TROY — The verbal spur may have landed in a crucial spot for Marcus Jones, who took the challenge to heart and acted on it.
First, there was coach Neal Brown rolling his eyes over Troy’s kickoff returns this season, saying the Trojans weren’t “going to scare anybody” with their early-season prowess.
Second was perhaps the cruelest cut of all when 327-pound defensive lineman Trevon Sanders — albeit jokingly — said he would gladly volunteer to return kicks and vowing to provide a spark.
On Saturday, Jones answered.
He returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown in Troy’s 45-21 victory over Coastal Carolina and continuing his kick-return dominance of the Chanticleers.