Back in the recruiting game, somewhat

January 29, 2009

By Drew Champlin

Better late than never. I’ll get more to this later, but most of what is HERE is Troy’s 2009 commitment list. Most, if not all, of that is right.

You don’t see Demond Dennis, a 3-star running back from Atlanta on there. The two parted ways and Dennis won’t sign with Troy. Shouldn’t matter as the Trojans look to have two more good backs coming in that are listed.

WR Mike Robinson from Fairfield, Ala., will likely end up on defense. QB Angelo Peace won’t be playing QB at Troy, but it’s unclear if he’ll be on offense or defense.

Add this to your commit list. Jamel Johnson, a WR from Carver-Montgomery, is expected to sign with Troy. Signing Day is next week, Feb. 4.

Two visitors that I know of for the weekend are TE Darrell Smith from Gadsden City, Ala., and WR Sam Haskins of Dinwiddie, Va. If I find out more, I’ll let you know.

Also, bear in mind visitors and commits are subject to change even at the last possible second. That’s the crazy world of recruiting.

The only other local kid (Wiregrass) that I know Troy is targeting is DE/OLB Devondrick Richardson from Barbour County. Believe he went to Troy last week, is still a “soft commit” to South Alabama and is visiting Jacksonville State this weekend.

Again, I’ll try to get more of this updated tomorrow. It’s a busy night otherwise at the Dothan Eagle.

LATE EDIT - From the Media General pipeline in Tampa, add DT Dontavious Pyron to the list READ THERE scroll down.

Enterprise ATH picks Troy

By Drew Champlin

Enterprise, Ala., coach Kevin Collins told the Dothan Eagle that athlete Tony Gray committed to Troy. Fairly certain he’ll be playing a position other than quarterback, most likely defensive back. This was actually passed along to me in an e-mail from our preps writer.

EDIT - He’s scheduled to play SAFETY at Troy.

Troy tests win streak at North Texas

By Drew Champlin

Troy aims to tie last year’s overall win total when the Trojans go for a fourth straight road win and fifth straight win overall tonight at 7 at North Texas.

I wrote about Troy’s struggles at the Super Pit. New year, new team. Maybe things will change. North Texas is better offensively than UALR, but probably not as good defensively.

Here is a game advancer from the Brett Vito of the Denton Record-Chronicle. I forgot to tell Brett that the 5 spot is not allowed to shoot threes. That’s the first time in Don Maestri’s tenure that a player isn’t allowed to shoot threes. And with that, you see a positive correlation geared toward Troy wins this year.

I asked Brett to give an update on North Texas, and here’s what he had to say: “North Texas has been on a roll, winning its last four games behind Eric Tramiel. The junior forward has scored in double figures in eight of UNT’s last 10 games and has posted a double-double in the last two, including recording career highs of 22 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Florida International on Saturday. The Mean Green has been a balanced team offensively throughout the season with four players averaging double figures. Sophomore forward Tristan Thompson leads the team with an average of 12.1 points a game. “

HERE are some Troy stats. HERE are some North Texas stats.

Make sure to listen to Barry McKnight and Taylor Bryan, two of the taller humans listed on the Troy game notes, on the radio tonight. No scouting report on their 3-point shots yet. If you’re in the Wiregrass, it’s on WOOF 560AM (Dothan) or WTBF 94.7 FM (Troy)

Troy women win at North Texas

January 28, 2009

By Drew Champlin

The Trojan women got things off on the right start for Trojans in Denton, winning 80-78.

Don’t know much on details yet, but read Brett Vito’s blog for some game updates. I’ll have more from Brett, the UNT beat writer for the Denton Record-Chronicle, on the men’s game. HERE is Vito’s game story.

Here’s the UNT release and HERE is the Troy release (with much more Troy information than the others). Here is our online report

HERE is a box score.

Gary Banks re-signs with the Chargers

By Drew Champlin

I meant to post this yesterday, but got busy doing desk work.

Former Trojan wideout Gary Banks, one of the best individual people I’ve ever covered, re-signed with the San Diego Chargers recently. He spent the whole year on the practice squad with the Chargers, making it as a 26-year-old undrafted free agent (he’s 27 now). Not a bad way to make a living.