Nutter likes offensive ‘possibilities’, Trojans picked up for six televised games

TROY, Ala. – Junior quarterback Brock Nutter has spent three seasons on the Troy State practice fields, his last two as the team’s starter.

The Hoover, Ala., native believes that this year’s offensive squad may be the best he has been a part of.

"When you look at the people we have on our offense this year, it would be hard not to say it’s the best," Nutter said. "Most of us have been playing together for a while, and we know the system. I think we are stronger in every phase this year. That has us all excited about the possibilities."

The team focused primarily on the kicking game Sunday afternoon in its only practice of the day.

"I like what I’m seeing so far," Troy State head coach Larry Blakeney said. "The heat has been a little rough, but the effort is there and our freshmen seem to be working into the mix pretty well. We’ve got some folks battling, and that’s what we want to see."

The Trojans worked out for less than an hour during mid-afternoon at the football practice complex, completing work on coverages and alignment. The team returned to the field at 7 a.m. on Monday for its final workout in helmets and shorts before putting on full pads in the afternoon.

The afternoon practice was scheduled to begin at 5:45 p.m.

"This is part of our normal schedule each August, taking a day to work on the kicking phase and spend a little more time in meetings," Troy State head coach Larry Blakeney said. "It is sort of the calm before the storm. We’ll put on the pads tomorrow afternoon and see what we’ve really got out here and who wants to compete."

The Trojans will continue with two-a-days through the end of the week, with the first preseason scrimmage set for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

TROJAN NOTES: Junior linebacker Corey Sears was diagnosed with a first-degree sprain of his right shoulder and is expected to miss at least two weeks . . . class registration is set for Wednesday at Troy State, with classes slated to begin on Monday, Aug. 21…The team’s total number of players had dropped from 133 to 128 as of Saturday morning after several walk-on players decided not to return . . . Athletics Director Johnny Williams announced Saturday afternoon that the Trojans had added four more games to its television slate, via College Sports Southeast. The Trojans’ games with Alabama State on Sept. 16, Northwestern State on Oct. 7, Nicholls State on Oct. 28 and Jacksonville State on Nov. 18 were added to the slate. Games against Appalachian State on Sept. 9 and against Southwest Texas on Oct. 12 had already been announced. They will be broadcast on Comcast and FOX Sports Net, respectively.