The Troy Trojans football team will take the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday, April 12, for the annual T-Day Game. 

The Trojans held their final scrimmage before T-Day last Saturday.

“What you want to see there is improvement, to be better across the board from (the previous scrimmage),” head coach Gerad Parker said. “I was very encouraged because our missed assignments went way down on both sides of the football, so we played cleaner football. The percentages on third down went up for the defense, we did better on third down there, and the offense struggled a little bit on third down. 

“Overall, we improved. We got better in the areas we wanted to see improvement in and that’s all you can ask for.” 

Parker said he was also happy with spring practices overall in his second year at the helm.

“I feel never satisfied but also very encouraged that we’re taking the necessary steps we needed to take at the beginning of spring camp,” he said. “I told our football team, we’ve put so much on tape that we can learn from. I feel good about where we are knowing that there’s still improvement to be made and steps to take, but it won’t be about solving the same problems we had coming into this spring.”

Quarterback Goose Crowder said the energy at practices have been different this year.

“Spring has been great,” Crowder continued. “Coming out here in the second year under these coaches, the new guys are blending in well, the energy feels different and it’s just exciting every day to hit the grass and get to practice.” 

Linebacker Jordan Stringer has also seen the improvements his coach talked about.

“I feel like it’s going great,” Stringer said of spring practices. “We’re taking steps each week, each practice and that’s all you can ask for. I really like the direction this team is going in. We’re definitely not a finished product but we’re taking strides towards greatness.” 

Crowder said that it’s also been great to be back on the field after a head injury ended his season after just four games in 2024.

“It really shows you can’t take anything for granted,” Crowder said. “I love being out here and playing football. It was hard late in the year last year when I came out here and couldn’t practice or participate with the guys. Being out here with the guys has been awesome and it really shows me just how much I love the game.”

With T-Day coming up on Saturday, Parker said it would be very similar to the format of the spring game last year. 

“You’ll see our football team go at it a little bit in the first quarter and then we’ll do some group work – 7-on-7 and group competitions in the second quarter,” Parker said. “We’ll implement the kicking game into the third quarter and then sprinkle in some fun to close it out in the fourth quarter. We want to serve our families, serve our fans and make sure we put on a show and show them how different we are and how we look this season.”
Crowder said he wanted he and his teammates to come out and have fun and not play with anxiety. 

“Just have fun,” Crowder said with a smile. “Play relaxed. Coach Parker always says, ‘low anxiety, high performance.’ Just block out the noise and focus on the details and control what you can control and have some fun.”

Stringer said T-Day was all about having fun and giving the fans a show.

“Really, I just want us to come out and have fun and give the fans what they come for and show what we’ve been working on all spring and have a good time,” he emphasized. 

Along with the action on the field, T-Day will feature a number of games for fans to play with prizes like season tickets, sideline passes, Stadium Club tickets and Troy gear up for grabs. 

T-Day festivities will start at 11 a.m. for the annual Lunch with Legends featuring Trojan Football legends DeWhitt Betterson Sr., Corey Robinson, Richard Shaughnessy and Lawrence Tynes. The Annual T-Day Kids Camp will take place at “The Vet” at noon and the annual Yard Sale will begin at 1 p.m. before T-Day kicks off at 2 p.m.