It’s a new era as the program starts over.

By Pete Fiutak | @PeteFiutak

Larry Blakeney made Troy into a powerhouse. He turned Troy State into a D-IAA force, and he led the program into the D-I era roaring, winning five straight Sun Belt titles before the wheels started to come off.

He deserves a statue for what he did, but it was time to make a move after not coming up with a winning season for the last four years, and with a 3-9 2014, and now it’s up to Neal Brown to bring new ideas and a new enthusiasm to revive the proud program.

35-years-old when hired, he’s the youngest head coach in college football, but youth hasn’t mattered in his career so far. He was too young as an offensive coordinator, but he made Troy into an offensive juggernaut. He was too young to be a Big 12 offensive coordinator, but he helped make Texas Tech’s offense roll.

After helping the Mark Stoops era get rolling at Kentucky, now he gets the head coaching gig all to himself where he’ll try to make the offense a monster again.

Last year’s offense had a decent passing game at times, but it was hardly dominant and it wasn’t consistent enough to overcome a defense that’s been the program’s biggest issue over the last several years.

Six starters return to a D that finished 107th in the nation and couldn’t stop anyone’s ground game and couldn’t get off the field. There’s hope for a turnaround with decent ends to generate more of a pass rush, and good prospects in the secondary to work around and a longtime defensive coordinator in Vic Koenning who might be just the right fit to help out a young head coach.

But Brown is about the offense. Nine starters are back including quarterback Brandon Silvers, a veteran who should blossom with the right coaches in place. Brown isn’t afraid to speed things up and wing the ball all around the yard. There were moments when the offense looked great last season, but it went through too many lulls. If nothing else, the Trojans are going to be more explosive now.

It’s still going to take a little bit before Troy becomes a factor in Sun Belt play again, but it has a rising star to build it back up, and it’s going to be a fun ride. Get ready for the fireworks again.

What You Need To Know About The Offense: Co-offensive coordinators Kenny Edenfield and Matt Moore will try to ramp up an attack that had a few nice moments, and was careful with the mistakes through the air, but wasn’t explosive enough. Head coach Neal Brown knows how to get an offense moving, and he shouldn’t have any problems doing that with nine starters returning including rising star QB Brandon Silvers and several good targets. Brandon Burks and Jordan Chunn form a strong 1-2 rushing punch, while all five junior starters up front have to be good now.

What You Need To Know About The Defense: Can defensive coordinator Vic Koenning do what he’s known for doing and get the woeful pass rush to work? Six starters return to a defense that did nothing against the run and wasn’t nearly disruptive enough. Tyler Roberts is a good defensive end to start with, while safety Montres Kitchens should be among the Sun Belt’s best defensive backs – those two have to be all-stars while the other pieces start to improve. Getting to the quarterback might be Job One. No. 2 will be to get off the field and not allow so many long, sustained drives.

What to watch for on offense: More fun, more plays, increased tempo. The coaching staff will ramp up the pressure a bit with a veteran quarterback in Brandon Silvers to start with and most of the top receivers back. There Trojans ran almost 40 fewer plays last year than the opponents – expect that to change. With Brown as the offensive coordinator, Troy ran 973 plays in 2009 and 972 in 2008. Last season, Troy cranked out just 817 plays.

What to watch for on defense: Can defensive coordinator Vic Koenning get everything cranked up? His defenses at North Carolina, Illinois, Clemson and Kansas State were terrific at getting into the backfield and generating pressure. However, the Tar Heel D stunk last season, and now he has a ton of work to do to get Troy’s to work. Last year’s Trojan defense came up with just 17 sacks with a mere 52 tackles for loss – expect those numbers to skyrocket with Tyler Roberts and the top pass rushers returning.

The team will be far better if … the improved pass rush – at least the expected improved pass rush – helps come up with third down stops. Idaho converted just one of 11 third down chances against Troy. Even with that, the Trojans on the year gave up 51% third down conversions. Georgia Southern converted 10-of-13 tries, Louisiana converted 9-of-13 chances, and even Georgia State’s offense converted 63% of its chances. The defense has to give the team a chance.

The schedule: The Trojans have to be road warriors with way too many long stretches of road games. Starting out at NC State and with dates at Wisconsin and Mississippi State will make for a rough first half of the season.
– That’s tough, but finishing up with four road games in the final six won’t be fun, either.
– The Trojans get a few breaks missing Arkansas State and a strong Texas State in Sun Belt play.
– Considering South Alabama is revamping and rebuilding, there’s a chance Troy starts out the Sun Belt season hot getting Idaho at home after playing the Jaguars and going on the road to deal with New Mexico State.
– With road games at Appalachian State and Georgia Southern – to go along with the dates against Wisconsin and Mississippi State – the run defense numbers aren’t going to be stellar.
– WATCH OUT FOR … the road trip to Georgia State. This is a win Troy HAS to have if it has any hopes of coming up with a decent season, but the Panthers might be improved, especially at this point of the season.

Best offensive player: Sophomore QB Brandon Silvers. Expect the numbers to blow up. A good recruit for the program, he came through with a strong first season hitting 70% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and three picks and five rushing scores. The goal will be to get him to push the ball down the field a little more and to crank out even more big plays. He has the talent and the supporting cast – and the coaching staff – to do that.

Best defensive player: Senior S Montres Kitchens. A sound veteran who did a little of everything for the defense, he not only came up with six interceptions last season, but he was the leading tackler. By a lot. His 53 solo stops alone would’ve made him third on the team in tackles, but he ended up with 88 with 11 against South Alabama and Georgia Southern in back to back weeks. Now he’s the sheriff of a secondary that should get a little more help from the pass rush.

Key player to a successful season: Senior DT Lonnie Gosha. The Troy run defense has to be a whole bunch better, and it starts with getting stronger and tougher on the inside. The 6-3, 306-pound Gosha needs to become more of a factor against the power teams, while junior Garrett Peek has to help the cause next to him. Troy allowed 5.7 yards per carry and 35 touchdowns on the season. That has to change.

The season will be a success if … Troy wins five games. There’s enough experience to be tighter on both sides of the ball, and there’s enough talent to start bombing away and simply start outscoring teams in shootouts. Beat Charleston Southern and Idaho at home, beat New Mexico State and Georgia State on the road, and hope for an upset here and there. This is more like a three-win team, but with the renewed energy with the coaching staff, it’s okay to think more might be possible.

Key game: Oct. 3 vs. South Alabama. The Jaguars came up with a 27-13 win at home last year, but Troy came up with a 34-33 thriller in 2013. Troy needs the home win in the Sun Belt opener to get off to a good start. There are precious few home games – just five – and the Trojans can’t give any of them away, especially early on.

2014 Fun Stats:
– Third Down Conversions: Opponents 84-of-165 (51%) – Troy 70-of-180 (39%)
– Third Quarter Scoring: Opponents 121 – Troy 44
– Interceptions Thrown: Opponents 11 – Troy 4

Players You Need To Know

1. FS Montres Kitchens, Sr.
A wide receiver/defensive back in high school, it took him a few years to get into the mix with the Trojans, working mostly on special teams, and then … boom. He turned into team’s best tackler making 88 stops with six interceptions – taking one for a score against Idaho. While he’s not huge at 6-0 and 180 pounds, he’s a solid hitter coming up with ten tackles or more in three games, doing a great job against the run in the open field. On a rocky defense, he’s the difference-maker.

2. QB Brandon Silvers, Soph.
The offense needed him to live up to the recruiting hype, and he did just that taking over the job completing 71% of his passes for 1,836 yards and 11 touchdowns with three scores, and running for 196 yards and five scores doing a little of everything right. At 6-3 and 202 pounds he has the size to go along with decent athleticism, doing a great job around the goal line. While he got bounced around a bit, he threw for 200 yards or more in four of his last eight games, and outside of a two-pick game in the disastrous loss to Appalachian State, he gave up one interception the rest of the way.

3. DE Tyler Roberts. Sr.
The team’s best pass rusher came up with 48 tackles with five sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss doing a decent job all year long of getting behind the line and being disruptive. He didn’t have a whole bunch of help around him, but he still produced. The pass defense needs him to do even more as the all-star producer, coming up with two sacks against New Mexico State and being a steady tackler throughout. 6-2 and 230 pounds, he’s not all that big, but he can move.

4. WR Bryan Holmes, Sr.
The team’s best wide receiver and one of the fastest players, he didn’t lead the team in catches, but he made big things happen when he got the chance making 34 grabs for 474 yards and five scores. He has decent size at 5-11 and 184 pounds – packing on a little weight over the course of the year – and he kept his wheels cranking out 111 yards and two scores against Idaho and seven catches for 97 yards and a touchdown against ULM. He needs the ball in his hands more, especially on the move.

5. DE Jamal Stadom, Soph.
The 6-1, 243-pound rising star of the defensive front is a pure pass rusher with the upside to turn into one of the Sun Belt’s best defenders. The team’s third-leading tackler came up with 55 stops with 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, hitting ULM and NMSU for two sacks each in back-to-back weeks. Now he needs to be more consistent and be more of a threat, but he has the quickness off the ball and the athleticism to turn into a star.

6. C Dalton Bennett, Sr.
The 6-3, 292-pound left guard can get to around 300 pounds and be a pounder, but he’s best at closer to 290. A starter for the last few years, he’s the team’s strongest run blocker and holds up well on the inside – now he’ll be tried out at center. Very steady, he needs to be great as one of just two returning starters up front, working next to Antonio Garcia at tackle, but he’ll be the one the offense runs behind.

7. RB Brandon Burks, Sr.
The team’s leading rusher, he did a little bit of everything running for 584 yards and three scores – averaging just over six yards per carry – and catching 23 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown. At 5-9 and 203 pounds he’s compact and quick, tearing off 176 yards on ten carries against New Mexico State and 118 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries against Georgia State. A terrific athlete, he might not bring too much power and won’t work on the goal line, but he’s a three-down back who knows what he’s doing.

8. RB Jordan Chunn, Jr.
The power in the ground game, he has 6-0, 234-pound size and knows how to use it. He was terrific as a freshman, running for 14 touchdowns and scoring in every game but two, but last year he ran for 505 yards and six touchdowns with two scores against NMSU. Great against Idaho, he came up with 189 yards and a score on 28 carries – he could be a workhorse – but he’s not much of a receiver and only ran more than 12 times once.

9. SS JaQuadrian Lewis, Jr.
The team’s second-leading tackler, the 5-11, 187-pound veteran didn’t do too much against the pass, but made 57 stops with ten tackles against Appalachian State and nine against both South Alabama and Georgia Southern. He might not be that big, but he’s a good, sound tackler and can move well. He’s better suited for a free safety role or as a nickel defender, but he’ll be one of the team’s top statistical guys no matter where he plays.

10. P/PK Ryan Kay, Jr.
The all-around kicker, he hit 10-of-14 field goals, nailed all 30 of his extra points, and averaged just under 40 yards per punt. While he doesn’t have a massive leg, he was 5-of-5 from 40-to-49 yards but missed a 52-yarder. Yes, he needs to crank up his punting average, but he put 22 of his kicks inside the 20, forced 17 fair catches and came up with just two touchbacks.