Thursday links

October 08, 2008

Drew Champlin

This interview took place after the game, but I didn’t have time or room to get it in the postgame wrap

DOTHAN EAGLE: Troy must call on backup QBs

Back from Fort Lauderdale

Drew Champlin

Yep, it was wise of me to drive. Even wiser to leave at 11 a.m. instead of earlier [sarcasm font off]

About halfway through, I got the call saying Tony Franklin had been relieved of his duties. I still stand by the fact that it’s not his fault and the other coaches never took to caring or learning his offense. Tony’s fatal flaw was going to Auburn, because I couldn’t ever see a coach like Tuberville giving Tony the control that Blakeney gave him. Oh well

Maybe he’ll be back at Troy one day. Wouldn’t shock me. But no one has told me anything.

Seeing other reports that Jamie Hampton’s season is over - hopefully you read my coverage from last night and knew that was likely the case, unfortunately. Being on the road all day, I didn’t have a chance to get anything, but his season and spring practice are probably over (season definitely, spring probably). So, sorry I couldn’t get you anything but you know how the grind goes.

Who do you want to see at QB? Tanner or Levi? I’m betting one of them takes 95 percent of the snaps and Jernigan takes 5-7 per game and runs a little option. Levi looked better in the spring but Tanner seems to have one-upped him this fall. I think either can do the job adequately and this spring Neal Brown said as much even when Hampton beat them both out.

Postgame links

October 07, 2008

Drew Champlin

From me.

DOTHAN EAGLE - Troy beats FAU, but loses quarterback - quotes from Hampton and others
DOTHAN EAGLE - Troy notes: Bounce goes Trojans’ way

Problem is now that the power cord on my laptop doesn’t seem to be working, so if TrojanWar reads this, I’ve got a problem! So my battery is running down and I don’t have time to find FAU links. But scroll down for links to the papers down here, and they will have some links you can find.

I’m also driving back to Dothan tomorrow (WED), so won’t have computer access. However, if I find out anything on Hampton or other stuff, I might post it ON TWITTER from my cell phone, so check that, or sign up for TWITTER UPDATES and you can get them sent to your e-mail or phone.

No rush back tomorrow, since it’s a long drive, but I’ll catch up with you guys tomorrow. If you leave a comment on the blog, I won’t get to it until late Wednesday night. Hopefully the webmasters at the office will approve them.

On the QB situation, it’s tough to see an all-around good guy like Jamie Hampton get hurt like that. I met his mother and uncle and other family friends at the team hotel earlier today, and you can tell he was raised right. We figured he’d get more opportunities to run the ball, and unfortunately this is the painful irony of it.

I think they’ll pick a QB early next week. My original prediction (before Jamie grew an inch and put on 30 pounds) was that Tanner Jones would be the guy. After probably falling to No. 3, he’s gotten back to the level he played at last year in some of the games (especially MTSU). He and Levi Brown both have big-time arms and you might see more deep balls. I think if Brown outperforms him in practice, he could be the guy since he is probably a little faster.

The first thing Blakeney said he thought of was pulling the redshirt off Dan Parker, since he can run. But I can’t see it happening. Who knows, though?

OH HERE’S SOME OTHER GOOD STUFF - I talked to Omar Haugabook at the game. He had a tryout with the Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers and has tryouts set up with the teams from Orlando and Tampa Bay. He said that teams can offer free agent contracts Oct. 15, so he’s hoping to be offered one then. He’s been working out in his home town of Belle Glade since his career ended.

I will have a story with some quotes on that later this week.

Couple of postgame notes

Drew Champlin

They fear torn ACL on Jamie Hampton’s left knee

Tanner Jones entering was a “feel deal” according to Neal Brown and Jones outperformed Levi Brown in JV game.

Its an open competition again

Danny Franks said sprained ankle, said he would be fine for FIU.

more later

All set up at Lockhart Stadium

Drew Champlin

And, knock on wood, this internet connection is pretty good. More updates will come later. Two loyal blog readers (relatives of Bear Woods and Jamie Hampton) recognized me. No Dr. Lou sightings. Any questions for him?

Sign up for TWITTER game updates if you’re not able to see the game on TV by accessing the link to the right. I’ll send out score updates.

6:16 p.m. CST - Still not sure how much I’ll update this, but I’ll be on the Troy radio broadcast’s halftime show. They have no scores to fill the time with, so I guess they want my “knowledge and expertise”

6:33 p.m. CST - I’m going to host this live chat thing, but only for game updates. I’ll take questions, but it won’t be like the weekly chats where my eyes are focused on that screen. I’ll post blog updates on there, and I’ll TRY to answer all questions - but please be patient and realize that I might not be able to get to every one. It’s not chat-based like the past ones have, and I hope all of you guys are watching on TV, but some may not be.