The Troy Trojans have a lot of new faces on the team heading into the 2025 football season but there are also a number of returning veterans, as well.

Second year head coach Gerad Parker will return a total of 71 players from the 2024 team and 23 bring starting experience with them. Almost everything in football starts at the quarterback and Troy returns two players with starting experience in juniors Goose Crowder and Tucker Kilcrease.

Crowder was Troy’s starting quarterback heading into the 2024 season and started four games before a head injury prematurely ended his season. He completed 43-of-62 passes for 542 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions when he was playing. Crowder returned to the practice field during the spring and got an extra year of eligibility after earning a medical redshirt in 2024. 

Kilcrease, a Brantley native, also started two games in 2024 and played in seven, completing 28-of-51 passes for 377 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 118 yards on 39 carries. Kilcrease and Crowder are the only Trojan quarterbacks that will have played a single snap at Troy coming into 2025. 

While Troy has two veterans returning at quarterback, the returners at running back may be the least experienced group on the roster. Troy returns four running backs from last season and those four have started a total of zero games. The returners are sophomore Jordan Lovett, senior Jarris Williams, junior Tae Meadows and junior DeWhitt Betterson Jr. Between the four, they have combined for just 52 carries for 227 yards and three touchdowns. 

The receiver position is another position that took a big hit in the offseason after losing Landon Parker to graduation and All-Sun Belt receiver Devonte Ross to the transfer portal. Only sophomore Roman Mothershed and senior Peyton Higgins come into 2025 with starting experience. Higgins is by far the most experienced of the receivers, catching 31 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown last season. 

Mothershed also earned two starts in 2025 and caught four passes for 38 yards. Junior Mojo Dortch played in 10 games and caught one touchdown pass along with rushing for 30 yards. Both Troy native Jywon Boyd and Ky McNulty redshirted in 2024. Junior DJ Epps earned a scholarship in the spring and caught one pass in 2024. 

The tight end position also lacks experience as only senior Ethan Conner has started a game among the returners. Conner caught 12 passes for 115 yards but only played in four games due to injury. In his Troy career, he’s caught 28 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns but has battled injuries throughout his three years with the Trojans.

Junior Fabian Rogosch played in 12 games last season, primarily as a blocking tight end and special teams player, while sophomore Jackson Worley played in eight games and caught four passes for 31 yards and a touchdown. Senior Trae Swartz also played in 10 games and caught four passes for 41 yards and two scores. 

The offensive line is one of the most experienced groups among returning veterans with five players that bring starting experience into 2025. Sophomore Eliah Prather started all 12 games at left tackle in 2024 and gave up just one penalty in 796 total snaps. Senior Eli Russ earned All-Sun Belt honors after starting nine games, three at center and six at guard. He played a total of 133 snaps at center and 421 at guard in 2024. 

Senior Matt Henry started six games at right guard and gave up no sacks during the season. Junior Tyler Cappi played in six games and started two at center, also giving up no sacks. Senior Zerian Hudson played six games at left guard and also gave up no sacks. Between the five players with starting experience on the offensive line, they gave up a combined seven sacks over 407 passing situations. 

The five returners with starting experience also bring with them enormous size. All five stand at least 6-foot-3-inches and all five tip the scales at over 300 pounds. Troy also has a number of other returning linemen from last year’s team, including redshirt freshman Caleb Ash, sophomore Noah Mercer, redshirt freshman Ricky Timbers, senior Casey Fua’au, junior Kyler Gibson, sophomore Tyler Bell, sophomore Billy Gilmore and sophomore Obatare Jackson. 

Troy also returns a number of starters on the defensive line. At defensive end, senior Luis Medina earned All-Sun Belt honors with 10 starts last year, tallying 17 tackles and one tackle-for-loss. In his career, he’s totalled 101 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and five sacks over 47 games. Senior Jabril McNeill also started two games last season, earning 13 tackles and two tackles-for-loss.

At defensive tackle, Troy returns three players with starting experience in seniors Kam Curry, Jamel Fils-Aime and Julian Peterson. Peterson started seven games and earned 25 tackles, five tackles-for-loss and two sacks last season, while Curry started five games with 19 tackles and one tackle-for-loss. Fils-Aime, an Enterprise native, started three games and earned 18 tackles and 3.5 tackles-for-loss. He’s also one of the biggest Trojans, standing at 6-foot-3-inches and weighing 336 pounds. 

At bandit, Troy will have to replace the production lost with the transfer of Phillip Lee but senior Jah-Mal Williams does bring starting experience. Last season, he earned two starts and played in all 12 games with 30 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a sack. Troy also returns a pair of players that will jump into the rotation if they can fight off the injury bug.

Junior Eric Shaw has battled injuries each of the last two seasons and played in just four games in 2024 before a knee injury concluded his season. Sophomore Malaki Pegues missed the entire season with an injury but in 2023, he played in five games and earned two tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. 

Inside linebacker is a position that could be a position of strength for Troy if seniors Steven Cattledge and Jordan Stringer are able to stay healthy. Stringer earned All-Sun Belt last season after starting all 12 games with 77 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss, two sacks and an interception. Cattledge played in 11 games but had no starts. He totaled 22 tackles and a tackle-for-loss. In 2023, he started one game but only played in four due to injury. 

Troy also returns junior TJ Thompson, who redshirted last season but played in 14 games in 2023. Troy also returns sophomore Keyshawn Campbell and junior Luke Hodge, who both are stalwarts on the Trojan special teams. 

At spear, senior All-Sun Belt selection Devin Lafayette is back after starting 10 games in 2024, amassing 51 tackles, six tackles-for-loss and a pass breakup. Troy also returns junior Jordan Perry, who played in 10 games last season. 

The rest of the Troy secondary is severely lacking in experience as only two players return with starting experience at cornerback and safety. Senior Trent Henry is the only returning Trojan to earn a start at cornerback last season, starting two games and tallying 22 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and one sack. Junior Justin Powe started all 12 games at safety last season and recorded 67 tackles, two tackles-for-loss, one sack, two interceptions and six pass breakups. 

No other player at cornerback or safety earned more than a handful of defensive snaps in 2024. Junior KC Bradford started 11 games on special teams and played in 10 games on special teams in 2023. 

Special teams features a number of returners, including kicker Scott Taylor Renfroe. Renfroe has converted 30-of-37 field goals and 84-of-86 PATs during his Troy career, including a long of 50 yards. Fellow kicker Paddy McAteer handled kickoffs last season and had 37 touchbacks in 59 kickoffs. 

Junior punter Evan Crenshaw punted just once in 2024 but was an All-Conference punter at Coastal Carolina before transferring to Troy. Longsnapper Colton Walls is back for his sophomore season after starting all 12 games at snapper. 

Troy kicks off the 2025 season on Aug. 30 at home against Nicholls at 6 p.m.