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| K.D. Edenfield is hit after a catch against ULL / Kevin Glackmeyer |
BY DREW CHAMPLIN | dchamplin@dothaneagle.com
TROY – When K.D. Edenfield decided he’d walk
on and play for Troy two years ago, his father Kenny, the Trojans’
offensive coordinator, figured he’d play quarterback, outside receiver
or maybe even safety.
He didn’t think he’d be directly coaching him at
inside receiver, but things changed for the better. K.D. Edenfield moved
from quarterback to inside receiver this spring to get on the field
quicker and caught his first two passes of his career for 20 yards in
Troy’s 37-24 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette last week.
Troy (1-1) hosts Mississippi State (2-0) Saturday
at 6 p.m. The younger Edenfield was a two-time Dothan Eagle Super 12
honoree at Charles Henderson as a quarterback. He spent the 2010 fall as
a grayshirt and redshirted last year.
Now, he’s playing for his father.
“I’ve enjoyed it,” K.D. Edenfield said. “I was
around him when I was younger watching him coach. Now to actually play
for him, it’s been fun.”
Kenny noted K.D.’s improvement from the spring has
helped him get on the field. He’s the third string Y-receiver behind
veterans Jaquon Robinson and Felton Payton, but gets a few snaps per
game. He also plays on special teams.
There’s no special father-son love on the practice
field, but Kenny hasn’t gone out of his way to berate K.D. any more just
to prove a point, either.
“I get on to everybody a lot and he’s just right in
there,” Kenny Edenfield said. “If you ask all the receivers and running
backs and the O-line, that’s my personality. He just catches it like
everybody else.”
K.D. heard the brunt of it last week during practice when he was making a block during a screen play.
“Last week, it was pretty rough,” K.D. Edenfield said. “I thought I saw something and he saw something different.”
Later, they watched film.
“He ended up being right,” K.D. said of his father.
Kenny Edenfield said K.D. ended up being a natural fit at inside receiver.
“We’ve really enjoyed it,” Kenny said. “We thought
about playing him at outside receiver but he’s really a good fit inside.
He reminds me of (previous inside receivers) Cornelius (Williams),
(Austin) Silvoy and Patrick Cherry because they were smart players.”
Quarterback Corey Robinson said he’s not under any
special instruction to throw it to his offensive coordinator’s son, and
mentioned that he had K.D. wide open for a touchdown pass but couldn’t
get the throw to him.
“He’s a scrappy guy and he’s fun to play with,”
Robinson said. “I’m glad I’m on his team. He was getting after it on
special teams, too. I don’t know if anybody noticed that. He’s gotten a
lot better.”
K.D. Edenfield is still a walk-on but that could
change soon now that he’s in his fourth semester as a full-time student.
Normally, walk-ons are awarded scholarships after four semesters if
they prove their worth to the program.
“I’ve always said that K.D. Edenfield is a winner,”
Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. “He just needs to find a niche and
I think he has found a niche. I’ve always had a high regard for K.D.
from watching him in high school and how he competed.”
Tickets still available, noisemakers to be confiscated :
Tickets for Troy’s game against Mississippi State on Saturday are still
available, however fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets soon
as ticket sales have been brisk so far this week.
Fans can purchase tickets for the game by calling
1-877-878-WINS, by visiting the Troy ticket office or by logging on to
TroyTrojans.com. Tickets are $35 for reserved seats and $25 for general
admission.
Troy University will enforce the Sun Belt
Conference artificial noisemaker policy on Saturday. All bags brought
into Veterans Memorial Stadium are subject to search. Fans in possession
of an artificial noisemaker will have the opportunity to return it to
their vehicle or have it confiscated.
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