Top Troy Tight End Fan Poll Results

While the Tight End position has not been one of the most widely used, it has featured dynamic players in Troy’s history. The poll results showed that players were mostly voted on pretty evenly and almost by era. 

The players listed spanned the period from the 1930s until the 2010s. As I plan to do with all the results, I attempted to reach out to our top vote getters, but did not get a response from all as of the time the article was published. I will update it if and when others respond to my interview requests.

The Rest

0 votes – Eric Divens and Adrian Moore

2 votes – Brent Roe

3 votes – Doug Taylor, Billy Dixon, Lenny Lucas

The Best

Mike Culbertson – 4 votes (30.8%)

Mike Culbertson proved to be a consistent contributor to the Trojan offense during his time. The work that he, along with him teammates in the early 70s put in formed the foundation of the Championship squads of the 1980s. 

An unfortunate consequence of the prolific nature of modern offenses means that tight ends are becoming a rare breed. This is especially true in fast-paced, spread offenses. This is why Culbertson should be held in high regard for what he accomplished on the field 40 years ago. That his place in the record books is still there, in spite of Troy’s offensive changes, defines his legacy.

Jim Teknipp – 5 votes (38.5%)

Jim Teknipp is the most recent Tight End to be included on this list. In fact, he was the only choice that was voted on by the fans for inclusion. While Teknipp didn’t have the gaudiest of numbers, he did produce when called upon. 

Originally a UCF commit, he transferred to Troy in 2010 and had to sit out due to transfer rules. Most of Teknipp’s career yardage came in his 2011 and 2013 seasons. Remarkably, Teknipp averaged 17 yards per catch in each of those seasons. Sadly, Teknipp was never able to make it into the endzone for the Trojan offense.

Sherrill Busby – 6 votes (46.2%)

Sherrill Busby is, for players, the foundation of player success. He was Troy’s first All-American and their first player in the NFL.

Without his success on the field and his blazing a trail for future Trojans, Troy would not have become the pathway for post-college success for football players. Unfortunately, the problem with all of Busby’s success coming in the 1930s is lackluster record keeping. This means that most of his statistics are unable to be retrieved. 

Therefore, unless any Trojan can find them as I was unable to do, we may never truly know how good of a player Busby was.