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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 22:58:32 GMT -6
This is now the 5th player to choose to stay. John Hines staying also means Troy is returning the ENTIRE two-deep on defense.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 22:45:28 GMT -6
Barker was a senior. Watson/ Free no experience. Watson was doing very good until he got Hurt. If powell was so good why did he not play more at Mizzou in 3 years? We shall see. Watson wasn't doing very good... His high completion percentage and low interceptions was the only thing he had going, and that was only because (The HC we don’t speak of) was being conservative and running a lot of screen passes and short passes because he knew Watson wasn't ready to sling it everywhere. There's a low margin of error by doing that, but less reward typically. I think Watson can be very good, but he's not there right now. He can't throw tight ropes, many passes are more wobbly than they should be, he checked down much too often, and he missed a lot of open receivers downfield. Barker had the same issues his junior year before he got injured, but he worked his arse off in the off-season and developed a BEAUTIFUL, accurate ball throw.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 14:51:43 GMT -6
(The HC we don’t speak of) also just had another well-respected player, Kyle Nixon, declare he's coming back for one more season.
Nixon was a Neal Brown recruit.
A coaching staff made up of poor coaches with a poor culture don't have high-character guys like Dylan Bradshaw, Kyle Nixon, BJ Smith, and Reggie Todd decide to come back. Again, all of those guys could transfer elsewhere pretty easily, even to a P5 school. But they chose to stay. It says A LOT.
I think you overestimate their ability to transfer somewhere meaningful. And they may just like Troy or their position coaches. There's more to their college experience than just football with a bad head coach. Regardless, good players can only accomplish so much without good coaches or good leadership. (The HC we don’t speak of) is neither a good coach nor a good leader, given his current record. Hopefully year three will be better and he can pretend he rebuilt the program after he destroyed it. I don't believe I'm overestimating anything. There are different reasons a player can choose to stay. But these 4 guys could easily have decided to call it a day and move on with life. Reggie Todd could have easily declared for the NFL Draft, just like Khalil McClain did. There is a strong reason they are choosing otherwise, deciding to go through one more year of hard work again just to play one more season.
You don't make that kind of decision just because you like Troy, or you like your position coach... and you don't make that decision if you don't have confidence in the entire coaching staff and the rest of the team.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 14:46:27 GMT -6
My guess is he is hoping Pro Day will give him a boost. He certainly has the size, length, and hands to make it. I'm curious to see what his 40 time is.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 14:31:20 GMT -6
Again, CL was nobodyâs choice to lead our program. I would have let him go after this PR nightmare. Technically, his âsinsâ not illegal but just scummy. But the kings have spoken, letâs move on and cheer for our team to win ! (The HC we don’t speak of) also just had another well-respected player, Kyle Nixon, declare he's coming back for one more season.
Nixon was a Neal Brown recruit.
A coaching staff made up of poor coaches with a poor culture don't have high-character guys like Dylan Bradshaw, Kyle Nixon, BJ Smith, and Reggie Todd decide to come back. Again, all of those guys could transfer elsewhere pretty easily, even to a P5 school. But they chose to stay. It says A LOT.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 14:27:14 GMT -6
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 14:26:05 GMT -6
Kyle Nixon just announced he is coming back for his extra season.
2021 keeps looking better.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 14:23:14 GMT -6
The disdain for (The HC we don’t speak of) is strong in here.
Have a glass half full attitude, and see what happens in his third year.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 14:20:01 GMT -6
There is nothing Iâd like better than to be proven wrong about (The HC we don’t speak of) and I know that we had some key players leave in 2019 , Iâll also agree that Covid had an effect , but what about some of the really poor play calling for 2 years? I thought the offensive playcalling in 2019 with Barker was pretty good.
The offense in 2019, under a veteran QB was:
#9 in Passing Yards #15 in 3rd Down Conversions
#18 in Total Offense #23 in Fewest Penalties
#25 in Completion Percentage #25 in Scoring Offense (34 points per game)
#31 in Red Zone Offense
#32 in Total First Downs
#38 in 4th Down Conversions #45 in Tackles for Loss Allowed
We didn't run the ball as much in 2019 after BJ Smith tore his ACL, yet we still ran for over 1,700 yards that season.
It's obvious that having a good QB in this offense makes a difference. And I believe we can all agree that Gunnar Watson/Jacob Free were not nearly as good as Kaleb Barker. Could be a reason why (The HC we don’t speak of) brought in Taylor Powell from Mizzou. He has two years left to play, and one of Mizzou's offensive coaches said of Powell: "Mechanically, he is very, very detailed and very, very sound."
Bill Blankenship (Powell's HS coach and former Tulsa HC) said: âPowell is a gym rat kind of guy. And so, anything that needed to happen, he would keep working with the receivers, on their own time and bringing them indoors to work, and do the different things you do from a leadership standpoint. So, he made life a whole lot better for his new head coach (at Missouri).â
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 11:07:12 GMT -6
I hate to be a wet blanket, but only three of those wins were against D-I teams. Central Baptist is NAIA and Carver is NCCAA. We're 3-4 against D-I. But this is a really young team and there is a lot of room to grow. All the players are buying into the system and culture, so there is a lot to look forward to. True, but we also played two non-D1 teams last season... and finished just 4-7... we even got blasted by a SWAC team.
This season, we played a much tougher schedule and came out with a 5-4 record. It certainly exceeded my expectations for such a young team.
I'm just glad we're sitting at 6-5 currently... a winning record. At this point last season we were 5-8, and that was with a more experienced team.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 10:05:33 GMT -6
And then in (The HC we don’t speak of)'s second year, COVID hits the team, and following the BYU game we began having 1st and 2nd string players out for every single game until we played Coastal Carolina. I didn't realize how many players were out this season because of COVID. We didn't hear much about it. Yeah, we were the only team in the country that dealt with Covid. It really effected App St, ULL, Coastal, Ga St and Ga Southern It did affect Georgia Southern quite a bit. It took a toll on Louisiana a few times and they nearly lost some games they against inferior teams because of it. App State and Coastal didn't have as bad of a time with it. Coastal really had very few issues overall until after they played Troy.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 9:13:17 GMT -6
I'm excited about this guy. He reminds me a lot of Kaleb Barker. He can throw tight spirals on a rope, and he's also athletic and can run from pressure if the pocket breaks down.
I'm also impressed that he led Missouri to a comeback win over Arkansas last season as a backup, going 8/14 for 105 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He's got moxy.
It will be fun to see how the QB battle unfolds in the spring/fall... you know this guy has got to be good if he was Drew Lock's backup... plus he originally held offers from Mizzou, Washington State, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Indiana, Maryland, Wake Forest, Illinois, and Purdue.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 8:54:17 GMT -6
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Jan 4, 2021 8:00:12 GMT -6
A lot of players choosing to come back to play for (The HC we don’t speak of) (The HC we don’t speak of).
That's a good sign if you ask me, especially when it comes to players liking (The HC we don’t speak of) as their coach...
BJ Smith, Reggie Todd, and Dylan Bradshaw could have easily transferred elsewhere if they didn't like the situation at Troy. I think the players know how good this team can be next year and believe in (The HC we don’t speak of) and the other coaches.
I also had the opportunity to talk to an assistant coach a couple of days ago that I was good friends with in school, and my perspective on (The HC we don’t speak of) has shifted some following our conversation.
He said that it's been a rough two seasons for the program because in year one of (The HC we don’t speak of) arriving, a lot of players transferred out (a couple didn't make their grades and had to sit), leaving us without some key players and a severe lack of depth.
And then in (The HC we don’t speak of)'s second year, COVID hits the team, and following the BYU game we began having 1st and 2nd string players out for every single game until we played Coastal Carolina. I didn't realize how many players were out this season because of COVID. We didn't hear much about it.
Basically, he said (The HC we don’t speak of) hasn't had the opportunity to put together a complete, depth-filled team in two years, and that he expects next season to really be something special. He said the MTSU game where we won 47-14, and the Coastal Carolina game were really the only two games this season where we had most of the players available.
He also said the transfer additions of Taiyon Palmer, Taylor Powell, Jamarcus Chatman, and La'Damian Webb were big gets, and that they were all high-character players. He said (The HC we don’t speak of) brought in those select guys because he thought they would contribute academically/athletically, and could potentially be great leaders for the team on both sides of the ball. So no worries about them being bad apples.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 31, 2020 14:24:43 GMT -6
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 30, 2020 14:22:53 GMT -6
While I was not a fan of Hartwell as a person, he was a shrewd negotiator. When he hired NB he made sure it was with enough money to seal the deal and the money to attract the right coordinators and assistant coaches. As much as I liked Jeremy McClain, in my opinion, he-with one foot out the door, did not make sure that we had A. the right coach, B. he didn't manage to keep even the same level of funding for coordinators and assistants. C. He left and we had to hire a new AD. So, in one fell swoop we replaced the two most high profile positions in the athletic department with people who had never held those positions. I like BJ and commend him and his staff for pulling off a season when no one thought it could be done. However, you cannot tell me that the state of our athletic program at the end of 2018/beginning of 2019 would not have attracted someone who was already an AD. Again, BJ may have been the best candidate but I think that he also was the least experienced and probably agreed to a lesser salary to get the title. I do agree with a previous post that his biggest test as an AD will come a year from now when he truly has to deal with CL. In the meantime - why for all that is good and right has no one picked up the phone and called Al Pouge?! For the sake of the program some changes have to be made even if it is only for perception. The salary pool for (The HC we don’t speak of) was hire than Nealâs in his first year. Hartwell had never been an AD and he was the best one to ever hold the job at Troy. Brentâs salary is open to the public. Iâm very pleased with what heâs done so far at Troy. I would love to see Al come back to Troy, but why would he jump on a sinking ship? Auburn is a sinking ship itself. Who knows if Harsin will retain those guys.
Maybe one day, we can get Jon Sumrall as HC, Al Pogue as DC, and Sean Reagan as OC.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 29, 2020 11:56:50 GMT -6
I recently spoke with some very reliable sources connected to the football program and I have concluded based on the information I have been given that (The HC we don’t speak of) cannot be fired for his alleged actions but is clearly in the D- bag category! Like it or not we are stuck with him for at least 1 more year and the real job for AD Jones will be what to do with (The HC we don’t speak of) at the end of this nightmare! Iâll also be interested to see if (The HC we don’t speak of) makes any staff changes ! I think itâs his buddies and he doesnât have the balls to let any of them go ! Can someone just straight up say what the real allegations are??? Instead of giving cloudy information or saying "well I heard this at the coffee shop..." or "I heard on the phone..." or "I've got some sources that said..."
You don't have to say who your sources are, and you don't have to give names. But if people are going to keep giving credence to this rumor, someone is going to have to present some real facts, instead of continuing to discuss a rumor. Otherwise the rumor is baseless, and this whole thread is nonsense and only based on the fact that people want (The HC we don’t speak of) (The HC we don’t speak of) gone.
This rumor has now morphed into different stories on social media. First, it was (The HC we don’t speak of) had "knocked up" a cheerleader. Then, it became (The HC we don’t speak of) was having an affair with a grad assistant cheer coach that had been going on for a year. In the past four days, I've heard it's an affair with an older cheer assistant coach. Now, a poster on here has said "(The HC we don’t speak of) (The HC we don’t speak of) will be retained. Investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing."
It's getting ridiculous. The fact that some dude on Twitter said (The HC we don’t speak of) (The HC we don’t speak of) was having an affair, that he was definitely going to be fired, and that the affair had been going on for a year...
... and yet he hasn't been fired, and this rumor just recently started catching fire on this message board in the past 2-3 weeks (even though the affair has been happening for A YEAR???)
(The HC we don’t speak of) (The HC we don’t speak of) hasn't even been acting like someone that's been caught in a moral dilemma and could be fired.
Come on people.... it's not adding up.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 29, 2020 9:53:26 GMT -6
A 5-4 record is a pretty good start for such a young team... especially one that's not shooting very well at all.
Troy has the #62 scoring defense in the nation, which is pretty good. They're also #76 in the nation in blocked shots.
Bad news is... Troy is #321 (out of 329) in scoring offense... #328 in 3-point shooting percentage... and #324 in assists per game. That's really bad, but I guess that's to be expected when you're playing so many new players.
Nevertheless, Troy has finished non-conference play with a 5-4 record. Last year at this time, we were 4-7.
There are also some decent wins over Western Carolina (7-2), UNA (4-2), and Samford (4-3).
I hope the players can somehow flip a switch on the shooting woes by the time conference play starts.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 29, 2020 7:39:32 GMT -6
Anybody know what's up with Jakevan Leftridge and Lydell Geffrard not playing over the past few games? Geffrard hasn't played at all this season, but it on the sidelines.
It'd be awesome to have them playing again when conference play starts in January.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 28, 2020 22:38:05 GMT -6
I won't use an absolute, I won't use the word "irreparable", but the damage about to be done could take years of really hard work. We are on the precipice of becoming the Bowling Green of the Sunbelt. Maybe the damage that you imply is the result of people, media, message boards and internetworks promulgating "gossip" with no facts to support? Just a result of multiple "free" outlets for loose lips.... with no accountability for the gossip? cornhole noticed a few critical posters have removed posts or name from message board. Maybe they think twice? 11-2 record would erase short memory folk. Who is Bowling Green? How dare you propose that this rumor may not be true... How dare you expect to see at least one piece of evidence or facts about about it... You ought to be ashamed.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 27, 2020 12:59:51 GMT -6
There are 18 conference games this season, compared to 20 last season.
The Sun Belt is doing only divisional play in basketball because of COVID, and to reduce travel.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 23, 2020 14:18:30 GMT -6
Terry Bowden was able to get Akron, of all teams, to beat two P5 teams (Northwestern and Pitt)... won a MAC division title... smacked Marshall... beat Utah State in a bowl game... and led them to their first 8 win season in 30 years.
This could be a great move for ULM.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 23, 2020 14:18:19 GMT -6
So if the rumors are true, and there is denial or a covering up of everything... then what are we to think about Jack Hawkins and Brent Jones from a moral perspective? Or from a standpoint of what is best for Troy University's future?
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 22, 2020 21:24:13 GMT -6
All the folks that have stated that Troy would see a mass exodus via the Transfer Portal, please let us know when the exodus begins. I'm with you. I don't believe there will be an exodus like last season. The fact Reggie Todd is staying when he could easily be a grad transfer says a lot. I personally believe (The HC we don’t speak of) has gotten many key players to buy in to next season. I do believe there will be some backup players that transfer.
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Post by cardinalblacktrojan on Dec 22, 2020 21:10:00 GMT -6
I see this rumor has died a quick death.
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