? Don?t feel bad if you don?t know who Troy?s starting quarterback will be in Saturday?s 6 p.m. season opener at home against Bowling Green.
As of early Monday afternoon, the rest of the team didn?t know either.
Corey Robinson or Jamie Hampton will be the No. 1 quarterback. Head coach Larry Blakeney said a decision had been made, but he didn?t say who the main quarterback would be and wants to keep it a secret until game time.
?We?re not that dissimilar at quarterback,? Blakeney said. ?They are a lot alike. One?s got more experience (Hampton) and the other?s got a little bit quicker trigger (Robinson).
?Jamie?s a little bit better runner, which separated him before. What you hope happens is that whoever starts will get it done.
?I want (Bowling Green) to have to prepare for both, and they are a little bit different.?
Star receiver Jerrel Jernigan, who has taken snaps before and even thrown a touchdown pass at Troy, decided he?d let the cat out of the bag to the media during Monday?s media gathering.
?I?ll be taking the first snap from scrimmage Saturday,? Jernigan said.
But Jernigan said it didn?t matter who the quarterback would be, and he expected to see both in the game.
?We?re going to go into Saturday with a two-headed monster, three including me,? Jernigan said. ?We?re going to use both of them and use both of them for their strengths.
?I?ve been catching balls and other receivers have been catching balls from them all camp. For me, personally, I can?t tell who?s throwing the ball when they?re throwing routes, so we?ll keep the same rhythm.?
Offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield and quarterbacks coach Chip Lindsey have rotated the quarterbacks with the first unit each day during fall camp. Though Hampton has the reputation as a runner, both quarterbacks can run Troy?s complete offensive package.
?They both have the offense down, so that?s not a problem,? Edenfield said. ?It?s not like you?re limited with one guy and not with the other.?
Robinson said he wouldn?t worry about looking over his shoulder if he makes a mistake in a game. It?s not uncommon to see some quarterbacks struggle if he?s worried that another could take his place after one mistake.
?(Coaches have) faith in both of us and think we can win ball games for this school,? Robinson said. ?We?re going to go out there and if you make a mistake, you make a mistake and try to do better. I feel like either one of us can leads to a victory. It?s going to be a good situation no matter what happens.?
Edenfield said he?d like to redshirt Greg Jenkins, the third-string quarterback who transferred in from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before the spring. Walk-on Brent Poole is the fourth-string quarterback who coaches are trying to get eligible after he went to Auburn for two years, wasn?t recruited, wasn?t on scholarship and didn?t play.
?We?d like to redshirt (Jenkins),? Edenfield said. ?I think that would be our best bet. He?s not going to play unless we got in a situation where he had to.
?We feel like we?ve got two quarterbacks and that?s more than a lot of teams do. Our third guy is pretty good, too, but we?d like to get him more seasoning.?
As of early Monday afternoon, the rest of the team didn?t know either.
Corey Robinson or Jamie Hampton will be the No. 1 quarterback. Head coach Larry Blakeney said a decision had been made, but he didn?t say who the main quarterback would be and wants to keep it a secret until game time.
?We?re not that dissimilar at quarterback,? Blakeney said. ?They are a lot alike. One?s got more experience (Hampton) and the other?s got a little bit quicker trigger (Robinson).
?Jamie?s a little bit better runner, which separated him before. What you hope happens is that whoever starts will get it done.
?I want (Bowling Green) to have to prepare for both, and they are a little bit different.?
Star receiver Jerrel Jernigan, who has taken snaps before and even thrown a touchdown pass at Troy, decided he?d let the cat out of the bag to the media during Monday?s media gathering.
?I?ll be taking the first snap from scrimmage Saturday,? Jernigan said.
But Jernigan said it didn?t matter who the quarterback would be, and he expected to see both in the game.
?We?re going to go into Saturday with a two-headed monster, three including me,? Jernigan said. ?We?re going to use both of them and use both of them for their strengths.
?I?ve been catching balls and other receivers have been catching balls from them all camp. For me, personally, I can?t tell who?s throwing the ball when they?re throwing routes, so we?ll keep the same rhythm.?
Offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield and quarterbacks coach Chip Lindsey have rotated the quarterbacks with the first unit each day during fall camp. Though Hampton has the reputation as a runner, both quarterbacks can run Troy?s complete offensive package.
?They both have the offense down, so that?s not a problem,? Edenfield said. ?It?s not like you?re limited with one guy and not with the other.?
Robinson said he wouldn?t worry about looking over his shoulder if he makes a mistake in a game. It?s not uncommon to see some quarterbacks struggle if he?s worried that another could take his place after one mistake.
?(Coaches have) faith in both of us and think we can win ball games for this school,? Robinson said. ?We?re going to go out there and if you make a mistake, you make a mistake and try to do better. I feel like either one of us can leads to a victory. It?s going to be a good situation no matter what happens.?
Edenfield said he?d like to redshirt Greg Jenkins, the third-string quarterback who transferred in from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before the spring. Walk-on Brent Poole is the fourth-string quarterback who coaches are trying to get eligible after he went to Auburn for two years, wasn?t recruited, wasn?t on scholarship and didn?t play.
?We?d like to redshirt (Jenkins),? Edenfield said. ?I think that would be our best bet. He?s not going to play unless we got in a situation where he had to.
?We feel like we?ve got two quarterbacks and that?s more than a lot of teams do. Our third guy is pretty good, too, but we?d like to get him more seasoning.?
