Troy’s College Football 25 All-Time Roster, Part I: Special Teams

One conversation has driven tailgate discussions, forum posts and any conversation between a group of fans ever:

The All-Time team.

Every year I remember the feature from the NCAA Football video games, I would grab a program or media guide and put in the real names of all of the Troy players on the all-time roster.

Sometimes I would try to do as many from memory as I could. Others were a guaranteed look-up.

It became a crucial part of my summer once the new game came out, shortly before building my high school into the game, making them a 99 overall, and tricking my dad into playing me.

Given the adaptation of Madden’s Ultimate Team feature, the inclusion of All-Time Teams in EA College Football 25 is less likely, but they’d probably only do it for “major” teams anyway.

The Teambuilder feature is confirmed as a returning feature though, so there’s still an opportunity to put together a team from the greatest Trojans to ever take the field.

Therefore, we at The Trojan Wall have taken the time to go through the history books and compile the most comprehensive all-time roster for Troy football.

The Rules

The list will be revealed in three parts: Special Teams, Defense, and Offense. Every position except a few will have three players.

A few notes:

1. To accommodate the changes in Troy’s offense over the years, we based the roster off an I-formation setup: one HB, FB, and TE, and two WRs.
2. To allow for as many defensive players as possible, we used a 4-3 defense as our base.
3. Players will be listed in their depth chart order (i.e. listed first means they are the starter).
4. All considerations were made based on the player’s career in Troy, not one season or play.
5. Kick Returner/Punt Returner is the only position with two players since these two players were head and shoulders above everyone else.

Without further ado, let us begin the rankings with our Special Teams.

Kickers

Let’s face it. Kickers are the most underappreciated position in football. They’re supposed to line up and kick the ball without error and praise, unless it wins the game. If so, they are the hero.

But the whole feeling around the fan base changes when they miss.

The good news about this section of the roster is that Troy has had phenomenal kickers throughout its history. These four Trojans did their best to ensure that if the game did come down to them, they would get the job done.

Tyler Sumpter

Tyler Sumpter is Top 5 in every statistical measure for Troy kickers, save one. Along with his stellar Field Goal kicking (76.5%), his PAT made percentage was unbeateable. He is one of only two Trojans ever (the other being Ryan Kay) to be perfect on PATs.

Lawrence Tynes

Lawrence Tynes was the lynchpin of the late Southland-era special teams play. He was .772 kicker on field goals and was .982 on PATs, the highest non-1.000 kicker. Reminder: LT is the only Trojan kicker to win a Super Bowl Ring (and a second one too!).

Editor’s Note: It’s worth mentioning that Mr. Tynes was named to the Giants’ Top 100 players list just this week. It was a coincidence, but an earned one!

Ted Clem

Ted Clem attempted more field goals (78) and PATs (170) than anyone in Troy history. Even including The Kick, one of Troy’s Greatest Plays, Clem’s overall FG average was only .615. His PAT percentage was much better at .976.

Greg Whibbs

Greg Whibbs made more field goals (50) than any other Trojan kicker in history. In fact, since setting the record in 2007, the closest anyone has gotten to him was Tyler Sumpter’s 39 in 2017-18. Whibb’s FG average was .704 and his PAT percentage was .950.

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Punters

I have for years had a very offense-based mindset, so unlike Iowa fans, I hate to see the punter come out on the field. (Sorry, Colin.) Simply put, it means the offense couldn’t get things done… so we are giving up.

However, I’m at least adept enough at this football thing to know how important the field position battle is. Boy, could these punters change the whole complexion of a game with their feet.

Thomas Olmsted

You’d be forgiven if you thought that with his stats, Thomas Olmsted was on one of the worst Troy teams in recent memory. That wasn’t the case though, from 2002-05, Olmsted’s Trojans played schedules that featured 5, 4, 3, and finally 2 Power Conference teams as Troy navigated the early days of the FBS transition.

During his career in The Wiregrass, Olmsted punted the ball more than any other Trojan in history and did it for more yardage as well. In fact, the only thing he doesn’t lead in punting categories is yards per punt.

The top four spots are taken by players from 2012-2022, showing that there have been significant improvements in punting methods in the last 15 years or so. In spite of this, he still ranks 5th in per punt average with 41.5 ypp.

That being said, in Olmsted’s 288(!) punts, he booted them for 11,958 yards. Read that number again.

Thomas Olmsted punted the football nearly 6.8 MILES, or 10.9 kilometers if you’re in Europe or Canada.

Oh, and he was the only Trojan special teamer invited to the Senior Bowl. We’ve got that story right here.

Will Goggans

Will Goggans’ career in Troy is very similar to Thomas Olmsted’s. In fact, Goggans is #2 in punt attempts (240), right behind Olmsted. He is #2 in punting yardage (9,797), right behind Olmsted.

The true gap in their numbers is in per punt average. Olmsted was a 41.5 ypp, but Goggans was 40.82.

Matt Allen

Punters get so little love that I couldn’t find an action shot of Matt Allen from any of his four years (1997-2000) at Troy.

Allen was the clear #3 for me. He trailed only Olmsted and Goggans in punts attempted (225) and punting yardage (9,226).

At #7 in yards per punt, Allen was directly in between Olmsted and Goggans in the ranking with a 41.09 ypp average.

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Return Men

One of the most electrifying plays in college football is a punt or kick return.

Troy has had two return men who stand head and shoulders above the rest, due to their ability to make something out of nothing on these plays.

Leodis McKelvin

There is without question no one better in the return game than Leodis. He returned 112 punts for 1,471 yards with a 13.13 ypr average. He even scored 7 touchdowns, besting Virgil Seay’s 25-year-old mark by 2.

In the kick return game, he returned 99 kicks for 2,346 yards with an average return of 23.70 yards. Given his productivity, it’s surprising that McKelvin only returned one kickoff for a touchdown in his four years.

He at least made it worth it, going for 100 yards and putting Troy on the board in the second quarter of the 45-20 loss to South Carolina in 2005 (You can see it here. Leodis’ return is at 42:33.)

Marcus Jones

Where Leodis could change the game in the punt return game, Marcus Jones could completely flip a game on kick returns, sometimes in the same quarter. Had Jones not left Troy to go to Houston after the Neal Brown departure, I truly believe he could’ve eclipsed Leodis’ kickoff return yardage mark.

In only two seasons, he had 1,463 yards, only 883 away from tying McKelvin. Jones’ yards per return ranks third all-time for Troy with 28.13 ypr on his 52 tries.

Where Jones’ game changing ability is really showcased is in touchdowns.

Marcus Jones ran back 4 kicks to the house in his two years. This broke a Troy record from 1959, when Frank Sadler finished his three-year career with three kickoff return TDs.

Jones is one of 22 players to have returned 2 kickoffs in a game in NCAA history, and I’m pretty sure he’s the only one to do it in the same quarter.

That’s it for Special Teams, but check back soon for Part II: Defense.

As always let us know what you think in the comments or on Twitter, @TrojanWallF5 or @BenOnSports.