The beginning of Week 2 of spring football practice at Troy University had “some good, some bad” according to head coach Jon Sumrall.
“We’ve got to get tougher mentally as a team, and we’ve got to learn how to practice the right way all the time,” Sumrall said through a Troy media release. “There were some ebbs and flows at practice that were good for both sides of the ball. We’ve got a long way to go.
“We’re not anywhere near where I want to be, we’re going to get there, but the standards of how we’re going to practice and what we’re going to do daily, the guys have got to buy into what we’re asking them to do.”
The team spent time working 11-on-11 team situations on Tuesday, including the final 20 minutes of practice. The remainder of the session was spent between special teams, individual position group work and 1-on-1 or 7-on-7 drills.
Interceptions were made by Zion Williams and Keyshawn Swanson to highlight the defense, while the offensive running attack continued to make strides behind Kimani Vidal, Charles Strong, Damien Taylor and others.
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“We’re going to add layers to everything we’re doing, and every day is going to have some install in it,” Sumrall said. “We don’t have enough time with 15 practices to take a whole day where we don’t install something.
“We’re constantly going to be adding volume and at times trying to see how much our guys can handle and forcing it on them because we have to be able to carry enough football schematically to give people issues.”
Junior offensive lineman Jake Andrews spoke on the style of new offensive line coach Cole Popovich, who spent time with the New England Patriots.
“It’s a lot different of a style than what we’ve traditionally had here at Troy,” Andrews said through the release. “We’ve had a lot of good offensive line coaches and offensive-minded guys here at Troy; it’s really interesting to see the difference between the NFL and college mindsets. He’s got a really hit them in the mouth and move the guy kind of mindset and I love it.”
Troy is scheduled to practice again on Wednesday morning, moving the session up a day due to the impending rainy weather expected in the area on Thursday. The Trojans are also scheduled to practice Saturday at 10:30 a.m. for a half practice and half scrimmage.
The annual T-Day scrimmage is scheduled for April 23 with a 4 p.m. start.