Troy has busy Signing Day
Published 12:54 pm Wednesday, February 7, 2024
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The Troy Trojans had another busy signing day with a total of 12 players signing on Feb. 7. The total number of new additions, when including transfers already enrolled is 24. Troy also added 15 signees in December, bringing the total of new additions to the Troy roster to 39.
On Wednesday, Troy signed Louisburg Community College defensive end Jabril McNeil, George County High School (Miss.) cornerback Marlin Odom, Jefferson High School (Ga.) offensive lineman Brian Senter, Langston Hughes High School (Ga.) offensive lineman Caleb Ash, Bibb County High School defensive end Trashun Griffin, Pearl River Community College safety Kam Norwood, Northeast Oklahoma A&M cornerback Jabari Straight, Saraland High School defensive lineman Jermaine Paramore, Andalusia High School linebacker Kam Weaver, Ware County High School (Ga.) offensive lineman Sharvon Pierre, Hancock Community College offensive lineman Casey Fua’Au and New Mexico Military Institute offensive lineman Matt Henry.
“It went good,” Troy Coach Gerad Parker said of Signing Day. “We feel good about it. It’s about continuing to build a roster and the needs we have, so this was huge.”
Griffin may be one of the crown jewels of this cycle as the 6-foot-4-inch, 260-pound defensive end is rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports. Griffin signed with Troy over offers from schools like Georgia Tech, Louisville, Mississippi State, UAB, Arkansas State, Southern Miss and countless others.
“We’re excited about all of these kids,” Parker said. “Trashun Griffin is a kid that will show up here and he just looks different. The two linemen – Matt (Henry) and Casey (Fua’Au) – we’re really excited about, too.
“Again, we’re excited about all of these kids we signed today but those three pop into my head as two huge offensive lineman and a defensive lineman that stands out.”
After initially signing 11 during the day, the Trojans added George County (Miss.) cornerback Marlin Odom during the afternoon. Odom is rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports and signed with Troy over offers from schools like Memphis, Syracuse, Jackson State and others.
Odom played offense and defense at George County High School. He caught 36 passes for 543 yards and six touchdowns this season and tallied 59 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, six interceptions and two blocked kicks on defense. He also returned an interception for a touchdown. He will play cornerback at Troy.
When you include the mid-year transfers that are already on the roster that adds former Coastal Carolina punter Evan Crenshaw, Southern University defensive lineman Joshua Donald, East Carolina running back Gerald Green, Grambling State cornerback Trent Henry, Gardner-Webb linebacker Brendan Jackson, Butler Community College cornerback Semaj James, Northern Illinois spear Devin Lafayette, East Georgia State defensive lineman Dylan Mann, Iowa-Western Community College defensive lineman CK Kaba, Kansas State spear Jordan Perry, North Carolina State safety Cecil Powell and Cincinnati bandit Jah-mal Williams.
Parker emphasized the need for Troy to go after players at all three levels; high school, junior college and four-year transfers from the FCS and FBS level.
“We’re going after guys from all three levels and you better do that at Troy,” Parker emphatically said. “I feel very passionate about us taking a large number of high school kids and getting them here. I think that fits this place as far high school recruiting goes but we also have strong connections at the junior college level, especially in Mississippi and Kansas.
“We have to be involved in the (transfer) portal, as well. All three of those buckets will be used and it’s good that we have all three available to us.”
In December, Troy also managed to sign 15 players despite Parker being on the job for a single day at that point.
“There is no book for that,” Parker said of the difficulty of taking over a day before the early signing period. “We did the (introductory) press conference and then went and saw the house and came back here and I cleared out my family and sat here and cold called all of the prospective kids that were committed or we could possibly get.
“You’re going in truly blind and to have 15 kids to trust in us still was amazing. With this (recruiting) cycle at least we were able to have a more normal feeling of meeting kids and their families and seeing them in person on visits and making real phone calls. This cycle definitely felt a little more normal.”
While Parker and his staff are pleased with both signing periods, he said they still aren’t done filling in holes on the roster.
“When I got hired the roster spots that were available – and trying to fill those – were critical,” he continued. “There’s a good mix of high school seniors and transfer players that we’ve already added and we feel good about that, but we’ll continue to add to it as we get into the spring.”
Troy National Signing Day and Transfer Portal Additions
-Marlin Odom – George County High School (Miss.) – CB (6-2, 175 lbs.)
-Jabril McNeil – Louisburg Community College – DE (6-4, 240 lbs.)
-Brian Senter – Jefferson High School (Ga.) – OL (6-3, 300 lbs.)
-Caleb Ash – Langston Hughes High School (Ga.) – OL (6-6, 300 lbs.)
-Trashun Griffin – Bibb County High School (Ala.) – DE (6-4, 260 lbs.)
-Kam Norwood – Pearl River Community College – S (5-11, 180 lbs.)
-Jabari Straight – Northeast Oklahoma A&M – CB (6-2, 175 lbs.)
-Jermaine Paramore – Saraland High School (Ala.) – DL (6-2, 270 lbs.)
-Kam Weaver – Andalusia High School (Ala.) – LB (6-3, 205 lbs.)
-Sharvon Pierre – Ware County High School (Ga.) – OL (6-3, 250 lbs.)
-Casey Fua’Au – Hancock Community College – OL (6-3, 305 lbs.)
-Matt Henry – New Mexico Military Institute – OL (6-4, 350 lbs.)
-Evan Crenshaw – Coastal Carolina – P (6-4, 190 lbs.)
-Joshua Donald – Southern University – DL (6-2, 300 lbs.)
-Gerald Green – East Carolina University – RB (6-0, 200 lbs.)
-Trent Henry – Grambling State University – CB (5-11, 195 lbs.)
-Brendan Jackson – Gardner-Webb University – LB (6-2, 210 lbs.)
-Semaj James – Butler Community College – CB (6-0, 200 lbs.)
-Devin Lafayette – Northern Illinois University – SPEAR (6-2, 200 lbs.)
-Dylan Mann – East Georgia State College – DL (6-3, 315 lbs.)
-CK Kaba – Iowa Western Community College – DL (6-2, 285 lbs.)
-Jordan Perry – Kansas State University – SPEAR (6-2, 200 lbs.)
-Cecil Powell – North Carolina State University – S (6-0, 205 lbs.)
-Jah-mal Williams – University of Cincinnati – BANDIT (6-4, 240 lbs.)