New Troy offensive coordinator ready for challenge

By Drew Champlin

Published: August 27, 2008

TROY — The most important first-timer for Troy’s season opener tonight at Middle Tennessee won’t be throwing passes, picking up blitzes or running for touchdowns.

He’ll be making the play calls that he hopes lead to those big plays.

Neal Brown is in his third year as a Troy assistant but his first as offensive coordinator. He was hired by former offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, who left for Auburn last December. Brown, 28, is the youngest coordinator in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

And while sophomores Jamie Hampton, DuJuan Harris and Jerrel Jernigan have been pushed to the forefront of the Troy offense, in coordinator ages, Brown is the one who graduated high school a semester early and was given the keys to the offense.

“I’m excited just like the players,” Brown said. “It’s a neat situation. Here I am. I’m making my play-calling debut, and we’ve got three sophomores that are making their so-to-speak debut. We’ve been here for a year, I’ve been here for two, but we’re being pushed to the forefront.
“I’m sure I’ll be nervous, but we’re ready to play. We’ve just got to fine tune some things.”

Brown, a younger version of Franklin when it comes to the offensive system, said he has his own tweaks. Players haven’t noticed any differences, except the gray-haired Franklin who didn’t shave very often has been replaced by a dark-haired, clean-shaven guy who, along with his wife, just celebrated the birth of his first child earlier this spring.

“He’s definitely younger,” receiver Cornelius Williams said with a laugh. “I feel that coach Brown knows how to game plan more so than coach Franklin. coach Franklin was going to run exactly what he had in the script, and coach Brown might make some adjustments.”

For some, the promotion of Brown was a no-brainer. Mix in his youth and enthusiasm and extensive knowledge of the offense, and it was the perfect fit. But, he’s younger than three of his offensive coaches and older than just one other full-time coach on staff, running backs coach Chad Scott.

“I think if I came in from somewhere else, there would have been some issues, because I do look young,” Brown said. “It helps that I was here and they watched me work for two years. They respected how I went about my job. I was here when we laid the ground work, and I was part of the change.

“There’s been a lot of young coaches here. Tony was the oldest guy on the staff, by far. Our staff is a little bit older this year, but Jeremy (Rowell) was pretty young when he became defensive coordinator.”

Rowell, Troy’s fourth-year defensive coordinator, is just 34 — the ninth-youngest in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Brown, like Franklin, will be on the field during games after spending the last two years in the press box. Franklin began his career in the box, but after a 21-3 loss to UAB in 2006, he moved to the field and Troy went 7-1 the rest of that year.

Greer to be involved early: One player to watch in tonight’s game is junior college transfer Maurice Greer at running back. With the injury to Xavier Moreland and the eligibility issues of Chris Anderson, Greer and DuJuan Harris are the top two backs. Harris is the starter, but the bigger Greer will get some early action.

Two weeks ago, Greer ran 10 times for 56 yards and three scores, springboarding him to a bigger role in the offense.

“He’s not had a bad practice since,” Brown said. “We’re going to script Greer some touches. We’ll make sure we get him some touches early and see how he reacts to blitz pickups and stuff.”

Injury notes: Troy’s injury list is just one player who is definitely out, as Moreland’s collarbone injury will keep him sidelined through September. Middle Tennessee isn’t as lucky. Players ruled out or doubtful for the Blue Raiders are defensive linemen Antonio Hill, Andre Wicker and Immanuel Chu, linebacker Lonnie Clemons, offensive linemen Mark Fisher, Rogeric Govan, Evon Lettsome, Jake Padrick and Chris Hawkins.