Auburn Journal: DE Troy Therien Orally Commits to SMU

[MrMustang1965]

Victories are often earned in the offseason, and for Troy Therien so are college scholarships.

The 2003 Colfax High graduate achieved his dream of playing Division I-A college football recently as he orally committed to play for the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas on a full scholarship.

Therien, who's played the last two seasons for Sierra College, achieved his goal when coach Jeff Tisdel told him what he needed to do to become a Division I college player.

"Get stronger and be more aggressive on the field," Therien said were Tisdel's words of advice. "I took that to heart. I began strength training in the offseason and really played harder than I ever did before. I think that made the difference."

The 6-foot, 3-inch, 240-pound defensive end was so determined to play at the D-I level that he got two trainers to help him reach his goal, including the Sacramento Kings' Al Biancani.



"My offseason made it happen," Therien said.

During Therien's senior year at Colfax he played mostly at tight end and linebacker and little on the defensive end. It wasn't until he reached Sierra, where Tisdel offered him a choice between tight end and defensive line, that Therien became a fulltime lineman.

"I feel I'm better at that (defensive line) than tight end," Therien said. "I think it was the right one."

Therien came to the Wolverines as a 6-3, 215-pound player and didn't see much time his freshman year, but this season, Therien was a starter and a mainstay on the defense.

"He's a winner," Tisdel said. "He worked very hard in getting ready for this year and his hard work has paid off. I think he'll do well for SMU."



Therien was named to the all-Mid-Empire Conference team this season and during his two years helped the team go 22-0 and win a pair of conference titles and two bowl games.

The former Falcon chose the Mustangs after interest from schools like Sacramento State, University of Texas at El Paso and Arkansas State. What sold Therien on SMU was the facilities, the beauty of the campus and the direction the program is going.

"The campus was great, the guys were really nice. The overall environment was like schools I've played for in the past," Therien said. "Great coaching staff. They're a team that's going to get better."

SMU went 3-8 this past season playing in the Western Athletic Conference, but the school will be moving to Conference USA next season. The stadium holds up to 40,000 fans and the athletic facilities are some of the best according to Therien.

"The field is almost new. It's field turf. The locker room is nice, the weight room as well," Therien said. "It's one of the best facilities in the nation."

Therien will sign on the dotted line early this month and will start classes on Jan. 12 for the spring semester. While playing for the Mustangs, Therien is leaning toward majoring in business finance.


Despite SMU's past struggles on the football field, the team is very excited about what the future brings under coach Phil Bennett and what they can accomplish.

"My host was Jerad Romo, and he was non-stop the whole time, 'We're going to turn this thing around,'" Therien said. "All the guys are real positive and real confident. We're going to turn it around, we guarentee it."

With a hard-worker like Therien on their team, you've got to like the Mustangs' chances.

http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2 ... herien.txt

[Roach]

Good stuff, MM65!
How did you ever come across the Auburn Journal??? If that's on your list of papers you regularly read on-line, you really need more to do, you know?

[MrMustang1965]

It's amazing what a Google 'news alert' comes up with sometimes. Try it.

[NavyCrimson]

great work '65!!!!

[StangEsq]

Wow, the transfers are rolling in...