Tanner Glisson, Troup head coach
Today’s interviewee is Troup coach Tanner Glisson, whose team plays LaGrange at Callaway Stadium on Friday night. Troup is 7-0 overall and 5-0 in Region 2-3A. LaGrange is 7-1 and 5-1. This is Glisson’s 11th season at Troup. He has taken the Tigers to two state semifinals and one region championship.
1. What makes this rivalry a little different from those you’ve experienced in the past or others involving archrivals? “It’s really tough to put into words. It’s something else. It’s the first crosstown rivalry I’ve been a part of, with schools only five miles apart. Being so close to the Alabama line, two programs with great traditions, we equate it to the Iron Bowl and Auburn-Alabama. There will be a bunch of hoopla for the first five minutes Friday, and then it will settle down into a good football game.”
2. Troup County Schools has three teams – Troup, LaGrange and Callaway – all in the top 10 of the rankings. Callaway is in Class 2A. There’s not another football county quite like that. How do you explain it? “I 100% agree. Per capita, with Callaway, LaGrange and Troup, I don’t think there’s another county that has that much success with their public schools. We’re got really good football players around here. What I think sets us apart is parents allowing you to coach their kids extremely hard. Today, that’s elite to have three schools whose parents allow coaches to coach at a high level. Also, in our county, you either grew up Troup, Callaway or LaGrange, and we try to respect each other as coaches. It helps that each school has their own feeder middle school. That’s a big, big deal. You don’t have to fight for middle schoolers to make sure they go to your school.”
3. You have a dual-threat quarterback, Garrison Edwards, who leads your team in rushing and passing. That’s not unusual at Troup, where you’ve had former athletic all-state quarterbacks such as Taeo Todd and Kobe Hudson set records and go on to play Division I football. Not sure if it’s fair to compare Garrison to them, but what’s his skill set? “He’s the straw that stirs the drink. He’s the left fielder on our state-championship baseball team [also coached by Glisson], and he was the leading hitter this year. He’s a multi-sport athlete. I would compare him to Taeo and Hudson. He’s a 4.4 guy speed-wise, but he’s really improved throwing the ball. He’s an underrated passer. He’s committed to play both baseball and football at Murray State. We’ve had some good weapons in the past, but he’s really surrounded by weapons at wide receiver and running back this season, and he’s got a veteran offensive line. Having all 10 starters back and bringing back our offensive coordinator [Jordan Blackmon] was huge for us this season.”
4. What concerns you about LaGrange? “The biggest thing is that we both know each other so daggum well, being in the same school system. Our JVs play, our middle schools play. There’s not a lot of surprises. Coach [Matt] Napier is a really good play caller, and he always has tricks up his sleeve. He’s a good schemer. Our defenses mirror each other schematically. We know what each other is going to do on both sides. The kids know each other. They grew up playing each other, so there’s a lot going on more than X's and O's. Figuring out who has the advantage in that is a big deal.”
