SUPER MARIO: Senior Addison strives to continue Trojans' tradition in DE success

By Tim Gayle • August 17, 2010


Troy's Mario Addison, who played quarterback and tailback in high school, will start at defensive end
this season. (Amanda Sowards)

TROY -- Maybe it's just the offensive nature of Mario Addison, but if there's a loose ball on the ground in front of him, Troy's defensive end believes instincts will take over.

"I'm taking it to the house, no questions asked," Addison said. "I'll be mad if I don't."

Addison may be the latest in a growing list of players that the Troy coaching staff has taken and developed into quality defensive ends that can play in the National Football League.
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Trojan running backs add another dimension to offense

By Tim Gayle • August 22, 2010


Troy running back Chris Anderson tries to slip past defensive back
Willard Ross during a recent scrimmage. (Amanda Sowards)

Troy held its third preseason scrimmage Saturday, a workout originally planned as a concentrated session on special teams, but one that widened its focus to the offense and the ongoing battle between quarterbacks Jamie Hampton and Corey Robinson.

Robinson led the first-team unit and completed 6 of 12 passes for 68 yards, while Hampton worked with the second-team offense, completing 2 of 6 attempts for 54 yards. Much of the work went to the running backs, with Chris Anderson, DuJuan Harris and T.J. Mitchell getting the bulk of the work.
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Harris refocuses after healing, birth of son

By Drew Champlin | dchamplin@dothaneagle.com
Published: August 22, 2010


Credit: Max Oden/moden@dothaneagle.com

Whether it was waiting for his son to be born or battling through a back injury, DuJuan Harris lost his confidence last season.

Harris, a senior running back for Troy, was at the top of his game after running for more than 1,000 yards as a sophomore in 2008. He was expected to build on that last season, but it never materialized.

Harris said some personal problems and an injury that sapped a lot of his strength led to his poor play.
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Blakeney content at Troy, doesn't ask what if

TROY, Ala. (AP) -Troy football coach Larry Blakeney works in a modest, cramped office, strolls around campus for exercise and is a regular at "The Pig," a cafe at the local Piggly Wiggly grocery store.

Though Blakeney's post is a few football fields - and tax brackets - removed from the seven-figure glamour jobs of major college football, only Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer and Penn State's Joe Paterno have led their FBS teams for longer.

He's had a career that could have landed him one of those big-time jobs, and paychecks to match, but he doesn't waste time wondering what might have been if his reputation hadn't been tarnished following a stint as an assistant at Auburn.
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All-purpose Jernigan eager to be Troy's gamechanger

By Tim Gayle • tgayle@gannett.com • August 28, 2010


Multi-purpose offensive threat Jerrel Jernigan
vows the Troy offense will remain high-octane
this season despite the loss of quarterback
and Sun Belt player of the year Levi Brown.
"We've got a lot of weapons on offense,"
Jernigan said. "The sky's the limit for this
offense." (Mickey Welsh)


TROY -- He's on the verge of becoming Troy's all-time receiving leader, but Jerrel Jernigan loves the occasions he gets to line up in the Wildcat offense and take the direct snap at quarterback.

Jernigan was that type of player at Eufaula High. He could break open a game on any play, presenting head coach Dan Klages with the challenge of making sure Jernigan put his hands on the ball enough to be a gamechanger.

Four years later, Troy coach Larry Blakeney has the same challenge.
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Troy's Mario Addison uses his offensive skills
from his days at Tarrant to excel on defense

Dennis Victory -- The Birmingham News


Mario Addison (7) was a standout on offense at Tarrant, but he's making waves now for
Troy as a defensive lineman. (Troy University)

Mario Addison knows the moves.

A former quarterback and running back, Addison used speed and quickness to elude defenders while rack­ing up consecutive 1,000-plus yard rushing sea­sons as a two-year starter at Tarrant.

Converted to linebacker at Northeast Mississippi Community College before moving to defensive line at Troy, the 6-foot-2, 254-pound senior will be a key to a Trojans front that lost all four defenders. He'll need all his skills as one of six first-time starters.
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Troy chat tonight

September 01, 2010
By Drew Champlin

Guys, we’ll chat on the blog tonight at 8 p.m. Feel free to stop by, ask questions, or just watch
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Gameday Magazine Debuts
Troy Gameday, the game program of the Trojans, will feature two seniors
Travis Jarome
9/1/2010 9:35:50 AM



The weekly home game program of Troy football, GAMEDAY, will feature two seniors for its season-opener against Bowling Green State University. The magazine will feature Jerrel Jernigan, who is poised to become Troy's all-time leading receiver this season, and senior Tyler Clark who will be making a jersey change for the opening game this season.

The two articles give you, the fan, an inside look at each of these individuals off the field of football. Below you will find excerpts from the articles, but in order to view the article fully you need to grab a GAMEDAY on Saturday at locations inside and outside of Veterans Memorial Stadium.

FULL SPEED AHEAD, ON AND OFF FIELD
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Newcomers: Play or redshirt?

September 02, 2010
By Drew Champlin

Before the season started, I wanted to make a blog post on Troy’s new scholarship players and let you know how close they are to playing or if they’ll redshirt. Some of this is a guess, and some of it isn’t even determined yet - i.e. coaches want to redshirt Greg Jenkins at quarterback, but won’t have that luxury if other quarterbacks get injured.

Let’s go player by player for guys who are on the roster and we’ll include guys who got here in January.
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Emptying out the notes

September 03, 2010
By Drew Champlin

When you talk to a bunch of people, you don’t get to use all of the quotes, notes, etc., in the paper. I’ve got one more game preview story that runs in tomorrow’s paper, but here’s some leftover notes just for the blog.
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Shuffle to linebacker suits Troy's Sheffield just fine

September 4, 2010

TROY -- Daniel Sheffield likes his position at strong-side linebacker.

In the Trojans' scheme, the 'sam' linebacker is like a rover, a player who provides run support while covering the backs and receivers on short patterns near the line of scrimmage. And that's perfect for the senior from Ashburn, Ga., known as "Pee-Wee."

"I love to be involved in the run, so that suits me better than just being at '12' (12 yards back at safety). Now I'm at '5,' so I'm closer. It also suits my athletic ability because we have to cover receivers."
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TROY 30, BOWLING GREEN 27: Davis' interception,
Taylor's late FG lift Trojans over Falcons

By Tim Gayle • tgayle@gannett.com • September 5, 2010



TROY -- In a game that featured 804 yards of total offense, an undersized Troy defensive tackle came up with the play of the game.

Tony Davis grabbed a deflected pass to stop a late Bowling Green drive and then, Michael Taylor kicked a 34-yard field goal with four seconds left to lift the Trojans to a 30-27 win in front of 19,886 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
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Postgame links/video/thoughts


September 05, 2010
By Drew Champlin

Game stats HERE. My game story is HERE and my notebook is HERE

Long day, but it’s over. That was a pretty exciting win for Troy. I’m not sure how good Bowling Green is - I don’t think they’re great - but Troy usually loses when it comes to heartbreaking games like this (see: GMAC Bowl, New Orleans Bowls of last two years). This is not some dominant Troy team at this point, but they really needed to come out with a win here.
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Jernigan sets all-purpose career record

September 05, 2010
By Drew Champlin

The things that pass over your head when you’re covering a game that’s in doubt until the very end.

Jerrel Jernigan set the school career record for all-purpose yards last night. He now has 4,085 career yards (receiving, rushing, kick return, even a couple through the air). Jernigan set the record on a 4-yard rush.
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Troy readies for Oklahoma State

September 06, 2010
By Drew Champlin

A couple of notes from the Monday media gathering.

***The focus is on OSU star running back Kendall Hunter and rightfully so. The senior has topped the 100-yard mark against Troy both times he has faced them and ran for 257 yards in basically one half in OSU’s 65-17 win over Washington State. Now, WSU is probably the worst team in a “Big 6 conference” and probably would finish in the bottom half of the Sun Belt, but OSU seems to have a pretty lethal offense
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Troy - Team Notes

INSIDE SLANT
Troy coach Larry Blakeney is a realist.

While the Trojans are attempting to win their fifth straight Sun Belt Conference title, Blakeney has been expressing concerns over the team's inexperience throughout spring and fall practices.
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Troy QB shows poise during winning drive

By Drew Champlin
Published: September 06, 2010


Credit: Max Oden / moden@dothaneagle.com
Troy University quarterback Corey Robinson looks for an open
receiver Saturday during the first quarter of play against Bowling Green.


TROY — Thanks to the fast pace of Troy’s offense, new quarterback Corey Robinson didn’t have much time to think when he led the Trojans on their game-winning drive in a 30-27 win over Bowling Green on Saturday.


Robinson shook off two early interceptions and threw for 252 yards. He completed three of his last four passes on the drive and took a big hit on a rush, resulting in a penalty that set up Michael Taylor’s 34-yard field goal. Sliding on the turf at Veterans Memorial Stadium on that play also left a huge gash on his right leg, but the freshman was a big part in Troy coming back from down 10 early in the game.
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Troy notebook: Jernigan nearing more records

By Drew Champlin
Published: September 06, 2010

TROY — Jerrel Jernigan is on pace to break several Troy school and Sun Belt records this year. He got things started early this season, setting the career record for all-purpose yards in Troy’s 30-27 win over Bowling Green Saturday.


Jernigan has 4,085 yards, six more than Perry Griggs, who played for the Trojans from 1973-76. The Eufaula native, who makes his mark as a receiver, runner, kick returner and sometimes as a passer, is 1,146 yards behind former UL-Lafayette standout Tyrell Fenroy for the Sun Belt mark.


Jernigan is 31 receptions behind Danny Grant (1966-69) for the school record and 45 behind Casey Fitzgerald of North Texas for the Sun Belt record. He is 372 yards behind Johnny Quinn of North Texas for the Sun Belt career record there and 561 yards behind Grant for the school record
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Trojans defense faces tough test against Oklahoma State ground game

By Tim Gayle • September 7, 2010

TROY -- The Troy defense struggled early before finally containing Bowling Green tail­back Willie Jeter in the season opener at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

This week, the stakes will be much higher.

The Trojans go on the road to face Big 12 member Oklahoma State this weekend, a challenge that includes trying to corral the nation's leading rusher.

Kendall Hunter ran for 257 yards and four touchdowns in a season-opening romp over Washington State, a statistic that becomes more impressive considering Hunter accounted for 208 of those yards in the first half before playing only the first possession of the second half.
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Jerrel Jernigan highlight video vs BGSU