TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — The name Larry Blakeney is mainly synonymous with the Troy University football program. However, for many people in Troy, his impact and legacy is even deeper.
Blakeney’s legacy is one of strength, impact, and commitment. At Troy University, Blakeney’s impact goes far beyond the sidelines.
“The football program is synonymous with Larry Blakeney,” said Interim Athletic Director Kyle George. “You think about Troy football, you think about the conference championships that he won here, all the wins and everything. I think the thing that is the most telling is that his legacy is built on the players and the student athletes that he coached and helped develop into great young men.
“Now some of them have their own sons who have come back and played for our football program. I think just that connection to have those guys who want to come back.”
Former football player and now Chief of Staff Jamaal Smith shared his personal experience with Blakeney.
“Coach Blakeney is not just a coach, he’s a mentor, father figure, however you want to look at somebody that you respect,” Smith told TrojanVision. “What made him that way his genuineness, rawness and realness and the respect you gain from Coach Blakeney you don’t want to mess up.”
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Although he was a force to be reckoned with on the football field, in the community of Troy, Blakeney was known as a public mentor and role model.
“Coach Blakeney was definitely always someone who you could look up to,” Troy resident Allison Smith said. “He is a very kind and very personable man said. He lived one street over from my family, and we would see him out walking and jogging.
“He would come to the local schools when I was in elementary school. Coach Blakeney and the football players would come and do activities. He was always so kind an intentional, and he loved not only this school, but this community.”
Coach Blakeney will be officially inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in Las Vegas on Dec. 9 at the NFF Awards Dinner.
