TROY — Troy head coach Larry Blakeney rambled through this year’s spring practice agenda in few words, but he said a lot.

“Two corners, two defensive tackles, one linebacker, one defensive end, one quarterback, one wide receiver, one running back, one H-back, one punter, one kicker,” Blakeney said. “That’s some pretty good production on offense, some pretty good production on defense and our only production on special teams.”

The Trojans, coming off an 8-4 season, open spring practice today at 3 p.m. The biggest question fans have revolves around one position — who will replace two-year starter and two-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year Omar Haugabook at quarterback?

Three sophomores — Tanner Jones, Jamie Hampton and Jonathan Chandler, as well as junior Levi Brown, a walk-on transfer from Richmond, will get looks. Offensive coordinator Neal Brown said he hoped to narrow the competition down to three within the first few practices and then to two guys later on.

“All four of them deserve a chance to have an opportunity to compete,” Neal Brown said. “But it’s unrealistic to get four quarterbacks reps. We need to get it down to two to get continuity in the offense.”

Neal Brown said the competition started after Christmas break, with evaluations coming in academics, the weight room and leadership. Jones and Hampton both played last year while Chandler redshirted after playing some in 2006. Hampton is a true sophomore. Levi Brown, the biggest of the bunch at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, is the most intriguing because he has more playing experience than the others, but not at Troy.

“He’s got a big arm, probably the strongest of the bunch,” Neal Brown said. “He’s played in what I think is the best (Football Championship Subdivision) conferences out there. He’s really a smart player who probably knows the offense as good or better than the other three, but he’s got to prove he can move in the pocket and show he can lead the offense.”

Levi Brown and Jones are pocket passers who can run it a little bit, but not as good as Chandler and Hampton. However, Chandler and Hampton don’t yet have the arms that Levi Brown and Jones have.

But that mobility — one of Haugabook’s strengths — is what gives this offense the best chance to win.

“We can’t win big here if we just stand in the pocket and throw it every down,” Neal Brown said. “Obviously we’re a throw-first team, but Omar’s threat to run opened holes for our running backs. If our quarterback is a pure passer, he’s got to have a high accuracy rate and not turn the ball over because we still want to run the ball.”

Personnel notes: Sophomore receiver Austin Silvoy won’t participate in offensive drills after recovering from knee surgery, but will resume duties as the team’s holder. Grayshirt offensive lineman Jacob Creech won’t participate after suffering a torn meniscus. Inside receivers Stanley Jones and Andrew Davis have been moved to outside receiver positions, Jones to the X-receiver and Davis, a two-year starter at H-receiver, to the Z-receiver spot.

The biggest shakeup comes on defense, where senior Terence Moore moves from strong safety to Will linebacker. Two-year starting free safety Tavares Williams slides to Moore’s spot at strong safety and Sherrod Martin, a specialist last year in a nickel slot, moves to free safety.

Coaching news: Defensive ends coach and recruiting coordinator Brian Turner is leaving for South Alabama to coach the defensive line and be the recruiting coordinator. USA begins play with a condensed schedule in 2009 and a full-fledged schedule in 2010.

“It was the best decision for my family,” Turner said. “It was the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make, since I played and coached at Troy, but it was the best thing for my family. That was the reason.”

Turner just got married last year and his wife works in Pensacola. Now, the couple can live somewhere halfway in between the two cities (Pensacola is about an hour from Mobile). They had a girl, Brice Whitley, on March 4.

Turner played OL for Troy from 1993-95. He was a graduate assistant at Troy from 1999-2001 and a full-time coach at Troy since 2003.

South Alabama is expected to announce the hire today.