Troy Football Opens Fall Camp
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: August 3, 2012
The
Troy football team opened fall camp with a three-hour practice on the
brand new turf in Veterans Memorial Stadium Thursday morning.
The Trojans, who worked out in helmets and shorts, battled temperatures
that soared over the 100-degree mark as they began preparations for the
2012 season.
"I'm
impressed with the energy that has carried over from the offseason and
from spring ball," Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said to the large
contingent
of media following practice. "We have a lot of guys that retained a lot
and know what to do and it should be that way. We have a lot of new guys
and new faces that are trying to make their mark. We are trying to make
sure that we nurture them and bring them
along at a rate that they can deal with. We had a good work day and I
hope that we can build on today and continue to get better. I challenged
each individual player to come out here every day ready to get better
as an individual and therefore the team gets
better."
The
coaches mixed in a little of everything during the opening practice
session of the fall that allowed to players to show off some 1-on-1
skills
in addition to working in some team drills.
"The
energy was up all practice, I just hope that everybody keeps it up,"
linebacker Kanorris Davis said. "Everybody came out ready to play and
ready
to show the coaches what they were made of. We have a lot more
leadership this year. We have a lot more people in your ear telling you
what to and everybody is listening. We've got more people wanting to
lead and we've got more people wanting to have better
attitudes."
Troy
has won a share of five of the past six Sun Belt Conference titles and
is the only school to represent the league in five bowl games. Troy has
11 more Sun Belt victories than any other school in the league since the
Trojans joined the Sun Belt in 2004. The Trojans also have a Sun Belt
leading 84 all-conference selections and 38 first team all-conference
selections over that same time period.
"We
are trying to work towards getting back to where we think Troy belongs
and that is championship caliber and being in bowls," Blakeney said.
"That
is the driving force. I think we have evolved as a team of leaders.
We've got more folks trying to assert themselves as leaders and that is a
positive thing."
The
Trojans will once again practice in helmets and shorts on Friday
beginning at 8:15 a.m. before moving into shells on Saturday.
