Troy lands LSU transfer Corley

TROY — Troy’s latest transfer from a big school pulled up in a U-Haul Thursday afternoon, looking forward to a fresh start with the Trojans.

Sidell Corley, a defensive lineman who left LSU recently, chose a full scholarship offer from Troy among other schools because he wanted to stay in state, his father said.

“He had offers from Big 12 schools and one Big 10 school,” Sidell Corley Sr. said. “He wanted to come back in state. That’s the reason he left LSU.”

Corley, a 6-foot-4, 275-pound lineman, signed with LSU in 2007 from McGill-Toolen in Mobile, but redshirted that year and played in just two games last year.

With the sudden deaths of his mother and uncle in May, Corley started to feel it was time to make a change, his father said. His mother was shot and killed in her home, and his uncle drowned.

Corley Sr. said he is forwarding obituaries and news articles to Troy athletics director Steve Dennis, and it is now up to Troy to file the waiver with the NCAA that would allow him to play immediately. He said LSU had been helpful in giving Corley his release.

If the NCAA complies, Corley will have three years to play three. If not, he’ll sit out this year and be a junior in 2010.

“It’s a clean slate and a brand new start,” Corley Sr. said. “Troy was willing to deal with his situation, even though he would be coming to camp late. He can get the same out of Troy as he could Alabama, Auburn or UAB. His ultimate goal is to play in the NFL and in the state of Alabama, Troy has done better than
anybody lately as far as getting guys to the NFL.”

Corley was a four-star recruit and one of the top prospects in the country in 2007. He played defensive end in high school and will get looks at both end and
tackle at Troy. With the Trojans’ strong depth at end, his best chance for playing time this year would likely be at tackle behind starters Eugene Kinlaw and Kevin Dixon.

Corley has a strong support group at Troy, including his cousin, wide receiver TeBiarus Gill, and other Mobile natives Carvel Jones, Jacoby Thomas and Sam
Glusman. He’s also familiar with defensive ends coach Randy Butler, who recruited him in high school when Butler was at Southern Miss.

“He knows more people at Troy than he did at LSU for two years,” Corley Sr. said.

He’ll room with Gill, who said the two are very close.

“It’s going to be a great situation for him because he feels like he’s wasted two years at LSU,” Gill said. “He just wants to play; that’s about it.”

Corley will have to get admitted to school and pass a physical before he can practice, but coaches are hoping he’ll be ready to go today. He’s the third impact
transfer in two years for Troy, joining Dixon (Nebraska) and wide receiver Josh Jarboe (Oklahoma).

Practice update: Troy had its third afternoon practice in the heat Thursday in preparation for Saturday’s 10:30 a.m. scrimmage. Two players back practicing were Jarboe (hamstring) and Kinlaw (concussion), though Kinlaw didn’t practice in full-contact drills.

Trojans on watch list: Two more Trojans found themselves on preseason watch lists this week — kicker Sam Glusman (Lou Groza) and wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan (Biletnikoff). Others on recently announced watch lists so far are defensive end Brandon Lang (Hendricks) and running back DuJuan Harris (Doak Walker). In the spring, the Lombardi Award listed Lang, Cameron Sheffield and Boris Lee on its list.