Offensive coordinator Neal Brown gave me a heads up to let the rest of the world know that he’s on twitter and he promises good stuff.
No idea if that means he’ll be pulling a Charlie Villanueva at halftime of the Florida game and get told not to do it. I’m hoping he’ll let us all know when a trick play is about to be run.
Troy does have a big conference series this weekend at home against Middle Tennessee State. Watch this series to get a good idea of how Troy’s front-line pitching will match up in the conference tournament, which is held at Riddle-Pace Field May 20-23. Freshman Tyler Ray gets the start tonight, Jason Walls on Saturday and Travis Burge on Sunday.
The Sun Belt Conference is closely monitoring the H1N1 flu outbreak and any impact the illness could have on regularly scheduled contests, upcoming spring championships, and overall league operations.
The Sun Belt Conference office is in close contact with administrators at each of our member institutions as well as local, state, and federal officials. Additionally, the conference office has had regular contact with administrators from other collegiate athletics conferences and the NCAA national office.
Depending on the progression of the outbreak, adjustments could be made in the best interests for the health and well-being of student-athletes who are competing in the Sun Belt Conference. As of Friday, no changes are expected to any Sun Belt events.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 04/30 at 05:37 PM
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Sorry there’s been such a delay in between this and the other positions, but here goes…
...There wasn’t a position hampered by injuries more than the offensive line this spring. Senior Danny Franks missed all of spring (foot), senior Steven Adams missed most of spring (shoulder surgery), senior Tyrell Curtis (foot) missed the last part of spring, as did senior Nic Riley (knee). The good news is that all except Adams should definitely be ready for the start of fall camp. Adams is probably questionable for the season opener, but coaches feel like he’ll be back by then.
Troy found four starters on the offensive line. Sophomore James Brown is your left tackle, junior Tyler Clark is your left guard, senior Danny Franks at center, senior Steven Adams at right guard, and the right tackle spot is between senior Nic Riley and redshirt freshman Kyle Wilborn.
Let’s go position by position
LEFT TACKLE - Brown, who played just one semester at SW Mississippi CC, emerged as the frontrunner for the left tackle spot and that’s what coaches were hoping the 6-foot-5, 330-pound (anywhere from 320-350 depending on who you ask) would do.
“He’s got a chance to be really special,“ offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. “He’ll be the starter at left tackle. It was good for him to go against our defensive ends (Lang, Sheffield, etc.)“
Backing up Brown will be junior Tyler Graves.
LEFT GUARD - Clark, who emerged as a walk-on starter as a freshman in 2007, had a great spring. “He was the best player on offense several days during the spring,“ Brown said. Clark worked mostly at center, which is where he’ll play in 2010. Tyrell Curtis is his backup and redshirt freshman Jacob Creech is in the mix.
CENTER - Despite missing the spring, Franks will return as the top guy there for the third straight year. Clark will be his backup, and Brown said Zach Swindall, a walk-on, had a good spring.
RIGHT GUARD - Adams is the top guy here and sophomore Micah Grimes is backing up Adams. “He had an up and down spring,“ Brown said of Grimes. “He’d have good days and he’d have plays where he’d have some mental errors we can’t have.“
RIGHT TACKLE - Riley went down with a sprained knee late in spring, allowing Wilborn, who’s about 6-foot-7, 320, to step up. Wilborn had shoulder surgery last year and missed some crucial time in the weightlifting program, but got a redshirt year.
The big deal here is that Brown wants five starters and seven guys who are ready to play - preferably guys who can learn all the positions and be interchangeable. Help will come in the fall from JUCO transfer Nate Newland and freshmen Jay Stansberry and Cody Jenkins.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 04/30 at 03:32 PM
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Not near as bad as Tuesday, but Troy fell to Auburn 13-8 Wednesday night. It was an odd game. Troy was held to just four hits, but Auburn issued 14 combined BBs and HBPs. Read it HERE.
Since we have to cater to our Alabama and Auburn readers when Troy plays either of the two, myself and Matt Nascone of the Troy Messenger had to wait around for AU coach John Pawlowski to talk to his team and do radio. No matter, as we finally caught up to Troy head coach Bobby Pierce in his office after he had changed out of uniform. That’s how they do it in the major leagues - talk to the skipper in his office. Normally, I’m talking to Pierce just minutes after the game is over and right before or right after Jerry Miller finishes his on-field interview for the radio broadcast.
Well, we started questioning the manhood of his players and his strategic decisions, and….
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OK, ok, no questioning of manhood or anything like that. But I did bring up the Hal McRae rant and figured I’d look it up.
The hitting was pretty sub-par tonight. Of note, the lineup did not include Ryan Ditthardt, Steven Felix and Michael Precise. Ditthardt got in the game late and hit a monster double off the wall. He’s probably the best offensive player on the team, but had been struggling lately. Maybe that’ll get him back in a groove because when he’s in the lineup and hitting well as the cleanup hitter (like he was early in the year), the team’s tough to beat.
Pierce said starter Steven Morelock was in a groove in the first inning and seemed to lose it in the next few. I don’t think he pitched as bad as his line indicates and because he’s shown some grit and went after hitters (and has had past success), he might get another start. Toward the end, Fred Lewis looked pretty good in his one inning of work. He’s a guy that Troy took a chance on - he had Friday night stuff before arm surgery and may not be completely recovered, but they’re hoping it comes back to him. He’s done well in spurts and could be worth a start - if not, then watch for him to challenge for a weekend spot next year depending on his progression. Chris Sorce can throw some gas.
But, I did as about the struggles of the midweek pitchers - guys who are also counted on to provide depth and bridge the cap between the three weekend starters (Ray, Walls, Burge) and the closer (Sorce).
“Going into the year, I definitely thought we had some pitching depth that we could rely on,“ Pierce said. “I thought they had performed very well during all of the fall and early spring and really the first part of spring (the season). When we lose command of the ball with four or five different guys, which has happened, that makes it hard for those guys to maintain the level of confidence to succeed at this level. It all starts with strike one and that’s been hard to get with the middle relievers. However, those guys have to find a way to regain some of that pitchability they’ve shown to be able to help our team down the stretch.“
It’s still a team that can win a conference tournament and get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Some of the pieces are there - good weekend rotation, very good closer, no real automatic outs in the main lineup.
Troy hosts Middle Tennessee this weekend. I’ll be there Friday.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 04/30 at 01:56 AM
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Auburn pounded Troy pitchers for a 26-6 win. I wasn’t there, but the Opelika-Auburn News‘ Andrew Gribblecovered the game and sent it to us.
The teams meet again today at 6 in Troy. I will be there for that one. Got to think Steven Morelock‘s licking his chops to face this Auburn team that has hit nearly 100 home runs, but in all seriousness, it’s going to be a tough test for the fifth-year senior.
Another loss or two this week and Troy probably plays itself out of NCAA Regional at-large bid, but with the tournament at home and the front-line pitchers (Tyler Ray, Jason Walls, Travis Burge, Chris Sorce) pitching well, it’s not out of the question to win that. The problem is, most of the rest of the guys aren’t getting anyone out. Drew Hull has a good-enough 4.45 ERA, but only two other guys have ERAs under 10.
That’s why coaches are giving Morelock a shot today. I’d guess Hull would be next in line, with Sorce and Josh Storm (he’s still got the stuff but has been hampered by a hand injury this year), available to close it late. Hull has done well at times and is from Auburn, so you’d figure he’ll be extra-pumped up if called upon. ———————————————————————-
I’ve still got a post-spring OL look coming. I’m just not sure when to plug it in with all the stuff that’s been going on this week. But, a hint, four starters have been determined—James Brown at LT, Tyler Clark at LG, Danny Franks at C, Steven Adams at RG. The battle at RT has redshirt freshman Kyle Wilborn and senior Nic Riley neck-and-neck. Wilborn made a big move when Riley missed the last week of practice with a knee injury.
Posted by Drew Champlin on 04/28 at 11:45 PM
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