Friday links

November 13, 2009

By Drew Champlin

I’ll board a plane in about three hours for NW Arkansas, but I wrote a couple of things for today’s paper.

HERE is this basketball notebook, with a current update and a bit on the two signees I told you about below.

Also, I wrote THIS on quarterback Levi Brown and his streaks and running ability.

From the other side: Arkansas

November 12, 2009

By Drew Champlin

A big thanks to Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for his help here.

1. What’s different about this Arkansas team than the 2007 one?

Wow, two whole seasons, one regime change and a lifetime ago, eh? That Razorback team featured the deadly combo of McFadden and Jones gobbling rushing yardage, this one features Ryan Mallett standing 6-7 in the pocket and throwing darts all over the field. The defenses aren’t drastically different from a personnel standpoint, but this group plays a little more zone coverage, less gambling and man than the Reggie Herring unit of ‘07.

In two seasons, the Razorbacks have assembled one of the best receiving corps in the nation, led by 6-3 Greg Childs, who has caught a series of a fade routes and turned slants into monster plays, and speedy Joe Adams, three weeks returned from a mild stroke and up to his tackle-breaking, hard-running antics.

2. How does a defense go about slowing down this Arkansas offense? 

Watch tape from the Alabama game for starters. But, since few defenses have the speed and strength of the Tide, plan B starts with a strong pass rush, getting Mallett uncomfortable and making him throw wrong-footed and on the move. The successful defenses have put him on the move and on his back. However, if a defense chooses to do that with extra blitzers, they’re hot routes and ability to beat man coverage on jump balls and slants has been extraordinary.

3. Where are some weaknesses on this Arkansas team that Troy could exploit? 

Again, the video shows that Arkansas’ secondary has been vulnerable to the play-action pass. The Hogs have given up a long sequence of big-play touchdowns this year, many of them when safeties and corners have bitten hard on the play fakes. The Razorbacks stuffed the run between the tackles vs. Alabama and Florida, an admirable task indeed, but there have been creases in recent weeks, and Ole Miss absolutely wiped out their D-ends and killed them on the corner.

4. Where are some good places to eat for Troy fans coming to the game? 

Friday nights require some patience, as there’ll be lots of folks in town. On the local front, Herman’s for steaks. It’s on College, almost all the way to the NWA Mall. Hugo’s is fun, a downstairs deal on Block St. downtown. Noodles near the mall complex is good pasta. I’m a fan of the Marketplace Grill up in Springdale off 412. Lotsa eateries on Dickson St., if you have patience for parking, etc. Bar and Grill types have plenty of options of the Hooters, Applebees, TGIFs, Buffalo Wild Wings, Outback, Foghorns near baseball’s Baum Stadium.

5. How do you see the game going? 

I’m not really in the prediction business. I believe Troy will have some success racking up yardage and will put points on the board. Ryan Mallett and the Arkansas offense have been superb in home games, and really destroyed the Georgia defense in a night game, so they’ll score too. I think the team that has the better tackling and generates the most successful pass rush—leading to hurried throws/incompletions more than sacks—will win.

Troy adds two men’s hoops signees

By Drew Champlin

Troy has signed two junior college guards during the fall signing period, head coach Don Maestri said.

Both come from Gulf Coast CC in Panama City. Travis Nichols is listed at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and is actually a redshirt freshman at Gulf Coast. Nichols is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., and is expected to be a top 3-point shooter for Gulf Coast. You can go HERE, and HERE for news articles from the Panama City News Herald. Nichols went to American International College in Springfield, Mass., last year and redshirted. Nichols will be a sophomore next year with the Trojans.

The other signee is DeAndrae Ross, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard. You might remember him from playing at South Alabama for two seasons. He played 14.5 minutes per game last year, scoring 3.8 ppg in a reserve role. HERE is his Yahoo! profile page.

Ross is sitting out this year at Gulf Coast CC because he’s not eligible to play in junior college since he’s played two years at South Alabama. I’m guessing he didn’t just up and transfer to Troy was because (1) there were no scholarships for this season and (2) unlikely USA releases him to another Sun Belt team.

Ross is from Panama City. Both are expected to challenge for minutes immediately.

“We lose five seniors, so we’ve got to have some guys that can help us right away,“ Maestri said.

Troy also has transfers Will Weathers, a point guard, and Flynn Clayman, a wing player, sitting out this year. The Trojans can sign 3 more and will look to fill those spots in the spring signing period. Don’t be surprised if they go after some more transfers, but they’ll also look for another signee that can help next year.

Troy opens the regular season Saturday against Piedmont.

Thursday links: Happy Meal edition

By Drew Champlin

CHECK OUT what I wrote on Troy safeties Chris Bowens and Courtland Fuller.

Both went to high schools in Columbus, Ga., and were good friends, but had it out one night on the basketball court in high school. I’ve been told Bowens is probably the best basketball player on the Troy football team. The two got face-to-face after a questionable non-call.

“After the game, everything was fine,” Bowens said. “It was two friends competing on the court. I took him to McDonald’s, got him a Happy Meal and everything was good.”

Teammates rag both of them for having 0 interceptions - one less than Bear Woods. Bowens got an INT back in 2006, but he’s tied with Cameron Sheffield on the career INT list. Fuller is waiting for his first.

Needless to say, a good video can be made next week if either Fuller or Bowens gets an interception.

HERE is a story from Tom Murphy in Arkansas about the Piggies offense hitting its stride in time for this game.

From Robbie Neiswanger, read THIS about the Hogs excelling in the red zone.

If you want to check out an Arkansas media twitter, follow Robbie @NWARobbie

Wednesday links and notes

November 11, 2009

By Drew Champlin

First, read THIS story I wrote on defensive end Mario Addison, who got out of the hood in time to save his life for the better early in high school.

Addison’s got a chance to be a very good defensive end at Troy. Another guy you may have forgotten is Jonathan Massaquoi, who is redshirting this year. Defensive ends coach Randy Butler said he could have played this year and for other teams in the league, but there’s just too much talent in front of him. He’ll have three years to play starting in 2010.

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LANG ON EAST-WEST SHRINE GAME ROSTER: Looks like Brandon Lang made the cut for the East-West Shrine Game, which will be played Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Go HERE for rosters, which look to be very preliminary at this stage. I really need to be hyping this more, but won’t get a chance to talk to Lang again for another few days.

Senior Bowl rosters come out soon, I think. Got to figure some more of these Troy seniors will draw interest for all-star games.

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GRAYSHIRT UPDATE: I told you about Troy going separate ways with three JUCO commits—OL Teavis Durgin, LB Talris Brown and DB Aaron Ward. Brown and Durgin just didn’t pan out and Ward wasn’t going to be enrolled in time for the 2010 season. There’s a chance he could come in 2011, but it’s probably slim.

Troy will have four grayshirts come in January - WRs Jamel Johnson and Sam Haskins, DL John Clark and DB Bradley Wallace. I’ve seen Johnson and Haskins on campus and both look the part. To me, Johnson looks like another TeBiarus Gill in terms of strength - well, he will after a couple more years in the weight room. Haskins is tall and lanky, probably 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5. I don’t know if Clark is on campus or not. Wallace was here for a couple of days early in fall camp, but went back home. He’s expected back in January.

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HOW MUCH DOES YOUR FAVORITE COACH MAKE? You go go HERE to this report on USA today, which has salaries of every head coach and assistant coach in the country.