2018 College Football Previews: Troy Trojans
Troy Trojans
Location: Troy, AL
Coach: Neal Brown (25-13) 3rd Season
Stadium: Veterans Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 30,402)
CSJ Projections:
2nd: Sun Belt (2nd East Division)
3rd: Alabama
63rd: FBS
66th: Division I
2017 In A Sentence: The Trojans won a share of the Sun Belt title after defeating Arkansas State in a thriller in the regular season finale and defeated North Texas in the New Orleans Bowl to finish with a 11-2 overall record– the programs best season finish since joining FBS in 2001.
Biggest Shoes to Fill: RB Jordan Chunn set the school record for rushing touchdowns in his career, and showed some aptitude as a receiver, catching 58 passes in his final two seasons. In total, he recorded 3,682 yards from scrimmage (3,124 rushing, 558 receiving), and 47 touchdowns in his career. He signed a college free agent contract with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys this past spring.
Key Player: CB/KR Marcus Jones seemed to shine in the Trojans’ biggest games in his true freshman season last year. He set the Troy single-season record and tied the Troy career record with three kickoff returns for touchdowns. The now-sophomore has been named to a number of All-American teams as a kick returner but also was a force on defense. In the Trojans’ upset victory at LSU, Jones intercepted a pass and led the team with eight tackles. Jones returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and an interception 100 yards for a score in Troy’s 32-25 Sun Belt title securing victory over Arkansas State.
Fearless Prediction: Troy has two early non-conference showdowns in the first month with Boise State and Nebraska, and ends with a trip to fellow SBC East favorite Appalachian State. That last regular season game will likely determine the SBC title. Another 10-win season seems in reach and is certain to get back to a bowl.
Originally from LaMoure, North Dakota, Kent is a 1996 graduate of North Dakota State University. His prior writing experience is over 15 years having previously worked with D2football.com, I-AA.org, and College Sporting News before coming to College Sports Journal in 2016. His main focus is college football is the Missouri Valley Football Conference within the Division I FCS. And in 2017, he began also to look at the FBS Group of Five conferences of the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt.
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