25 for 25: The Best Players in Troy FBS History, Part 1
I cannot tell you how difficult this list was to put together. Troy has had so many great players across these 25 season that I could fill this entire website with lists upon lists of players.
The story of Troy is incomplete without the names of players like Rayshun Reed, Bear Woods, Demontray Carter, Will Goggans, Johnny Faulk, Junior Louissant, Gary Banks, Brannon Condren, Greg Whibbs, DuJuan Harris, Eric Thomas, Teddy Ruben, Jabir Frye, Rashad Dillard, Jordan Chunn, John Johnson, Hunter Reese, BJ Smith, Tyler Sumpter, Reddy Steward or Dell Pettus to name more than a few.
Editor’s Note: That’s why we split this article into three parts. Each entry gets his own chance to shine.
Unfortunately, the crux of articles like this is that there is a cutoff. Someone has to be #26.
For that reason, I want to make clear that my rationale for making these choices were as follows, but not limited to: their rewriting of the Troy record book, their impact on Troy during the FBS era, and any awards or honors bestowed upon the player.
One group that is woefully underrepresented here is the offensive line. Offensive linemen don’t typically have stats that are easily tracked by Troy, so it is difficult to accurately quantify the impact they have had on Troy’s success.
For this reason, I wanted to make a special mention of several who have been huge impact players for the Trojans over the years:
- Zach Yenzer
- Kirbie Bodiford
- Dion Small
- Chris Jamison
- Tyler Clark
- Danny Franks
- James Brown
- Kyle Wilborn
- Evan McKissack
- Dalton Bennett
- Antonio Garcia
- Steven Rowzee
- Tristan Crowder
- Deontae Crumitie
- Kirk Kelley
- J.L. Gaston
- Dylan Bradshaw
- Austin Stidham
- Jake Andrews
- Grant Betts
- Eli Russ
Without any further ado, let’s get into this countdown:
#25) Kanorris Davis – Linebacker – 2009-2012
Kanorris Davis might be the ultimate genetic freak, to steal a turn of phrase from one Scott Steiner. He looks like the prototype for every linebacker you want lining up for your team.
During his four years in The Wiregrass, Davis racked up 207 combined tackles (156 solo & 51 Assisted). 18 of those were tackles for loss and another 5 were sacks.
Davis would motor around the field and would disrupt offenses however he could. He also had 6 pass deflections and 10 forced fumbles in his career.
While he doesn’t hold any records at Troy, he does hold the Sun Belt Career Forced Fumbles record with those 10. He even led the Sun Belt in Forced Fumbles in 2010 with three. Davis was a 2012 2nd Team All-SBC selection.
He could also do this.
#24) Sherrod Martin – Defensive Back – 2005-2008
Sherrod Martin was one of the few Trojans to make an impact on the field in both college and the NFL. During his time at Troy, Martin had a 199 combined tackles (138 solo & 61 assisted). Of those, he added 15 TFLs (impressive for a DB) and 4 sacks.
Martin also tallied 6 forced fumbles and 4 interceptions. He led the Sun Belt in forced fumbles in 2007, and he holds a tie for the most forced fumbles in a single season in the conference.
Martin is also tied for the most interceptions returns in a game for Troy with three. For his work, he was honored as a 2008 1st Team All-SBC selection.
In the League, he continued his stellar career. he was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 2nd Round of the 2009 NFL Draft with the 59th Pick.
Over his career with the Panthers, Jaguars, and Bears, he recorded 217 combined tackles (162 solo & 55 assisted), 4 TFLs, 3 QB Hits, 6 interceptions, 22 pass deflections, 5 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.
#23) Tez Johnson – Wide Receiver – 2020-2022
Unless you were living under a rock, we all understand why Tez left Troy to go to Oregon. Just in case your name is Patrick Star, Tez’s adopted brother is former Oregon QB Bo Nix.
In his two years in The Wiregrass, Tez earned a 3rd Team All-SBC selection in 2021. While he didn’t set any records while at Troy, he did amass 3 100+ receiving yard games.
In total, he had 141 receptions for 1809 yards and 8 touchdowns. That was roughly 12.8 yards per catch and about 50.3 yards per game.
Transfer or not, Tez was definitely one of the more game-breaking receivers Troy has had in the last decade. For his career though, the move was a good one.
He finished with only about 200 more yards in his two years at Oregon, but having a brother at QB helps. Tez recorded his only 1,000 yard college season there and added another 20 touchdowns.
#22) Steve McLendon – Defensive Line – 2006-2008
Steve McLendon is another one of those consistent players who turned out to be unsung heroes for the Trojans. A stalwart in the early days of The Streak, McLendon recorded 27 solo tackles and 29 assisted for a total tally of 56.
Six of those were TFLs and another 2.5 were sacks. He had a pass deflection, forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
McLendon went undrafted, but that didn’t stall his NFL career. In stops at Pittsburgh, the Jets, and Tampa Bay, McLendon proved himself over and over again.
He finished his career with 276 combined tackles (172 solo and 104 assisted), 13 sacks, 44 TFLs, 33 QB Hits, 4 forced fumbles, 3 pass deflections, and 1 interception.
Though Steve didn’t set any Troy or NFL records, he did retire with something better than all of that: a Super Bowl LV ring. McLendon is one of only three undrafted Trojans to win a Super Bowl, the others being Kerry Jenkins and Lawrence Tynes.
#21) Chris Lewis – Wide Receiver – 2023
Some time from now, someone may revisit this and try to figure out how someone who only played one season for the Trojans could take up a spot in the 25 Greatest FBS Players. To them, I say, “You just had to be there.”
Chris Lewis was otherworldly in his one year with the Trojans.
Transferring from Kentucky to be with his former coach Jon Sumrall, Lewis was a welcome addition to the 2023 wide receiver room, especially with the exit of Tez Johnson.
Lewis caught 32 passes for 735 yards. That averaged out to about 23 yards per catch, good enough to lead the SBC and NCAA. He tallied 10 touchdowns, which led the SBC, and racked up 52.5 yards per game receiving.
Remarkably, he was most consistent as a passer, going 2-2 for one touchdown.
Lewis had one 100+ yard game and was selected to the 2023 All-SBC Team as a 3rd team pick. Hopes were high for him in the 2024 season, but fate had other plans.
Before the SBC Championship Game, a mass was found behind Lewis’ left knee, the apparent cause of leg pain he dealt with all season. It was later diagnosed as osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. He played his last game for the Trojans in the 2023 Birmingham Bowl, and would ultimately medically retire before the 2025 season.
To paraphrase Casablanca, “We’ll always have Kansas State.”
#20) Damion Willis – Wide Receiver – 2017-2018
Another in that very stacked wide receiver room of the late 2010s and early 2020s, Damion Willis made an impact any time he was on the field.
He pulled in 98 receptions for 1,496 Yards. That gave him a 15.3 yards per catch average and a 62.3 yards per game average. He also tallied 12 touchdowns.
Willis had 1 200+ yard receiving game and 4 where he went over at least 100 yards. He led the Sun Belt in Receiving Touchdowns (10) in 2018, which led to his selection as a 1st Team All-SBC pick that same year.
Beating LSU and Nebraska and becoming a Sun Belt Champion, as well as two-time bowl winner made for a pretty good career for Willis.
#19) Sam Glusman – Kicker – 2008-2009
Sam Glusman had a relatively short career considering the lifespan of most Troy kicker’s careers. He definitely made the most of it, however.
Glusman was 57-61 on extra points for a 93.4% kicking accuracy. On field goals, he wasn’t always gifted the best yardages and angles, so his accuracy dropped to 71.1% (27-38), but he did score 138 points in his two-year career.
2008 was easily Glusman’s best year. He led the Sun Belt Conference in extra point attempts, field goal attempts, field goals made, and total points kicking that season, but was only a 2nd Team All-SBC pick.
Arkansas State’s Josh Araucuo was the first team selection with a 97.4% on extra points and a 85% on field goals. He also only scored 88, opposed to Glusman’s 108.
For his time in Troy, Glusman tried his best to reset the record book. He holds the record for the most points in a game (17) and the most points in a season with 108. He also set marks for the most field goals made in a season (20) and the most attempted (29).
He is tied for the most consecutive field goals made with 12.
#18) Devonte Ross – Wide Receiver – 2022-2024
The rise of NIL has hampered the ability for players to truly make an impact at one school, because understandably, when you are playing as violent a game as football, you need to take the money when you can. When players have stellar years, they are now snapped up by larger programs who have gone lax on development, relying on smaller schools to do the job for them.
For that reason, it’s likely a lot of school career records will become more difficult to break, as athletes aren’t there long enough.
Devonte Ross was truly a special player at Troy who I thought could’ve given a go at breaking some of Jerrel Jernigan’s records at wide receiver before being snapped up by Penn State.
Editor’s Note: To be clear, we fully support players’ decisions to seek out better opportunities for themselves. It’s very difficult to explain recent players’ impact without addressing their decision to leave Troy.
Ross tallied 129 catches for 1,618 yards in his time in the Wiregrass. That averaged out to 12.5 yards per catch and 41.5 yards per game. He had 14 touchdowns in his three years at Troy.
He ran the ball 10 times for 37 yards, but he really had his second opportunity to change the game on special teams. He returned 24 kicks for 445 yards for an 18.5 yards per return average. Ross returned 10 punts for 156 yards and scored a touchdown.
In 2024, Ross earned a 1st Team All-SBC selection as both a wide receiver and All-Purpose. He was a 2nd Team pick as a return specialist.
He led the SBC in 2024 in receiving touchdowns. Devonte had 4 games where he had over 100 yards receiving. He only had one game over 200 yards, but that 229 yard performance earned him the record for the most receiving yards in a game.
What better way to wrap Part 1 than with a record setter? Tomorrow we’ll go through players 9 through 17.
There were any number of iterations that this list could have gone in and honestly, I understand that it is probably not a perfect one, but it was the one that made the most sense to me. Let me know in the comments or on Twitter (@benonsports) what you think and how your Top 25 Players in Troy’s FBS History would look.