New Troy head coach Chip Lindsey took to the podium on Monday previewing the upcoming season opener on Saturday afternoon against Campbell at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

It’s been an offseason of change for the Trojans. Following their third straight 10-win season, former head coach Neal Brown left to coach at West Virginia. In stepped Lindsey After two camps, the Trojans are finally going to be tested when they open up on Saturday.

“I’m very excited that it is finally game week,” Lindsey said. “It feels like we have been waiting a long time for the chance to play. Now that it has finally arrived, I know our players and our staff are very excited. I’m looking forward to getting on the field Saturday. We’ve gone through spring ball; we’ve gone through summer workouts, and just recently we completed fall camp. So, I think our guys are ready to play someone else and get the opportunity to compete.”

Lindsey took time to announce his captains for the 2019 season. Four seniors, B.J. Smith, Kaleb Barker, Melvin Tyus and Jarvis Hayes, will all be senior captains for the Trojans during the 2019 season.

“These are four guys that have been here at Troy for a while and are key members of our team,” Lindsey said. “Those are four guys who represent our program the right way and I’m excited that they’re going to be captains for us this year. Obviously, we’re going to look to them for leadership.”

There is a lot of excitement in advance of the season opener on Saturday, but there is a level of uncertainty as well. Along with a new head coach and coaching staff, the Trojans are welcoming back injured quarterback Kaleb Barker into the fold.

“New turf, new staff, our quarterback is back, I think there is a lot of excitement, but there are some unknowns,” Lindsey said.” How will we react when we play a different opponent? There are some unknowns when we have to play a different opponent. As much as you scrimmage, we went over 100 plays twice, but the main guys maybe got half of that or a little more, so there are some unknowns.”

Barker returns to the lineup after playing in just six games a season ago due to a knee injury. Saturday will be his first game back since October 4 of last season.

“He’s a mature kid by nature, and I know he’s excited to get back on the field and get back going,” Lindsey said. “This week, he hasn’t seemed very jittery to me. I think he’s in a good spot mentally and ready to get going.”

The Trojans will be matching up with Campbell team that finished 6-5 a season ago. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.