- August 11th, 2006, 8:30 am
#24391
Great update on Paul that has quite about his time on the mountain:
A Pirate Returnshttp://www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor. ... ion=Sports
August 11,2006
MANDY SCHULZ
SUN JOURNAL STAFF
Former QB Paul Troth (left) that left ECU unhappily returns to help coach the team
GREENVILLE — East Carolina University’s football team will have a familiar, jovial face on the sidelines this season as former Pirates quarterback Paul Troth returns to Greenville as the offensive graduate assistant coach.
But behind Troth’s ever-present smile and effervescent attitude lies a complex story of success and frustration. His football career did not pan out the way he imagined. He did not finish playing college football where he began, and he did not make it to the NFL.
After all the twists and turns, he did, however, end up where he always wanted to be — in purple and gold.
Playing for Pirates
Coming out of Vance High School in Charlotte, Troth was a prep standout. He was a three-time all-conference, all-county and all-state selection, totaling 6,929 passing yards and tossing 79 touchdowns in his high school career.
As an attendee of the Elite 11 camp, a national event that showcases the nation’s top quarterbacks, Troth attracted attention from numerous colleges and universities. After sifting through offers and making official visits, Troth opted to play for then-coach Steve Logan.
“The whole reason I came to East Carolina was because of my relationship with coach Logan,” Troth said. “I had been to camps and I had followed East Carolina since I was a little kid.”
Troth graduated from high school a semester early, enrolling at ECU in January 2001. By doing this, Troth got a chance to learn the system during the team’s spring sessions. He saw limited action as a true freshman behind David Garrard, who was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2002.
Taking over the starting job as a sophomore, he finished with the ninth-best single-season passing yard total in ECU history, completing 177-of-359 passes for 2,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in 12 games. At the time, he was ranked among the top 60 quarterbacks in the nation, averaging 14.8 completions per game.
Troth appeared on his way to setting up a career in the NFL, but all of that changed in 2003.
Losing Logan
The Pirates went 4-8 overall and 4-4 in Conference USA during the 2002 season, which proved to be the last for Logan — the Pirates’ all-time winningest coach with 69 victories. After leading ECU to five bowl appearances — with two bowls wins in 1992 and 1995 —then-Athletic Director Mike Hamrick fired Logan.
The reason, according to Troth, was simple: Hamrick and Logan did not get along.
Suddenly, Troth was torn. The coach that he trusted was gone, but he adored Greenville. He decided to stay for the 2003 season and play for Hamrick’s new hire, John Thompson.
“I didn’t want to leave when he got fired because I loved ECU,” Troth said. “I felt my career could be the same I thought it could be when I got started.”
Thompson came into training camp and said that every player’s position was up for grabs. Fair enough, Troth said. He’d work just as hard as he did during every other ECU practice and keep the starting job.
What happened caught the quarterback off guard.
Thompson told Troth that Desmond Robinson had a better preseason. Suddenly, Troth went from a record-setter to a bench-sitter. He played just six games as a reserve, passing for 380 yards, which was a drastic drop off from his sophomore campaign, where he had two 300-yard games.
“I’m, like, on the bench all junior year just watching things happen,” Troth said. “During that year, when I wasn’t playing, I learned a lot about myself. Football wasn’t the most important thing in my life.”
He came to an epiphany on the bench — it was time to leave.
n A change of scenery
The Pirates finished the 2003 season with an overall record of 1-11 and 1-7 conference finish in Thompson’s inaugural year with the Pirates. Troth was not happy anymore, but still wanted to play football, so he transferred to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.
He went knowing he would still compete against top athletes at the I-AA school, and he would be surrounded by other religious students at the Baptist-based university.
Troth kept in touch with his former teammates, including offensive lineman Charlie Dempsey. He quickly learned that his former program was in the midst of a downfall.
“I wanted to get out while I could,” Troth said. “I talked to my friends and it was rough. I really believe coach Thompson tried as hard as he could, but him and the guys never really clicked.”
Flames coach Ken Karcher started Troth for the first six games of the 2004 season, where he went 2-4 before getting benched. Troth said there were several reasons he was sidelined. First, he was not playing well. He said he needed another game to get used to the change, but also said that Karcher was under pressure to receive a contract extension.
Karcher earned a five-year extension in December 2004, but University of Virginia associated head coach Danny Rocco was named head coach in December 2005.
Still, Troth said he did not deserve to start.
“I wasn’t surprised because I could tell that I wasn’t getting it done,” Troth said. “But, it was never an issue of I didn’t try or I just gave up. I just didn’t get it done when I needed to.”
Troth had no more eligibility after 2004, but hoped his playing days weren’t numbered.
n Anything for a tryout
While he was finishing up his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, Troth tried to figure out a way to get an NFL tryout. He said few scouts attended Liberty games, so he put in a phone call to somebody who might be able to point him in the right direction — current Pirates head football coach Skip Holtz.
As a former member of the University of South Carolina’s staff, Holtz recruited Troth when he was in high school. Even though Troth didn’t play for Holtz, Troth said the two were friendly with each other — at least enough so that Troth knew Holtz would pick up the phone if he called.
Recently married, Troth spent a weekend in Greenville with his wife, Teresa, who was attending ECU during the early 2005 visit. He asked Holtz if he could work out with the Pirates’ seniors for NFL scouts. Holtz agreed, but since Troth was not living in Greenville, he found out rules prevented him from doing so.
His chances were dwindling, but Troth passed out highlight tapes and said a scout from the Houston Texans offered him a two-day free agent tryout a week after the 2005 draft. Nothing panned out, although Troth admitted that it helped his playing resumé.
Troth returned to Liberty to earn his degree and moved to Virginia Beach with his wife. In October 2005, Troth was afforded another shot as he signed a contract with the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm. The couple moved to Florida, but he was let go after training camp.
“The doors were closing, basically,” Troth said.
n A new possibility
After Troth accepted that his football career was likely over, he was hired as a long-term substitute teacher at a Florida middle school, and he worked at Outback Steakhouse at night.
During his free time, Troth would surf the Internet. Each day he would go to the Pirates’ athletic Web site and check for job openings.
This May, he found one.
Former Pirates graduate assistant coach Kevin Turco informed Holtz that he was joining the defensive staff at Newberry College in the spring.
“It’s very rare that someone leaves in the summer,” Holtz said. “Most come in January and February. Two days before Turco left, I got an e-mail from Paul saying that he really wanted to get in to coaching.”
The two continued to e-mail each other.
“Holtz e-mailed me back the next day,” Troth said. “Over the course of a month we just talked back and forth and it came down to it, and he gave me the job. It was one of those things where it was the right timing.”
n Are you sure?
No one could talk Troth out of taking the job, but they certainly tried.
Even though Holtz said he gets daily requests to be a GA coach, he explained that the daily responsibility is incredible, and, at times, overwhelming.
Holtz told offensive coordinator Steve Shankweiler that Troth was interested, and Shankwieler, who was on the Pirates’ staff when Troth was at ECU, said Troth would be a perfect fit.
Still, Shankweiler attempted to scare Troth away. Shankweiler said he is obligated to tell all prospective GA coaches about the immense workload.
“You’re not going to make any money,” Shankweiler told Troth. “You’re never going to be home, and your wife is going to sit there at home and not have any money, living in a little apartment. And, in the middle of the night, you’re going to get a phone call to go get some kid out of downtown.”
Troth didn’t falter. He couldn’t be scared away.
His duties are numerous, including studying film, organizing the scout team, making sure players are in study hall, setting up chairs for meetings and getting lunch. Basically, Troth said, he’s an all-around gopher.
It’s all worth it, Troth said.
“When I was a football player I looked at the GA as one of us, but also a mediator between the players and the coaches,” he said.
Besides football, Troth hopes to learn life lessons from his peers.
“The biggest thing I want to learn from coach Holtz, and some of the coaches on the staff … is how you take care of your off-the-field matters,” he said. “How do you learn to deal with change?”
n Finally home
As Troth put on his Nike coaching gear for the Pirates’ first fall practice last Thursday, he said he finally realized that he was back with the Pirates. He was admittedly jealous with the new practice facilities, but was elated to see ECU’s expansion. A large part of that, Troth said, is due to Athletic Director Terry Holland.
The players are taken care of — and Troth plans on letting them know that.
Even after his tumultuous playing career, Troth wants to make ECU a better program. That, Holtz said, shows his loyalty.
“I think it just speaks volumes that he was willing to come back … because it’s not like he left here on a high note,” Holtz said.
It would have been impossible to predict this turn of events, Troth said.
He knows one thing, though, and so do his coaches — he shouldn’t be anywhere else.
“What looks like it didn’t end well for him really is going to end well for him,” Shankweiler said.
- By Purple Haize
- By ECC29