When we started emailing sources to interview for this series, we wanted to get as close to the team as we could. As you can imagine, this is tough for Big Ten teams and USC. But for Troy, we got super lucky: We were able to track down two of the best persons possible.
Drew Champlin is a sports journalist covering the Trojans for the Dothan Eagle, and Barry McKnight is the award-winning play-by-play guy for the Trojans. Check out Drew’s blog here and Barry’s site here. Both guys were very generous with their time, and you will learn more about Troy than you ever though possible.
As far as Troy is concerned, this is a battle-tested program led by one of the best coaches you have never heard of. They have played over a dozen ranked opponents, including Florida, Nebraska, Georgia, Florida State, and LSU. They are not strangers to the big stage. More than one of those teams was lucky to escape, and Missouri and Oklahoma State went down hard.
1. Where does this year’s Troy team rank in the last five years?
Drew Champlin: I’d say third, behind last year and the 2006 team. The 2005 team was bad, and the 2004 team was good defensively, but bad offensively. There are just a few unproven spots, mostly at quarterback, but players feel good about that spot. Still, it’s going to be hard to top what the last two teams did, but not impossible.
Barry McKnight: The talent, top to bottom, is the best it’s been in the last five years without a doubt. The skill position talent is third, behind the last two years’ teams, but, overall, this team is more talented than any I’ve seen, and I’m going on my seventh year.
2. Position of strength/weakness?
BM: The strongest area is, thankfully, the area I think any team would want to be strongest, and that’s on the offensive and defensive lines. Big, strong, and experienced. Depth is a slight concern there, though.
The weakest link is at CB, where Troy lost the 11th pick in the NFL Draft (Leodis McKelvin, to the Bills), and the nation’s leader in interceptions (Elbert Mack). The replacements are still unclear and untested.
DC: The position of strength is on the lines, especially the offensive line, where all starters and backups return. Right tackle Dion Small is one of the best in the conference, and center Danny Franks and left tackle Chris Jamison are pretty good as well. The defensive ends—Kenny Mainor, Brandon Lang, and Cameron Sheffield, plus newcomer Mario Addison—are experienced and fast, though Lang is coming off a knee injury.
As far as weaknesses, people look at quarterback, but I don’t see it like that. I tell people that if Troy has decent cornerbacks, then they’ll be fine, and I’ve been reassured of that by people close to the program. Leodis McKelvin was a first-round draft pick, and Elbert Mack led the nation in interceptions last year.
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