By REGGIE BENSON, Huntsville Times Sports Staff
A&M's troubled Traylor works with 2nd, 3rd defenses
This was the year everything was going to come together for Chris Traylor. That was before he overslept and missed Alabama A&M's first practice in pads Tuesday night.
Traylor, A&M's multi-talented defensive end, has had a checkered history with the Bulldogs. He has been dominant on the field - amassing 26.5 sacks the last three seasons, more than anybody else in the Southwestern Athletic Conference - but has had problems off it.
Traylor was a first-team All-SWAC preseason pick last season and finished the year tied for the conference lead with 9.5 sacks, but he failed to make the final All-SWAC teams after missing four games on suspension.
Traylor was disciplined for a series of events that included his arrest on a shoplifting charge, which was later dismissed, and missing a team bus to Houston for a game against Texas Southern.
Last month, Traylor again was a first-team All-SWAC preseason selection and appeared to be excited about it.
"I've got to go out and work for it," said Traylor, who needs 15.5 sacks to move past former Bulldog Robert Mathis and become A&M's all-time Division I-AA leader. "If I don't earn it, it won't mean anything. I'll just be a guy on the preseason team."
Traylor was back at practice Wednesday, but had been demoted. He spent the day working with the second and third defense, less than a week after reporting for practice.
"Traylor is a great player, but this team needs him to show a little more leadership and be more accountable for his actions," defensive line coach Ben Blacknall said. "He's a heck of a player on Saturday afternoon. The players know it and the coaches know it.
"He's a senior and with him being a senior, he's got a little more responsibility on his shoulders. We're going to look at how he handles things totally different."
Traylor told A&M coach Anthony Jones late Tuesday night that he overslept. Blacknall didn't buy it.
"We were off all day (until the 6 p.m. practice) so he didn't have a reason to oversleep," Blacknall said.
Jones agreed.
"He set his alarm or he had a new cell phone ... something crazy like that," Jones said. "He called me right after practice and by the time he got there, it was too late. Is it easy to oversleep during training camp? Sure it is. There are times I want to oversleep, but I set my alarm and when I hear it go off, I get up.
"That was a hell of a nap he took. He went into a coma for a minute. He should have been here, but he wasn't and he'll be corrected."
Byron Wilson, a rising 6-foot-3, 248-pound junior, has moved ahead of Traylor at left end and has had a good camp, Blacknall said.
"He has been improving," Blacknall said of Wilson, a converted linebacker. "He's worked hard. You can see a big difference in his body and how he's playing. We expect him to be one of our top players. He's got some ability and he's a pretty good athlete. We've got to see how quick he can fit in and do the things we need to get done."
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