During T-Day, one of the receivers that was particularly active was junior DJ Epps, who along with junior running back Tae Meadows, was put on scholarship before the scrimmage.
Even offensive lineman Billy Gilmore caught a pass as he went one-on-one with a defensive lineman on a pass drill. After what was basically a glorified practice session with drills and individual competitions sprinkled in to keep the fans in Veterans Memorial Stadium entertained, Troy head coach Gerad Parker focused more on the overall progress that was made this spring.
“For us, the first piece that I see is we had a roster number that allowed us to practice and develop,” Parker said of his second spring in charge. “From the first group, second group and third group, we developed our football team and got better. “I just think the development of our roster in all three phases and all three groups … we took steps towards getting better and we’ve still got a long way to go. People are also reading… “Now we have to take better from this spring and apply it to the summer and go attack our deficiencies and our strengths in the same way to take another step before we go into fall camp.” Counting blessingsGoose Crowder, who began last season as the starting quarterback but missed much of the year due to two upper body injuries, was just thankful to be back on the field competing in the sport he loves. “It was awesome,” Crowder said. “I guess you never really truly know how much you miss something until it’s gone. “It was kind of weird putting my helmet on the first day until now. I didn’t take anything for granted … not a second. I loved every minute of it.”“I think we hit a lot of explosives and that builds confidence,” Crowder said. “Between protecting up front and everybody doing their job and us as quarterbacks … trusting the wide receivers to go down the field and make a play.” Awarding scholarshipsDuring T-Day, one of the receivers that was particularly active was junior DJ Epps, who along with junior running back Tae Meadows, was put on scholarship before the scrimmage. “I was really surprised,” Epps said. “We came into the team meeting room and right at the end, Coach Parker announced it. I just held my tears in, but super grateful. I’m blessed to be given the opportunity.”“I was a little more involved today just showing what I can do and being consistent every day,” Epps said. “That’s what I did in the spring, being consistent, and the hard work paid off.”“That’s one of my close friends for sure,” Epps said. “He also puts the work in, so I’m super proud of him.”“Both players have earned the right,” Parker said. “They’ve put themselves in position to add value for us on Saturdays. They’ve done things the right way, and when you do that at Troy University, we’re going to reward that.” Making playsAll four quarterbacks on the roster – Crowder , Matthew Caldwell , Tucker Kilcrease and Jack James – made some nice throws during the work on Saturday. Along with Epps, wide receiver Roman Mothershead was targeted often and made some nice catches. Running back Jordan Lovett made one touchdown reception from Crowder. The secondary had some shining moments as well with cornerback Marlin Odom, safety OJ Vaughan, Jr., and cornerback Trent Henry each coming up with an interception. Jon Johnson is sports editor of the Dothan Eagle and can be reached at jjohnson@dothaneagle.com or 334.712.7965. Support his work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com. Follow Jon Johnson on Twitter @eaglesportsed Follow Jon Johnson Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today
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