Depth Chart Breakdown: The Ole Miss Game
Monday, Troy dropped its first depth chart of the season, answering several questions about this year’s team. Specifically, we know who QB1 is, we’re seeing what starting positions are still up for grabs, and we’ve learned which underclassmen have earned a starting gig.
If you missed it, here’s the depth chart:
New Faces
First things first, it’s notable that some of last year’s starters are in the two or three-deep. Buddha Jones beat out Luis Medina, Caleb Ransaw is the starter over Elijah Culp and O’Shai Fletcher, the tight end room is getting its own section and freshman kicker Scott Taylor Renfroe is an OR.
Senior Brooks Buce is the other starting kicker, so maybe Renfroe is up for kickoff duties? Nope. Fellow redshirt freshman Zach Long is listed under the KOS position alongside Renfroe.
Redshirt Freshman Damien Taylor beat out 2019 starter DK Billingsley and Texas A&M transfer Charles Strong for the RB3 slot.
Correction: We’ve been told DK Billingsley is in fact RB3, as expected.
On the offensive line, four of the five positions are filled with returning starters. The fifth slot, right guard, features two JUCO transfers: Tyler Harvey-Fallows, who learned American Football across the pond, and Jonas Woods, also from a SoCal college.
Those aren’t the only new faces in the trenches though.
Nothing is Given
The tight end room was completely turned on its head.
JUCO transfer Clayton Ollendieck and Deyunkrea Lewis, Troy’s all-time No.2 in touchdowns by a tight end, are both set up to be TE1. That could be reflective of the offense’s new plan of attack, but it’s also indicative of how talented these guys are.
Samford transfer Michael Vice is TE2, and AJ Lewis, Troy’s all-time leader in touchdowns by a tight end, is TE4.
“Nobody’s given anything on our football team,” Coach Sumrall said Monday night on Trojan Talk. “Everybody’s gotta earn their opportunities.”
That quote was specifically an answer to how the quarterback situation played out.
QB1
Gunnar Watson is once again Troy’s starting quarterback, and it’s clear the battle lasted all offseason. Sumrall said he challenged Watson in his first full week as head coach.
“To be totally honest I was very underwhelmed with his performance in the weight room at first,” Coach Sumrall said.
Sumrall said Watson went from not being able to do a pull-up to doing them with chains around his neck.
“Gunnar’s earned it,” Sumrall said. “He’s invested in his development and I think he’s earned this opportunity. We didnt give him anything.”
That’s not to say the position couldn’t be won later either. West Virginia/Western Kentucky transfer Jarrett Doege really only had one week of practice to learn the system. Utah transfer Peter Costelli also has plenty of eligibility left; this could very well be his team in the next year or two.
The bottom line is that Gunnar Watson will take the first snap for Troy on Saturday.
The familiar names, Vidal, Martial, Andrews, Solomon, and Pettus, for example, prove that these decisions weren’t made lightly. Sumrall has faith in these guys, and I trust him to put the best squad on the field Saturday.