Super Bowl Update

Troy offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield has preached three things – don’t turn the ball over, play physical and play fast – and is hoping his unit can take that work and turn it into a productive Saturday scrimmage.

The first Trojan scrimmage of preseason practice is Saturday at 11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“We have three goals going into fall camp,” Edenfield said. “One is to protect the football. We’ve had days where we’ve done a good job of that and we had days where we didn’t do a good job of that. We want to be physical and we’ve done that every day. We want to play fast.

“Those are our three keys. That’s what I’ve been telling these guys as we get ready for the scrimmage. If we do that, the (situations like) red zone, that’ll take care of itself.”

Fans will get a first look at several new players who have made an impact on defense, including cornerback Zach Miller, and an offense that is striving to improve from last season and has a nice mix of veterans and newcomers challenging for playing time.

“There’s some guys where Saturday’s big to them as far as gaining status of being a starter or a rotating guy,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said.

One is redshirt freshman Tyler Roberts, who has a chance to overtake senior Jacoby Thomas for the starting bandit end position defensively, and freshman Shaq Beverly is getting a look at the nickel position after playing cornerback up until this point.

Blakeney cited four true freshmen skill players who have impressed, and two have Wiregrass ties. Despite missing some practice time because of illness, running back Brandon Burks (Daleville) has been impressive. Wide receivers Michael Lindsey (Elba), Brandon Brooks (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Bobby Walker (Fruit Cove, Fla.) have performed well.

“I think Lindsey’s got a chance to help us,” Blakeney said. “Being consistent and doing it every snap is what most of the young guys have a problem with, but I think those young guys can help us offensively.”

Thursday was the final day of two-a-days for Troy. The Trojans had a better practice on Thursday, Blakeney said. Wednesday’s practice ended up with extra running at the end after a sluggish practice.

“That little running session I put them yesterday, maybe they don’t want to do that again,” Blakeney said. “You’ve got to try to do everything you can to motivate them. Sometimes it’s negative. I’d rather it be positive from within, but sometimes it has to be external.”

Troy had some key players sit out with minor injuries or for heat precautions. Cornerback Ethan Davis, running back D.J. Taylor and projected starting offensive linemen Andrew Phillips and Zach Johnson were out.

With Phillips, the center, out, Kyle Wilborn shifted from left guard to center. Dalton Bennett and Cody Woodiel lined up at guard, with projected starters Jarred Fleming and Terrence Jones at tackle.

“We want some of those guys to get some mass on them but we want them to be in great shape,” Edenfield said of the offensive linemen. “That’s a hard combination.

“Right now if we had to play, (Wilborn would be) snapping because Andrew’s out. We’ve always had that plan with him and he’s always worked it. I leave that to (offensive line) coach (John) Schlarman. We’ll make a good decision based on who’s out there.”

Blakeney said Saturday’s scrimmage would probably be in the 100-120 play range. The scrimmage is open to the public. The 11 a.m. start time is the same as the Sept. 1 season opener at UAB.

“We’re going to be scrimmaging in the heat,” Blakeney said. “We’ll have to see how we endure that. We’re trying to get the 11-on11 that we need without jeopardizing anything to the point where it might cause an injury.”

Quarterback Corey Robinson said the offense is getting better and more in sync with each other with each practice.

“We’re still working on ball security, cutting down on the turnovers and so forth,” Robinson said. “What we’re looking for is to continue in our progress in becoming one and becoming more fluent in our offense. We’ve got to all get on the same page for our first game at UAB.”