Green's stand-in shows up big for Dogs

ATHENS, Ga. -- Israel Troupe began last Saturday as an anonymous receiver playing in the shadow of an all-star.

But Troupe's reputation changed on one play when he caught a 50-yard touchdown in relief of injured A.J. Green. The touchdown catch was the first in Troupe's career, and it swung the momentum in Georgia's favor during the Bulldogs' 31-24 win against Auburn last Saturday.

"It's been crazy, these last couple of days," Troupe said. "My phone hasn't stopped ringing. Everybody's calling me, my family, some people back home, everything. It's meant a lot to me to know everybody still has confidence in me and everybody was watching the play. My play was one of the big factors in the game."

Troupe, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound redshirt sophomore from Tifton, had his biggest game against Auburn with two catches for 62 yards and the touchdown.

He might need to continue to produce career numbers because Green is out indefinitely with a sprained shoulder.

"This year, I've been a lot more focused and a lot more consistent in my work," Troupe said. "That was one of the big things coach (Mike) Bobo talked to me about this spring, being more consistent and more focused."

Georgia coach Mark Richt is encouraged by the Bulldogs' scoring 31 points against Auburn, all after Green went out with injury. The rally started with Troupe's touchdown catch.

"It was a good sign for us, no doubt," Richt said. "That would probably be the No. 1 topic of discussion if we really didn't get much going offensively after that point, so it was great for a guy like Israel Troupe to come in and get a chance and then come through. That's a great thing for him, and a great thing for us."

Green's injury came when Georgia trailed Auburn 14-0 and had accomplished next to nothing on offense. Then Troupe came in, ran Green's sideline fly route and made the biggest catch of his career so far.

"It seemed like it took about three years for that ball to come down," Troupe said. "It was unreal to see the ball actually coming my way. It meant a lot that Joe (Cox) had confidence in me. It was a big momentum shift for us. It was important for us to get some points up.

"We love our fans, and we know our fans love us, too. We heard the boos, but sometimes you've got to block it out and keep going out there and keep playing."

Troupe has played with a heavy heart since Oct. 28 when his high school teammate and Georgia baseball player Chance Veazey was severely injured in a vehicle accident. Troupe and Veazey grew up in the same town and went to Tift County High School together.

"It was unreal to me because I'd just talked to him that same day before everything happened and he was just fine then," Troupe said. "Then I got that call about 6 o'clock in the morning and they told me about it, and it was just unreal.

"It makes you really think about what's going on in the world. You've got to be careful about things because you never know what's going to happen."

Troupe will probably have a chance to speak with Veazey in person next week when Georgia plays Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Troupe has been given the go-ahead to visit the Shepherd Center where Veazey is undergoing rehabilitation.

"I haven't seen him since it happened, so I'm looking forward to getting out there," Troupe said. "He's doing really well and he's working hard. I'm so glad that coach Richt already told me I can go see him because we've known each other since we were about 8."