The Troy Trojans were back on the practice field on April 1 after hosting the first scrimmage of spring practices this past Saturday. 

Head Coach Gerad Parker said that there was plenty to learn from the first scrimmage.

“Our energy was great but our execution wasn’t,” Parker said. “You could tell it was the first time we put the ball down and really, really played for complete segments. What comes with that? A little bit of performance anxiety at times, a little bit of great times and playing the football well in certain areas at times. 

“You saw a lot about our team. A lot of things to like. Now, it’s about lowering the missed assignments and raising the execution level when we come back in this stadium (this Saturday). I’m excited to see our response but there is much to learn from it. I loved the way we competed but I didn’t love the way we executed.” 

The first step in a positive response to the scrimmage was Tuesday’s practice.

“We did some team segments early, we changed up things a little bit today, and they responded well and had a great practice and went after it early,” said Parker. “I thought the guys were ready as soon as we hit the whistle.”

Troy senior defensive tackle Luis Medina has been pleased with what he’s seen in the spring overall.

“It’s been going real good,” he said. “This is the best we’ve looked in a long, long time, especially coming from last year when we had a new team and new coaches. I think we look real good.” 

Parker said he will continue to emphasize correcting the missed assignments moving forward. 

“It’s not even close, our missed assignments and execution of things when the picture changes on defense and on offense is what we have to clean up,” Parker emphasized. “That’s our No. 1 thing right now, our ability to execute when the picture is changing and to have good eye discipline on defense but also being able to execute on offense and make things work depending on how the front changes and how coverages change.”

A new/old face on the Troy roster this spring is the returning Jamontez Woods, who previously played running back at Troy for both Chip Lindsey and Jon Sumrall. Woods transferred to West Florida but has returned to Troy for his senior season.

“This is home,” Woods said of his decision to return to Troy. “This is where it all started for me, so why not come home and be great at ‘The Vet’ with my teammates? Coach Parker is a good coach. He brought me in, coming from a Division II school, and I appreciate him every day for allowing me to come back out here and be great every day.”

Troy’s spring game, T-Day, is fast approaching but other football programs around the country seem to be moving more and more away from those annual spring games. Parker, though, said T-Day was as much about celebrating the Troy fans as anything else.

“In my mind, we have the best fanbase in the Group of Five Football,” Parker continued. “We have a storied tradition and T-Day for us is a celebration of our players, their families and our fans, period. That’s all we want to do, serve our community. So, we have a kids camp at the beginning and we celebrate our players with a huge pregame meal. So, it’s a little bit different for us.

“My belief is we’re going to have fun, smile and show off our team a little bit. The important thing is we are going to serve our fans, our fanbase and our families and let it be good day. So, that to me is what it’s all about.” 

Parker said that his favorite part of T-Day is getting to spend time with the families of his players.

“We get such a return for them to come back and see their sons,” he said. “It’s such a cool thing to see and spend time with those families that we don’t otherwise get to do. So, my favorite thing is getting to be around and see those families.” 

Troy will return to the practice field on Thursday and will hold the second scrimmage of the spring on Saturday.