He Starred at Last Chance U, Now He's About to Blow The Doors Off The SBC?
Former EMCC phenom Gavin Griffin is just what the doctor ordered for Troy.
Some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth…
- Galadriel, LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Historically speaking, we all know conferences like the B1G and the SEC are two powerhouse players when it comes to producing CFB’s best RBs on a yearly basis. The B1G conference in particular has always had a ‘run the ball by necessity’ quality to it given the inclement weather that their teams play through later in the season. Or at least, that was the case until a few seasons ago. Now half of the fucking conference plays in California.
From a pure CFF perspective, though, one might argue that the BIG12 conference actually reigns supreme when it comes to pure statistical production at RB (or any other position, for that matter). They probably wouldn’t be wrong (I’m too lazy to do the full analysis).
However, looking elsewhere around the country, and specifically within the G5 class of conferences, the Sun Belt is a surprisingly underrated institution in the game of RB lore.
Part of the problem with this conference and the lack of respect it receives in my opinion is that it’s been a constantly reshuffling deck of cards since the 2000s. Teams like WKU and North Texas had some dynamite runners during their times in the ‘Belt, but looking back retrospectively, nobody considers these as ‘SBC’ programs.
Beyond names like WKU’s nuclear tandem Bobby Rainey (2010-11) & Antonio Andrews (2012-13), UNT’s Jamario Thomas1, there is also New Mexico State’s Larry Rose, who hit 1900+ all-purpose yards in 2015 right before the Aggies got dropped from the conference.
Long story short, there’s been a lot of crack-outs at RB in this conference that have been unfortunately lost in the archives.
One of the few constants in this great conference have been the Troy Trojans, who’ve been members of the SBC since 2004. Though I do have to say that their track record at RB is a bit disappointing. They’ve picked things up over the last 10 years or so, but the first decade in the SBC was an underwhelming era for the Trojans (I think they only had like three runners top 1000 yards, yikes).
Damien Taylor was supposed to be the workhorse last year, before a late spring transfer brought his talents to Oxford, MS. There, he became intimate with the bench located in the middle of Ole Miss’ sideline and was never heard from again. He had previously run for over 1000 yards at Troy.
Inevitably, Troy’s replacements for Taylor turned out to be ersatz and the Trojans struggled to develop a consistent run game in 2025. Tae Meadows briefly looked the part early in the year, but he fizzled out as the year progressed.
It makes sense then that Troy’s staff went out and acquired several new players this offseason to re-stock the RB room. One such player was East Mississippi Community College phenom Gavin Griffin (5’10, 200) who topped the NJCAA Division I (JuCo) statistical ranks in rushing yards (1168), rushing touchdowns (22) and rushing attempts (207) during the 2025 season.
And before anyone asks, YES, that is the school that Netflix series Last Chance U featured in its first two seasons. EMCC has been described in the past as the ‘Alabama of JuCos’ because of its prolific production of future Division I and NFL athletes. It’s a school with a particularly rich history at RB (who remembers the name LaGarette Blount?).
Anyways, speaking of the Troy staff, there was some shake-up amongst their ranks this offseason too.
COACHING & SYSTEM
The new Troy OC, Adam Austin, joins after two seasons at FCS program Tarleton State.
Last year, Tarleton’s QB threw 30 TDs to only six INTs, and accumulated 2897 yards in the process. His #1 receiver was the primary beneficiary, securing 54 passes for 1024 yards and eight scores in 14 games.
There were two RBs who each saw over 100 carries, with the lead rusher finishing the season with 112 carries, 839 yards, and seven TDs, and the other finishing with 128 carries, 465 yards and nine scores.
However, the starting offence under Austin was much more productive the year prior. The lead RB saw 340(!) carries, rushing for 1977 yards and 18 scores, and accumulated over 2000 yards from scrimmage. The lead receiver caught 76 passes for 1449 yards and 14 scores.
The head coach from last season, Gerad Parker, remains. He’s been with the Trojans since 2024, after spending one season as the OC at Notre Dame. He also has play calling experience at WVU (see table below).
In each of Parker’s first four seasons as either an OC or HC (including 2020, not in the table), there was a RB who ran for more than 1000 yards (Leddie Brown at WVU ‘20-21, Audric Estime at ND ‘23, Taylor at Troy ‘24).
However, with the exception of Estime, each of these players just barely achieved this feat. Leddie Brown’s production was bolstered by his receiving usage, which included an additional 217 yards in 2021, and 202 yards plus two scores in 2020 (shortened season—10 games).
Brown’s PPG average isn’t included in the table because it was a shortened season, but given that he averaged 19 PPG in half ppr formats the following year with virtually the same stats over 12 games, I’d estimate that he was close to 23-25 PPG in 2020.
Estime averaged a healthy 22 PPG when Parker called the offence in 2023, and then we have Damien Taylor who averaged around 12 PPG in 2024 (he was very inconsistent, but had some really good games).
Competition in the Room
Troy returns one of its top runners from a year ago in Jordan Lovett. ‘Top’ being a relative term here, my man ran for 339 yards on only 89 carries in 13 games last season. They also return former FCS transfer Dennis Palmer.
Bryce Burgess and Jaheim Merriweather are two other transfers Troy brought in this offseason. Burgess is another JuCo standout, though he only rushed for ~500 yards in 2025. Merriweather is a P4 drop down from Purdue who has done next to nothing in his two year career.
Like RB, the rest of the offence is also in flux this offseason. There isn’t a lot of clarity at the moment about who the projected starters will be, so we’re just left speculating at the moment.
Griffin is the most appealing name in the RB room simply based on what he did in 2025 at the JuCo level. As we all know, prowess at a lower level of CFB doesn’t always translate up. Nonetheless, it should be noted that Griffin handled 207 rushes in only 10 games (an average of 20.7 per), making his 22 TDs and 1168 rushing yards slightly more impressive. His season high was 220 yards and four scores vs. Pearl River CC.
Griffin was a true sophomore last season, so he’ll have two seasons of eligibility left in the FBS. As a freshman for EMCC, he appeared in nine games, rushing 78 times for 554 yards and eight scores.
He’s listed at 5’10, 200 pounds, but he looks smaller to me on his film. From the limited sample I have, he appears like he could be a dangerous gadget guy in the right offence in college. Obviously, his stats suggest he was a true workhorse back for EMCC, and hopefully Troy sees him that way too.
I’m still waiting for some concrete information to come out of Troy… and, well, yeah… I feel like I may be waiting a long time on that one. No harm in taking a few dart throws on Griffin in the meantime, you feel me? ◾
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Led the nation in rushing yards, averaging 180.1 yards per game, set school and conference records with 1,801 yards, set the NCAA freshman record with five 200-yard games, and tied the NCAA record for fastest to 1,000 yards (seven games)