TROY, Texas — The Troy Trojans have returned to the football field for their first official practices of the season.
"I feel great. It's a little hot, but it's great to be back here with the team. I love this game and I love doing it with my friends," senior Cooper Valle said.
Last season the Trojans finished 2-8 overall and were 1-5 in district play, but it's now a new season and the players have already hit the ground running.
"I think we're off to a better start than we are last year," senior Ethan Sorensen said. "Practice has been going amazing. I think we actually have put more effort in this year than we have been in the previous years."
This is also a fresh start for head coach Tommy Brashear as this will be his first season with the Trojans and he knows that the players are looking to improve from last year.
"As a coach, you always love kids that are hungry. I know the last couple of years they've been down a little bit. We've got to do our job and put them in the right positions and call the right plays offensively, defensively, take care of the ball. These kids are very hungry and it's fun to work with those kind of kids," Brashear said.
"I think it's been a lot better," Sorensen said. "Everybody thinks it's a whole lot easier to learn. Definitely more competitive out here on the field," he said.
With a new head coach comes change in not just having a fresh voice, but also a fresh playbook as the Trojans will look to air the ball out more on Friday nights.
"I've been coaching the spread offense over the years and that's probably what I know best," Brashear said. "When I first got here, the kids thought we were going to throw it every play. We're still running the ball, we're just teaching you the passing. It's a big learning curve. Even some of the coaches who are new here, it's a lot of learning for them but, its been going really well and everybody's really excited and that makes it fun."
We will see this new look Troy Trojan team in their first game on the road against the Whitney Wildcats on Aug. 25 at 7:30 p.m..
