Troy notebook: Blakeney has happy birthday

TROY — Forgive Troy head coach Larry Blakeney for being greedy Monday, his 62nd birthday.

His team got him a win Saturday, 27-14 over UAB. The Trojans (1-2) open league play at Arkansas State (1-1) this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Troy was picked to win the Sun Belt and ASU was picked second.

“I’d like to have (a win) on both sides of it now,” Blakeney said.

Blakeney was given a piece of cake with one candle on it from the staff at the Courtyard by Marriott in Troy, where the Monday press conferences are held. He said his family gave him clothes and electronic picture frame with pictures of his wife, daughters and granddaughters.

“A win,” safety Courtland Fuller said when asked what he got him. “He walked out of here too fast. I’d probably give him a hug or something.”

Brown honored: Quarterback Levi Brown was voted by media members as the Sun Belt’s Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for a Troy FBS record 413 yards and two scores against UAB. Middle Tennessee defensive end Chris McCoy and kicker Alan Gendreau took home defensive and special teams awards after the Blue Raiders’ win at Maryland.

Offensive coordinator Neal Brown estimated Levi Brown threw 300 passes last week at practice and completed more than 80 percent of them. He hit 24-of-32 in the game.

“I didn’t know I would throw for that much, but I felt like I’d have a good game,” Levi Brown said.

Roussell back: Defensive tackle Rashad Roussell was back playing again after being sidelined from a late July wreck in New Orleans. He was cleared the week before the Florida game after the New Orleans hospital finally released paperwork on his injuries. He said he played about 10 plays.

“He’s always around the dang football,” defensive coordinator Jeremy Rowell said. “We watch highlight tapes from last year and Rashad ends up showing up on there because he’s a hustle player. He plays his butt off when he’s in the ball game and we’re glad to have him back.”

Roussell was riding with his cousin when a drunk driver hit them from behind at a red light, sending them into an intersection where another car hit the passenger side. He said the major effect from that was that when he’s driving and is at a red light, he’s staring at his rear view mirror for fear that another car’s coming too fast.

Roussell comes from a football family. Brother Darius Reynaud played at West Virginia and is now with the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins Laron Landry (Washington) and Dawan Landry (Baltimore) are also in the NFL and cousin Laron Byrd is a standout receiver for the Miami Hurricanes.

Talk of the team: Wide receiver Austin Silvoy’s crackback block of UAB safety Ferson Stafford in the fourth quarter was watched over and over again during film study.

Silvoy laid out an unsuspecting Stafford, who hobbled off the field and left with an injury. Stafford was trying to make a tackle.

“It was a hell of a pill block,” offensive tackle Tyler Graves said. “He definitely got him. It was a good hit. One of the hardest hits I’ve seen in a while.”