TROY, Alabama – Troy added another key piece to its defense, as East Mississippi Community College All-America defensive back Demetrius Cain will join the Trojans for fall camp after signing a grant-in-aid, head coach Neal Brown announced Friday.

Cain, who will play the spear position for the Trojans, earned first team NJCAA All-America honors last season after finishing 13th in the country with five interceptions from his linebacker spot. The Hazlehurst, Miss., native returned two of his five interceptions for touchdowns and finished the year with 168 interception return yards.

He finished the year with 55 tackles, six tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and three pass break ups to help lead the Lions to a perfect 12-0 record and second straight NJCAA National Championship. As a freshman, Cain finished with 63 tackles (second on the team), five tackles for loss, two sacks and three interceptions for a defense that held opponents to just 9.8 points, 142.1 yards of total offense and 59.2 rushing yards.

Cain’s teams have gone a combined 40-0 over his last three seasons – two years at East Mississippi CC and senior season at Hazlehurst High School.

Troy has now signed the top three tacklers from last year’s East Mississippi team that held opponents to 7.6 points, 181.3 yards of total offense and 44.8 rushing yards. Cain joins linebackers William Lloyd and Justin Lucas, who signed with the Trojans back in December.

“Demetrius is a very explosive player and is going to bring speed and athleticism to our defense,” Troy defensive coordinator Vic Koenning said. “There is a reason we sought out all three of the East Mississippi guys. All three of them are winners and they know how to work. Also, there is a lot of similarity in the schemes we both run with the only big difference being semantics.”

Cain was the 2012 Mississippi 3A Defensive Player of the Year and a Jackson Clarion-Ledger First Team All-State selection following his senior year at Hazlehurst High School. He helped lead the Indians to a perfect 16-0 record and a Mississippi 3A state title.