By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

There aren’t many question marks when it comes to the Troup football team.

The Tigers return nearly every starter from a team that went 9-3 and reached the second round of the state playoffs.

There is one sizeable hole the Tigers need to fill, though.

Montez Crowe was one of the top quarterbacks in the state last season, and he put up record-setting numbers while leading an offense that was unstoppable.

Crowe has signed with Savannah State, and he’ll be a member of that team this fall.

That obviously means that someone else will be playing quarterback for the Tigers this season, and that’s a need that has been addressed during the two weeks of spring practice.

When Troup visits Newnan for its spring game tonight, head coach Tanner Glisson will be keeping a close eye on a pair of players vying to be the quarterback.

One of the players is Nick Schweizer, who was a backup quarterback to Crowe last season.

The other player is Kobe Hudson, who has been one of the most explosive wide receivers in the state the past two seasons.

Hudson, who has verbally committed to Auburn, has been working at quarterback for the past two weeks, and he and Schweizer will both get plenty of time on the field during tonight’s game.

“Both of those guys are going to take snaps and we’ll see where it goes,” Troup head coach Tanner Glisson said. “We’re pretty excited to see both of those guys play. They’ll get a certain amount of reps. We’ve already got it scripted out. So it’s exciting.”

This will be the second straight year Troup has played in a spring game.

A year ago, Troup played Callaway, and Glisson felt everyone put too much emphasis on the game.

“Last year we played Callaway in the spring game, and looking back on it, that was one of the worst things we’ve ever done,” Glisson said. “We approached that like a real game as much as we could, even though we weren’t playing special teams. There was a lot of stress, they were tight. We didn’t focus as much on the fundamentals.”

Newnan is heading into its second season under head coach Chip Walker. The Cougars went 4-7 last season and lost in the first round of the state playoffs.

“This is Chip’s second year, so he’s starting to get it going,” Glisson said.

For Troup, while replacing a player the caliber of Crowe is never easy, expectations are sky high.

The Tigers went 1-9 in Glisson’s first year, but they’ve won 17 games the past two seasons.

This season’s team, with so many gifted players returning, appears poised to do some big things this fall, but there are no guarantees.

“I think this team has to be careful not to get caught up in the hype,” Glisson said. “I think there’s a lot of hype around this team, whether it’s internally or externally. There are a lot of people that think this team can make a run.”

Glisson said the work ethic is the same now as it was during the days when the program was struggling to find some positive momentum.

“It’s no different than it was three years ago when we went 1-9,” Glisson said. “It’s one week at a time, one day at a time. I think that’s the biggest issue right now is don’t get caught up in what everybody is talking about with recruiting, and the rankings.”

As for the past two weeks of spring practice, Glisson said the players have gotten after it.

“Early on, we wanted to be as physical as we possibly could be, just because we know that’ll have to be one of the things that possibly puts us over the edge,” Glisson said. And we were real physical, and kind of beat each other up. We’re starting to get a little bit healthier. We’ll probably limit some reps (today).”

SPRING GAME

WHO: Troup vs. Newnan

WHEN: Today, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Newnan, Drake Stadium