Troy Hairston III invited to play in Tropical Bowl
Birmingham, MI. senior Troy Hairston II sacks the quarter back for Toledo on Sat. Oct. 16 during the homecoming game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. CMU beat the Toledo Rockets 26-23.
After wreaking havoc in the Washington State quarterback room with 2.5 sacks during the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl, a former walk-on will look to make his presence felt one more time at the collegiate level.
Senior defensive end Troy Hairston II earned an opportunity to play in the 2022 FBS All American Spiral Tropical Bowl, which will be played at 4 p.m. Jan. 15 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The 5-11, 245-pound Birmingham native joined the Chippewas as a linebacker in 2016 after receiving a walk-on spot from then-head coach John Bonamego. In two seasons under Bonamego's reign, Hairston forced a fumble and recorded five total tackles.
When current-head coach Jim McElwain arrived in Mount Pleasant, the decision came down for Hairston to transition to defensive end. Although he began 2019 as a backup when starter Amir Siddiq got hurt, Hairston made the most of his opportunity finishing with two sacks, 28 total tackles and a forced fumble.
It was the shortened 2020 season where Hairston truly broke out. Through six games, he led the Mid-American Conference in sacks with 5.5 and tackles for loss with 12. In addition, Hairston finished with a career-high 41 tackles, earning him MAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors and a first-team All-MAC selection.
Hairston’s upward trend continued in 2021, as he once again received first-team All-MAC honors after shattering all of his previous season-highs. In 12 games, Hairston recorded 13.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and 50 total tackles while forcing four fumbles.
Official rosters for the Tropical Bowl will be announced on Jan. 8. The game will be streamed via Pay-Per-View.
