Georgia Bulldogs: Wherefore Art Thou, Israel Troupe?

Photo Credit: Kelly Lambert

In case you're a regular reader and were wondering what's up with the "Wherefore Art Thou..." question, here's the deal: its the slow part of the year (as far as college football), so what started out as a cutesy title for an article about Georgia Bulldog defensive back, Jakar Hamilton, is now—for the moment—a weekly profile of players who have failed to live up to expectations.

Now that the housekeeping is out of the way, let's move on to Israel Troupe.

Troupe, a former dual-sport standout for Tift County High School, will enter his senior season with the Georgia Bulldogs in 2011, and his career, to this point, can only be described as unexceptional.

What happened to this prospect who was once recognized as one of the top players in the state? What has played the biggest role in his lack of development? In my opinion, he's never truly given his total effort to playing the game of football.

As a high school senior, Troupe didn't hold gridiron dreams. His love was for baseball and, had he gone as high in the MLB Draft as he would have liked, he likely never would have committed to play football at Georgia. However, he would eventually be selected in the 31st round—effectively making his decision to play football a no-brainer—ending his dreams of playing pro ball before they began. 

Since that time, Troupe has attempted to have one foot in both worlds. Whether he was looking into practicing with the Georgia Baseball team, or considering signing on with the Athens Pirates (an amateur baseball team), Troupe has never been completely focused on football and that has hurt him more than the nagging injuries or the shifting depth chart.

Will he finally be something more than a warm body in a red and black uniform, or will he continue to be a non-factor as he's been in his entire career thus far?