Several former Coffee Trojans are playing college football and are enjoying some early season success. The list of CHS alumni in the college ranks go from junior college teams to Division I programs. And it hasn’t taken long for them to show their value at the next level.
Maybe the headliner of the group is Maurice Turner, a redshirt junior running back at Tulane. Turner originally went to Louisville and played well for the Cardinals. He looked positioned to be Louisville’s starting running back last year but injuries significantly limited his playing time. Though he did come back and get some carries late in the season, it wasn’t the kind of year he was expecting. After the season, he entered the transfer portal and landed with the Tulane Green Wave.
Saturday, the Green Wave played Northwestern in a televised game. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff led Tulane in rushing with 125 yards. Turner, however, was the leading rusher out of the backfield. He tallied 87 yards on 14 carries with a long of 18 yards. The Green Wave won 23-3.
At least three other former Trojans also played on television. Linebacker Jyarius Carter, a freshman at West Georgia, suited up against the Samford Bulldogs last week. Carter wasted no time in introducing himself to his opponents. He recorded four tackles and forced a fumble in the Wolves’ 34-3 win over the Bulldogs.
Two former Trojans are in the Charleston Southern Buccaneers’ secondary – freshman Jayden Hancock and sophomore Anthony Paulk. Both played in another televised game last week, this one against the SEC’s Vanderbilt Commodores. Vanderbilt won 45-3 but Hancock had three tackles while Paulk recorded two.
Jackson Banks is a redshirt sophomore who is now playing with the Western Carolina Catamounts. They found themselves in a shootout against Gardner-Webb on Saturday. Western Carolina came up short, losing 52-45 in its season opener. Banks recorded three total tackles – two solo and one assisted.
Another pair of former Trojans have made an impact for the Georgia Military College Bulldogs. GMC has played two games this season – a 69-13 win over Central Georgia Technical College and a 39-20 loss at Iowa Western. Against Central Georgia, running back Tyrese Woodgett rushed for 45 yards on six carries and scored a touchdown. He also caught three passes for 38 yards. Kicker Tug Vaughn had nine kickoffs totaling 647 yards with three touchbacks. In the loss to Iowa Western, Woodgett was the Bulldogs’ leading rusher with seven carries for 93 yards and another touchdown – this one a 78-yard run. Vaughn was 2-3 on extra points and kicked off four times 193 yards. Redshirt freshman Jerzabeon Grant and freshman Kyler Smith are also at GMC. They are on the offensive line and they’re opening holes for Woodgett in Milledgeville just like they did at Jardine Stadium.