parker said. “I think there will be juice; it will be a rocking crowd.
“It will be great for both teams to play in front of a crowd like that. We need our fan base to show up and show out.”
Kickoff between the two teams will be Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Veterans Memorial Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ESPN Plus for those unable to make their way into the Stadium.
Comments