Player transfers are not a concern for the Troy football program

The Troy football team has seen a number of players submit their names into the transfer portal and seek an opportunity elsewhere during the offseason.

This has sparked a debate over who’s to blame for the mini-exodus of players as some have questioned the new leadership.

In total, 10 players have either left the program or are in the transfer portal. Two of those players, defensive end Rasool Clemons and defensive back Adarius Wesley, were forced to medically retire.

That leaves eight other players, five who have transferred and three who are in the portal. This is not an alarming number by any means.

Medically Retired

DE Rasool Clemons

DB Adarius Wesley

In Transfer Portal

SPR Tyler Murray

WR Richard Hallman

WR Daniel Crowell

Transferred

OLB Tron Folsom

QB Sawyer Smith

DB Marcus Jones

OL Zach Branner

WR Bee Hinton

There are numerous factors that go into a player deciding to transfer. These include depth issues, coaching changes and outside circumstances.

Troy has a new coach in Chip Lindsey and with him came a brand new evaluation process over the spring.

Throw in the new transfer portal craze, where any player can make himself available to other teams without requiring permission, and it’s a miracle Troy doesn’t have 10-15 players in the portal.

Of the eight players Troy does have gone or leaving, the reasons why range widely. Branner was the first to go as a graduate transfer while Neal Brown was still in Troy. His departure was expected and had been in the works before the season ended.

Shortly after Lindsey took over, Tron Folsom announced his transfer as the first starter and All-Sun Belt player to leave. According to numerous sources, Folsom had a foot out the door before Brown left and Lindsey simply opened the door the rest of the way for him.

Three other key players, Smith, Jones and Murray, are also gone. Whatever the reasons may be for their departures, their transfers or potential transfers are not out of the ordinary.

Brown established a legacy at Troy and some are rightfully concerned about new leadership. It’s important to understand that transfers are a product of every coaching change.

To prove that fact, let’s talk about Coach Brown. Seven scholarship West Virginia players are either transferring or have transferred this offseason. Four of those players were starters.

West Virginia’s leading returning receiver, Matt Simms, hit the transfer portal on April 29. Over the last 24 hours, the Mountaineers lost both of their starting safeties to the portal.

That is no way an indictment of how Brown is running the program in West Virginia. It’s a fact of life in the college football world and it’s more true now than ever before.

Lindsey has his standards and expectations in Troy and some players simply don’t fit the mold. Wherever the disconnect is, there is rarely anybody at fault in these situations.

Losing four key players is just about par for the course as far as coaching changes go. The good news is that Troy is still loaded.

Six All-Sun Belt players are set to return for the Trojans for the 2019 season. The top recruiting class in school history has only just arrived, as well.

A coach should be judged on wins and losses, among other select areas. Losing a few players over a coach’s first offseason is not reason to sound the alarms before a single game is played.

If anything, Lindsey has given himself some wiggle room to spend some time scrolling through the portal himself. With around 10 scholarships to play with, I’d expect at least 80 scholarship players to fill the sidelines against Campbell.

That should be enough to field a football team.