Some Reporting Day notes
July 28, 2008
I’m in here working on a notebook for tomorrow and waiting on a player to talk to for a feature.
Here’s a couple of personnel notes.
Cornerback Demarcus Robertson didn’t qualify, so he won’t be here this fall. They expect him to be here in January.
Safety Michael Ricks, they won’t know about his status for probably another week. He’s apparently got to finish up some more work.
Offensive lineman Kyle Wilborn will report this fall and not grayshirt as originally planned. They’re thin at tackle after this year and the plan is to redshirt him while getting him used to going up against guys like Kenny Mainor, Brandon Lang and Cameron Sheffield every day at practice. He’ll start out at right tackle and have a chance to slide into the rotation in 2009.
Quarterback Corey Robinson will grayshirt to give him a year of separation. Quarterback Dan Parker will get a hard look because he’s the only guy other than Jamie Hampton that can hurt defenses with his feet.
Wideout Tebiarus Gill qualified and he’ll give Troy its best tall deep threat in a while. He’s about an inch taller than Gary Banks but not as thick. He’ll probably play one of the outside receiver spots. Chip Reeves is in and Felton Payton and Gavin Ellis will grayshirt. The key for both Payton and Ellis will be gaining weight and muscle because both have good size.
The two biggest areas of worry right now are cornerbacks and the kicking/punting/kickoff game. That’s what head coach Larry Blakeney was talking about and what my notebook will lead with.
The offensive line is set, but at right guard there will be a four-way battle with Wes Potter, Steven Merkel, Will Chambliss and Steven Adams. Potter will have the upper hand now because he started there all last year, but Chambliss and Merkel have played a good bit and Adams is a guy who keeps impressing.
Defensive tackle Tim Lamb was a highly-touted recruit. He’s still got to get in shape before he can help out, though I predict he’ll get a snap here, a snap there. There’s some older guys at DT who have proven themselves.
“He’s fat,“ Blakeney said of Lamb. “But he’s a powerful guy.“
He’s listed at 338 in the media guide. Coaches say he’s 320 and they want him to get to 300, actually around 280. 280 won’t happen this year, but the heat of fall camp will help him drop some weight.
