Super Bowl Update

Everyone remembers Josh Jarboe, the talented receiver who came to Troy with some baggage, but was eventually dismissed.

Well, I talked to him earlier this week, got a big assist from Matt Roberson with some Hugh Freeze quotes, and wrote THIS STORY on Jarboe, now a junior receiver at ASU and the Red Wolves' second-leading receiver.

Would Jarboe have helped Troy this year? Absolutely, if he kept his head straight. He'd be the starter at the Z and Troy's offense would be more productive because he's a talent. But would he have stayed out of trouble? Maybe not. Coaches gave him chance after chance before finally dismissing him before the 2010 season, and Jarboe admitted that he wasn't surprised when Troy cut ties with him.

Jarboe, now 22, has grown up, but he needed that swift kick in the gut to be sent to junior college. It's the same deal with Jamel Johnson, who is at Holmes Community College and set to return to Troy in January. Jarboe was never academically ineligible like Johnson was, and Johnson could have even sat back and redshirted this year, but is realizing how good he had it at Troy while's off in some middle-of-nowhere town in Mississippi. Johnson will be back with two years left to play next fall. His playmaking ability is something Troy sorely lacked, as he and Corey Robinson had developed great chemistry.

***Longest road trip drive-wise is for me this weekend. It's 502 miles to Jonesboro, and I'm staying in Memphis both nights, but that's still a good 420 miles from Dothan. So, I'll be spending most of Friday and Sunday traveling.