Bringing it all together: Troy closes out spring practice with annual T-Day game

Published 8:07 pm Thursday, April 18, 2019

New Troy head coach Chip Lindsey’s first spring practice is in the books and Saturday morning he will hold his first T-Day spring game.

 

The Trojans have been practicing for a month and on Thursday, they held their final practice.

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“We had 14 good practices,” Lindsey said. “I think we improved from the beginning. I think the big thing for us, the goals were to install offense, defense and special teams and identify the playmakers and I think we have done that. Now It’s time to get to T-Day.”

The Trojans will get set to put everything they learned and experience to the test when they scrimmage one final time in the annual T-Day game.

“We want to see a high level of execution,” Lindsey said. “I know our guys will compete; they’re excited about T-Day and being out in front of our fans. I’m looking forward to it; it’s my first one as coach and I’m looking forward to it.”

Lindsey came to Troy this offseason, taking the place of former head coach Neal Brown, who is now at West Virginia. The Trojans entered spring with new faces and after a feeling out process, the Trojans are feeling comfortable heading into the summer.

“We have really come a long way,” said Trojan running back B.J. Smith. “We have built relationships in the past month and that has really been the biggest thing. We came in trying to build chemistry with these coaches and I think we have done that. They truly care about us.”

“For the coaches, we finally got on the field to practice,” Lindsey said. “We finally got the field to practice with them and, with time, you know exactly who they are and what they are capable of doing. I feel like I now have a good feel for what we can and can’t do and I think that is key as we head into the summer.”

During the spring, the Trojans have grown closer and have been trying to build a culture.

“I think our team is close,” Lindsey said. “We have great kids here and have a great culture. I think our kids love to practice. I never had a day out here pulling teeth trying to get them to practice. I think they like each other and I think that is a big step.”

The game on Saturday will have more of a game day atmosphere than in years past. The team will split into two squads. The first half will feature two 12-minute quarters with normal timing. The second half will then switch to a running clock.

“We want to see them in a game day situation,” Lindsey said. “We are going to get them out there in a game day situation with a full official crew. We are looking for guys to execute the offense and the defense without any coaches’ help.”

The game will feature team gray taking on team white. The offense will be in gray, while the defense will be in white. The quarterbacks will wear different color jerseys in the scrimmage.

“The quarterbacks in red will basically be the grey team and the quarterbacks in black will represent the white team and that is how we will keep score,” Lindsey said. “In the spring, you don’t have all your recruits yet so you have to find the best way to simulate a game. It’s something we have done at other places in the past and it has been successful. I think it will be a good day for us.”

The game is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and it will be free for the public.

“I feel like Saturday is going to be fun,” Smith said. “I feel we are going to get a lot done because we are going to play more comfortably and free.”