Depth at running back an issue for Troy

TROY — Troy’s running back situation is now one more injury away from a catastrophe.

For the last two days, freshman Chris Anderson has been held out of practice while he’s awaiting clearance from the NCAA.

“He’s had a great camp and we’re going to need him,” offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. “We don’t understand the hold-up.

“He’s got his test score and he’s got the GPA.”

While Anderson and starter DuJuan Harris were held out of Thursday’s 70-play scrimmage that lasted about an hour, junior college transfer Maurice Greer (10 rushes, 56 yards, three touchdowns) and sophomore walk-on Fernandus Edwards (nine rushes, 61 yards) saw plenty of action.

Greer is the No. 2 back, and now Edwards is No. 3. True freshman T.J. Mitchell “isn’t ready to play yet,” head coach Larry Blakeney said. Senior Xavier Moreland, the No. 1 back before his collarbone injury, is out until midseason.

Several starters, including Harris, were held out of the scrimmage for precautionary reasons.

Quarterback Jamie Hampton was 14-of-22 for 119 yards. Tanner Jones went 4-of-7 for 46 yards. Linebacker Xavier Lamb had 10 tackles. Cornerback Jorrick Calvin had an interception.

As camp wears on, Greer is starting to get more looks.

“He showed us what he needed to,” Blakeney said. “We wanted to see how long he could go before he was gassed.”

Everyone knows the story of Greer by now — the former high school All-American who is trying to regain his form after testicular cancer two years ago.

“It was more of a confidence builder,” Greer said. “I wasn’t satisfied with my camp, so I knew tonight I had to step up and prove to myself and the coaches that I can run the ball.”

Glusman’s boom ends it: Junior Sam Glusman ended the scrimmage with a 45-yarder that went well past the uprights.

Not bad for a guy who had been branded a short-range-accuracy kicker. Blakeney said Glusman would be the placekicker if the season started today, but freshman Michael Taylor, who has the stronger leg for kickoffs, is resting a thigh aggravation. He didn’t kick in the scrimmage.

“I’ve just got to keep on doing this,” Glusman said. “(Taylor) can boom a kickoff and hit those 10 times better than I can ever dream of, so hopefully he can get back kicking soon. It’s just more practice for me, that’s all it is. It’s pretty big to get that little extra, but I hope he gets better.”

Jarboe gets work: Freshman wideout Josh Jarboe, who came in from Oklahoma earlier this week, worked with offensive coordinator Neal Brown and freshman quarterback Dan Parker after the scrimmage on routes. Jarboe can’t practice in full gear until Saturday, when the Trojans take the field for a 9:30 a.m. kicking scrimmage.

Jarboe was dismissed from OU on Aug. 1 after an explicit video of him rapping surfaced him on the Internet.

“He let me know that it’s something from his past that happened and everyone keeps touching on it,” senior safety Tavares Williams said. “He seems like a nice person. He doesn’t seem like a troublemaker.

“He’s excited about getting a second chance. He knows he’s blessed to get another one. He didn’t come here to cause any problems. He just wants to play football.”

Jarboe is being treated as a transfer student who would have to sit out this year, but Troy is appealing his eligibility status for this year to the NCAA.