5 Troy players to watch against Iowa football

IOWA CITY — Troy football has experienced some of its best seasons in program history in the last few years.

The Trojans went 12-2 in 2022 and finished the year ranked in both the Associated Press poll (No. 19) and College Football Playoff rankings (No. 24). They followed it up with a 11-3 season in 2023.

But 2024 has been a much different story. Jon Sumrall left to coach Tulane, and Gerad Parker has inherited a largely inexperienced roster.

Troy is 0-2 after losses to Nevada and Memphis in the first two weeks of the season. The defense is tied for 120th out of 133 FBS teams with 6.59 yards allowed per play through Week 2.

Unsurprisingly given Troy’s current state, Iowa is a 22.5-point favorite in its nonconference finale, as of Monday afternoon. Here are five Troy players to watch as the Trojans attempt to hang in there with the Hawkeyes:

QB Will “Goose” Crowder or QB Matthew Caldwell

Quarterback Will “Goose” Crowder has T-shirts (and accompanying Instagram posts) with the catch phrase of “let loose the goose.”

When healthy, the ex-West Virginia quarterback has certainly looked loose. He is 25-of-37 (67.6 percent) this season with one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.

He has yet to throw an interception in his 58 career passing attempts.

Crowder is “probable” for Saturday’s game against Iowa after exiting Troy’s Week 2 game against Memphis with an injury, Parker told reporters in a virtual news conference on Monday. If Crowder is not able to play, the Hawkeyes would then most likely see Matthew Caldwell.

Caldwell completed 11 of 19 passes for 113 yards after replacing Crowder in the loss to Memphis. The Auburn, Ala., native also had a touchdown on a quarterback sneak.

Caldwell transferred from Gardner-Webb, where he completed 57.1 percent of passes and threw seven touchdowns and three interceptions last year.

RB Damien Taylor

Troy has given opportunities to a couple different running backs this season, but Damien Taylor has emerged as the best option at the position.

Taylor has 136 rushing yards on 18 carries, which equates to 7.6 yards per carry. (Troy’s two other running backs to take on a significant workload, Gerald Green and Jordan Lovett, have a combined 90 rushing yards on 31 carries.)

Taylor was the 138th-best running back in the 2021 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. His other offers included Southern Miss, Arkansas State, Murray State and Samford.

WR Peyton Higgins

Another week, another wide receiver on the opposing sideline with the last name Higgins. After facing Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins last week, Iowa’s secondary will be looking to slow down Troy’s Peyton Higgins this week.

Troy’s Higgins does not pose nearly the same threat that Iowa State’s Higgins did, but he leads the Trojans with 11 receptions. His 91 receiving yards are second-best on the team.

Higgins has stepped into a much larger role this year on a Troy team that saw significant roster turnover. He is one catch away from matching his reception total from 2023.

LB Brendan Jackson

Brendan Jackson has made an immediate impact on Troy’s defense after transferring from Gardner-Webb.

Jackson’s 16 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss are team-highs.

Jackson also leads the team with nine of what Pro Football Focus defines as defensive stops — “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense” — with nine. That is as many as Troy’s two next-best defenders combined.

Jackson’s college football career started in 2021 with Savannah State. After leading the Tigers with 37 total tackles as a true freshman, he transferred to Gardner-Webb for his sophomore and junior seasons. He was a first-team all-Big South honoree last year.

LB/DB Devin Lafayette

Devin Lafayette plays Troy’s “spear” position, which the team website describes as “a hybrid between a defensive back and a linebacker.”

However one wants to call his position, Lafayette has been one of the Trojans’ most productive defensive players this season.

The Northern Illinois transfer has 10 total tackles and two tackles for loss through the first two weeks. He has five defensive stops, as tracked by PFF. The only player with more tackles for loss and defensive stops is the aforementioned Jackson.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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