Silvers playing at high level for Trojans offense
Published 3:00 am Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Since returning from a mid-season injury, sophomore Troy quarterback Brandon Silvers has been playing “at a high level.”
Since coming back from the injury sustained on October 10, Silvers and the offense have turned the corner on what was a slow start offensively. The Trojans have won two out of the last three ballgames while averaging 49 points per game.
“The thing about it is, he has been healthy,” said Trojans head coach Neal Brown. “When he has been healthy and playing, he has been efficient and has played at a high level. I think he is figuring it out, he is putting less on pressure on himself.”
![submitted Photo Brandon Silvers and the Troy Trojans offense have averaged 49 points in their last three games. The Trojans have won two out of their last three games after starting the season 1-5.](https://www.troymessenger.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2015/11/1111Silversweb.jpg)
submitted Photo
Brandon Silvers and the Troy Trojans offense have averaged 49 points in their last three games. The Trojans have won two out of their last three games after starting the season 1-5.
During the week six loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Silvers sustained an apparent upper body injury and was forced to miss the following game against Idaho, a game the Trojans lost 19-16.
Before Silvers was knocked out, the Trojans offense struggled to get anything going. Silvers looked hesitant on many of his throws and seemed to lack confidence in his decision-making. The offense struggled as a whole in the early stages of the season, albeit it against some staunch competition. The Trojans offense managed just 15 points per game leading into the Idaho game.
One of the reasons for Silvers’ early struggles could be attributed to his receivers playing slow out of the gate and struggling to make big plays down the field.
“We are making some plays after the catch, which is something he didn’t do previously,” Brown said. “As a quarterback, when your guys start making plays for you your confidence starts growing. He has been sharp and we need him to play well. That’s the key for us offensively.”
Silvers has been the key offensively in the last three games. The sophomore quarterback has thrown for a total of 879 yards, including a career high 326 yards against University of Louisiana Monroe. During that stretch Silvers has thrown 10 touchdowns while throwing only two interceptions.
“I have been talking with Coach (Sean) Reagan and Coach Brown and just going over the gamelan a lot,” Silvers said. “(I’ve been) studying the game and studying the game plan. In practice, I’ve had pretty good practices lately. I’ve been working hard at everything we do every day.”
The coaches have started to take notice, especially offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield.
“He’s starting to see things really well right now,” Edenfield said of Silvers. “He’s playing as good of football as he’s played in a long time. I think he’s healthy. He’s not really banged up. He’s practiced well, and usually that correlates into playing good when you have good practices. He’s put together some really good practices as of late.”
Since the Trojan offense made the turnaround, more receivers have touched the ball making it really difficult for opposing defenses to key on just one player.
In the game against New Mexico State the Trojans had 10 different players catch the football. They followed that up with nine players catching the ball against Appalachian State and eight against ULM.
“Coach Brown talks about stacking up meetings, practice, all that,” Silver said. “We’ve been working hard lately and getting this offense where it needs to be. The last three games, it’s been pretty good.”
The receivers have started to take notice on the improvement of their young quarterback.
“Usually when people struggle, they just kind of lay down, but he’s taken the challenge head-on,” said Trojan receiver Emmanuel Thompson. “He’s been great these last three weeks, and he’s matured a lot from game to game.”
More than anything they enjoy the extra touches they have received over the last games.
“He’s always had that ability,” Thompson said. “It’s really impacted us now. He’s our key component. We strive on how well he plays.”
The Trojans offense look to make an impact on Saturday when they host Georgia Southern at 2:30 p.m.