As the Trojans start fall camp this afternoon, head coach Neal Brown is depending on his returning players to pick up the slack left from the players no longer in uniform.

The Trojans a number of contributing players off last year’s 2017 Sun Belt Conference championship team. Quarterback Brandon Silvers headlines the players no longing wearing the cardinal jersey.

He is not alone; running backs Jordan Chunn and Josh Anderson are also no longer on the Trojans sideline and neither are wide receiver Emmanuel Thompson and safety Chris Weatherspoon.

In all, the Trojans return nine starters on offense and five starters on defense that will be relied on to lead Troy in 2018.

“I like our football team,” Brown said. “We have 12 seniors, so we are a young team in age, but we have a bunch of players on both sides of the ball with a ton of experience.

The Trojans return all of their specialists on special teams, including kickers Tyler Sumpter and Evan Legassey.

Troy returns four of their five offensive lineman including Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team member Deontae Crumitie at center.

Despite winning a share of the title a year ago, this team is hungry to find a new identity starting in fall camp.

“This is a new football team,” Brown said. “You never know what the ebbs and flows are going to be. You don’t know what adversities you are going to hit.”

Camp, for Brown, is all about who is going to step up.

“People always ask me ‘What are you most fired up about camp?’” Brown said. “I’m fired up about seeing who has gotten better over the last three months. I’m fired up to see who is going to step up.”

Senior corner Blace Brown will be one of the players on the defensive side of the ball that will be looked at to lead this season. Brown has been named to both the Jim Thorpe and Bronko Nagurski Watch Lists.

Brown ranked 11th nationalyl with five interceptions in his junior season. He ranked 12th nationally with 0.42 interceptions per game. His biggest came in Baton Rouge when he picked off an LSU pass to clinch the win over the Tigers.

“Blace has a tremendous story,” Brown said. “He was a walk-on wide receiver and we switched him over to corner right before the 2016 season and he kind of takes off. He finds the ball. He is near the top interceptions over the last two seasons. He had a knee injury in the Arkansas State game last year. We fully expect him to be back for the Boise game. He is one of the best players on our defense.”

Fall camp will last until August 18. They will have two open scrimmages on August 11 and August 17 on Student Appreciation night.