The Trojans may not have appreciated the numbers on the scoreboard but the Trojan coaching staff walked away from Saturday’s 43-19 loss to Clemson encouraged by things they saw from their team.

“We had some guys make plays for the first time,” offensive coordinator Kenny Edenfield said. “There are some things we need to work out but I was encouraged.”

One of the guys making plays for the Trojans was walk-on receiver Stanley Arukwe.

Arukwe, a 6-foot, 180 pound senior from Tracy, CA, is a member of the Troy University track and field team and talked to Troy coaches about joining the team a little over six weeks ago. The receiver had one reception for six yards but Edenfield feels Arukwe has been a big acquisition for the special teams as well.

“He was probably our best special teams player of the day and he’s getting better at wide receiver every day.”

Another new facing that saw extended playing time is true freshman B.J. Chitty. The former Northview High School standout caught two passes for 49 yards but impressed Edenfield.

“He made a good catch on a stop route,” the coach said. “He had an open opportunity in the endzone too but the pass was a little out of his reach.”

Edenfield also said he was impressed with the offense’s blocking. The team registered 45 knockdowns in the game and allowed only one sack.

“You know when you get around 50 (knockdowns) that’s really, really, really good and we were right around that number.”

Edenfield said that both James Brown and Kyle Wilborn graded out very high and that Wilborn may have played his best game as a Trojan.

Gavin Ellis also drew praises from his offensive coordinator.

“Gavin did a good job working in split out wide. He’ll continue to improve for us also.”

Troy will take a week off before traveling to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks.

“We’re a little banged up, nothing major just normal bumps and bruises so the week off will help get these guys rested,” Edenfield said.

The Trojans are 0-3 all time versus Arkansas including a 56-20 loss in 2009.