Troy adds 7 signees, 10 transfers to 2023 class
Troy officially added 17 new players to its football roster on Wednesday, signing six high school and one junior-college recruit and announcing 10 Division I transfers who enrolled in January.
The Trojans have now added 38 new players since the end of the 2022 season, when they went 12-2 and won the Sun Belt Conference championship. The 2023 recruiting class is the first recruited entirely by second-year head coach Jon Sumrall and his staff.
“I think everybody feels good about their class at the time,” Sumrall said. “But let’s see what happens in three or four years and we’ll really know. I do think we met some needs. It’s no secret that we walked into a roster last year that had a lot of older players that played a lot. I think we answered some holes with some guys we signed in December and some guys we signed today. So we feel good about the pieces we added and we look forward to what’s next.”
Headlining Wednesday’s signees was Montgomery Catholic cornerback LJ Green, a three-star prospect who was at one time committed to Georgia Tech. Green (6-foot-1, 170 pounds) was a first-team all-state pick who played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.
Also added Wednesday were safeties Jamarcus Hamilton of Montgomery’s Sidney Lanier High School and Dorion Jackson of Wetumpka, all-purpose athlete Mykel Johnson of Enterprise, wide receiver Jackson Thomas of Stanhope Elmore, offensive lineman Elijah Prather of LaVergne, Tenn., and offensive lineman Elijah Phillipe of Lackawanna (Penn.) College. The 6-foot-7, 305-pound Phillippe has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Officially announced as mid-year transfers Wednesday were running back Asa Martin (Memphis), safety Reggie Bracy (Iowa), wide receivers Chris Lewis (Kentucky) and Landon Parker (Wofford), defensive end Zach Edwards (Louisville), quarterback Goose Crowder (West Virginia), tight end Brody Dalton (UAB), cornerback Damaje Yancey (Southern Utah) and offensive linemen Eli Russ (Oklahoma State), Blake Austin and Tavon Matthews (both East Tennessee State). Martin is a former Mr. Football at Decatur’s Austin High School who originally signed with Auburn.
Troy signed 21 players in the early period, including a number of high-profile junior-college recruits who have already enrolled. Headlining that group were a pair of linebackers who should push for immediate starting jobs: Raymond Cutts of Garden City (Kan.) Community College and Steve Cattledge of East Mississippi CC.
Troy 2023 signing class
Blake Austin, OL, 6-4, 290, Johnson City, Tenn./East Tennessee State*
Deshaun Batiste, DE, 6-2, 250, New Orleans/John F. Kennedy HS
MarKendrick Beall, OL, 6-4, 340, Tatum, Texas/Tyler (Texas) JC*
Tyler Bell, OL, 6-2, 305, Memphis, Tenn./Lausanne Collegiate HS
Reggie Bracy, SAF, 6-0, 209, Mobile, Ala./Iowa*
Keyshawn Campbell, LB, 6-0, 200, Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach HS*
Steven Cattledge, 6-3, 205, Columbus, Miss./East Mississippi CC*
Ethan Conner, TE, 6-4, 225, Columbus, Miss./ East Mississippi CC*
Goose Crowder, QB, 6-2, 220, Gardendale, Ala./West Virginia*
Raymond Cutts, DE/LB, 6-3, 270, Orlando, Fla./Garden City CC*
Brody Dalton, TE, 6-5, 250, Fyffe, Ala./UAB*
Zach Edwards, 6-3, 265, Starkville, Miss./Louisville*
Billy Gilmore, OL , 6-3, 285, Irvington, Ala. /Alma Bryant HS
LJ Green, CB, 5-10, 160, Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Catholic HS
Jamarcus Hamilton, SAF, 5-11, 195, Montgomery, Ala./Sidney Lanier HS
Dasheen Jackson, SAF, 6-1, 185, Columbus, Ga./Hutchinson CC*
Dorion Jackson, SAF, 6-2, 180, Wetumpka, Ala./Wetumpka HS
Mykel Johnson, ATH, 5-8, 175, Enterprise, Ala./Enterprise, Ala.
Chris Lewis, WR, 6-4, 202, Pleasant Grove, Ala./ Kentucky*
Jordan Lovett, RB, 5-10, 195, Statesboro, Ga. /Statesboro HS
Asa Martin, RB, 5-11, 200, Courtland, Ala./Memphis*
Tavon Matthews, OL, 6-1, 317, Woodbridge, Va./East Tennessee State*
Landon Parker, WR, 6-3, 210, Concord, N.C./Wofford*
Malaki Pegues, BAN, 6-4, 225, Oxford, Miss./Oxford HS
Ty’Quarius Perry, DE, 6-2, 265, Birmingham, Ala./Jackson-Olin HS*
Elijah Phillippe, OL, 6-7, 305, Newark, N.J./Lackawanna College
Elijah Prather, OL, 6-4, 280, LaVergne, Tenn./LaVergne HS
Tim Roberson, CB , 6-0 , 175, Valdosta, Ga./ Valdosta HS
Chris Rodgers, LB, 6-2, 207, Corinth, Miss./ Corinth HS
JD Sherrod, QB, 6-2, 200, Memphis, Tenn./Briarcrest Christian HS*
Boaz Stanley, OL, 6-4, 310, Bogart, Ga./Georgia Military College*
Jack Tchienchou, CB, 5-10, 176, Atlanta/ Saint Pius X HS
Jackson Thomas, WR, 6-3, 185, Millbrook, Ala./Stanhope Elmore HS
TJ Thompson, LB, 6-0, 210, Bolton, Miss./East Central CC*
Colton Walls, ATH, 6-3, 225, Millbrook, Ala./Stanhope Elmore HS
Jackson Worley, TE , 6-4, 225, West Palm Beach, Fla. /The King’s Academy
Damaje Yancey, CB, 6-1, 180, Long Beach, Calif./Southern Utah*
* — enrolled in January, will participate in spring practice