SoCon 2019 Off-Season

[FUBeAR]

Don’t really have anything to say (so pretty much the same as my other 3,096 posts here), but now that Woffy and ETSU have concluded a markedly forgettable 2018 OOC season for the SoCon, I thought we should start talking about 2019.

By the way, despite the horrid OOC results in 2018, with Woffy’s win over a ‘mortally wounded’ Elon being the best...and maybe the only ‘good’ SoCon OOC win, I really don’t think the SoCon was down this year. But it sure does appear that way.

For example, if Furman plays Elon, Mercer plays Yale, Samford plays KSU, and CIT plays Towson at different points in their seasons, I think all of those were very winnable games. Also, Woffy’s game with Wyoming, Samford’s with FSU, ETSU’s with JaxSt, and Woffy’s with KSU were close, winnable games. We’ll never know about Furman’s game with Colgate, but, based on prior results, we sure can’t put that game in the ‘non-winnable’ category.

Win those 9 OOC games and we’re talking about how strong the SoCon was this year and we have as many as 2 or 3 more Teams in the Playoffs. So, it’s not like the distance is far, but it’s a distance that must be traveled if the SoCon is going to be thought of in the the same light as the MVFC, the CAA, and the Big Sky. If not, the questions about whether the SoCon is even as good as the Southland and/or the OVC will persist...and be valid.

So, let’s use this thread to share all of the GREAT things your favorite Team is doing in the off season to make 2019 a better year for them, and thus, a better year for the SoCon as a whole.

[Reign of Terrier]

Conklin is recruiting really well, from what I can tell. We have at least 17 verbal commitments. Those usually start filing in around this time, but many were committed in like October.

I also think Elon wasn't as bad as people said they were when Wofford beat them. Their QB was good, better than the one who played us, but he wasn't statistically elite. Their second running back who they had coming in was averaging 7 ypc before we shut them down.

Socon will be fine.

[ElCid]

It was a weird season. Throw in the Hurricane and it messed with everyone. I am not worried about our not so great OOC this year. Fans comparing conferences is a silly benchmark. Yeah, we lost some we could have won, but we are doing ok. Don't forget, my Bulldogs added a late OOC win. As bright spots, even without FBS wins, Wofford almost beating Wyoming was still ok. Should have won, but was competitive. Samford almost beating FSU, even if they were slightly down, was good publicity. The Citadel hanging with Alabama for a half was good publicity as well, even if they pulled away.

Next year, the SOCON should do alright. Many of our teams were pretty young this year. That should bode well next year.

I know we have Towson, Elon and CSU for a fairly good OOC slate. All three of those are winnable for us. Outside shot at GaTech considering their coaching transition.

Parity seems to be the nature of the SOCON lately. No team, even Wofford, has distanced themselves. Any team, except maybe VMI and WCU had what it took to gain a championship this year had a ball, or two, bounced their way. 50% of all conf games (18) were decided by 1 score or less. That is a lot. 11 more decided by 2 scores. Only 7 games were decided by 3 or more scores. Wow.

We are getting artificial turf next year. Don't know if that is a bonus or not. New visitors side not due until 2020 now I think. We already have a hot commit as well. I think he committed after he saw the second half against Samford. That was an epic comeback.

One thing I did not account for was how many we will probably lose who have a year of eligibility remaining. A lot of our players get ahead with summer school and easily graduate on time in 4 years. Heck I think we might have one graduating early. The coaches do a good job keeping everyone on the correct path. That said, we will probably lose quit a few more than initially anticipated due to graduation unless we can get some to come back and start their masters. Overall, a good problem to have if you ask me.

[Milktruck74]

At one point in time the Mocs were the only 4-0 FCS team in the nation....We won our OOCs (FCS anyway), even though they didn't really count as QUALITY wins. The Mocs have a tough start next season, (EIU, at Jacksonville St, at UTk, James Madison)
but even going 2-2 would be a huge bump for the SoCon and Chattanooga. We cleaned the coaching house on the offensive side of the ball and look to be getting some serious upgrades. Our D has some big shoes to fill, but we have been here before and guys keep stepping up. The Mocs Defense is a system and they continue to plug in the next man. Mack and Mahaffey ate studs and will be difficult to replace, but those two stepped up to replace Davis and MacMillian, who had to step up to replace Lott and Tull.....The next crop looks good, Maxwell is a gamer, watch out for Josh Walker, and Tom Arth isnt afraid to give a Transfer or a JUCO kid a shot. Our D will be solid next year, our O can only improve....I won't say we win the conference, but the playoffs are within reach.....especially if we get through September with a few wins.

[FUBeAR]

At one point in time the Mocs were the only 4-0 FCS team in the nation....We won our OOCs (FCS anyway), even though they didn't really count as QUALITY wins. The Mocs have a tough start next season, (EIU, at Jacksonville St, at UTk, James Madison)
but even going 2-2 would be a huge bump for the SoCon and Chattanooga. We cleaned the coaching house on the offensive side of the ball and look to be getting some serious upgrades. Our D has some big shoes to fill, but we have been here before and guys keep stepping up. The Mocs Defense is a system and they continue to plug in the next man. Mack and Mahaffey ate studs and will be difficult to replace, but those two stepped up to replace Davis and MacMillian, who had to step up to replace Lott and Tull.....The next crop looks good, Maxwell is a gamer, watch out for Josh Walker, and Tom Arth isnt afraid to give a Transfer or a JUCO kid a shot. Our D will be solid next year, our O can only improve....I won't say we win the conference, but the playoffs are within reach.....especially if we get through September with a few wins.Any new Offense Coaches named yet? If not, sounds like you may have some ‘scoop’ on the prospective ones. Share?

[UpstateBison]

I lost you at “I really don’t think the SoCon was down this year”. Really? I want the SoCon to be good. However, when the answer is, if we would have played the teams we lost to at different times, it does not make sense. Sometimes you just have to win. No excuses.


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[MR. CHICKEN]

Don’t really have anything to say (so pretty much the same as my other 3,096 posts here), but now that Woffy and ETSU have concluded a markedly forgettable 2018 OOC season for the SoCon, I thought we should start talking about 2019.

By the way, despite the horrid OOC results in 2018, with Woffy’s win over a ‘mortally wounded’ Elon being the best...and maybe the only ‘good’ SoCon OOC win, I really don’t think the SoCon was down this year. But it sure does appear that way.

For example, if Furman plays Elon, Mercer plays Yale, Samford plays KSU, and CIT plays Towson at different points in their seasons, I think all of those were very winnable games. Also, Woffy’s game with Wyoming, Samford’s with FSU, ETSU’s with JaxSt, and Woffy’s with KSU were close, winnable games. We’ll never know about Furman’s game with Colgate, but, based on prior results, we sure can’t put that game in the ‘non-winnable’ category.

Win those 9 OOC games and we’re talking about how strong the SoCon was this year and we have as many as 2 or 3 more Teams in the Playoffs. So, it’s not like the distance is far, but it’s a distance that must be traveled if the SoCon is going to be thought of in the the same light as the MVFC, the CAA, and the Big Sky. If not, the questions about whether the SoCon is even as good as the Southland and/or the OVC will persist...and be valid.

So, let’s use this thread to share all of the GREAT things your favorite Team is doing in the off season to make 2019 a better year for them, and thus, a better year for the SoCon as a whole.

......DIS IS UH REAL.......SKRO-DUM SCRATCHER.............xconfusedx:(xconfusedx...... ....BRAWK!

[Reign of Terrier]

I lost you at “I really don’t think the SoCon was down this year”. Really? I want the SoCon to be good. However, when the answer is, if we would have played the teams we lost to at different times, it does not make sense. Sometimes you just have to win. No excuses.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkYeah, you've been on this shtick before, we get it, you think the socon is garbage even though our OOC schedule was only slightly less impressive than last year. Much wow and insightful.

We should be very impressed that the third place MVFC team got beat by a Big Sky team that would otherwise have finished 5-5. What was the big OOC win for the MVFC during the regular season again? Montana State?

If you realize that the decent teams in the decent conferences are about the same, there's really no evidence that the socon is down. Yeah, Samford lost to KSU and Furman didn't show up against Elon. But theres evidence of unimpressive outings by every conference, see the above paragraph.

You basically show up in these threads to **** in our Cheerios by reiterating the same point over and over again, by overweighing the outcome of two games. It made a lot of sense in the regular season when the Big Fluffy looked decent, but all the quality teams kind of grew into sucking high tit.

You're not insightful, you're not adding to the conversation, you're just here to remind that we aren't North Dakota State...or something.

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[Reign of Terrier]

Say what you want about the socon's OOC, none of our teams lost to Butler.

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[MR. CHICKEN]

Say what you want about the socon's OOC, none of our teams lost to Butler.

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http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29659&stc=1....................... DAT CRUEL....BROTHER......AH LIKE IT....AH LIKE IT............AWK!

[Reign of Terrier]

I'm trying to follow the reasoning of people bashing the socon. It's just not there. You can say the second scheduling is weak, but the average socon team played a tougher schedule than at least 2 of the quarterfinalists (Colgate, Kennesaw State, maybe even Maine)

Put another way, if you're looking at the quality of the teams played and redacting the names of the teams and not worrying about whether those teams are within conferences or not, the socon is still tougher than a lot of bubble teams.

Mercer lost to Yale, but so did Maine by a much worse margin. The CAA gets a pass for that for some reason.

Looking at OOC against FCS, loss margin in parentheses)
ETSU 1-1 (JSU by 7)
Wofford 3-1 (KSU by 3)
Furman 0-1 (didn't show up against Elon, by 38)
Mercer 1-1 (Yale by 7)
Citadel 1-1 (Towson by 17)
Western Carolina 1-0
VMI 0-0
Chattanooga 2-0
Samford 0-1 (by 14)

So the only team that we lost to that didn't make the playoffs was Yale...who beat quarterfinalist Maine by much worse.

We are supposed to hold it against the socon for losing to teams that were pretty tough and beating teams handily as we should have. You can say we didn't get it done in some games this year, but we were 9-6 this year in OOC, 8-4 during the regular season.

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[UpstateBison]

Say what you want about the socon's OOC, none of our teams lost to Butler.

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I said nothing about the MVFC. The MVFC is weak this year outside of NDSU and SDSU. I am saying that you have to win an OOC playoff game in the round of sixteen. All you say is how disrespected the SoCon is but you still can’t beat an OOC team in the round of sixteen. Get back to me when that happens.


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[PaladinFan]

I said nothing about the MVFC. The MVFC is weak this year outside of NDSU and SDSU. I am saying that you have to win an OOC playoff game in the round of sixteen. All you say is how disrespected the SoCon is but you still can’t beat an OOC team in the round of sixteen. Get back to me when that happens.


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Well, the SoCon's hottest team didn't even get a shot in favor of 6 CAA teams, most of whom wet the bed.

[UpstateBison]

I'm trying to follow the reasoning of people bashing the socon. It's just not there. You can say the second scheduling is weak, but the average socon team played a tougher schedule than at least 2 of the quarterfinalists (Colgate, Kennesaw State, maybe even Maine)

Put another way, if you're looking at the quality of the teams played and redacting the names of the teams and not worrying about whether those teams are within conferences or not, the socon is still tougher than a lot of bubble teams.

Mercer lost to Yale, but so did Maine by a much worse margin. The CAA gets a pass for that for some reason.

Looking at OOC against FCS, loss margin in parentheses)
ETSU 1-1 (JSU by 7)
Wofford 3-1 (KSU by 3)
Furman 0-1 (didn't show up against Elon, by 38)
Mercer 1-1 (Yale by 7)
Citadel 1-1 (Towson by 17)
Western Carolina 1-0
VMI 0-0
Chattanooga 2-0
Samford 0-1 (by 14)

So the only team that we lost to that didn't make the playoffs was Yale...who beat quarterfinalist Maine by much worse.

We are supposed to hold it against the socon for losing to teams that were pretty tough and beating teams handily as we should have. You can say we didn't get it done in some games this year, but we were 9-6 this year in OOC, 8-4 during the regular season.

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At least 4 of those regular season wins were against Big South teams. You were very skeptical of KSU because of their weak Big South schedule. Did the SoCon beat an OOC playoff team?


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[UpstateBison]

Well, the SoCon's hottest team didn't even get a shot in favor of 6 CAA teams, most of whom wet the bed.

Yet 2 of the SoCon co-champs could not win a round of 16 playoff game.


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[PaladinFan]

I think there is a lot to like about what Clay Hendrix is building in Greenville.

Realistically, Furman needs to get off the mat quicker. They've been slow out of the gate the last two years and then come on strong late. Hopefully, the team will come out swinging in 2019, which will do a lot for national perception and create some energy.

Next season, Furman's biggest task is to figure out the QB situation. While the young guys have a lot of potential, many seem to think that Furman may look to the transfer market. While I do not normally like transfers, this is a clear opportunity for Furman to find a talented signal caller and surround him with some impressive talent on the offensive side of the ball.

I saw Furman continue to improve over the course of the season. I think next year, there will not be nearly as much of a learning curve with a new OC and a very young offense. If the Paladins can start 2019 like they finished 2018, they'll be a force.

[PaladinFan]

Yet 2 of the SoCon co-champs could not win a round of 16 playoff game.


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I mean, it is not my fault the committee left the best SoCon team home.

[ElCid]

Yet 2 of the SoCon co-champs could not win a round of 16 playoff game.


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Yeah, I didn't think ETSU would go far. They had a good season but were in it by the skin of their teeth. Their 6 SOCON wins were ALL by either 2 or 3 points. Think about that a minute. Everyone knew they were not a great team. A good one, but not real good. Easily could have had a losing record. You do have to hand it to them for consistency though. They fought hard.

[UpstateBison]

Yeah, I didn't think ETSU would go far. They had a good season but were in it by the skin of their teeth. Their 6 SOCON wins were ALL by either 2 or 3 points. Think about that a minute. Everyone knew they were not a great team. A good one, but not real good. Easily could have had a losing record. You do have to hand it to them for consistency though. They fought hard.

Agree with everything you said. Impressive to win that many close games.


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[UpstateBison]

I mean, it is not my fault the committee left the best SoCon team home.

I will let you hash that out with YT and the circular argument. I will discuss OOC games excluding the payday Clemson game.


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[FUBeAR]

Sometimes you just have to win. No excuses.
Thanks Coach Lombardi.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kton-qrKNLc

I just watched this video 10 times as penance for my Offense to your sensibilities.

[Reign of Terrier]

I said nothing about the MVFC. The MVFC is weak this year outside of NDSU and SDSU. I am saying that you have to win an OOC playoff game in the round of sixteen. All you say is how disrespected the SoCon is but you still can’t beat an OOC team in the round of sixteen. Get back to me when that happens.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkThis is an arbitrary standard

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[UpstateBison]

Thanks Coach Lombardi.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kton-qrKNLc

I just watched this video 10 times as penance for my Offense to your sensibilities.

All good. You stated that the SoCon has a horrid OOC 2018. I agree with you.


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[Reign of Terrier]

Charleston southern is a better program than any in the socon because they won an OOC game in the round of 16. For those of you who don't know, CSU won 1 playoff game in their history.

Upstate Bison really likes to move the goal posts.

To win a game in the round of 16 is to either be or beat a seed. That's an accomplishment. If you're in the east, you will likely play a conference opponent in that count. The only ones that won't are Big Sky teams.

Wofford's win against Elon is a better win than SDSU's against Dusquesne. But hey, because it was in the round of 16 and OOC, it must have been better than Woffords win against the citadel in 2016. Get outta here.

If you're looking at just the round a team advances to and not how they got there, you're endorsing the laziest thinking imaginable. Single elimination tournaments are great for finding out who the best team is, but they logically cannot tell you for certain who the second best team is, or third, etc.

The socon has been screwed by regionalization because we have had 3 playoff teams within 200 miles of each other and 2 of them good enough to be seeds.


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[UpstateBison]

This is an arbitrary standard

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Winning a round of 16 playoff game is an arbitrary standard? Sorry to hurt your feelings.


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[UpstateBison]

Charleston southern is a better program than any in the socon because they won an OOC game in the round of 16.

Upstate Bison really likes to move the goal posts.

To win a game in the round of 16 is to either be or beat a seed. That's an accomplishment. If you're in the east, you will likely play a conference opponent in that count. The only ones that won't are Big Sky teams.

Wofford's win against Elon is a better win than SDSU's against Dusquesne. But hey, because it was in the round of 16 and OOC, it must have been better than Woffords win against the citadel in 2016. Get outta here.

If you're looking at just the round a team advances to and not how they got there, you're endorsing the laziest thinking imaginable. Single elimination tournaments are great for finding out who the best team is, but they logically cannot tell you for certain who the second best team is, or third, etc.

The socon has been screwed by regionalization because we have had 3 playoff teams within 200 miles of each other and 2 of them good enough to be seeds.


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You can talk to SDSU and UNI about regionalization as well. Sorry to point out other conferences get screwed by this as well.


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[Reign of Terrier]

Yet 2 of the SoCon co-champs could not win a round of 16 playoff game.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkBy this logic, the best conferences include the Big South and Patriot. Wofford has won more playoff games than any team in the Patriot league in spite of making the playoffs 2 decades after them. One little Google search in the last few years can show how arbitrary this is.

Tell me why you think this is a viable argument other than to coddle your ever flexible standards. Tell me why you constantly comment in these threads to **** in people's oatmeal in spite of never giving a counterargument. You originally made the comment weeks ago that the socon had no quality OOC wins and then Wofford wins one and you change the standard.

You're literally just here to be a nuisance and it's obvious to everyone.



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[Reign of Terrier]

Winning a round of 16 playoff game is an arbitrary standard? Sorry to hurt your feelings.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkWinning a round of 16 game against a non conference opponent is an arbitrary standard.

We have won a round of 16 game 3 times in the last 5 years. The jury is out on how good Kennesaw is but the other loss was to Jacksonville state who made it to the championship and CSU who was in the same bracket.

You are using an obvious Motte and Bailey argument. First you say the round of 16 OOC standard, I point out that it's bull**** and you go the easier claim to defend, the round of 16. But that argument doesn't apply.

You're literally just a nuisance, infiltrating a socon thread for no reason other than to be an asshole

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[Reign of Terrier]

You can talk to SDSU and UNI about regionalization as well. Sorry to point out other conferences get screwed by this as well.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkMy claim wasn't that other conferences weren't hurt from it, but the socon was hurt more in 2016 and 2017. Even then, I find it hard to say that getting 4 teams in, one losing on the road to SHSU after a first round win and one eliminating another is a show of weakness.

But you think that because you're a troll. It's not the socon's fault we got paired together.

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[Reign of Terrier]

You can talk to SDSU and UNI about regionalization as well. Sorry to point out other conferences get screwed by this as well.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkI love how you have 0 defense for your arbitrary standard.

Youngstown state lost to Butler. They have made the playoffs once in 12 years.

Illinois State hasn't won a playoff game since 2015. Most of their playoff wins came in 2014.

UNI gets gift wrapped the easiest opponents in the first round 90% of the time, then ****s the bed in the next round unless they luck out and play the Big Sky team who chokes that year.

SDSU occasionally wets the bed. NDSU is NDSU. The rest of the conference is kind of irrelevant.

My point: No conference is perfect, but anyone can splice arbitrary standards to make the other look bad.

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[FUBeAR]

You stated that the SoCon has a horrid OOC 2018. Yes. The outcomes for the SoCon in 2018 OOC games were horrid. Oh, and the fact that outcomes are centrally important is, redundantly speaking, an obvious tautology, but please feel free to advise me of your unique wisdom in that area once again.

The play of SoCon Teams in only 1 OOC game was horrid (FU @ Elon). That the distance between a very strong OOC season and a horrid one was very small is the point of my statement. I’m sorry that you are unable or unwilling to grasp that nuance. Perhaps, your level of understanding of the game only enables you to ‘assess’ the final scores. You may be the brains behind Advanced Football Analytics; I don’t know, but I do know 2nd graders capable of making a similar W/L depth of analysis. I prefer to look just a wee bit deeper.

8 very winnable, mostly 1 score, games + 1 potentially winnable, unplayed game that all ‘mattered,’ wrecked the SoCon’s OOC record in 2018. That doesn’t point to a drastic difference or ‘fall-off’ in talent. It points to many different factors; some of which were unavoidable, as part of the game - injuries to key players & the timing of those injuries, weather (including cancellation of a pivotal OOC game), field conditions, timing of emergence of key Players, etc. Other reasons (or, if you prefer, “excuses”) were controllable; such as untimely turnovers at critical junctures; failing to start the game ‘at pace;’ Defenses that can get stops on 1st & 2nd down, but can’t get off the field on 3rd down; going away from ‘what we do’ for some reason; and decisions to punt or take a FG, when going for a 1st down would have been the better decision.

Clean up what can be cleaned up; hope for more beneficial ‘uncontrollables’ in 2019, and, as YT said, SoCon will be just fine.

[Reign of Terrier]

I think the one thing keeping the socon from national prominence is (sigh) Wofford's offensive coordinator.

I hate calling out people like that because coaches are smarter than me and see a greater bit of the field than me. But.

Wofford has failed to score 20 points in half of our playoff games (9 of 18 games). We failed to score 28 in 14 of them. Our defense remains pretty stout and we actually got better at defending the pass this year IMO. But our offense is problematic. Wade Lang has been the OC through out all of those games. Against KSU, YSU, and NDSU I have never felt like we would score in the second half.

The reason I blame it on the OC and not the scheme itself is because the scheme itself doesn't seem to be the problem if you look at other options teams in the playoffs. When Georgia Southern was in the FCS, they only failed to score 20 9 times...in 58 games.

It could be the option. It could be the gun option. It could be bad luck. It could be Wade Lang.

All I know is that if Wofford could put together an offense like GSU in 2012, we would take it to the next level.

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[gofurman]

Agree with everything you said. Impressive to win that many close games.


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Right. I mean realistically ETSU was one of those teams you just kept waiting to lose. And with everything on the line to win the SoCon outright in their last game AT HOME with the crowd in a frenzy... THEY LOST.

ETSU had a great year!!! And I hope they continue so SoCon is better ! But I wasn't surprised they were a 21.5 point underdog to JSU. I was almost shocked they kept it so close w JSU. But then that's what ETSU does xthumbsupx


** it's a lot like an analogy with FBS. It's just an ANALOGY ,..... No one is saying the SoCon is the SEC. LOL. But this analogy works:
I think most teams (including BAMA) would rather play Oklahoma than UGA. UGA IS probably the BETTER team than Oklahoma. But Oklahoma had the slightly better record. That's sort of Furman vs ETSU with me and many others who really know the SoCon. I think most guys (ask Wofford) would FAR rather face ETSU than a hot Furman team. . But we dug ourselves a hole ( that's our own fault of playing poor plus scheduling very very tough) that hurt our resume starting 0-3 (yes Clemson in there). Then we win 6 of 7 to win the conference but, like UGA, we sit at home for the playoffs . I still wonder about Elon losing three of last 5 and getting in playoffs as the committee SAYS they want to see you finish strong but that's another issue. ETSU had easier OOC and is more like Oklahoma while Furman had only TWO OOC - Clemson and THEN top five Elon. That's a UGA-type gauntlet. Superficially ETSU will have the better record.

ETSU OOC beat D2 Mars Hill. And beat horrible Gardner Webb -granted it was a good whoopin they did there. And they lost to Tennessee by 56

Furman lost to Clemson ( FAR FAR superior to Tennessee ) by less (41) .. And lost to top 5 Elon (they were legit top 5 those first 5 games beating JMU). Basically the committee is saying we need a Gardner Webb. Seriously. That's what they have made blatantly clear.


Anyway, the Two learnings:

1) Maybe after this year the committee will learn SIX IS TOO MANY. CAA was a farce beyond top four or so

2). and I hope Furman soon learns to schedule PANSIES. That's what the committee rewards !!!! That was obvious. Got to get rid of Clemson and beat on UT-Martin ! Problem is I KNOW Furman next year has only 11 games (most teams have 12) and yet we still took TWO FBS ! That's ridiculous. I can only find three other FCS teams with 11 game schedules and Two FBS games. Everyone else has either 11 games and one FBS game .... or if they have TWO FBS games they have a 12 game schedule. These schedules were set years in advance as you know. Our coach gets it after what happened this year but we can't change anything now

I SHUDDER to think the committee leaves 2019 Furman out at 7-4 with two FBS losses (so 7-2 in FCS) and takes a 8-3 team just because they had only one FBS game. Or takes an 8-4 team with two FBS losses and an additional crap win in there that we all woulda won.

[PaladinFan]

I think the one thing keeping the socon from national prominence is (sigh) Wofford's offensive coordinator.

I hate calling out people like that because coaches are smarter than me and see a greater bit of the field than me. But.

Wofford has failed to score 20 points in half of our playoff games (9 of 18 games). We failed to score 28 in 14 of them. Our defense remains pretty stout and we actually got better at defending the pass this year IMO. But our offense is problematic. Wade Lang has been the OC through out all of those games. Against KSU, YSU, and NDSU I have never felt like we would score in the second half.

The reason I blame it on the OC and not the scheme itself is because the scheme itself doesn't seem to be the problem if you look at other options teams in the playoffs. When Georgia Southern was in the FCS, they only failed to score 20 9 times...in 58 games.

It could be the option. It could be the gun option. It could be bad luck. It could be Wade Lang.

All I know is that if Wofford could put together an offense like GSU in 2012, we would take it to the next level.

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So, you will lay the blame for having a weak offense at the feet of the system, the OC, the playcalling, but not the players?

[FUBeAR]

Saw a Player Tweet this AM that leads me to believe we will be seeing a change in a Coordinator position with 1 SoCon Team...stay tuned.

[Smitty]

Saw a Player Tweet this AM that leads me to believe we will be seeing a change in a Coordinator position with 1 SoCon Team...stay tuned.

xprayx

To be honest though I'm not sure if it would change anything at this point.

[gofurman]

Saw a Player Tweet this AM that leads me to believe we will be seeing a change in a Coordinator position with 1 SoCon Team...stay tuned.

i hope it's NOT Furman.

Any idea the team???

[ElCid]

i hope it's NOT Furman.

Any idea the team???

I'm pretty sure Smitty gave it away. No? And I off on that?

[Smitty]

I don't have a clue. Only praying that it is Western that makes a change.

Unfortunately it is too much work hunting down every player on twitter to find the team. We would need a better hint from fubear...

[walliver]

...
Anyway, the Two learnings:

1) Maybe after this year the committee will learn SIX IS TOO MANY. CAA was a farce beyond top four or so

2). and I hope Furman soon learns to schedule PANSIES. That's what the committee rewards !!!! That was obvious. Got to get rid of Clemson and beat on UT-Martin ! Problem is I KNOW Furman next year has only 11 games (most teams have 12) and yet we still took TWO FBS ! That's ridiculous. I can only find three other FCS teams with 11 game schedules and Two FBS games. Everyone else has either 11 games and one FBS game .... or if they have TWO FBS games they have a 12 game schedule. These schedules were set years in advance as you know. Our coach gets it after what happened this year but we can't change anything now

I SHUDDER to think the committee leaves 2019 Furman out at 7-4 with two FBS losses (so 7-2 in FCS) and takes a 8-3 team just because they had only one FBS game. Or takes an 8-4 team with two FBS losses and an additional crap win in there that we all woulda won.

You scheduled Elon before they were good.

Your problem is not scheduling.
Your problem is not winning games in September.

[PaladinNation]

You scheduled Elon before they were good.

Your problem is not scheduling.
Your problem is not winning games in September.

I agree!

The last two seasons under HCCH September has been brutal, that said Furman had its chances.

2017 first four games
@Wofford (24-23 loss)
Elon (34-31 loss)
@NCST (49-16 loss)
@Colgate (45-14 win)

2018 first four games
@Clemson (48-7 loss)
@Elon (45-7 loss)
Colgate cancelled
@ETSU (29-27 loss)
WCU (44-38 win)

2019 Furman will again break in a new QB, the tone will be set for getting back to the playoffs in September. Furman has to come out strong and IMO finish 2-2 to have a shot for the postseason.

[UpstateBison]

As previously noted, it looks like Furman has VA Tech, GA State and KSU on the OOC schedule next year. If Furman can figure out the QB situation, they should have a good shot at beating GA State and KSU.

I quickly searched for Wofford's 2019 OOC schedule but could not find it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[kdinva]

....I quickly searched for Wofford's 2019 OOC schedule but could not find it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

(FYI: I posted this webpage 3 months ago), this site now includes all of FCS..

https://fbschedules.com/football-championship-subdivision/

https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/wofford/


Only #2 Clemson so far for '19.....

[gofurman]

You scheduled Elon before they were good.

Your problem is not scheduling.
Your problem is not winning games in September.

Walliver I agree to an extent. But I think we are BOTH right.

Elon was already good last year. They made the 2017 playoffs !! Where we beat them by the way. But last year our OOC was NC State. Elon and Colgate. Started September 2017 with NC State. Wofford. Elon. FBS and two FCS playoff teams. This year our OOC - hurricane abridged - was just freakin Clemson and (at the time ) awesome Elon.

Where is our Presbyterian ??? Gardner Webb?? UT Martin?? I’ll put our OOC against almost every other SoCon school. Y’all had Gardner Webb and PC. C’mon. ETSU has D2 mars hill and Gardner Webb. So if Furman. ETSU. Wofford which one us different. ?? Answer. Furman.

Simply put here are the three SoCon champ OOC schedules... guess who committee chooses

Wofford OOC-
Presbyterian (NON scholarship) - a gimme win
Gardner Webb ( BAD)- win
Wyoming (bad but FBS) - close Loss

ETSU. OOC-
Mars Hill (D2 !) - gimme won
Gardner Webb ( BAD)- win
Tennessee - FBS Loss

Furman. OOC
Clemson (top 2 FBS) - Loss
Elon (then top 5 FCS) - Loss
Hurricane

Now BEFORE anyone gets hurt ... BEFORE anyone replies .... I AGREE Furman is the one that needs to change - switch at least one game for a PC Or Campbell.

And yes, you are RIGHT. We need to win !

But what if we scheduled BAMA and Clemson and NDSU as our OOC? - I say this ONLY to make a point ... the answer isn’t always “just win”. At some point you have to bring the completion in line

And the FBS were scheduled YEARS in advance as you know. So here we are as one of only THREE FCS teams with Two FBS opponents in An 11 Game schedule next year !!! The other two said they were selling out for paychecks and not looking at postseason as they don’t have teams that are good enough. I admit Georgia State is beatable but that’s equivalent of top 5 FCS as they beat KSU.

Our coach knows and I hear is working on it but we may be screwed OOC next year as our twelfth game backed out .... mothersfh()&.

It’s like if you (or any FCS team) had VTech and Wyoming in an 11 game season. It puts you in a tough situation. Can Wofford beat Wyoming? Yes. But it’s tough and real tough to have to count on that. Should NOT have to need any FBS win

It almost takes the at-large chance (that every other team has) out of the picture

Anyway. Let’s get the SoCon rolling again

I would say the same points in favor of Wofford.

[gofurman]

As previously noted, it looks like Furman has VA Tech, GA State and KSU on the OOC schedule next year. If Furman can figure out the QB situation, they should have a good shot at beating GA State and KSU.

I quickly searched for Wofford's 2019 OOC schedule but could not find it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Furman does not appear to have KSU on our schedule anymore. We have The two you named and Charleston Southern

[PaladinNation]

As previously noted, it looks like Furman has VA Tech, GA State and KSU on the OOC schedule next year. If Furman can figure out the QB situation, they should have a good shot at beating GA State and KSU.

I quickly searched for Wofford's 2019 OOC schedule but could not find it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Furman is changing it's 2019 schedule — KSU has been moved to 2020 or 2021 or 2022. Charleston Southern is now the home opener. I think Furman then plays GaSt in ATL, and then VaTech. Another rumor is Furman is having a hard time securing the 12th game in 2019. Seems Furman has approached a bunch of schools — no takers. Just a guess but I think Furman might have tried to get several Pioneer schools to play in Gville.

[ElCid]

Where is our Presbyterian ??? Gardner Webb?? UT Martin?? I’ll put our OOC against almost every other SoCon school. Y’all had Gardner Webb and PC. C’mon. ETSU has D2 mars hill and Gardner Webb. So if Furman. ETSU. Wofford which one us different. ?? Answer. Furman.



Ours wasn't too bad. Towson, CSU, Alabama. Respectable. I just wish we had changed QBs before the Towson game.

And next year, Elon, Towson, CSU, and Ga Tech. Again, not too bad. CSU has probably fallen off a bit, but we scheduled it a while ago. I am somewhat glad we have taken a break from the Div II. And Ga Tech is better than Bama or the Tigers. Better to play, that is more competitive. It is somewhat of a crap shoot trying to judge how good or bad some of the FCS teams will be sometimes years out. Fortunately we got lucky with Towson and Elon.

[gofurman]

Furman is changing it's 2019 schedule — KSU has been moved to 2020 or 2021 or 2022. Charleston Southern is now the home opener. I think Furman then plays GaSt in ATL, and then VaTech. Another rumor is Furman is having a hard time securing the 12th game in 2019. Seems Furman has approached a bunch of schools — no takers. Just a guess but I think Furman might have tried to get several Pioneer schools to play in Gville.

PNation
This is right that you posted. . SEVERAL teams have been asked.

No takers yet —. so we get SCREWED if no one says yes. I feel for our coach. Really. Some of this was set before he got here

[gofurman]

Ours wasn't too bad. Towson, CSU, Alabama. Respectable. I just wish we had changed QBs before the Towson game.

And next year, Elon, Towson, CSU, and Ga Tech. Again, not too bad. CSU has probably fallen off a bit, but we scheduled it a while ago. I am somewhat glad we have taken a break from the Div II. And Ga Tech is better than Bama or the Tigers. Better to play, that is more competitive. It is somewhat of a crap shoot trying to judge how good or bad some of the FCS teams will be sometimes years out. Fortunately we got lucky with Towson and Elon.

ElCid , That’s A LOT harder OOC than ETSU and Wofford OOC. Compare yours to those playing D2 mars hill and non-scholarship Presbyterian. Or Gardner Webb. Yours - Elon and Towson and CSU and GTech are tons harder.

That’s Not smack to ANYONE . That’s simply objective. You have one moderate team in CSU. Two playoff FCS in Elon and Towson. And an FBS. That’s tough

[FUBeAR]

I just wish we had changed QBs before the Towson game.What? Changed QB’s? That shouldn’t matter. Just win. That’s all that matters. Before? So you’re trying to say that it makes a difference when you played another Team. That’s ridiculous. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. If fruits and nuts...Stop making all these butthurt excuses and whining.

Oh...sorry...I accidentally channeled a few other posters here for a minute.

I wish y’all had gotten your groove back before Towson too!

[ElCid]

PNation
This is right that you posted. . SEVERAL teams have been asked.

No takers yet —. so we get SCREWED if no one says yes. I feel for our coach. Really. Some of this was set before he got here

If all is lost and you have no takers, then that is the time, and only time, you need to get another W by scheduling Newberry or N. Greenville. If any will have you. Have a buyout clause in case something pops up later. Pride or a W, you make the call. Could be the difference between 8-4 or 7-4 and 9-3 or 8-4. Eye wash. Or I guess it could be the difference between 5-6 or 6-6, or I could keep going down.xlolx Depends if you find a decent QB or not.

[ElCid]

Elvis, That’s A LOT harder OOC than ETSU and Wofford OOC. Compare yours to those playing D2 mars hill and non-scholarship Presbyterian. Or Gardner Webb. Yours - Elon and Towson and CSU and GTech are tons harder.

Not smack to ANYONE . That’s simply objective. You have one easier CSU. Two playoff FCS in Elon and Towson. And an FBS.


I like Elvis.

[ElCid]

What? Changed QB’s? That shouldn’t matter. Just win. That’s all that matters. Before? So you’re trying to say that it makes a difference when you played another Team. That’s ridiculous. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. If fruits and nuts...Stop making all these butthurt excuses and whining.

Oh...sorry...I accidentally channeled a few other posters here for a minute.

I wish y’all had gotten your groove back before Towson too!

I am not making any excuses for our QB. He has racked up some wins for us over the last couple years. Heck in his first ever start as a QB he beat, I think, Mercer.:D The coach obviously thought Black earned the spot and was trying to, hoping, he would improve. But he was a tad bit timid and never really looked comfortable all year. I really think the hurricane got in the players heads as well. They knew they were toast once that happened. The new QB has energy, leadership and runs downhill. He is making way better reads than Black did. He even looks more comfortable throwing each game. And the improvement expected over the course of the season for the Oline finally started to mature a bit. And we get all those guys back next year.

[UpstateBison]

What? Changed QB’s? That shouldn’t matter. Just win. That’s all that matters. Before? So you’re trying to say that it makes a difference when you played another Team. That’s ridiculous. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. If fruits and nuts...Stop making all these butthurt excuses and whining.

Oh...sorry...I accidentally channeled a few other posters here for a minute.

I wish y’all had gotten your groove back before Towson too!

I am sorry you are off your meds. Of course those changes will impact the outcome of games. What doesn't change is complaining about games after the season is over by saying if we did this or if we did that we would have won.

[gofurman]

If all is lost and you have no takers, then that is the time, and only time, you need to get another W by scheduling Newberry or N. Greenville. If any will have you. Have a buyout clause in case something pops up later. Pride or a W, you make the call. Could be the difference between 8-4 or 7-4 and 9-3 or 8-4. Eye wash. Or I guess it could be the difference between 5-6 or 6-6, or I could keep going down.xlolx Depends if you find a decent QB or not.

ElCid. I 100% agree. PC would be best. D1. But Newberry or whomever. It gives the committee their superficial “number of wins”

Next year the committee will be tested - I suspect they FAIL. So many variables. 12 game season. Some w two FBS. Some w one FBS.

In summary some teams may have TWELVE FCS games? Some (Furman?) May have NINE FCS. Not a whine ... rather a note that next year is a wacky one when it comes to at large selections and comparing Resumes !!!

Tough to compare a 7-2 nine game FCS team (not Furman necessarily, we may well stink ) to a 9-3 FCS team. That’s just a tough comparison for anyone to make

[Milktruck74]

Any new Offense Coaches named yet? If not, sounds like you may have some ‘scoop’ on the prospective ones. Share?

The buzz is the OC from EKU...but Donnie Kirkpatrick is available too...haha. He did know how to put points on the board...His years the Mocs could Score 50 and still lose by 3 TDs.

[FUBeAR]

Of course those changes will impact the outcome of games. What doesn't change is complaining about games after the season is over by saying if we did this or if we did that we would have won.
What, apparently, doesn’t change is your mischaracterization of analysis as “excuses” and “complaining.”

Look, if you don’t understand anything at all about Football and just can’t go any deeper than “Who won?,” I’m not mad at ya. I’ve been married to a woman like that for almost 30 years.

I will help you.

When you sit in the film room after a game, you break down every Player’s performance on every play. And, if each Player doesn’t execute his assignment satisfactorily on each play, you say to that Player, “If you’d done this, this way; then, that would have happened and here is where we’d be.” When you expand that to analyzing an entire Team over an entire Season, you look for what you could have done differently AND what could have happened differently, that was beyond your control. You spend 99% of your time thinking about and changing the ‘controllables,’ but you also consider the likelihood of the uncontrollables occuring in the subsequent season...and IF there is anything you can possibly think of to move those uncontrollables into the controllable bucket. And if you can, you do. If you can’t, you factor them into your expectations & your preparation for the next season. To ignore them and not discuss them is known as the “Ostrich Method.”

Never seen an ostrich that knew jack ish about Football.

As a Football fan, exalting in what went well & lamenting about what didn’t, with your friends & ‘foes,’ is a big part of what we all enjoy. Trying to stifle fans of other Teams from doing those things is just trolling, arrogance, or douchery ...or, from what I’ve seen from you in this thread so far, all of the above.

[FUBeAR]

I am not making any excuses for our QB. He has racked up some wins for us over the last couple years. Heck in his first ever start as a QB he beat, I think, Mercer.:D The coach obviously thought Black earned the spot and was trying to, hoping, he would improve. But he was a tad bit timid and never really looked comfortable all year. I really think the hurricane got in the players heads as well. They knew they were toast once that happened. The new QB has energy, leadership and runs downhill. He is making way better reads than Black did. He even looks more comfortable throwing each game. And the improvement expected over the course of the season for the Oline finally started to mature a bit. And we get all those guys back next year.You knew I was being sarcastic, right?

[FUBeAR]

The buzz is the OC from EKU...but Donnie Kirkpatrick is available too...haha. He did know how to put points on the board...His years the Mocs could Score 50 and still lose by 3 TDs.
Saw on another thread that Kirkpatrick is a leading candidate for the JMU job. No?

[Reign of Terrier]

So, you will lay the blame for having a weak offense at the feet of the system, the OC, the playcalling, but not the players?

Yeah. It's on the coaches to adjust strategy when something isn't working. Our players are as good as they've always been. I think they are in general better than they were in, say, 2006. But our scheme has changed so much over the years that it's clearly lagging behind other teams that run a similar philosophy. Inconsistency can be an indicator of youth, but if you're a good coach you can adjust for that.

I also don't call out players.

[Reign of Terrier]

As previously noted, it looks like Furman has VA Tech, GA State and KSU on the OOC schedule next year. If Furman can figure out the QB situation, they should have a good shot at beating GA State and KSU.

I quickly searched for Wofford's 2019 OOC schedule but could not find it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

We release it really late (like in the Spring), so don't get your hopes up.

Also, as bad as Wofford schedule is, we've only played one sub-D1 team in the last 4 years, the least of any such stretch during division one. My guess is we play a couple Big South teams and an OVC team. We would have heard about playing some big whig playoff team already. And it won't be Kennesaw, as we've already scheduled them 2021-2022. Though I would love to be wrong there.

[Reign of Terrier]

Reading how many teams are playing Charleston southern in the next couple years, I can't help but think how damn convenient it is to play a Big South team (except Monmouth) if you're a Socon team.

Big South teams have to fill 5 OOC games, not including an FBS game. Next year, it will be 3 with Hampton and UNA coming onto the schedule, but the year after that it's back to 4.

There's a lot of incentive on the Big South's end to do a bunch of local socon games or a D2/NAIA team (I think every team but Monmouth plays at least one D2 ever year, some sometimes playing 2).

If you're a socon team like Wofford, your model for the longest time has been 8 conference games, 1 FBS games, 1 local game, and 1 other game. It's about money for many of these schools. Having a Big South game, as much as it sucks, is better than an NAIA game. So I think that's why it happens. It's just more convenient. Put another way, the reason why the Big Sky schedules tough OOC is because they're going to have to pay $$$ to play someone anyway. They may as well get their money's worth. So too with the Big South and Socon, except it's about cost savings as opposed to maximizing value.

[ElCid]

Reading how many teams are playing Charleston southern in the next couple years, I can't help but think how damn convenient it is to play a Big South team (except Monmouth) if you're a Socon team.




Really damn convenient if you are us and have a 5 year deal with CSU for a H,H,H,H,and H. Hehehehe. Only makes sense due to the CSU stadium situation. I think they will actually do better coming to our place., who knows.

[FUBeAR]

Really damn convenient if you are us and have a 5 year deal with CSU for a H,H,H,H,and H. Hehehehe. Only makes sense due to the CSU stadium situation. I think they will actually do better coming to our place., who knows.Sure, but do you get Full Credit or Half Credit for a Win in Half a Stadium?

[UpstateBison]

Sure, but do you get Full Credit or Half Credit for a Win in Half a Stadium?

Half credit for a Big South win outside of KSU. I have hope UNA will help SoCon out of conference schedule. I would love to see Furman or Mercer in Fargo for an OOC game. I would rather they come to Greenville or Macon but that is not going to happen.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FUBeAR]

Half credit for a Big South win outside of KSU. I have hope UNA will help SoCon out of conference schedule. I would love to see Furman or Mercer in Fargo for an OOC game. I would rather they come to Greenville or Macon but that is not going to happen.
KSU, N Alabama, and Campbell will continue to raise the level of play within the Big South. PC’s departure will also help.

Campbell is committed to having a successful program and doing it the right way. While Buies Creek is a bit like Clinton, SC, it’s getting closer to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle every day (so to speak). I had very low expectations when they hired Mike Minter as their Head Coach in 2012. I had him pegged as a charlatan, looking to check a box on his resume, who would skip town as soon as he had that box checked; but I was WRONG. He’s been there 6 seasons now and is sherperding the Camels, quite nicely, through their transition from the PFL.

Charleston Southern needs to fix their ish-ues (spelling intended) or reevaluate their priorities & consider a PC-like move. Gardner-Webb will, I imagine, make a Coaching change soon; perhaps after 2019; and they were plenty competitive when FU Alum, Steve Patton, was leading the Runnin’ Bulldogs. And, Monmouth competes just fine with Patriot League & NEC Teams; so, besides being completely out of place in the Big South, they aren’t really dragging it down. Big South may not be where they were when they had Liberty & Coastal, but they have the potential to be. Lop NDSU & SDSU off the top of the MVFC and you have a slightly upgraded OVC. It takes time to recover.

Furman visited the FargoDome in 2013 & gave the best NDSU Team ever their toughest game of the Playoffs. 10-7 bizuns @ half. Their next closest halftime score came in the championship game in Frisco vs. Towson, 21-7. I am certain anyone associated, in any way, with Mercer Football would be more than thrilled to challenge the bizuns in the FargoDome or in Macon in the FCS Playoffs. And, I strongly suspect either Team would be open to discussing a Home & Home series with NDSU, as an FCS full-Scholarship peer program. If their situation precludes the bizuns from providing and/or needing to provide a return game, then I’m fairly confident neither Furman, nor Mercer would have much interest in discussing such an arrangement...unless NDSU wants to pony up Alabama money. I believe Mercer received $600k for their 2017 game @ Alabama. Is that do-able?

[UpstateBison]

KSU, N Alabama, and Campbell will continue to raise the level of play within the Big South. PC’s departure will also help.

Campbell is committed to having a successful program and doing it the right way. While Buies Creek is a bit like Clinton, SC, it’s getting closer to the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle every day (so to speak). I had very low expectations when they hired Mike Minter as their Head Coach in 2012. I had him pegged as a charlatan, looking to check a box on his resume, who would skip town as soon as he had that box checked; but I was WRONG. He’s been there 6 seasons now and is sherperding the Camels, quite nicely, through their transition from the PFL.

Charleston Southern needs to fix their ish-ues (spelling intended) or reevaluate their priorities & consider a PC-like move. Gardner-Webb will, I imagine, make a Coaching change soon; perhaps after 2019; and they were plenty competitive when FU Alum, Steve Patton, was leading the Runnin’ Bulldogs. And, Monmouth competes just fine with Patriot League & NEC Teams; so, besides being completely out of place in the Big South, they aren’t really dragging it down. Big South may not be where they were when they had Liberty & Coastal, but they have the potential to be. Lop NDSU & SDSU off the top of the MVFC and you have a slightly upgraded OVC. It takes time to recover.

Furman visited the FargoDome in 2013 & gave the best NDSU Team ever their toughest game of the Playoffs. 10-7 bizuns @ half. Their next closest halftime score came in the championship game in Frisco vs. Towson, 21-7. I am certain anyone associated, in any way, with Mercer Football would be more than thrilled to challenge the bizuns in the FargoDome or in Macon in the FCS Playoffs. And, I strongly suspect either Team would be open to discussing a Home & Home series with NDSU, as an FCS full-Scholarship peer program. If their situation precludes the bizuns from providing and/or needing to provide a return game, then I’m fairly confident neither Furman, nor Mercer would have much interest in discussing such an arrangement...unless NDSU wants to pony up Alabama money. I believe Mercer received $600k for their 2017 game @ Alabama. Is that do-able?

I hope the Big South continues to invest and improve as it helps the local FCS landscape.

I remember that 38-7 NDSU win in the 2013 playoffs. It was a fun game. Only Towson in the championship game was closer that year.

Greenville or Macon is a much easier trip for me than any of the MVFC schools but it is not going to happen and that is on the NDSU scheduling philosophy. Have to have 2 OOC home games due to home game revenue with 18k attendance. Just the way it works.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gofurman]

If all is lost and you have no takers, then that is the time, and only time, you need to get another W by scheduling Newberry or N. Greenville. If any will have you. Have a buyout clause in case something pops up later. Pride or a W, you make the call. Could be the difference between 8-4 or 7-4 and 9-3 or 8-4. Eye wash. Or I guess it could be the difference between 5-6 or 6-6, or I could keep going down.xlolx Depends if you find a decent QB or not.


From what I hear (WORTHLESS). All the calls were returned as 'no interest in playing FU'. Thus this today !! -

"From today's "Football Scoops":

"Furman (FCS – SC): Furman is looking for a home game on November 23rd, 2019. Any FCS, Division II, or NAIA opponent will be considered. Must be a home game, and Furman is willing to pay guarantee. If interested, please contact Associate Athletics Director Ken P .."


---
DANMNM. It's like we are on 'Football Craigslist'. LOL. Just Weird. This does show what I was saying that prior coaching regimes may not have left us in the best scheduling situations.

Weird stuff to be forced to advertise like this. But hey, try all avenues. , I am very Glad to see we are trying so the Committee can't say we didn't try to get a 12 game set up since we have TWO FBS.

Worst case we show we tried. Year or so this will all be done but it stinks right now. Hard to wait POSSIBLY another year !

and now it's documented here so SoCon brethren can back us that we tried hard to get a 12 game setup.

[FUBeAR]

Tommy Zagorski hired as Chatt OC? He’s been Moc a-Tweetin’ since 11/26.

https://i.postimg.cc/28rFN63B/90-F33-C09-9563-40-D3-8-AA6-839-FA9-A77003.png

...but wait...there’s MORE!

Tom Arth the leading candidate for Akron football head coach position


https://medium.com/the-carroll-news/tom-arth-the-leading-candidate-for-akron-football-head-coach-position-3532c63020b3

C’mon Chatt. Fans...we need to KNOW these things!

[FUBeAR]

Stadium Journey’s 2018 Rankings of the Football Championship Subdivision - https://stadiumjourney.com/news/stadium-journey-ranks-the-fcs-stadiums/
6. Five Star Stadium-Mercer Bears (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/mercer-university-stadium-s1721)
8. Finley Stadium-UT Chatanooga Mocs
14. Paladin Stadium-Furman Paladins (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/paladin-stadium-s1739)
19. William B. Greene Jr. Stadium-ETSU Buccaneers (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/william-b-greene-jr-stadium-east-tennessee-state-buccaneers/)
26. Seibert Stadium-Samford Bulldogs
82. Alumni Memorial Field-VMI Keydets
104. E.J. Whitmire Stadium-Western Carolina Catamounts (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/e.-j.-whitmire-stadium-s1814)
105. Gibbs Stadium-Wofford Terriers (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/gibbs-stadium-s1364)
109. Johnson Hagood Stadium-Citadel Bulldogs (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/johnson-hagood-stadium-s1785)* not sure why links to Chatt, Samford, and VMI didn’t copy over.

[walliver]

From what I hear (WORTHLESS). All the calls were returned as 'no interest in playing FU'. Thus this today !! -

"From today's "Football Scoops":

"Furman (FCS – SC): Furman is looking for a home game on November 23rd, 2019. Any FCS, Division II, or NAIA opponent will be considered. Must be a home game, and Furman is willing to pay guarantee. If interested, please contact Associate Athletics Director Ken P .."


---
DANMNM. It's like we are on 'Football Craigslist'. LOL. Just Weird. This does show what I was saying that prior coaching regimes may not have left us in the best scheduling situations.

Weird stuff to be forced to advertise like this. But hey, try all avenues. , I am very Glad to see we are trying so the Committee can't say we didn't try to get a 12 game set up since we have TWO FBS.

Worst case we show we tried. Year or so this will all be done but it stinks right now. Hard to wait POSSIBLY another year !

and now it's documented here so SoCon brethren can back us that we tried hard to get a 12 game setup.

The last week of the regular season can be a very hard spot to fill. For FCS conferences not named the Southern Conference, it is rivalry weekend. For the SEC it is warmup weekend for Rivalry weekend, and these games, often FCS, are booked years in advance.

It looks like there are no D2 openings: http://www.d2football.com/scheduleopenings/5/
Although I suspect that the 23d is the first week of the D2 playoffs. It does appear the the Apprentice School, a countable D2, has openings for basically the entire season.

On the other hand, it is nice to take the last week of the season off. Playing a tough conference schedule and then immediately starting the playoffs can be tough.

The real issue here is SoCon scheduling which seems to consists of drawing dates and schedule order out of a hat every year.

[walliver]

Stadium Journey’s 2018 Rankings of the Football Championship Subdivision - https://stadiumjourney.com/news/stadium-journey-ranks-the-fcs-stadiums/


6. Five Star Stadium-Mercer Bears (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/mercer-university-stadium-s1721)
8. Finley Stadium-UT Chatanooga Mocs
14. Paladin Stadium-Furman Paladins (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/paladin-stadium-s1739)
19. William B. Greene Jr. Stadium-ETSU Buccaneers (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/william-b-greene-jr-stadium-east-tennessee-state-buccaneers/)
26. Seibert Stadium-Samford Bulldogs
82. Alumni Memorial Field-VMI Keydets
104. E.J. Whitmire Stadium-Western Carolina Catamounts (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/e.-j.-whitmire-stadium-s1814)
105. Gibbs Stadium-Wofford Terriers (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/gibbs-stadium-s1364)
109. Johnson Hagood Stadium-Citadel Bulldogs (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/johnson-hagood-stadium-s1785)

* not sure why links to Chatt, Samford, and VMI didn’t copy over.

The Gibbs review is interesting. The reviewer didn't realize that the "free" seats in the end zone, technically the Verandah Lot, are the most expensive tickets in the house - but not really a good venue to watch a football game, although tailgating inside the stadium can be fun. I enjoy tailgating, but show up for the game, not the party.

[gofurman]

The last week of the regular season can be a very hard spot to fill. For FCS conferences not named the Southern Conference, it is rivalry weekend. For the SEC it is warmup weekend for Rivalry weekend, and these games, often FCS, are booked years in advance.

It looks like there are no D2 openings: http://www.d2football.com/scheduleopenings/5/
Although I suspect that the 23d is the first week of the D2 playoffs. It does appear the the Apprentice School, a countable D2, has openings for basically the entire season.

On the other hand, it is nice to take the last week of the season off. Playing a tough conference schedule and then immediately starting the playoffs can be tough.

The real issue here is SoCon scheduling which seems to consists of drawing dates and schedule order out of a hat every year.


Walliver, I Agree with you 100%

1. The D2 and NAIA. ( I think NAIA) playoffs are that weekend we have open so no good D2 will be open to looking at that. That takes out several teams. Of course, if it is the D2 playoffs shouldn't anyone who isn't a D2 playoff contender be open to an extra game? More reps for a non-playoff team ?

2. the SOCON does seem to have some random junk system for scheduling. I notice you guys have had conference games to start the year sometimes. Rivalries are not at the end of year. Etc etc. it's weird. We used to ALWAYS play Citadel to finish the year. No more.


Ill show how my Objectivity by noting there are some years (this year I think) you guys at Wofford have had multiple opponents that had their bye week right before they play you. That isn't right. It's not hard to make sure each conference team faces opponents with a similar number of preceding bye weeks in total.

- trying to show my moderately unbiased opinion. xthumbsupx

[Mocs123]

The SoCon could do a better job of scheduling, and it might help make some rivalries, and nobody should open the season with a conference game.

That being said, I want a bye week before playing The Citadel and then play Wofford the week after :)

[Reign of Terrier]

Where/what position was Zagorski previously?

[Mocs123]

He was the OL and TE coach at EKU and was promoted to OC the last four games of the season.

[FUBeAR]

WCU’s HC, Mark Speir, has interviewed for the vacant Head Coach position at Appy according to the usually highly reliable Football Scoop - http://footballscoop.com/news/update-app-states-coaching-search/

Some WCU Fans have claimed via social media that this report is inaccurate.

Coach Speir addressed the report via his Twitter account last night @ 9:46 PM...

“Inaccurate coaching position reports have surfaced in the media today. My focus for the past 7 years has been and continues to be bringing a Championship, built on Character, to Cullowhee. Go Cats!”

FUBeAR notes that Coach Speir did not deny interviewing at Appy nor having interest in the Appy job in this Tweet. “Inaccurate coaching position reports” “surface in the media” every day. And FUBeAR does not doubt that Coach Speir has been focused, for the PAST 7 years and “continues to be” (as long as he is the WCU HC), focused on bringing a Championship to Cullowhee.

So, certainly, this Tweet is TRUE, but it doesn’t really address whether or not he is involved with Appy’s search for a new HC, now, does it?

What y’all Cats Fans say?

[walliver]

Speir has accomplished much at WCU, but has not won a SoCon championship or made the playoffs. I wonder how serious Appy is about him. Maybe this interview was just a case of keeping Speir in the loop for their next opening in 3-4 years.

[ElCid]

Stadium Journey’s 2018 Rankings of the Football Championship Subdivision - https://stadiumjourney.com/news/stadium-journey-ranks-the-fcs-stadiums/


6. Five Star Stadium-Mercer Bears (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/mercer-university-stadium-s1721)
8. Finley Stadium-UT Chatanooga Mocs
14. Paladin Stadium-Furman Paladins (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/paladin-stadium-s1739)
19. William B. Greene Jr. Stadium-ETSU Buccaneers (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/william-b-greene-jr-stadium-east-tennessee-state-buccaneers/)
26. Seibert Stadium-Samford Bulldogs
82. Alumni Memorial Field-VMI Keydets
104. E.J. Whitmire Stadium-Western Carolina Catamounts (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/e.-j.-whitmire-stadium-s1814)
105. Gibbs Stadium-Wofford Terriers (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/gibbs-stadium-s1364)
109. Johnson Hagood Stadium-Citadel Bulldogs (https://stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/johnson-hagood-stadium-s1785)

* not sure why links to Chatt, Samford, and VMI didn’t copy over.

This is pretty funny. Even without half our stadium, 109? Too funny for words. It certainly is not accurate so I checked it out and it is just a fan input ranking and not an objective review.

[FUBeAR]

This is pretty funny. Even without half our stadium, 109? Too funny for words. It certainly is not accurate so I checked it out and it is just a fan input ranking and not an objective review.guessing you simlarly eschew / pooh pooh yelp, trip advisor, google reviews, Angie’s List, Glass Door, and any other such ‘non-objective’ customer/user reviews sources.

[Reign of Terrier]

Question for FUBear:

With CSU's coach resigning, does that open the door for Staggs at CSU?

[ElCid]

guessing you simlarly eschew / pooh pooh yelp, trip advisor, google reviews, Angie’s List, Glass Door, and any other such ‘non-objective’ customer/user reviews sources.


Duh, of course. I never believe that crap. You do realize that even with checks and balances, that half of those are done by hired human bots don't you? I rarely believe anything I believe in a review any more. At least unless I either know the person making the review or their track record previously confirmed by me.

[FUBeAR]

Question for FUBear:

With CSU's coach resigning, does that open the door for Staggs at CSU?
Sure, it opens the door, but I would be surprised if he took it...the phrase “going from the penthouse to the outhouse” comes to mind.

[FUBeAR]

Duh, of course. I never believe that crap. You do realize that even with checks and balances, that half of those are done by hired human bots don't you? I rarely believe anything I believe in a review any more. At least unless I either know the person making the review or their track record previously confirmed by me.So, you’re saying that all of the other SoCon schools human bot Teams outspent (or outworked) the bellhops’s human bot Team in the effort to raise their standings in this prestigious stadium rankings report.

https://bananasfk.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/tinfoilhat.png

[ElCid]

So, you’re saying that all of the other SoCon schools human bot Teams outspent (or outworked) the bellhops’s human bot Team in the effort to raise their standings in this prestigious stadium rankings report.

https://bananasfk.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/tinfoilhat.png


Yes. I have been to many of the other stadiums and most don't hold a candle to JHS. When we get our visitors side rebuilt it will be even better, even if the piss wall no longer exists.

[Reign of Terrier]

I really want Staggs to take that job. He would do good at CSU and be a great foil for KSU

[FUBeAR]

Yes. I have been to many of the other stadiums and most don't hold a candle to JHS. When we get our visitors side rebuilt it will be even better, even if the piss wall no longer exists.You’re still wearing those sunglasses with the baby blue tinted lenses, I see.

[gofurman]

I really want Staggs to take that job. He would do good at CSU and be a great foil for KSU

Please NOOIOO

[FUBeAR]

Five Star Stadium Adding New Video Board

New 2,160-square-foot video board will be the largest in the Southern Conference


https://mercerbears.com/news/2018/12/7/football-five-star-stadium-adding-new-video-board.aspx

“...a state-of-the-art video board, which will measure 30 feet tall and 72 feet wide (2,160 square feet) and has the ability to show live action and full-screen replays with quality resolution. The new video board will be approximately six times larger than the current board.”

https://images.sidearmsports.com/sidearm.sites/mercer.sidearmsports.com/images/2018/12/7/2018_12_07_Five_Star_Stadium_Video_Board_Announcem ent_Touch_Up.jpg


As of 11/2/17...

Top-5 FCS On-Campus Video Boards
1. South Dakota State 3,100 (sq ft)
2. North Dakota State 2,900 (sq ft)
3. Stephen F. Austin 2,692 (sq ft)
4. Northern Iowa 2,600 (sq ft)
5. Sam Houston State 2,570 (sq ft)
6. Monmouth 1,848 (sq ft)

...so, I guess Mercer’s will be the 6th largest in FCS.

[CID1990]

Question for FUBear:

With CSU's coach resigning, does that open the door for Staggs at CSU?

CSU is a dumpster fire and Staggs knows it

he was there when a couple gallons of gasoline were dumped on it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CID1990]

You’re still wearing those sunglasses with the baby blue tinted lenses, I see.

Says the biggest homer on this board

Where you got Mercer in your power poll again?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FUBeAR]

Says the biggest homer on this board

Where you got Mercer in your power poll again?


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkNorth of #109

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

Speir has accomplished much at WCU, but has not won a SoCon championship or made the playoffs. I wonder how serious Appy is about him. Maybe this interview was just a case of keeping Speir in the loop for their next opening in 3-4 years.

(Appalachian State hat on) I believe App State can do better, Speir did not set the world on fire at Western. (Appalachian State hat off)
(ETSU hat on) Whatever the powers that be at App do, they REALLY need to leave Randy Sanders alone, which I think they are doing (and that goes for everybody else too unless Jeremy Pruitt calls him back to Big Brother for a third act as his OC).

[ElCid]

Well, we just picked up a grad student transfer from SHSU. We have some good backs, but this is a nice experience pick up. Sounds like he is a smart kid.

https://herosports.com/fcs/football-sam-houston-state-remus-bulmer-transfers-citadel-ajaj


Former Sam Houston State running back Remus Bulmer -- the first FCS product to use the new redshirting rule to save a year of eligibility late in a career -- has made his decision to play his final season at The Citadel, he told HERO Sports Friday afternoon. The other finalist was Western Illinois, among many candidates.

Bulmer, who rushed for more than 2,000 career yards for the Bearkats from 2015-18, told HERO Sports on Sept. 24 that he didn't feel he was being utilized correctly at Sam Houston State, so he left the team before this season would count (less than four games played) -- opting to redshirt in 2018 and use the grad transfer rule to find another home for 2019. He was one of the top returning running backs, statistically, in the FCS coming into this season.

[FUBeAR]

(Appalachian State hat on) I believe App State can do better, Speir did not set the world on fire at Western. (Appalachian State hat off)
(ETSU hat on) Whatever the powers that be at App do, they REALLY need to leave Randy Sanders alone, which I think they are doing (and that goes for everybody else too unless Jeremy Pruitt calls him back to Big Brother for a third act as his OC).So...with your ETSU hat on, you would like it if UTK wooed away your SoCon COY?

Sounds like you need to buy another hat. Perhaps, something in a coonskin...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/41/5f/7f/415f7fce58f8575d9f4a9014d19f15ef.jpg

[FUBeAR]

Well, we just picked up a grad student transfer from SHSU. We have some good backs, but this is a nice experience pick up. Sounds like he is a smart kid.

https://herosports.com/fcs/football-sam-houston-state-remus-bulmer-transfers-citadel-ajaj

Well, I guess y’all guaranteed him that he will start at B-Back and get Tyler Renew-like numbers of carries..

“I just felt like I had to leave to better my future. It wasn’t something that I wanted to do, but I wanted to be able to get a shot because I came to play football. I want to go somewhere where I can get my carries up and show exactly what I can do because I’m looking on TV and guys are getting 20 or 25 [carries] and I’m like ‘Man, I should be doing this.’ I have a 6.3 [yards per carry] average this year and 5.6 my freshman year and I’m like ‘What would it be like if I had 20 carries? But, they didn’t play me as much. So, it just didn’t sit right with me. I’d rather just go somewhere else and get those opportunities to show what I can actually do rather than sit it out and look back later in life and be like ‘Man, I actually could have done this but my coach didn’t allow me to.’”


He also seems to have increased his academic focus quite a bit since he decided to quit playing for SHSU mid-season (late Sept. of 2018)

”If there is a school that will take me and they happen to have a grad program and everything for me, then I’ll definitely do it. As far as the decision, this is strictly a football decision. Like I said, I’m graduating in three and a half years. I just want to play ball. I do love school, and if football doesn’t work out I will go back and go for my master’s degree.”

http://houstonianonline.com/2018/09/27/houstonian-exclusive-1-on-1-with-remis-bulmer/



Hope it all all works out for the best for the young man.

[gofurman]

I'll add new Citadel transfer to the initial post.

Good pick up

[Mocs123]

Well, we just picked up a grad student transfer from SHSU. We have some good backs, but this is a nice experience pick up. Sounds like he is a smart kid.

https://herosports.com/fcs/football-sam-houston-state-remus-bulmer-transfers-citadel-ajaj

Thats a huge pickup for The Citadel - He was a beast at SHSU
T

[Mocs123]

Reports are that Arth has been offered the Akron job.

[FUBeAR]

Hey Samford Fans - FYI...

Shorter (D-II – GA): Shorter University, located in Rome, GA has an opening on 11/9 next season. Looking for a home game. Interested programs may contact [email protected].

...thought y’all would want to know.

[FUBeAR]

Reports are that Arth has been offered the Akron job.I’m hearing offered AND ACCEPTED.

[Mocs123]

Hey Samford Fans - FYI...

Shorter (D-II – GA): Shorter University, located in Rome, GA has an opening on 11/9 next season. Looking for a home game. Interested programs may contact [email protected].

...thought y’all would want to know.

lol

[UpstateBison]

I’m hearing offered AND ACCEPTED.

Wow. Akron is potentially that desperate. 😂😂😂


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[citdog]

Who knows..... furman might take ANOTHER undergraduate Qb FBS transfer...

[Milktruck74]

I’m hearing offered AND ACCEPTED.

The problem is the source.....the Mocs Nation Board is citing the Zips Nation Board who is citing the Mocs board....and really nobody knows anything. Remember two years ago when Chadwell was a DONE DEAL at Chattanooga....until he wasn't because ETSU was offering and that was a DONE DEAL...until it wasn't. Arth may be gone, but we will all know something tomorrow....also, if TA leaves before 1/1/19, he owes UTC his entire Salary for both years...can Akron afford to pay that and him? Akron is really in the red right now.

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

So...with your ETSU hat on, you would like it if UTK wooed away your SoCon COY?

Sounds like you need to buy another hat. Perhaps, something in a coonskin...

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/41/5f/7f/415f7fce58f8575d9f4a9014d19f15ef.jpg

very funny, Pruitt is looking at other candidates from fellow Power 5 programs and it's highly unlikely he'll talk to Sanders.

[walliver]

Hey Samford Fans - FYI...

Shorter (D-II – GA): Shorter University, located in Rome, GA has an opening on 11/9 next season. Looking for a home game. Interested programs may contact [email protected].

...thought y’all would want to know.

What about Reinhardt?
I know Mercer is too scared to play them, but what about the mighty Paladins?

[FUBeAR]

What about Reinhardt?
I know Mercer is too scared to play them, but what about the mighty Paladins?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_0clrUcZis

[PaladinFan]

Question for FUBear:

With CSU's coach resigning, does that open the door for Staggs at CSU?

He might, but I don't see why that move makes sense.

One name that might surface is Drew Cronic at Lenoir Rhyne. My guess is he moved from Furman's OC to LR's HC as a stepping stone to an FCS head coaching job (like the two previous LR coaches did).

- - - Updated - - -

Not 2019 related, but check out Dakota Dozier lined up at FB doing his best Jerome Felton

https://twitter.com/nyjets/status/1071875587117969408

[Sir William]

With CSU's coach resigning, does that open the door for Staggs at CSU?

Chuck South has a world of problems right now with two years of probation staring them in face. With loss of scholarships, important question is how long does it take CSU to recover and become seriously competitive again in Big South, and what kind of commitment and sacrifice will it take? That’s a significant consideration for the prospective coach who would be interested in the job.

[CID1990]

Chuck South has a world of problems right now with two years of probation staring them in face. With loss of scholarships, important question is how long does it take CSU to recover and become seriously competitive again in Big South, and what kind of commitment and sacrifice will it take? That’s a significant consideration for the prospective coach who would be interested in the job.

This

CSU was a dumpster fire before Chadwell and he added fuel to it

If anyone would know better than to take that pay cut it would be Staggs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wcugrad95]

Back to the SoCon offseason, I predict WCU is better on Defense next year (how can we not be???). It might only be incremental, but if we at least do a few tackling drills in the Spring and Fall camp and if we just kick the ball out of bounds every time, we can probably hold teams under 40 😀

We lose most of the o-line, but return almost every single skill player so we probably score 30+ per game again. That would mean we would be close in most games “on average”.

[Smitty]

Back to the SoCon offseason, I predict WCU is better on Defense next year (how can we not be???). It might only be incremental, but if we at least do a few tackling drills in the Spring and Fall camp and if we just kick the ball out of bounds every time, we can probably hold teams under 40 

We lose most of the o-line, but return almost every single skill player so we probably score 30+ per game again. That would mean we would be close in most games “on average”.

Just think, if we kick the kickoff out of bounds and they start at the 40, that is 15 less yards against our defense per possession. That probably saves us 90 yards a game.

[Reign of Terrier]

It is an odd year next year, so I predict Western's defense will improve.

[FUBeAR]

He might, but I don't see why that move makes sense.

One name that might surface is Drew Cronic at Lenoir Rhyne. My guess is he moved from Furman's OC to LR's HC as a stepping stone to an FCS head coaching job (like the two previous LR coaches did).

Along those lines, I imagine former FU, Mercer (briefly), VMI, ETSU Asst Coach, CIT Alum, and current North Greenville Head Coach, Jeff Farrington, could be in the mix at CSU.

Chadwell came to CSU from NGU, right?

[Sir William]

Along those lines, I imagine former FU, Mercer (briefly), VMI, ETSU Asst Coach, CIT Alum, and current North Greenville Head Coach, Jeff Farrington, could be in the mix at CSU.

Chadwell came to CSU from NGU, right?

I was thinking the same thing. Farrington would be a good choice for Chucky.

As to Chadwell, yes to CSU from NGU via Delta State (one-yr stint).

[FUBeAR]

Thought this might be fun as I’m sure we’ll be talking about Recruiting in this thread...

Let’s looks at Hero Sports Top 30 SoCon signees from 2/16/18 - did they make an impact for their Teams as True FR.? Future prospects?

I’ve completed FUBeAR’s comments for the 6 Mercer Players on the list. If any of y’all care to comment on the Player’s from ‘your’ Team, I’ll add ‘em to this post.

THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TOP 30



RK
FCS CHOICE
POS
PROSPECT
2018 IMPACT
2019 & BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
HOMETOWN
HGT
WGT
OTHER OFFERS


1
CHATTANOOGA
DT
Josh Walker
No meaningful, if any, playing time. Did not record a stat
Transferring out. No prospects @ UTC
Bradenton, FL
6'2"
285
Arizona decommit - 41 total offers


2
THE CITADEL
RB
Emeka Nwanze
Played in 3 games, 9 Att, 22 yds. Probably Redshirted
Unsure
Roswell, GA
5'11"
205
Penn decommit; several ACC offers


3
THE CITADEL
RB
Clay Harris
SoCon All-Freshman Team; Played extensively (11 games, 91 Att, 353 yds, 4 TD’s) good straight line speed & ability to avoid tackles
Looks to be a solid, perhaps, significant contributor for CIT for the next 3 years
Atlanta, GA
6'0"
205
Purdue decommitment - 3 FBS offers


4
CHATTANOOGA
S
Kohl Henke
No action; no stats. Redshirted
Unsure
Chattanooga, TN
6'2"
190
Virginia, Navy, JSU, APSU, Mercer


5
THE CITADEL
LB
Caleb Deveaux
No stats; probably no action. Probable Redshirt
Unsure
Waxhaw, NC
6'0"
195
Pittsburgh


6
MERCER
WR
Tony Jones
Back-up, but a “Regular” & played well - 12 catches for 128 yds & 1 TD
Probable Starter in 2019
Fairburn, GA
6'0"
175
Tennessee - 15 offers


7
MERCER
RB
Kareem Rogers
Played minimally with only 7 Att. for 20 yds. Looked ‘dangerous’ though
Probable ‘change of pace’ (“Lightning”) RB backing up Devezin’s “Thunder”
Stockbridge, GA
5'10"
180
Syracuse, Navy, S. Alabama, Tulane, JMU


8
WESTERN CAROLINA
QB
A.J. Curry
Played in 1 game. Ran 1 time for -2 yds. Redshirted.
Unsure
Mount Airy, GA
6'4"
200
FAU, S. Alabama


9
CHATTANOOGA
DE
Mychal Austin
No action; no stats. Redshirted
Unsure
Apopka, FL
6'1"
250
Minnesota - 9 offers


10
WOFFORD
OL
Al Hogan
Redshirted
Unsure
Fairburn, GA
6'3"
285
Virginia, Air Force, Citadel, Buffalo, Kennesaw, Fordham


11
WESTERN CAROLINA
WR
Mahari Stribling
Played in 2 games; no stats. Redshirted.
Unsure
Loganville, GA
6'3"
180
Boston College, Tulane


12
MERCER
WR
DeMond Ellison
Back-up, but played some. 5 catches for 37 yards
Possible starter. Could be next Marquis Irvin. Big bodied, but was a little ‘raw’ coming out of HS
Canton, GA
6'3"
200
Ga. Southern, Chattanooga


13
WESTERN CAROLINA
DB
Charles Gadie
Played in 5 games; 3 tackles
Unsure
Douglasville, GA
5'9"
165
Purdue, Tulane - 5 FBS offers


14
MERCER
TE
Brandon Shelnutt
Did not play in 2017. No longer on Mercer roster
No prospects
Lawrenceville, GA
6'4"
230
3 FBS - 7 total offers


15
CHATTANOOGA
WR
Genuine Potts
No action; no stats. Redshirted
Unsure
Powder Springs, GA
6'3"
195
Wake Forest, West Virg - 27 offers


16
MERCER
QB
Bryce Lawrence
Did not play in 2017. Probably redshirted
Unknown
McDonough, GA
6'3"
185
FAU, Western Illinois, Eastern Ky


17
CHATTANOOGA
WR
Logan Pitts
No action; no stats. Redshirted
Unsure
Trussville, AL
6'1"
210
Citadel, Tenn. Tech - committed early


18
ETSU
ATH
Chris Armstrong
No action; no stats. Likely redshirted
Unsure
Foley, AL
6'0"
200
8 FBS offers, 14 total


19
FURMAN
QB
Hamp Sisson
Played in two games; Redshirt. ‘Thrown to the wolves’ against the Citadel; looked better in mop up vs. VMI
Unsure
Birmingham, AL
5'11"
185
Air Force, Army - 7 total offers


20
SAMFORD
OL
Gavin Orr
Played in 8 games
Groomed to be Starter in 2019
Gadsden, AL
6'4"
270
6 FBS offers - 13 offers total


21
WOFFORD
OL
Elijah Ball
Redshirted
Unsure
Rome, GA
6'3"
290
Navy, Ga. Southern, Ball St., Austin Peay


22
SAMFORD
DE
Justin Hayes
Played in 3 games; 3 tackles vs. VMI; Redshirted
Unsure, but a lot of opportunity to replace graduating Players on DL
Smyrna, GA
6'3"
250
UCF, Navy - 10 total offers


23
FURMAN
DE
Cameron Coleman
Did not see action in 2017 due to solid depth @NG
Unsure
Clarksville, TN
6'3"
285
UTSA, ETSU


24
WOFFORD
RB
Colby Wood
Never even made it to campus
No prospects
Jefferson, GA
5'10"
180
Navy


25
FURMAN
RB
Corey Watkins
SoCon All-Freshman; Played a bunch (65 Att, 420 yds, 2 TD’s) and helped form a pretty potent 1-2 punch with Devin Wynn
The sky is the limit
Evans, GA
5'8"
185
Academies - 6 total offers


26
VMI
DB
Ethan Caselberry
SoCon All-Freshman; played in 11 games, starting 10; 81 tackles, 2.5 TFL’s, 0.5 sacks
Appears to be a long-term star in the Keydet Secondary
Harvest, AL
6'3"
190
Marshall PWO, Samford, UT Martin


27
WOFFORD
DT
Corey Prince
Played some; may have redshirted; good snaps against PC
Unsure
Hollywood, FL
6'0"
265
FAU


28
WESTERN CAROLINA
DB
Ronald Kent
SoCon All-Freshman; Jerry Rice Watchlist. Played in 11 games, starting 7; 45 tackles (31 solo), 5 TFL’s, 12 PBU’s, 1 FF
Will be a good one over the next 3 years
Harrisburg, PA
5'10"
170
8 total offers


29
MERCER
DE
Coby Germany
Played in 3 games, but did not register a Stat. Redshirted
Unsure
Evans, GA
6'3"
245
Georgia State, Samford


30
ETSU
QB
Cam Lewis
No action; no stats. Likely redshirted
Unsure
McDonough, GA
6'3"
200
Old Dominion, Southern, Jackson St

[Reign of Terrier]

Colby Wood never even made it to campus. Freshmen who made the most impact weren't even listed.

[PaladinFan]

Corey Watkins played a bunch of a freshman and helped form a pretty potent 1-2 punch with Devin Wynn in the Furman backfield.

I think the sky is the limit for that duo.

[FUBeAR]

Colby Wood never even made it to campus. Freshmen who made the most impact weren't even listed.Thanks!

What about Hogan, Ball, and Prince?

[FUBeAR]

Corey Watkins played a bunch of a freshman and helped form a pretty potent 1-2 punch with Devin Wynn in the Furman backfield.

I think the sky is the limit for that duo.Thanks! What about Sisson & Coleman?

[Reign of Terrier]

Thanks!

What about Hogan, Ball, and Prince?

I think Ball and Hogan redshirted. Prince played some; he made have redshirted as well with the new rules but he definitely played and got some good snaps against PC.

[PaladinFan]

Thanks! What about Sisson & Coleman?

Sisson played in two games and will redshirt. He was thrown to the wolves a bit against the Citadel, but looked a lot better in mop up duty against VMI.

Coleman didn't play this year, which isn't surprising given the depth Furman had at NG.

[SU DOG]

Orr and Hays both RS I believe.

[FUBeAR]

Orr and Hays both RS I believe.I thought I saw Orr playing a good bit. Website stats agree...

Participation Statistics



Date
Opponent


10/13/2018
VMI (https://samfordsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10787&path=football)


10/20/2018
Furman (https://samfordsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10788&path=football)


10/6/2018
Western Carolina (https://samfordsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10786&path=football)


11/17/2018
ETSU (https://samfordsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10791&path=football)


11/3/2018
Wofford (https://samfordsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10789&path=football)


8/30/2018
Shorter (https://samfordsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10781&path=football)


9/15/2018
Mercer (https://samfordsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10783&path=football)


9/22/2018
Chattanooga (https://samfordsports.com/boxscore.aspx?id=10784&path=football)



Can’t play in 8 games & Redshirt, SU DOG. Y’all trying to go all Charleston Southern-like over there in Homewood?

Probably right about Hayes. Looks like he only played in 3 games.

[SU DOG]

You are correct about Orr. Eight games - not three. xembarrassedx I should have remembered that he was being groomed to replace RT Antwan Johnson who is the only Sr. on our 2 deep O-Line. As for Hayes, with the losses on our D-front, I sure hope he lives up to billing.

[citdog]

You are correct about Orr. Eight games - not three. xembarrassedx I should have remembered that he was being groomed to replace RT Antwan Johnson who is the only Sr. on our 2 deep O-Line. As for Hayes, with the losses on our D-front, I sure hope he lives up to billing.

Samford plays defense???

[SU DOG]

Just ahead of The Citadel in scoring defense for the year.xcoffeex That stat would have been better if The Citadel hadn't dropped the most points on us of any team including FSU, however.
Sincerely glad to see you back and spewing your venom citdog.xnodx

[FUBeAR]

Samford plays defense???What you know ‘bout Nwanze, Harris, and Deveaux, citdog?

Did they answer the bell for CIT Football as knobs this year?

Will they be the elevators CIT Football needs to reach the penthouse of the SoCon in 2019 & beyond?

[citdog]

The two Knob running backs both played and did not redshirt. Not sure about the LB. Harris has good straight line speed and the ability to move his hips to avoid tackles around the line of scrimmage. Nwanze was a little more raw than Harris and wasn't as effective in limited opportunities.

[Bucs2016]

It was a weird season. Throw in the Hurricane and it messed with everyone. I am not worried about our not so great OOC this year. Fans comparing conferences is a silly benchmark. Yeah, we lost some we could have won, but we are doing ok. Don't forget, my Bulldogs added a late OOC win. As bright spots, even without FBS wins, Wofford almost beating Wyoming was still ok. Should have won, but was competitive. Samford almost beating FSU, even if they were slightly down, was good publicity. The Citadel hanging with Alabama for a half was good publicity as well, even if they pulled away.

Next year, the SOCON should do alright. Many of our teams were pretty young this year. That should bode well next year.

I know we have Towson, Elon and CSU for a fairly good OOC slate. All three of those are winnable for us. Outside shot at GaTech considering their coaching transition.

Parity seems to be the nature of the SOCON lately. No team, even Wofford, has distanced themselves. Any team, except maybe VMI and WCU had what it took to gain a championship this year had a ball, or two, bounced their way. 50% of all conf games (18) were decided by 1 score or less. That is a lot. 11 more decided by 2 scores. Only 7 games were decided by 3 or more scores. Wow.

We are getting artificial turf next year. Don't know if that is a bonus or not. New visitors side not due until 2020 now I think. We already have a hot commit as well. I think he committed after he saw the second half against Samford. That was an epic comeback.

One thing I did not account for was how many we will probably lose who have a year of eligibility remaining. A lot of our players get ahead with summer school and easily graduate on time in 4 years. Heck I think we might have one graduating early. The coaches do a good job keeping everyone on the correct path. That said, we will probably lose quit a few more than initially anticipated due to graduation unless we can get some to come back and start their masters. Overall, a good problem to have if you ask me.

Im obviously not a fan of a SoCon team but I still follow its teams. I agree about the hurricane affecting you. It threw off our early season routine and we never really seemed to get our feet back under us either. Those hurricanes can really mess with a season. Citadel and CSU were affected and honestly I think South Carolina did too because losing thay Marshall game took away a chance to develop some depth that they ended up needing.

But hey yall ended by kicking our tails so at least you got that! See yall in 2019

[wcugrad95]

On the Freshman front for WCU, the two Offensive guys (QB Curry and WR Stribling) both red-shirted. They are both serious athletes who could probably play multiple positions, but given our year and the skill players in front of them it made sense to let them get prepared for the next 4 seasons.

On D, we played quite a few true and RS Freshman. Kent was a starter not too far into the season and I think he will be a good one over the next 3 years (he was added to the Jerry Rice watch list 8 games into the year). Gadie only had a couple of stats - I will have to look and see if he can redshirt.

[Milktruck74]

Josh Walker is leaving Chattanooga. HE never really saw action (meaningful anyway). I think Linemen are the hardest talent to evaluate. They are playing against smaller slower and weaker kids in HS, can they dominate when they go up against a college level kid? Sometimes they're a miss. It is also hard to ride the pine when you are told how wonderful you are your entire life. Then to be recruited over.....kids see the writing on the wall and think transferring out their best option to see field time. I think we were able to save the RS on the rest of the kids.

[FUBeAR]

Josh Walker is leaving Chattanooga. HE never really saw action (meaningful anyway). I think Linemen are the hardest talent to evaluate. They are playing against smaller slower and weaker kids in HS, can they dominate when they go up against a college level kid? Sometimes they're a miss. It is also hard to ride the pine when you are told how wonderful you are your entire life. Then to be recruited over.....kids see the writing on the wall and think transferring out their best option to see field time. I think we were able to save the RS on the rest of the kids.Wow...a few interesting things here...

* #1 2018 SoCon signee did not play as a FR & is transferring out. Something we should all remember when we’re touting our Teams’ 2019 Recruiting Classes & # of Stars

* Walker played at IMG, which, I believe, plays a national schedule of highly ranked HS Teams. Would have thought he had been tested against strong enough competition to generate 40+ offers, many FBS. That one is a real head scratcher.

* Did Chatt not take advantage of the new Redshirt rule to get any of these guys any game reps, even on Special Teams? I checked the participation logs and none of them are listed as playing in any games. Seems strange. Thoughts?

* In looking at those logs, I noticed that SO DB, Rashun Freeman, who has started a couple of games for Chatt & played in 9 in 2018 is no longer on the Chatt roster. Also transferring out?

[Milktruck74]

Wow...a few interesting things here...

* #1 2018 SoCon signee did not play as a FR & is transferring out. Something we should all remember when we’re touting our Teams’ 2019 Recruiting Classes & # of Stars

* Walker played at IMG, which, I believe, plays a national schedule of highly ranked HS Teams. Would have thought he had been tested against strong enough competition to generate 40+ offers, many FBS. That one is a real head scratcher.

* Did Chatt not take advantage of the new Redshirt rule to get any of these guys any game reps, even on Special Teams? I checked the participation logs and none of them are listed as playing in any games. Seems strange. Thoughts?

* In looking at those logs, I noticed that SO DB, Rashun Freeman, who has started a couple of games for Chatt & played in 9 in 2018 is no longer on the Chatt roster. Also transferring out?

I have nothing on Freeman.

[FUBeAR]

Thought this might be fun as I’m sure we’ll be talking about Recruiting in this thread...

Let’s looks at Hero Sports Top 30 SoCon signees from 2/16/18 - did they make an impact for their Teams as True FR.? Future prospects?

I’ve completed FUBeAR’s comments for the 6 Mercer Players on the list. If any of y’all care to comment on the Player’s from ‘your’ Team, I’ll add ‘em to this post.

THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TOP 30



RK
FCS CHOICE
POS
PROSPECT
2018 IMPACT
2019 & BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
HOMETOWN
HGT
WGT
OTHER OFFERS


1
CHATTANOOGA
DT
Josh Walker
No meaningful, if any, playing time. Did not record a stat
Transferring out. No prospects @ UTC
Bradenton, FL
6'2"
285
Arizona decommit - 41 total offers


2
THE CITADEL
RB
Emeka Nwanze
Played in 3 games, 9 Att, 22 yds. Probably Redshirted
Unsure
Roswell, GA
5'11"
205
Penn decommit; several ACC offers


3
THE CITADEL
RB
Clay Harris
SoCon All-Freshman Team; Played extensively (11 games, 91 Att, 353 yds, 4 TD’s) good straight line speed & ability to avoid tackles
Looks to be a solid, perhaps, significant contributor for CIT for the next 3 years
Atlanta, GA
6'0"
205
Purdue decommitment - 3 FBS offers


4
CHATTANOOGA
S
Kohl Henke
No action; no stats. Redshirted
Unsure
Chattanooga, TN
6'2"
190
Virginia, Navy, JSU, APSU, Mercer


5
THE CITADEL
LB
Caleb Deveaux
No stats; probably no action. Probable Redshirt
Unsure
Waxhaw, NC
6'0"
195
Pittsburgh


6
MERCER
WR
Tony Jones
Back-up, but a “Regular” & played well - 12 catches for 128 yds & 1 TD
Probable Starter in 2019
Fairburn, GA
6'0"
175
Tennessee - 15 offers


7
MERCER
RB
Kareem Rogers
Played minimally with only 7 Att. for 20 yds. Looked ‘dangerous’ though
Probable ‘change of pace’ (“Lightning”) RB backing up Devezin’s “Thunder”
Stockbridge, GA
5'10"
180
Syracuse, Navy, S. Alabama, Tulane, JMU


8
WESTERN CAROLINA
QB
A.J. Curry
Played in 1 game. Ran 1 time for -2 yds. Redshirted.
Unsure
Mount Airy, GA
6'4"
200
FAU, S. Alabama


9
CHATTANOOGA
DE
Mychal Austin
No action; no stats. Redshirted
Unsure
Apopka, FL
6'1"
250
Minnesota - 9 offers


10
WOFFORD
OL
Al Hogan
Redshirted
Unsure
Fairburn, GA
6'3"
285
Virginia, Air Force, Citadel, Buffalo, Kennesaw, Fordham


11
WESTERN CAROLINA
WR
Mahari Stribling
Played in 2 games; no stats. Redshirted.
Unsure
Loganville, GA
6'3"
180
Boston College, Tulane


12
MERCER
WR
DeMond Ellison
Back-up, but played some. 5 catches for 37 yards
Possible starter. Could be next Marquis Irvin. Big bodied, but was a little ‘raw’ coming out of HS
Canton, GA
6'3"
200
Ga. Southern, Chattanooga


13
WESTERN CAROLINA
DB
Charles Gadie
Played in 5 games; 3 tackles
Unsure
Douglasville, GA
5'9"
165
Purdue, Tulane - 5 FBS offers


14
MERCER
TE
Brandon Shelnutt
Did not play in 2017. No longer on Mercer roster
No prospects
Lawrenceville, GA
6'4"
230
3 FBS - 7 total offers


15
CHATTANOOGA
WR
Genuine Potts
No action; no stats. Redshirted
Unsure
Powder Springs, GA
6'3"
195
Wake Forest, West Virg - 27 offers


16
MERCER
QB
Bryce Lawrence
Did not play in 2017. Probably redshirted
Unknown
McDonough, GA
6'3"
185
FAU, Western Illinois, Eastern Ky


17
CHATTANOOGA
WR
Logan Pitts
No action; no stats. Redshirted
Unsure
Trussville, AL
6'1"
210
Citadel, Tenn. Tech - committed early


18
ETSU
ATH
Chris Armstrong
No action; no stats. Likely redshirted
Unsure
Foley, AL
6'0"
200
8 FBS offers, 14 total


19
FURMAN
QB
Hamp Sisson
Played in two games; Redshirt. ‘Thrown to the wolves’ against the Citadel; looked better in mop up vs. VMI
Unsure
Birmingham, AL
5'11"
185
Air Force, Army - 7 total offers


20
SAMFORD
OL
Gavin Orr
Played in 8 games
Groomed to be Starter in 2019
Gadsden, AL
6'4"
270
6 FBS offers - 13 offers total


21
WOFFORD
OL
Elijah Ball
Redshirted
Unsure
Rome, GA
6'3"
290
Navy, Ga. Southern, Ball St., Austin Peay


22
SAMFORD
DE
Justin Hayes
Played in 3 games; 3 tackles vs. VMI; Redshirted
Unsure, but a lot of opportunity to replace graduating Players on DL
Smyrna, GA
6'3"
250
UCF, Navy - 10 total offers


23
FURMAN
DE
Cameron Coleman
Did not see action in 2017 due to solid depth @NG
Unsure
Clarksville, TN
6'3"
285
UTSA, ETSU


24
WOFFORD
RB
Colby Wood
Never even made it to campus
No prospects
Jefferson, GA
5'10"
180
Navy


25
FURMAN
RB
Corey Watkins
SoCon All-Freshman; Played a bunch (65 Att, 420 yds, 2 TD’s) and helped form a pretty potent 1-2 punch with Devin Wynn
The sky is the limit
Evans, GA
5'8"
185
Academies - 6 total offers


26
VMI
DB
Ethan Caselberry
SoCon All-Freshman; played in 11 games, starting 10; 81 tackles, 2.5 TFL’s, 0.5 sacks
Appears to be a long-term star in the Keydet Secondary
Harvest, AL
6'3"
190
Marshall PWO, Samford, UT Martin


27
WOFFORD
DT
Corey Prince
Played some; may have redshirted; good snaps against PC
Unsure
Hollywood, FL
6'0"
265
FAU


28
WESTERN CAROLINA
DB
Ronald Kent
SoCon All-Freshman; Jerry Rice Watchlist. Played in 11 games, starting 7; 45 tackles (31 solo), 5 TFL’s, 12 PBU’s, 1 FF
Will be a good one over the next 3 years
Harrisburg, PA
5'10"
170
8 total offers


29
MERCER
DE
Coby Germany
Played in 3 games, but did not register a Stat. Redshirted
Unsure
Evans, GA
6'3"
245
Georgia State, Samford


30
ETSU
QB
Cam Lewis
No action; no stats. Likely redshirted
Unsure
McDonough, GA
6'3"
200
Old Dominion, Southern, Jackson St



Bump as ‘chart’ is completed (no thanks to our VMI & ETSU Fans).

Looks like CIT, Furman, VMI, WCU, and to a lesser (but, perhaps broader) extent, Mercer came up with a few listed ‘Winners.’

Chatt (Walker), Wofford (Wood) & Mercer (Shelnutt) have a ‘bust’ on the list...’bust’ for their Teams. All of them may end up being fabulous Players elsewhere.

About 18 of 30 Redshirted. So, some of them may be SoCon All-Freshman in 2019. Only 4 of 30 on the list (13.33%) made 2018 SoCon All-Freshman.

Who did Hero Sports & the various Recruiting Services & other Teams miss? Perhaps the 10 bolded below?

All-Freshman Offense
Haden Haas, The Citadel - RS FR
Clay Harris, The Citadel - #3 on the list
Quay Holmes, ETSU - RS FR
Jacob Saylors, ETSU
Tremond Shorts, ETSU - RS FR
Corey Watkins, Furman - #25 on the list
David Durden, Mercer - True FR, but 2017 signeee
Robert Riddle, Mercer - RS FR
DeMarcus Ware, Samford
Marshall Gill, VMI
Jakob Herres, VMI

All-Freshman Defense
Chris Beverly, The Citadel
Mason Kinsey, The Citadel
Adrian Hope, Furman - RS FR
Nathan East, Samford - RS FR
Nelson Jordan, Samford - RS FR
Jordan Montgomery, Samford - RS FR
Devonnsha Maxwell, Chattanooga - RS FR
Ethan Caselberry, VMI - #26 on the list
Brett Howell, VMI
Colin Loftis, VMI - RS FR
Ronald Kent Jr., Western Carolina - #28 on the list

All-Freshman Special Teams
Matthew Campbell, The Citadel
Quay Holmes, ETSU - RS FR
Dejuan Bell, Furman
Mitchell Fineran, Samford

[PaladinFan]

Given the nature of the defensive scheme and the position he played, one overlooked freshman (IMO) is Furman's Taylor Hodge.

Hodge was an interior defensive lineman, a position that is not going to light up any stat sheet. He played in, I think, 9 games for Furman.

Hodge is listed at only 5'9 260 (though he looks bigger than that). He plays along the DL - an area the coaches like to redshirt. That he was a significant contributor to Furman's defensive line rotation at his size (I don't see many 5'9 DTs in the SoCon) at a position that Furman had some depth says a lot about the kind of player he is and how much the coaching staff likes him.

He may end up being a Jaylan Reid type player for Furman - a shorter, high motor, interior lineman who won't make a lot of tackles, but forces the OL to double him nearly every snap. That sort of work will become all the more useful with the likely increase in snaps handled by Adrian Hope. If you have to double team the DT every play, that's one less body to throw at Hope, a guy who has shown he is a player you almost have to double team in passing situations.

I didn't take copious notes, but I think Hodge was primarily used along with Hope and Dru Seabrook as part of Furman's pass rush package.

[sudog03]

Bump as ‘chart’ is completed (no thanks to our VMI & ETSU Fans).

Looks like CIT, Furman, VMI, WCU, and to a lesser (but, perhaps broader) extent, Mercer came up with a few listed ‘Winners.’

Chatt (Walker), Wofford (Wood) & Mercer (Shelnutt) have a ‘bust’ on the list...’bust’ for their Teams. All of them may end up being fabulous Players elsewhere.

About 18 of 30 Redshirted. So, some of them may be SoCon All-Freshman in 2019. Only 2 of 30 on the list (6.67%) made 2018 SoCon All-Freshman.

Who did Hero Sports & the various Recruiting Services & other Teams miss? Perhaps the 10 bolded below?

All-Freshman Offense
Haden Haas, The Citadel - RS FR
Clay Harris, The Citadel - #3 on the list
Quay Holmes, ETSU - RS FR
Jacob Saylors, ETSU
Tremond Shorts, ETSU - RS FR
Corey Watkins, Furman - #25 on the list
David Durden, Mercer - True FR, but 2017 signeee
Robert Riddle, Mercer - RS FR
DeMarcus Ware, Samford
Marshall Gill, VMI
Jakob Herres, VMI

All-Freshman Defense
Chris Beverly, The Citadel
Mason Kinsey, The Citadel
Adrian Hope, Furman - RS FR
Nathan East, Samford - RS FR
Nelson Jordan, Samford - RS FR
Jordan Montgomery, Samford - RS FR
Devonnsha Maxwell, Chattanooga - RS FR
Brett Howell, VMI
Colin Loftis, VMI - RS FR

All-Freshman Special Teams
Matthew Campbell, The Citadel
Quay Holmes, ETSU - RS FR
Dejuan Bell, Furman
Mitchell Fineran, Samford

FCS recruiting rankings are virtually useless. I appreciate the effort, but trying to evaluate kids off of "supposed" offers from FBS schools and highlight tapes is useless.

Even though Samford had a somewhat disappointing season, I'm very encouraged that we were able to finish league play with a plus .500 record and tied for the league lead in All-freshman team representatives. I think that bodes very well for our future.

[PaladinFan]

FCS recruiting rankings are virtually useless. I appreciate the effort, but trying to evaluate kids off of "supposed" offers from FBS schools and highlight tapes is useless.

Even though Samford had a somewhat disappointing season, I'm very encouraged that we were able to finish league play with a plus .500 record and tied for the league lead in All-freshman team representatives. I think that bodes very well for our future.

Samford does not lack for talent. In fact, I think they (along with UTC) were the most talented teams in the league from a personnel standpoint.

I am not a Samford fan, but if I were, this offseason would focus on one thing - whether the "system" is going to elevate Samford's program to the next level. While it is great to finish above .500, it is not necessarily great to do so with the conference's most talented team.

[FUBeAR]

How did Ethan Castleberry from VMI NOT make the SoCon All-Freshman Team? He started 10 of 11 games @ Safety for VMI & was their #3 in Tackles with 81.

[kdinva]

How did Ethan Castleberry from VMI NOT make the SoCon All-Freshman Team? He started 10 of 11 games @ Safety for VMI & was their #3 in Tackles with 81.

Castleberry did make that list....

http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=211781426

[FUBeAR]

Castleberry did make that list....

http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=211781426yeah - my bad...was gonna delete the ones that were on the HERO list. Then changed my mind and forgot to add him back; also deleted/didn’t add back Ronald Kent....nevermind

[PaladinFan]

Furman PK Grayson Atkins and OLB Adrian Hope named All Americans: http://www.furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-footbl/2018-19/releases/20181211lbsyvx?fbclid=IwAR2n4HRYxb6F9qFn231vlPCnAU VKKzDV5izJEazhfFe0pBxdePGxwQZdYwQ

Hope also finished 4th in Jerry Rice Award (one spot behind ETSU's Quay Holmes) http://www.furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-footbl/2018-19/releases/20181211jhhdaf

[sudog03]

Samford does not lack for talent. In fact, I think they (along with UTC) were the most talented teams in the league from a personnel standpoint.

I am not a Samford fan, but if I were, this offseason would focus on one thing - whether the "system" is going to elevate Samford's program to the next level. While it is great to finish above .500, it is not necessarily great to do so with the conference's most talented team.

Seeing as though more and more of the NFL and college are running our "system" I'm not concerned. Please watch our Citadel game and see how talented our 2 current walkon's and 1 former walk-on that played a ton due to 7 of our top 20 defenders being out for that game are. We got off to a slow start after being picked to win the league for the first time since joining it. As Samford fan, I'm happy with current status of our program.

[Milktruck74]

rather interesting news from the Senic City. I hear Chattanooga AD has a list of potentials, should Arth take the Akron job. Top of the list is Etsu’s OC Mike Rader. Mike has HC experience (at D3 Maryville), but also has SoCon OC, experience. I wouldn’t be upset it this happened.

[Reign of Terrier]

Please someone take Wade Lang. No one will because no one wants to run the option. Wade deserves more than being fired or shoved out the door and I think he could take a no name program to respectability, but I don't think the option is where we need to be at wofford

[gofurman]

Furman PK Grayson Atkins and OLB Adrian Hope named All Americans: http://www.furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-footbl/2018-19/releases/20181211lbsyvx?fbclid=IwAR2n4HRYxb6F9qFn231vlPCnAU VKKzDV5izJEazhfFe0pBxdePGxwQZdYwQ

Hope also finished 4th in Jerry Rice Award (one spot behind ETSU's Quay Holmes) http://www.furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-footbl/2018-19/releases/20181211jhhdaf

Hope is TRULY AMAZING ... I THINK he may have been the only Freshman to be on the All America list !!!

Led the country in Sacks as a FRESHMAN. In TEN games (hurricane). Vs two option teams ! Wofford and Citadel !

[sudog03]

Please someone take Wade Lang. No one will because no one wants to run the option. Wade deserves more than being fired or shoved out the door and I think he could take a no name program to respectability, but I don't think the option is where we need to be at wofford

Generally speaking, fans just slay me. Wofford has finished no worse than 2nd in the league the last 3 season, won the league this season, win games in the playoffs, yet beg for a coach to leave. Everything being equal, Wofford is going to have a hard time competing with the KSU's and NDSU's of the world.

[Reign of Terrier]

Generally speaking, fans just slay me. Wofford has finished no worse than 2nd in the league the last 3 season, won the league this season, win games in the playoffs, yet beg for a coach to leave. Everything being equal, Wofford is going to have a hard time competing with the KSU's and NDSU's of the world.

I think there's strong evidence that an option-based offense has a ceiling at this level. We can win the socon with it but we're hard pressed to get out of the quarterfinals. No team has won a championship out of the option since 2000. I think Kennesaw State and Wofford will both see this problem. When we get to the playoffs, our defenses play lights out, but our offenses can't score points.

Put another way, we've won games and I don't want to go back to not winning games, but all the arguments for the option and nothing else are the same as the arguments in favor of Wofford playing exclusively a zone defense like we did up until this year. Conklin came in, put in a new system, and though it wasn't perfect, we still finished on top of the socon in 4 defensive categories (scoring, run, pass, total). Granted, we got help by only allowing 20 points on us in the playoffs, but still. The reason why we run the option is because that's what Ayers did and we convince ourselves that that's the only kind of offense we can run with our academic standards, even though there are multiple teams across division 1 with as much success or more running pro style or power I offenses (Stanford, Duke, Notre Dame, heck Furman, Richmond, Villanova, and others).

Again, I don't want to fire the coach (even though his playcalling frustrates me at times) because he is successful and, like I said, deserves better. But the option has a ceiling. As long as we run it, we will have a ceiling. Lang has earned the deference of a tenured professor because of what he's done over his career, but I don't think we'll make the next step until we shift away from the option. I could see us retaining him and making that progression, I just don't see it as likely. It has nothing to do with his coaching ability, it has all to do with inherent flaws in the scheme.

Those flaws are acceptable for a team that has limitations on recruiting and talent, for a team that's just trying to be competitive, but Wofford isn't like that anymore like we were 20 years ago.

[sudog03]

Wofford allowed more yards per play in conference games in 2018 than they did in 2017, was still a good unit in 2018. If I were to pick a bone with Lang, personally, it would have to be the constant rotation of quarterbacks. Some of those other "pro-style" teams do somethings different than just offensive schemes. Richmond I know dedicates a ton of resources towards football.

[Milktruck74]

Reports are that Arth has been offered the Akron job.


I’m hearing offered AND ACCEPTED.

Always vet your sources.....I heard much the same as you (that he interviewed 12/7 and he was the leading candidate), but the local News outlets in Chattanooga are saying Arth's interview at Akron is Friday....as in 12/14.....I hear Arth is a good interview, but if he has already been offered and accepted on anticipation of his interview alone....Then, DANG, HE IS A GREAT INTERVIEW!!!!!!

[PaladinFan]

I think there's strong evidence that an option-based offense has a ceiling at this level. We can win the socon with it but we're hard pressed to get out of the quarterfinals. No team has won a championship out of the option since 2000. I think Kennesaw State and Wofford will both see this problem. When we get to the playoffs, our defenses play lights out, but our offenses can't score points.

Put another way, we've won games and I don't want to go back to not winning games, but all the arguments for the option and nothing else are the same as the arguments in favor of Wofford playing exclusively a zone defense like we did up until this year. Conklin came in, put in a new system, and though it wasn't perfect, we still finished on top of the socon in 4 defensive categories (scoring, run, pass, total). Granted, we got help by only allowing 20 points on us in the playoffs, but still. The reason why we run the option is because that's what Ayers did and we convince ourselves that that's the only kind of offense we can run with our academic standards, even though there are multiple teams across division 1 with as much success or more running pro style or power I offenses (Stanford, Duke, Notre Dame, heck Furman, Richmond, Villanova, and others).

Again, I don't want to fire the coach (even though his playcalling frustrates me at times) because he is successful and, like I said, deserves better. But the option has a ceiling. As long as we run it, we will have a ceiling. Lang has earned the deference of a tenured professor because of what he's done over his career, but I don't think we'll make the next step until we shift away from the option. I could see us retaining him and making that progression, I just don't see it as likely. It has nothing to do with his coaching ability, it has all to do with inherent flaws in the scheme.

Those flaws are acceptable for a team that has limitations on recruiting and talent, for a team that's just trying to be competitive, but Wofford isn't like that anymore like we were 20 years ago.

I'd say this even if I wasn't a fan, but Furman's offense is my favorite brand of football to watch. I love watching a team that will put their hand on the ground and run over you, throw it over your head, and involves the backs and TEs in the passing game.

[PaladinFan]

Wofford allowed more yards per play in conference games in 2018 than they did in 2017, was still a good unit in 2018. If I were to pick a bone with Lang, personally, it would have to be the constant rotation of quarterbacks. Some of those other "pro-style" teams do somethings different than just offensive schemes. Richmond I know dedicates a ton of resources towards football.

Prior to this season, I thought Wofford would still be able to ride a good defense to a strong season. I think next year will be a bigger transition year. Just looking at their depth chart against KSU, Wofford will graduate some very good players on the DL, some good linebackers, and most of their secondary.

Offensively, Lang isn't going to change his stripes any time soon. Coaches will often stick with what has "always worked" until the bitter end. To this point, Wofford's offense has complemented its good defense. The question I have for next year is that if Wofford takes a slight step back defensively, will they have the offense to compensate for it?

[PaladinFan]

Furman PK Grayson Atkins and OLB Adrian Hope named All Americans: http://www.furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-footbl/2018-19/releases/20181211lbsyvx?fbclid=IwAR2n4HRYxb6F9qFn231vlPCnAU VKKzDV5izJEazhfFe0pBxdePGxwQZdYwQ

Hope also finished 4th in Jerry Rice Award (one spot behind ETSU's Quay Holmes) http://www.furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-footbl/2018-19/releases/20181211jhhdaf

Looked back at this, and I perhaps glossed over how impressive these accolades were.

Atkins is listed as the 2nd team AA kicker. In the eyes of the national media, he's the second-best kicker in FCS. I do not know how closely the national media follows FCS kickers, but Atkins did have a number of highlight worthy moments this season.

Hope's selection is unbelievably impressive. Hope is the only freshman selected as an All American (not just Freshman All American). Of the six linebackers chosen on the first and second teams, Hope is the only one who is not a Buchannan award finalist. That's impressive company, especially considering Hope wasn't even a starter on Furman's defense.

I know I talk a lot about Hope on here, but its hard to overstate just how impressive he was this season as a freshman. It has been a while since we've seen a freshman who was that disruptive on defense.

[FUBeAR]

Mercer just released their 2019 Schedule (11 games)

Sat. 8/31 - @ WCU
Sat. 9/7 - Open (to be filled...maybe???)
Sat. 9/14 - Austin Peay
Sat. 9/21 - @ Furman
Sat. 9/28 - Campbell
Sat. 10/5 - Chattanooga
Sat. 10/12 - Open (to be filled...maybe???)
Sat. 10/19 - VMI
Sat. 10/26 - @ The Citadel
Sat. 11/2 - Samford
Sat. 11/9 - Wofford
Sat. 11/16 - @ ETSU
Sat. 11/23 - @ North Carolina

So, I guess Mercer will get 1st crack at testing WCU’s new & improved D & whomever will be the Cats new QB after Adams transfers. Then get APSU with their new Coach, if they don’t find a game to plug in that 9/7 Open Date. Isn’t FU looking for a game the same day? What about one of those Big Sky OOC games with a Conference Team? Then 3 Home games in a row, perhaps broken by a bye week. Last 5 games could be tough with 3 on the road.

EDIT: Sorry, Furman is looking for a game on 11/23.

[wcugrad95]

The Bears will be a good “tune-up” before Adams and the Cats head to Raleigh to face NC State in week 2. And the Wolfpack will be a good barometer of how we can do against Alabama at the end 😀

[FUBeAR]

The Bears will be a good “tune-up” before Adams and the Cats head to Raleigh to face NC State in week 2 
Yes, 59 points worth of ‘tuning’ for the Cants in 2018...playing against the Bears #2 QB. Should be fun. Do you expect Jones or Curry to replace Adams?

[wcugrad95]

I expect Adams to be the starting QB no matter how hard you tried to point to a controversy. And surely you read the sarcasm in my quotes and smiley face??? Like most on here, I hate conference games in week #1, but it is the new norm in the SoCon and I guess it was the Cats and Bears turn.

[gofurman]

Prior to this season, I thought Wofford would still be able to ride a good defense to a strong season. I think next year will be a bigger transition year. Just looking at their depth chart against KSU, Wofford will graduate some very good players on the DL, some good linebackers, and most of their secondary.

Offensively, Lang isn't going to change his stripes any time soon. Coaches will often stick with what has "always worked" until the bitter end. To this point, Wofford's offense has complemented its good defense. The question I have for next year is that if Wofford takes a slight step back defensively, will they have the offense to compensate for it?

“ Wofford will graduate some very good players on the DL, some good linebackers, and most of their secondary.”

PFan, I agree on DL - Miles Brown and another starter are gone ... that’s 2 of the starting 3. But Horton returns. So really they only lose one DL. Secondary takes a big hit at Wofford ! . The one I would disagree w is LB. I think they only lose one of the 4 real starters ( Billy Hinton ?). So I would say Woff reruns good LB experience.

Agree that in year 2 and especially yr 3 we will learn more about Conklin

[Reign of Terrier]

Wofford allowed more yards per play in conference games in 2018 than they did in 2017, was still a good unit in 2018. If I were to pick a bone with Lang, personally, it would have to be the constant rotation of quarterbacks. Some of those other "pro-style" teams do somethings different than just offensive schemes. Richmond I know dedicates a ton of resources towards football.

Once again, yards per play is a very arbitrary standard for good/bad defense because the difference is a matter of decimal points. Wofford's defense was much better this year than last


Prior to this season, I thought Wofford would still be able to ride a good defense to a strong season. I think next year will be a bigger transition year. Just looking at their depth chart against KSU, Wofford will graduate some very good players on the DL, some good linebackers, and most of their secondary.

Offensively, Lang isn't going to change his stripes any time soon. Coaches will often stick with what has "always worked" until the bitter end. To this point, Wofford's offense has complemented its good defense. The question I have for next year is that if Wofford takes a slight step back defensively, will they have the offense to compensate for it?

What we lose in Brown (who never racked up any stats) we make up with Horton, provided he can stay healthy. The secondary is the closest thing to a question mark, but we rotate enough players to where I'm not concerned.

Put another way, we play 25-28 players on defense and we lost like 8 out of that rotation, not all of which were starters

[Reign of Terrier]

I just checked and the claim that Wofford allowed more yards per play this year compared to last is false.

Wofford allowed 4.9ypp in 2018 and 5.1 ypp in 2017.

The second time someone has made a claim about ypp (last time it was how Samford allowed the least ypp in 2017) that was untrue.

[gofurman]

Once again, yards per play is a very arbitrary standard for good/bad defense because the difference is a matter of decimal points. Wofford's defense was much better this year than last



What we lose in Brown (who never racked up any stats) we make up with Horton, provided he can stay healthy. The secondary is the closest thing to a question mark, but we rotate enough players to where I'm not concerned.

Put another way, we play 25-28 players on defense and we lost like 8 out of that rotation, not all of which were starters

What was Horton’s health issue? Shoulder something?

[Reign of Terrier]

What was Horton’s health issue? Shoulder something?Tore his bicep

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[FUBeAR]

What we lose in Brown (who never racked up any stats) we make up with Horton, provided he can stay healthy.Both are excellent Players, but this is not true.

Brown has the POTENTIAL to be the SoCon’s next Michael Pierce (Samford), the starting NG for the Ravens. In fact, Brown has been a better college Player than Pierce was, but neither, IMO, played up to their full potential (every play / every game) in college. Pierce is doing big things in the League...maybe he just neeeded that big kwan for motivation. If Brown attains the same every-play motivation that Pierce has reached, he should also do big things. Again, Horton is an excellent Player, but I don’t see him dominating SoCon OLmen like Brown was able to do...when he REALLY wanted to.

Unless you have graded their game film, please don’t respond with a bunch of stats to prove me wrong. None of the above has anything to do with stats. This is about watching the young men play Football & how they impact the game, which, quite often, for interior DLmen has very little, if anything, to do with stats.

[PaladinFan]

Once again, yards per play is a very arbitrary standard for good/bad defense because the difference is a matter of decimal points. Wofford's defense was much better this year than last



What we lose in Brown (who never racked up any stats) we make up with Horton, provided he can stay healthy. The secondary is the closest thing to a question mark, but we rotate enough players to where I'm not concerned.

Put another way, we play 25-28 players on defense and we lost like 8 out of that rotation, not all of which were starters

I'm not sure I see it that way.

In my opinion, Miles Brown was Wofford's most important defensive player. I'm not sure if you are being facetious, but two gap DTs in a 3-4 defense (like Brown and Furman's Jaylan Reid) rarely accumulate stats. Their entire responsibility on a football field is to occupy multiple blockers and keep offensive linemen off the linebackers.

Furman has the same issue replacing Jaylan Reid. Furman, like Wofford, rotates a bunch of players. The issue is not whether the former No. 2 player can fill in the absence of the former No. 1; the issue is whether the former No. 3 and No. 4 players can fill in for the former No. 2. It is a depth question.

[Reign of Terrier]

Had Horton played the full year healthy alongside Brown, Wofford may still be playing now. Horton surpassed Brown in the weight room this preseason and was listed in the top 10 best players in the Socon (alongside Brown) in a couple publications. I think we're underselling Horton a bit.

[FUBeAR]

Had Horton played the full year healthy alongside Brown, Wofford may still be playing now. Horton surpassed Brown in the weight room this preseason and was listed in the top 10 best players in the Socon (alongside Brown) in a couple publications. I think we're underselling Horton a bit.Horton = Excellent Player / 1st Team All SoCon, IMO

Brown = Incredibly disruptive Player who changes what Offenses do BEFORE the ball is even snapped.

Publications, Weight Room...xsmileyclapxxsmileyclapx

[SCPALADIN]

Wow. Akron is potentially that desperate. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Grew up an Akron fan...
After seven years of the Terry Bowden Experiment it's time to burn down the building and start over. The Arth deal is not final...I'd be pleased if it works out. He is interviewing in Akron this Friday. I have no idea if Akron can afford to pay him or not...the university's financial situation is less than ideal.

[PaladinFan]

Had Horton played the full year healthy alongside Brown, Wofford may still be playing now. Horton surpassed Brown in the weight room this preseason and was listed in the top 10 best players in the Socon (alongside Brown) in a couple publications. I think we're underselling Horton a bit.

I do not think we are underselling him. Wofford would have loved to have played Brown and Horton all year.

In my experience, there are a lot of qualities I'd list for an interior DL before I'd get to pure physical strength.

[Milktruck74]

Reports are that Arth has been offered the Akron job.


Grew up an Akron fan...
After seven years of the Terry Bowden Experiment it's time to burn down the building and start over. The Arth deal is not final...I'd be pleased if it works out. He is interviewing in Akron this Friday. I have no idea if Akron can afford to pay him or not...the university's financial situation is less than ideal.
He is making $185k/yr at chattanooga....He has a $370k buyout before 1/1/19..... I realize you owe Bowden 4700k, but can you really be an FCS program if you can't come up with $1.5MM ($700k payoff+$370k buyout+ $430k salary)to get a new Football coach?

[SCPALADIN]

He is making $185k/yr at chattanooga....He has a $370k buyout before 1/1/19..... I realize you owe Bowden 4700k, but can you really be an FCS program if you can't come up with $1.5MM ($700k payoff+$370k buyout+ $430k salary)to get a new Football coach?

I'm assuming you meant FBS program.
Akron is in trouble financially. So much so that they've decided to eliminate 80 degree and degree track programs over the next 5 years. Do they have enough to buy out Arth's contract, pay Bowden, and pay Arth? They probably do, but it will likely be a battle with the board. That said, I think they have a lot of support, otherwise Bowden would still be the coach. The question is, can Akron offer enough to lure Arth away?

[BullDog85]

I don’t think he would have applied for the job unless he wanted it. People tend to do that. They already need another coach because they fired Bowden...so the only cost differential between him, who they probably want since he’s a native Son who understands Ohio recruiting and probably knowns a lot of HS coaches in Ohio, and somebody else, is his Chatty contract buyout.

[PaladinNation]

I would expect Akron has some donors that might be willing to empty their pockets to get Arth if he's the guy.

I have no idea what backroom work was done during the Bruce Fowler transition to Clay Hendrix. I think it was public knowledge he had a year left on his contract and I'm guessing his assistants were included in the mix.

Which brings me to my question — is Hendrix the highest paid coach in the SoCon? And we better start paying up to keep Coach Richey for BB.

[gofurman]

I would expect Akron has some donors that might be willing to empty their pockets to get Arth if he's the guy.

I have no idea what backroom work was done during the Bruce Fowler transition to Clay Hendrix. I think it was public knowledge he had a year left on his contract and I'm guessing his assistants were included in the mix.

Which brings me to my question — is Hendrix the highest paid coach in the SoCon? And we better start paying up to keep Coach Richey for BB.

Good point. Furman lost basketball coach Medved and he didn’t generate NEAR the PR that Richey is with Furman’s first AP too 25 ranking. EVER !! now we are number 23.

Better have some $ Ready


Back To football -
Anyone know the salaries of SoCon coaches ? Base. Incentives ? Mainly interested in base salaries But all information is good. Thanks

From prior posts we know one:

UTC is paying Arth 185k. (base?).
Others ?? Thanks

[SCPALADIN]

I would expect Akron has some donors that might be willing to empty their pockets to get Arth if he's the guy.

I have no idea what backroom work was done during the Bruce Fowler transition to Clay Hendrix. I think it was public knowledge he had a year left on his contract and I'm guessing his assistants were included in the mix.

Which brings me to my question — is Hendrix the highest paid coach in the SoCon? And we better start paying up to keep Coach Richey for BB.

You would be correct...xsmiley_wix

[PaladinNation]

Furman picked up a huge. literally huge commit last night.

6-2 310 NG Devonte Jones TL Hanna. Choose the DINS over the T Dogs, the Chuck Town Dogs, and about seven others. This weekend is the big weekend for many SoCon schools a critical step in the conference raising the talent level.

Will be curious to see if the DINS can get a commit out of the running back from Texas that's visiting.

https://twitter.com/_WayneAnderson7/status/1073592692226080768

[Milktruck74]

You would be correct...xsmiley_wix


Apparently, Akron dug deep. Arth is headed that way. it was announced in the paper, so it is about as official as it can be. I'd like to thank the Donors from Akron for kicking in the first $370,000 to the Mocs Coaching search!!!!

[citdog]

Furman picked up a huge. literally huge commit last night.

6-2 310 NG Devonte Jones TL Hanna. Choose the DINS over the T Dogs, the Chuck Town Dogs, and about seven others. This weekend is the big weekend for many SoCon schools a critical step in the conference raising the talent level.

Will be curious to see if the DINS can get a commit out of the running back from Texas that's visiting.

https://twitter.com/_WayneAnderson7/status/1073592692226080768

furman sucks

[FUBeAR]

Quick summary of Mercer’s Commits ‘known’ to FUBeAR. It will be interesting to see how many of these sign tomorrow & if there are others that sign tomorrow that are ‘unknown.’

Commits (16 ‘known’ to FUBeAR)...

for those who care about such things...

3 - 3 Stars
2 - 2 Stars
18 reported FBS offers for 12 of the 16 Commits

* Joel Girtman - DB, 5-11/182, Westlake HS, Atlanta, GA - 2 Star; offers from Wofford, APSU, ETSU, FAU, Morgan St., Tennessee St.

* Pedro Rodriguez - WR/TE, 6-2/225, Lake Mary HS, Lake Mary, FL - offers from FAMU, UTM

* John Thomas - OL, 6-3/300, Hillgrove HS, Powder Springs, GA - 3 Star; offers from AF, APSU, Colorado St., ECU, EKU, Elon, Illinois St., SEMO, SIU

* Dylan Fromm - QB, 6-0/200, Warner Robins HS, Warner Robins, GA - 3 Star; offers from UTC, Penn, South Alabama, SEMO

* Justin Bray - WR/TE, 6-4/210, St. George’s Independent School, Collierville, TN - 2 Star; offers from GaSou, GaSt, Princeton

* Lance Wise - DB, 5-8/183, Hillgrove HS, Powder Springs, GA - offers from AF, Army, Columbia, Kent St.

* Kendall Bohler - DB, 5-11/170, Ocoee HS, Ocoee, FL - offers from FAMU, Jacksonville, Stetson

* Aidan Higgins - OL, 6-1/285, Mountain View HS, Lawrenceville, GA - numerous D2/NAIA offers; older brother was 4-year Starter at Center for Elon (2015-2018); oldest brother played OL at Tulane & TTU

* Luke Szabados - LB, 6-2/230, Moeller HS, Cincinnati, OH - offers from JMU, Eastern Mich., Duquesne, Holy Cross

* Richie Coffey - ATH, 5-10/170, Baldwin HS, Jacksonville, FL - offers from UMass, Alcorn St., Charleston Southern, FAMU, Idaho, New Hampshire, The Citadel

* Zach Hopkins - LB, 6-1/215, James Clemens HS, Madison, AL - offers from Jacksonville St., Alabama St., GaSt, EKU, Furman,

* Fredrick Davis - RB, 5-10/192, Northside HS, Columbus, GA - offers from Army, Navy, Columbia, Dartmouth, Davidson, Jacksonville

* Colton Dingmore - OL, 6-4/255, Mary Persons HS, Forsyth, GA - offer from TTU

* Brandon Marshall - RB, 5-9/184, Raines HS, Jacksonville, FL - 3 Star; offers from NDSU, Charlotte, NC A&T, Charleston Southern

* Gavin Hughes - LB, 6-3/210, Coosa HS, Rome, GA - Very early Commit; offer from Liberty

* Zach Lassiter - QB/LS, 6-1/193, Bleckley County HS, Cochran, GA - Very early Commit as a Long Snapper; offer from GaSou

[FUBeAR]

Kennesaw State (FCS): Source tells FootballScoop The Citadel defensive coordinator Blake Harrell is expected to join Brian Bohannon’s staff at Kennesaw State in the same capacity. Harrell has been at the Citadel the past five seasons. Prior to joining the staff at the Citadel, Harrell was at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Lateral move to worse Conference. Heard he had inquired about at least one other FCS DC position. Was he ‘on his way out’ at CIT or just not real happy there? I thought CIT’s D made some strides last season, particularly so considering the youth on that side of the ball.

Seems like a bit of a strange move unless he feels Bohannon’s ‘wagon’ might be moving a bit faster than Thompson’s.

[SU DOG]

Speaking of moves FUBeAR, what is going on at Mercer? It looks like Kenny Baker, the DL coach will be at UTC in the same role. Also rumors that the OC and 2 others at Mercer will be leaving.
I can't find anything official, except for the Baker move. (NOTE - I apologize if this topic has been discussed anywhere else, as I have been out of pocket recently).

[Reign of Terrier]

I bet they paid Harrell more.

Weird that the trend in D1 football is for option teams to go after DC's on other option teams (the most notable I can think of is Wade Lang going to Georgia Tech and rumored to Army this year)

[ElCid]

Kennesaw State (FCS): Source tells FootballScoop The Citadel defensive coordinator Blake Harrell is expected to join Brian Bohannon’s staff at Kennesaw State in the same capacity. Harrell has been at the Citadel the past five seasons. Prior to joining the staff at the Citadel, Harrell was at Lenoir-Rhyne.

Lateral move to worse Conference. Heard he had inquired about at least one other FCS DC position. Was he ‘on his way out’ at CIT or just not real happy there? I thought CIT’s D made some strides last season, particularly so considering the youth on that side of the ball.

Seems like a bit of a strange move unless he feels Bohannon’s ‘wagon’ might be moving a bit faster than Thompson’s.



Haven't heard a thing as to why. Maybe he was told something by KSU about plans to move up????? Hmmm.

Our defense hasn't been bad. Good and steady, but not great. Their biggest asset has been being well rested when our O dominants TOP. Although we have had a few outstanding players the last few years. Interesting to see what we get.

[PaladinFan]

I bet they paid Harrell more.

Weird that the trend in D1 football is for option teams to go after DC's on other option teams (the most notable I can think of is Wade Lang going to Georgia Tech and rumored to Army this year)

I think you mean Nate Woody. Interestingly, GT's new DC is a Furman player from the mid-2000s, Andrew Thacker.

My uninformed opinion.

Woody was Paul Johnson's defensive coordinator. Todd Monken at Army coached under Johnson for 12 years. While their may be an proclivity towards an "option" guy, my guess is Army needed a defensive coordinator and Monken hired a guy that worked under his mentor and was in need of a job.

KSU may pay more than the Citadel. I also expect the Citadel isn't for everyone. Being in metro Atlanta and at a school with far fewer recruiting restrictions makes the decision not necessarily apples to apples.

Could be that he wants to hitch his wagon to Bohannon's staff. Regardless of KSU's future endeavors, Bohannon seems destined for an FBS job at some point. There would be a good chance he'd take his staff with him.

[CID1990]

Haven't heard a thing as to why. Maybe he was told something by KSU about plans to move up????? Hmmm.

Our defense hasn't been bad. Good and steady, but not great. Their biggest asset has been being well rested when our O dominants TOP. Although we have had a few outstanding players the last few years. Interesting to see what we get.

I’ve had a different impression - our defense definitely stepped down a bit when Maurice Drayton left after the head coaching job went to Thompson (and I thought it would)

We’re playing OK right now but it’s hard to tell how good they really are when our offense can’t keep them off the field

This move is interesting when taken alongside the very defense-heavy recruiting class we just brought in

[FUBeAR]

Speaking of moves FUBeAR, what is going on at Mercer? It looks like Kenny Baker, the DL coach will be at UTC in the same role. Also rumors that the OC and 2 others at Mercer will be leaving.
I can't find anything official, except for the Baker move. (NOTE - I apologize if this topic has been discussed anywhere else, as I have been out of pocket recently).None of these have been announced. All coaches named are still listed on Mercer’s website & all are showing Mercer Football on their Twitter pages. None of the Coaches names are showing up on other schools’ websites...

Wait...scratch that...JMU just added Coach Cain to theirs
https://jmusports.com/coaches.aspx?rc=2947&path=football and has announced the hire of him https://jmusports.com/news/2019/1/3/cignetti-hires-grant-cain-and-andrew-jackson-to-jmu-football-staff.aspx as their Special Teams Coordinator. I have heard he will also Coach TE’s. JMU pays near-G5 money and he & Shauna have 2 little ones. So, probably substantial pay bump and a chance to gain some experience on the other side of the ball.

Makes perfect sense...

Also...if we speculate, as some have, that Mercer’s DC is no longer with the Program & if we also speculate, as some have, that Coach Cain moving to the DC role there was not in Mercer’s plans, then the move makes even more sense.

JMU is getting an EXCELLENT Special Teams Coordinator, a fine Football Coach, and an even better person. I, (and, I imagine, Mercer) will miss him greatly next season, but am thrilled for him & his family. If the DC job at Mercer is, in fact, open, I sure would have liked to have seen him in that role there. But, what does FUBeAR know...he is a Bear of little brain.

[ElCid]

I’ve had a different impression - our defense definitely stepped down a bit when Maurice Drayton left after the head coaching job went to Thompson (and I thought it would)

We’re playing OK right now but it’s hard to tell how good they really are when our offense can’t keep them off the field

This move is interesting when taken alongside the very defense-heavy recruiting class we just brought in

Oh I agree, but we haven't been bad. Just not as as good as we had been. Definitely inconsistent as well. We have had our moments here and there.

At least we aren't WCU bad......

[sudog03]

Mercer OC to UTC. A very good hire IMO. He negotiated a tough injury season at QB to a pretty good offense. Impressed with what he did at Mercer. Another Mercer assistant making a lateral move within the league...

[walliver]

I bet they paid Harrell more.

Weird that the trend in D1 football is for option teams to go after DC's on other option teams (the most notable I can think of is Wade Lang going to Georgia Tech and rumored to Army this year)

Wishful think there!

Unfortunately Nate Woody left and Wade Lang stayed.

[Milktruck74]

Mercer OC to UTC. A very good hire IMO. He negotiated a tough injury season at QB to a pretty good offense. Impressed with what he did at Mercer. Another Mercer assistant making a lateral move within the league...

I’m happy with this. Looking at talent, I think Tee Mitchell at RB was the only clearly better position/player he had in 2018 vs what he will have in 2019. And who knows if a healthy Price is as good as Mitchell. And with lesser talent he managed to average 10 more PPG than the Mocs O last year. He is a heck of a coach, solid pick up for my Mocs. FuBear will
Probably disagree on my talent assessment.


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[walliver]

I wonder if Mercer assistants leaving is a sign that Bobby Lamb is under some pressure to perform well. On the other hand, it could be a sign that things are too stable at Mercer. Wofford lost several defensive coaches over the years when it became obvious that the people above them weren't leaving anytime soon. I suspect there are very few assistants who don't dream of moving up.

[Mocs123]

Baker was leaked yesterday and Pizzo today:

(From Stephen Hargis) "Have heard UTC will hire Mercer OC/QB coach Joe Pizzo to join @CoachRustyW (https://twitter.com/CoachRustyW) staff as the Mocs’ new OC. Under Pizzo, Mercer averaged 378 yards, 30.6 points per game and converted 92% of red zone chances, which ranked 3rd in FCS. Mocs are putting together quite an impressive staff."

Mercer fans: What do you think of these hires?

[Mocs123]

I wonder if Mercer assistants leaving is a sign that Bobby Lamb is under some pressure to perform well. On the other hand, it could be a sign that things are too stable at Mercer. Wofford lost several defensive coaches over the years when it became obvious that the people above them weren't leaving anytime soon. I suspect there are very few assistants who don't dream of moving up.

I noticed on the Mercer board that there is a rumor that 4 coaches are leaving (3 have already happened) including their OC and DC. My first thought was A.) Lamb is under pressure to make changes in the staff or B.) Lamb is on the hot seat and people are jumping ship before he is released.

I don't think Lamb has done a bad job at Mercer by any means, but after his record at Furman and Mercer you have to ask yourself if he has a ceiling.

[Biff]

I bet they paid Harrell more.

Per this site ... https://www.admin.sc.gov/accountability-portal/state-salaries?a=44&j=0 ... Harrell was in the low $80Ks

Per this site ... https://ctlsites.uga.edu/sportsenterprise/kennesaw-state-football-coaches/ ... Harrell will be making in the low $90Ks

The first site is usually up-to-date within a year. The latter is posted in 2016 and not verified ... Does $10K and moving from Charleston to Kennesaw, GA (ATL Metro area) sound like a good move?

[FUBeAR]

Looking at talent, I think Tee Mitchell at RB was the only clearly better position/player he had in 2018 vs what he will have in 2019. And who knows if a healthy Price is as good as Mitchell. FuBear will Probably disagree on my talent assessment.yep - WR, David Durden, is as good as or better than Nunnelley & Marquis Irvin, due to size & experience, is/was better than both. And a name all Chatt fans will recognize, WR Stephen Houzah, led the SoCon in yds/catch. Tyray Devezin just may be the best power RB in the Conference..and he is not without good speed, great feet, and outstanding ability to change direction. Led the SoCon in RB Rushing and didn’t even start until Mitchell went out. He avg’d 1.3 more yds/carry than ‘everybody’s darling,’ ETSU’s, Quay Holmes. Although Sam Walker was injured most of the year, he, paired with Chris Ellington (another name Chatt fans should recognize) as ‘hybrid’ TE’s were far better than any TE’s I saw Chatt use. Did Chatt EVER throw to a TE? Chatt’s OL shortcomings have already been discussed elsewhere & Mercer’s wasn’t great overall, but they did improve considerably over the season & OT Austin Sanders is one of the best OLmen in the SoCon. Riley did a nice job again at QB until he went down, but I sure would have loved to see how 2018 might have played out for the Bears if Robert Riddle didn’t go out for the season in SoCon Game #2.

...and if the D had more consistently played up to their potential.

Many more weapons in the arsenal (if not on the field all season) on O for the ‘18 Bears than the ‘18 Mocs. Ask Samford.

Also...Mercer led the nation in net Punting. Field position matters to scoring O results.

[FUBeAR]

Baker was leaked yesterday and Pizzo today:

(From Stephen Hargis) "Have heard UTC will hire Mercer OC/QB coach Joe Pizzo to join @CoachRustyW (https://twitter.com/CoachRustyW) staff as the Mocs’ new OC. Under Pizzo, Mercer averaged 378 yards, 30.6 points per game and converted 92% of red zone chances, which ranked 3rd in FCS. Mocs are putting together quite an impressive staff."

Mercer fans: What do you think of these hires?I think I MIGHT comment on them, if they become official...as I did with Coach Cain moving to JMU.

[Mocs123]

Official:

https://gomocs.com/news/2019/1/3/wright-adds-four-to-football-staff.aspx

[Reign of Terrier]

I have confused Woody and Lang for 10 years.

[FUBeAR]

Baker was leaked yesterday and Pizzo today:

(From Stephen Hargis) "Have heard UTC will hire Mercer OC/QB coach Joe Pizzo to join @CoachRustyW (https://twitter.com/CoachRustyW) staff as the Mocs’ new OC. Under Pizzo, Mercer averaged 378 yards, 30.6 points per game and converted 92% of red zone chances, which ranked 3rd in FCS. Mocs are putting together quite an impressive staff."

Mercer fans: What do you think of these hires?
OK - those 2 Mercer to Chatt moves are Official-enough.

How does that old saying go...“If you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em.” Yeah, that’s it. :)

Anyway...Former Furman Player & Grad Asst. Coach, Steve Patton & Akron Athletics have conspired against the Bears to cause these changes. FUBeAR is checking into a possible tampering lawsuit as he types.

Steve Patton was the Head Coach at Gardner-Webb in 2009 - wanna know who else was on that Staff?...Rusty Wright, Joe Pizzo, and Kenny Baker. ‘Putting the band back together’ is always a fun thing to do...and if you have a $400k windfall with which to entice the ‘band members,’ to come, it can be even more fun. My ‘game’ outside of Football is Corporate Executive Search & cash-money sign-on bonuses are a powerful enticement for Momma & ‘em to pick up roots. I don’t know if Chatt used their ‘Akron money’ for that purpose, but FUBeAR would have strongly suggested it if he was leading the Search.

Also...Coach Lamb signed a (publicly announced) contract extension after the 2013 Season that runs through 2019. I have heard that it may have been re-worked to include 2020, but no official public announcement was made to that effect, as far as I know. So, knowing how job security goes in the Coaching biz, even if you THINK where you MIGHT have a banner year in the following season, you KNOW that if you make a change to a new Staff where the new HC is an Alum & the school has never shown a sign to have a quick trigger AND the school needs nothing more right now than stability at the HC position, you KNOW you’ve ‘bought’ yourself about 5 years of job security vs. BETTING on a situation where you may have as little as 1 year. Plus, you know the Head Man & you’ve Coached with him before. IMO, these 2 moves were all about career-risk mitigation AND there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s what most of us would do in the same situation.

Back to Mercer, President Underwood is not a mediocre guy. He will not abide with going 5-6 or 6-5 & no Playoffs indefinitely. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the results (close losses, tough OOC schedules, key injuries, etc.), there is a point where he will make a change if results are not trending toward winning Seasons & Championships. I suspect that change would come after 2019 or 2020, depending upon the timing surrounding Coach Lamb’s contract, unless Mercer has improved results. My guess is winning 7 games in 2019 MIGHT be enough, which is another reason I am surprised that Mercer hasn’t added a 12th “winnable” game for 2019. I would strongly believe winning 8 games OR making the Playoffs OR winning at least a share of the SoCon Championship would be enough to trigger an extension for Coach Lamb.

ALL THAT said, Mercer, like most FCS Schools, hired 3 Coaches last year and 2 or 3 the year before that...and 2 or 3 the year before that. It may be harder this year, but I’m confident they will make the necessary investments to make the right hires.

[Sir William]

I could be wrong, but I think it’s a safe bet that if BL fails to make playoffs next season (either as SoCon champ or at-large), after all these years at helm, he’s gone.

And I’d say another safe bet is that Mercer would replace him with Drew Cronic.

[PaladinFan]

OK - those 2 Mercer to Chatt moves are Official-enough.

How does that old saying go...“If you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em.” Yeah, that’s it. :)

Anyway...Former Furman Player & Grad Asst. Coach, Steve Patton & Akron Athletics have conspired against the Bears to cause these changes. FUBeAR is checking into a possible tampering lawsuit as he types.

Steve Patton was the Head Coach at Gardner-Webb in 2009 - wanna know who else was on that Staff?...Rusty Wright, Joe Pizzo, and Kenny Baker. ‘Putting the band back together’ is always a fun thing to do...and if you have a $400k windfall with which to entice the ‘band members,’ to come, it can be even more fun. My ‘game’ outside of Football is Corporate Executive Search & cash-money sign-on bonuses are a powerful enticement for Momma & ‘em to pick up roots. I don’t know if Chatt used their ‘Akron money’ for that purpose, but FUBeAR would have strongly suggested it if he was leading the Search.

Also...Coach Lamb signed a (publicly announced) contract extension after the 2013 Season that runs through 2019. I have heard that it may have been re-worked to include 2020, but no official public announcement was made to that effect, as far as I know. So, knowing how job security goes in the Coaching biz, even if you THINK where you MIGHT have a banner year in the following season, you KNOW that if you make a change to a new Staff where the new HC is an Alum & the school has never shown a sign to have a quick trigger AND the school needs nothing more right now than stability at the HC position, you KNOW you’ve ‘bought’ yourself about 5 years of job security vs. BETTING on a situation where you may have as little as 1 year. Plus, you know the Head Man & you’ve Coached with him before. IMO, these 2 moves were all about career-risk mitigation AND there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s what most of us would do in the same situation.

Back to Mercer, President Underwood is not a mediocre guy. He will not abide with going 5-6 or 6-5 & no Playoffs indefinitely. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the results (close losses, tough OOC schedules, key injuries, etc.), there is a point where he will make a change if results are not trending toward winning Seasons & Championships. I suspect that change would come after 2019 or 2020, depending upon the timing surrounding Coach Lamb’s contract, unless Mercer has improved results. My guess is winning 7 games in 2019 MIGHT be enough, which is another reason I am surprised that Mercer hasn’t added a 12th “winnable” game for 2019. I would strongly believe winning 8 games OR making the Playoffs OR winning at least a share of the SoCon Championship would be enough to trigger an extension for Coach Lamb.

ALL THAT said, Mercer, like most FCS Schools, hired 3 Coaches last year and 2 or 3 the year before that...and 2 or 3 the year before that. It may be harder this year, but I’m confident they will make the necessary investments to make the right hires.

I do not have inside knowledge, but I agree with most of this.

It is never a good look to lose coaches to lateral moves. Especially a number of coaches and particularly to a school in the same conference. Over the years, a mass exodus usually signals trouble coming for the head coach as junior assistants try to get while the getting is good. No real good way to spin that, I think.

I do wonder if Mercer has the same problem that Macon has generally - it is a difficult place to attract and retain talent.

[FUBeAR]

I could be wrong, but I think it’s a safe bet that if BL fails to make playoffs next season (either as SoCon champ or at-large), after all these years at helm, he’s gone.

And I’d say another safe bet is that Mercer would replace him with Drew Cronic.As I said below, I really don’t think it would (assuming contract is only thru 2019) be that cut & dried of a situation. McNeese State went 9-2 and didn’t make the Playoffs in 2017 and they have a national reputation & history of solid playoff performance. If Mercer goes 9-2 and, like McNeese did, misses the Playoffs, I think I know President Underwood well enough to know that he would not make a change in that event. And, since we’re betting, I’m betting 8 wins, which probably means 6-2 in the SoCon would also not trigger a change even with no playoff bid. Even 7 wins...with 6-2 in the SoCon & a loss to APSU & no Playoffs still might be enough. An upset of UNC & 7 wins...with a loss to APSU, & 5-3 in the SoCon & no Playoffs also could work.

Also...”all these years” requires a bit of further examination. Remember, Mercer was a non-Scholarship program in 2012 (practice year) and 2013. Their 1st Scholarship Recruiting Class was 2014. So, that would really be akin to a practice year. So...really...”all these years” is 3 (‘15-‘18) and the ‘playing field’ wasn’t anywhere near level until 2017. You could argue 2018, since last season was the 1st year Mercer had 5th Year Scholarship Players, like other SoCon schools do. We Furman guys especially, and SoCon guys in general, tend to include Coach Lamb’s latter years at Furman in our assessments. With A LOT that was going on with Athletics in Travelers Rest in those days, that’s just not fair. Evaluate him after this season as the Mercer Head Coach based upon his results at Mercer in 2013 & 2015-2019...with additional weighting on ‘13 & ‘17-‘19 (when the playing fields were, more or less, level) & you will have a fair assessment.

And, in the event a change happens, I’ll take ‘The Field’ over your “safe” bet on Coach Cronic. Nothing AT ALL against Coach Cronic...I just think “The Field” is a much safer bet. How much we putting down on that one?

[PaladinFan]

As I said below, I really don’t think it would (assuming contract is only thru 2019) be that cut & dried of a situation. McNeese State went 9-2 and didn’t make the Playoffs in 2017 and they have a national reputation & history of solid playoff performance. If Mercer goes 9-2 and, like McNeese did, misses the Playoffs, I think I know President Underwood well enough to know that he would not make a change in that event. And, since we’re betting, I’m betting 8 wins, which probably means 6-2 in the SoCon would also not trigger a change even with no playoff bid. Even 7 wins...with 6-2 in the SoCon & a loss to APSU & no Playoffs still might be enough. An upset of UNC & 7 wins...with 5-3 in the SoCon also could work.

Also...”all these years” requires a bit of further examination. Remember, Mercer was a non-Scholarship program in 2012 (practice year) and 2013. Their 1st Scholarship Recruiting Class was 2014. So, that would really be akin to a practice year. So...really...”all these years” is 3 (‘15-‘18) and the ‘playing field’ wasn’t anywhere near level until 2017. You could argue 2018, since last season was the 1st year Mercer had 5th Year Scholarship Players, like other SoCon schools do. We Furman guys especially, and SoCon guys in general tend to include Coach Lamb’s latter years at Furman in our assessments. With A LOT that was going on with Athletics in Travelers Rest in those days, that’s just not fair. Evaluate him after this season as the Mercer Head Coach based upon his results at Mercer in 2013 & 2015-2019...with additional weighting on ‘17-‘19 & you will have a fair assessment.

And, in the event a change happens, I’ll take ‘The Field’ over your “safe” bet on Coach Cronic. Nothing AT ALL against Coach Cronic...I just think “The Field” is a much safer bet. How much we putting down on that one?

I understand that, but I think there are a few things weighting against that position.

Lamb has been a head coach for a while. He had a lot of success early with Bobby Johnson's players and a once-in-a-generation transfer QB. After those players left, his teams became mediocre pretty quickly. In 8 of his last 9 seasons in the SoCon as a head coach, there have been 6 or fewer wins. Granted, his teams have not been "bad," they just aren't getting to the next level.

That isn't to say he isn't a quality coach. He is. I just think after this much history as a head coach in this conference, you have to conclude that he is going to keep Mercer around a .500 record. I look at the SoCon next year and don't just see Mercer taking a monumental leap forward. I sort of expect them to finish middle of the pack again.

Also difficult, I think, is ETSU's play. ETSU restarted their program two years after Mercer and have already been back to the postseason and won a SoCon title.

[Sir William]

I can agree with you, FUBeAR. I guess I'm just wondering how patient Mercer is gonna be if they fail to make the playoffs next season. For the most part, Mercer is seemingly made out every year, by many "preseason prognasticators", to be the next SoCon power (or at least conference champion contender), and it hasn't yet panned out. Building a program from scratch, including entering the SoCon after one year of play in the Pioneer, is a tall order for anyone, no doubt. Lamb has done a good job getting the program off the ground. Again, just wondering how patient the folks in Macon are at this point; and I'm also wondering if BL is the right man to take it to the next level for the Bears. Quite frankly, I hope y'all keep him a few more years...but that's another topic xnodx.

And yes, the field is a safer bet than Cronic. Nonetheless, Cronic would be a great choice for the Bears, given his coaching experience/record and ties to GA. As a Furman fan, I hope he never becomes Mercer's head coach, if you know what I mean (and I mean that in a "high praise" way!).

[FUBeAR]

I understand that, but I think there are a few things weighting against that position.

Lamb has been a head coach for a while. He had a lot of success early with Bobby Johnson's players and a once-in-a-generation transfer QB. After those players left, his teams became mediocre pretty quickly. In 8 of his last 9 seasons in the SoCon as a head coach, there have been 6 or fewer wins. Granted, his teams have not been "bad," they just aren't getting to the next level.

That isn't to say he isn't a quality coach. He is. I just think after this much history as a head coach in this conference, you have to conclude that he is going to keep Mercer around a .500 record. I look at the SoCon next year and don't just see Mercer taking a monumental leap forward. I sort of expect them to finish middle of the pack again.

Also difficult, I think, is ETSU's play. ETSU restarted their program two years after Mercer and have already been back to the postseason and won a SoCon title.If YOU were making the decision to retain or part ways with Coach Lamb after the 2019 or 2020 season, all of those nuances that you know and/or perceive about his time at Furman would be part of YOUR thought process. Cool.

I had an extensive conversation with President Underwood (@ Samford 2014 - a Mercer close loss) about why he hired Coach Lamb. He was able to quote (almost 3 years after hiring him) chapter & verse of Coach Lamb’s accomplishments as Head Coach at Furman - wins/losses, winning %, playoff games, APR, graduation rates, All SoCon Players, etc. If, as President Underwood comes to a decision-point regarding Coach Lamb, he gives any thought at all to Coach Lamb’s performance at Furman (which I don’t think he would), those are the results he has etched into his mind. No, his decisions will be based on what has happened & what will happen at Mercer alone. To do otherwise would require him to 2nd guess his hiring decision. From my experience with CEO’s of multi-million $ organizations, they fairly rarely 2nd guess themselves.

[FUBeAR]

I can agree with you, FUBeAR. I guess I'm just wondering how patient Mercer is gonna be if they fail to make the playoffs next season. For the most part, Mercer is seemingly made out every year, by many "preseason prognasticators", to be the next SoCon power (or at least conference champion contender), and it hasn't yet panned out. Building a program from scratch, including entering the SoCon after one year of play in the Pioneer, is a tall order for anyone, no doubt. Lamb has done a good job getting the program off the ground. Again, just wondering how patient the folks in Macon are at this point; and I'm also wondering if BL is the right man to take it to the next level for the Bears. Quite frankly, I hope y'all keep him a few more years...but that's another topic xnodx.

And yes, the field is a safer bet than Cronic. Nonetheless, Cronic would be a great choice for the Bears, given his coaching experience/record and ties to GA. As a Furman fan, I hope he never becomes Mercer's head coach, if you know what I mean (and I mean that in a "high praise" way!).
“at least a conference champion contender”...until Mercer lost to Wofford with 3 weeks to play...a game in which, in the 2nd Offensive series they lost their Starting All SoCon RB AND had their back-up QB forced to play on 1 leg the rest of the way, Mercer was the only Team in the SoCon that controlled their own destiny. Reduced to playing a 3rd Team walk-on QB that didn’t even start for his HS Team, they beat Chatt & were barely edged out by 2 of the 3 SoCon Champions over those final 3 weeks. I’m not going to go back to ‘14-‘17, but Mercer has certainly been ‘a contender’ in the race for most of the season every year (except ‘14) and in a very, very high % of their SoCon games every year...including ‘14. The problem is not one of “contending” at all. As a Furman Fan, you should KNOW that Mercer “contends” as well as any Team in the SoCon. The problem has been WINNING close & critical games...as ETSU was able AND fortunate enough to do this year.

[PaladinFan]

If YOU were making the decision to retain or part ways with Coach Lamb after the 2019 or 2020 season, all of those nuances that you know and/or perceive about his time at Furman would be part of YOUR thought process. Cool.

I had an extensive conversation with President Underwood (@ Samford 2014 - a Mercer close loss) about why he hired Coach Lamb. He was able to quote (almost 3 years after hiring him) chapter & verse of Coach Lamb’s accomplishments as Head Coach at Furman - wins/losses, winning %, playoff games, APR, graduation rates, All SoCon Players, etc. If, as President Underwood comes to a decision-point regarding Coach Lamb, he gives any thought at all to Coach Lamb’s performance at Furman (which I don’t think he would), those are the results he has etched into his mind. No, his decisions will be based on what has happened & what will happen at Mercer alone. To do otherwise would require him to 2nd guess his hiring decision. From my experience with CEO’s of multi-million $ organizations, they fairly rarely 2nd guess themselves.

If I ruled the world (or at least Mercer), he would still have my support through 2019. I have long been in the "be careful what you wish for" camp in terms of coaching changes.

Forget his time at Furman. Lamb hasn't finished with a winning record in SoCon play yet at Mercer. If you go back to 2014, I believe the only SoCon head coach that has been in the position for 4 years and does not have a winning season in conference play is Scott Wachenheim.

[FUBeAR]

Lamb hasn't finished with a winning record in SoCon play yet at Mercer. I believe the only SoCon head coach that has been in the position for 4 years and does not have a winning season in conference play is Scott Wachenheim.
Certainly part of a fair assessment.

[Milktruck74]

Be careful what you wish for, for sure!!!! You only get rid of a coach if you are
Certain you can replace him with a better one. Not FCS, but look at what happened to Tennessee when they got rid of Fulmer. It’s been a LONG DECADE. When Fulmer was there, it was a a top 5 job in the nation....now it is t even a top 5 job in the SEC....maybe even the SEC East. Be careful what you wish for.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mocs123]

That's true. We have seen that a few times, at Georgia Southern, when after they lost in the first round of the playoffs, they fired their coach and brought in Van Gundy? and then Hatcher without much success. They have finally recovered somewhat but it's been a long road for them. Also in BB, College of Charleston fired their coach that won 20 games per year and they were never the same.

[PaladinFan]

That's true. We have seen that a few times, at Georgia Southern, when after they lost in the first round of the playoffs, they fired their coach and brought in Van Gundy? and then Hatcher without much success. They have finally recovered somewhat but it's been a long road for them. Also in BB, College of Charleston fired their coach that won 20 games per year and they were never the same.

Van Gorder.

Firing Mike Sewak set Georgia Southern back a number of years. Georgia Southern was still a strong team under him, though they ended the 2004 and 2005 season with inglorious first round playoff exits. That was just about enough to send one to the firing squad in Statesboro, so they settled for firing the head coach.

In the 12 years since Sewak was fired, GSU has gone through 6 head coaches.

[PaladinFan]

“at least a conference champion contender”...until Mercer lost to Wofford with 3 weeks to play...a game in which, in the 2nd Offensive series they lost their Starting All SoCon RB AND had their back-up QB forced to play on 1 leg the rest of the way, Mercer was the only Team in the SoCon that controlled their own destiny. Reduced to playing a 3rd Team walk-on QB that didn’t even start for his HS Team, they beat Chatt & were barely edged out by 2 of the 3 SoCon Champions over those final 3 weeks. I’m not going to go back to ‘14-‘17, but Mercer has certainly been ‘a contender’ in the race for most of the season every year (except ‘14) and in a very, very high % of their SoCon games every year...including ‘14. The problem is not one of “contending” at all. As a Furman Fan, you should KNOW that Mercer “contends” as well as any Team in the SoCon. The problem has been WINNING close & critical games...as ETSU was able AND fortunate enough to do this year.

There is a lot of parity in the SoCon. A lot of games are decided by razor-thin margins. I mean, the autobid this year came down to the fourth or fifth tie breaker where we were talking about whether Furman could hold Mercer to under 16 points.

As I look just at last year's schedule, there are a number of teams that played a lot of close games. UTC had only one SoCon contest decided by more than a single score. Same with ETSU. In games not involving VMI, blowouts are pretty rare.

So, if talent is pretty even, what makes the difference between winning and losing? I'd argue coaching adjustments and execution by the players. A lot of conference games come down to a couple of plays over the course of the game. Good teams make those plays. Less good teams don't.

In 2018, I saw perhaps three games I am all but certain Furman would have lost under Bruce Fowler they did not lose under Clay Hendrix: (1) survived a furious comeback from Western Carolina a week after an embarrassing meltdown at ETSU, (2) survived in Charleston with a late defensive score against the Citadel playing with a backup QB, and (3) held off Mercer on the road. Coaching and execution make a difference when the talent is pretty well spread out.

[Mocs123]

There is a lot of parity in the SoCon. A lot of games are decided by razor-thin margins. I mean, the autobid this year came down to the fourth or fifth tie breaker where we were talking about whether Furman could hold Mercer to under 16 points.

As I look just at last year's schedule, there are a number of teams that played a lot of close games. UTC had only one SoCon contest decided by more than a single score. Same with ETSU. In games not involving VMI, blowouts are pretty rare.

So, if talent is pretty even, what makes the difference between winning and losing? I'd argue coaching adjustments and execution by the players. A lot of conference games come down to a couple of plays over the course of the game. Good teams make those plays. Less good teams don't.

In 2018, I saw perhaps three games I am all but certain Furman would have lost under Bruce Fowler they did not lose under Clay Hendrix: (1) survived a furious comeback from Western Carolina a week after an embarrassing meltdown at ETSU, (2) survived in Charleston with a late defensive score against the Citadel playing with a backup QB, and (3) held off Mercer on the road. Coaching and execution make a difference when the talent is pretty well spread out.

I agree there is a lot of parity in the conference. There isn't a SoCon game on our roster that I don't think we can win next year, or a SoCon game that I don't feel we can loose (perhaps except VMI), and I imagine most SoCon teams outside the state of Virginia probably think the same thing. I'm not sure I would have said that a few years ago.

[FUBeAR]

There is a lot of parity in the SoCon. A lot of games are decided by razor-thin margins. I mean, the autobid this year came down to the fourth or fifth tie breaker where we were talking about whether Furman could hold Mercer to under 16 points.

As I look just at last year's schedule, there are a number of teams that played a lot of close games. UTC had only one SoCon contest decided by more than a single score. Same with ETSU. In games not involving VMI, blowouts are pretty rare.

So, if talent is pretty even, what makes the difference between winning and losing? I'd argue coaching adjustments and execution by the players. A lot of conference games come down to a couple of plays over the course of the game. Good teams make those plays. Less good teams don't.

In 2018, I saw perhaps three games I am all but certain Furman would have lost under Bruce Fowler they did not lose under Clay Hendrix: (1) survived a furious comeback from Western Carolina a week after an embarrassing meltdown at ETSU, (2) survived in Charleston with a late defensive score against the Citadel playing with a backup QB, and (3) held off Mercer on the road. Coaching and execution make a difference when the talent is pretty well spread out.Agree...but it’s also more than that. It’s also injuries to Team A AND injuries to Team B at the time that Team A plays Team B and those injuries not being a factor when Team A played Team C, but were when Team B played Team C. Weather, field conditions, referees’ calls, etc. also all come into play when Teams are as closely matched talent-wise as they are in the SoCon. Many factors affect outcomes - Talent & Coaching are the 2 primary factors, but the others play a significant part as well.

[Milktruck74]

Agree...but it’s also more than that. It’s also injuries to Team A AND injuries to Team B at the time that Team A plays Team B and those injuries not being a factor when Team A played Team C, but were when Team B played Team C. Weather, field conditions, referees’ calls, etc. also all come into play when Teams are as closely matched talent-wise as they are in the SoCon. Many factors affect outcomes - Talent & Coaching are the 2 primary factors, but the others play a significant part as well.

I have screamed this to my non-playing/coaching friends (average fans) “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TRANSITIVE PROPERTIES WHEN IT COMES TO FOOTBALL!!!!”

Week 1, A beats B by 10
Week 2, B beats C by 10
Week 3, there are NO guarantees A beats C......

On Any Given Saturday....Right?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PaladinFan]

There are a ton of factors.

I'd argue that Furman failed to capture the outright SoCon title in part because a true freshman kick return misinterpreted a brand new rule.

[FUBeAR]

There are a ton of factors.

I'd argue that Furman failed to capture the outright SoCon title in part because a true freshman kick return misinterpreted a brand new rule.
...and our Paladins missed the Playoffs. So, should we fire the Head Coach? What if something similar, but just as trivial as that, caused FU to miss the Playoffs for 5 straight years. Then, should we fire the Head Coach?

Obviously, in FCS Football, the answer should be “No.” That’s why I’m saying multiple factors will determine if Coach Lamb’s contract at Mercer is extended beyond 2019 or 2020. Results must be better than 2017 and 2018 results, but “better” can (and, in FUBeAR’s opinion, will) be defined broadly.

[PaladinFan]

...and our Paladins missed the Playoffs. So, should we fire the Head Coach? What if something similar, but just as trivial as that, caused FU to miss the Playoffs for 5 straight years. Then, should we fire the Head Coach?

Obviously, in FCS Football, the answer should be “No.” That’s why I’m saying multiple factors will determine if Coach Lamb’s contract at Mercer is extended beyond 2019 or 2020. Results must be better than 2017 and 2018 results, but “better” can (and, in FUBeAR’s opinion, will) be defined broadly.

I don't disagree that a number of factors are wrapped up into every season.

Mercer has just really had a number of years where they almost didn't lose games. At some point, though, you have to win games. College football is a fishbowl and not like other sports. The scrutiny isn't fair, but that's the business.

[PaladinFan]

I might also add that there could be some concern for Mercer in long-term fan interest. You put enough .500ish seasons together, and fans at the FCS level stop caring as much. I witnessed this phenomenon with Furman, who would routinely draw 12-13k fans a game 10-15 years ago, and now draw maybe half that. It takes a long time to get those folks back.

Mercer doesn't have the football history Furman does. They don't have a large group of loyal alums, former players, etc. who fondly remember the good days of Mercer football. The concern I would have - and what I've seen with Furman the last 10 years - is that if things stay mediocre for too long, you get to the point where you keep graduating thousands of alums who have little connection with a good football team. Those folks are hard to get to come back and invest in the program.

I think all of that is made more difficult by the close proximity to one of the nation's most prominent college football program and suffucating fan bases. This is a problem both Furman and Mercer share. They just happen to compete for relevance in a market dominated by giants.

[FUBeAR]

Haven't heard a thing as to why. Maybe he was told something by KSU about plans to move up????? Hmmm.

Our defense hasn't been bad. Good and steady, but not great. Their biggest asset has been being well rested when our O dominants TOP. Although we have had a few outstanding players the last few years. Interesting to see what we get.One of CIT’s Top Defensive Players (#5 in tackles) is also bolting for elsewhere. KSU, maybe?

https://twitter.com/KhafariB/status/1082347171935076352



Tackles
Sacks
Pass Defense
Fumbles
Blkd



DEFENSIVE LEADERS
GP
Solo
Ast
Total
TFL-Yds
No-Yds
Int-Yds
BU
PD
Qbh
Rcv-Yds
FF
Kick
Saf


7
Khafari Buffalo (https://static.citadelsports.com/custompages/football/2018/plyr_7.htm)
9
28
10
38
1.0
- 2
.

1
- 0
6
7
1

.
.
.
.

[SCPALADIN]

One of CIT’s Top Defensive Players (#5 in tackles) is also bolting for elsewhere. KSU, maybe?

https://twitter.com/khafarib/status/1082347171935076352 (https://twitter.com/khafarib/status/1082347171935076352?s=21)



Tackles
Sacks
Pass Defense
Fumbles
Blkd



DEFENSIVE LEADERS
GP
Solo
Ast
Total
TFL-Yds
No-Yds
Int-Yds
BU
PD
Qbh
Rcv-Yds
FF
Kick
Saf


7
Khafari Buffalo (https://static.citadelsports.com/custompages/football/2018/plyr_7.htm)
9
28
10
38
1.0
- 2
.

1
- 0
6
7
1

.
.
.
.




By my count, Cit has also lost four coaches this off-season. Something in the water down in Chucktown?

[ElCid]

One of CIT’s Top Defensive Players (#5 in tackles) is also bolting for elsewhere. KSU, maybe?

https://twitter.com/khafarib/status/1082347171935076352 (https://twitter.com/khafarib/status/1082347171935076352?s=21)



Tackles
Sacks
Pass Defense
Fumbles
Blkd



DEFENSIVE LEADERS
GP
Solo
Ast
Total
TFL-Yds
No-Yds
Int-Yds
BU
PD
Qbh
Rcv-Yds
FF
Kick
Saf


7
Khafari Buffalo (https://static.citadelsports.com/custompages/football/2018/plyr_7.htm)
9
28
10
38
1.0
- 2
.

1
- 0
6
7
1

.
.
.
.



Yeah, that is kind of sad. But he graduated on time and he probably has a plan, so best of luck to him. I don't losing these as much as I do guys before they graduate.

[ElCid]

By my count, Cit has also lost four coaches this off-season. Something in the water down in Chucktown?

Not sure what went on with coaches. Not sure if it was a "you should probably look for a new job" or they just wanted to try something different. New blood is sometimes good.

[PaladinFan]

I do not see a fundamental difference between this and losing a redshirt junior to graduation, which happens to probably every SoCon team.

Only difference is the grad transfer opts to keep playing somewhere else and the redshirt junior just opts to not play anymore. The net effect is still the same - player foregos his final season of eligibility to not play for your team.

[walliver]

I don't feel sorry for the Citadel for losing a few graduate transfers as they probably receive as many graduate transfers as they lose.

I would, however, like to see statistics on how many graduate transfers actually complete their graduate degrees. I wonder how many actually stay longer than one semester (I'm no signaling out any particular school, but there are a lot of schools offering Masters in Sports Marketing degrees - I wonder what the target market is?)

I don't blame guys for transferring. Many graduate programs don't allow entry for the second semester, so players may have to put off grad school a whole year to play 3 months of football. On the other hand, sometimes it seems like this is nothing more than free-agency.

[ElCid]

I don't feel sorry for the Citadel for losing a few graduate transfers as they probably receive as many graduate transfers as they lose.

I would, however, like to see statistics on how many graduate transfers actually complete their graduate degrees. I wonder how many actually stay longer than one semester (I'm no signaling out any particular school, but there are a lot of schools offering Masters in Sports Marketing degrees - I wonder what the target market is?)

I don't blame guys for transferring. Many graduate programs don't allow entry for the second semester, so players may have to put off grad school a whole year to play 3 months of football. On the other hand, sometimes it seems like this is nothing more than free-agency.

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, I would be concerned if our grad transfers are just taking a couple classes and then leaving. I don't have stats on it. Something I would like to know though. I don't know what my threshold on grad school completion percentage would be before crying foul.

[sudog03]

Agree...but it’s also more than that. It’s also injuries to Team A AND injuries to Team B at the time that Team A plays Team B and those injuries not being a factor when Team A played Team C, but were when Team B played Team C. Weather, field conditions, referees’ calls, etc. also all come into play when Teams are as closely matched talent-wise as they are in the SoCon. Many factors affect outcomes - Talent & Coaching are the 2 primary factors, but the others play a significant part as well.

Yeah, I can assure you Samford would love to have played a Mercer team without the services of Robert Riddle. Also, would like to have had a few of the 8 players available off our defensive two-deep that missed the Citadel game due to injury.

[FUBeAR]

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, I would be concerned if our grad transfers are just taking a couple classes and then leaving. I don't have stats on it. Something I would like to know though. I don't know what my threshold on grad school completion percentage would be before crying foul.
I guess we all have different perspectives / tolerances. See, I have NO problem with a kid going to a school, playing a season, taking a grad class or 2 & then moving on. College Football / College Athletics / College Teams are, in FUBeAR’s view, a part of undergraduate education/life. Schools ‘hosting’ Teams primarily as Cash Cows & Marketing/PR entities for their ‘affiliated’ Colleges & PRETENDING that their Players are REALLY part of the College/University (1-&-Done Hoopsters especially & to a lesser extent P5 Footballers) gets under my skin as blatanty hypocritical.

On the other hand, if a University has a Grad School & has several Players, who have already earned their undergraduate degrees, enroll there & play a sport for a season (or 2 nowadays), then those students are, actually, probably MORE involved in the University life than most of their fellow Grad Students. I can’t quote the stats, but my sense is that a very high % of ‘regular’ students who begin grad school do not finish their graduate degrees at the school where they began, if they finish at all - typically at a much higher attrition rate than undergrad students, I suspect. So, I don’t think Universities are (necessarily) being hypocritical by accepting qualified grad students, allowing them to play on their athletics Teams, and not necessarily expecting them to finish their graduate degrees there. I also believe every bit of education is helpful to an individual & maybe some who wouldn’t have gone to grad school without such an opportunity & don’t even plan to finish when they start find that they do want to finish up.

My ‘problem’ (and I would think the Alums “problem”) with The Citadel (or VMI, if they did) following this course is, again, based on the (perceived, maybe?) hypocrisy of all of the ‘trumpeting’ about how “exceptional” their Student Athletes are because of the Military component & particulary having survived their their knob/rat years.

Let’s look at an analogy...What kind of response do we think we would see from CIT Alums if Furman had come out this year in Charleston wearing jerseys with “Honor,” “Duty,” and “Respect” on the backs of their jerseys? I think we might hear and see a few unkind words from those Alums regarding whether or not Furman’s Players deserved or had earned the right to put those words on the backs of their jerseys...the same words as The Citadel’s Players have on the backs of theirs...including the Players that haven’t worn a non-Athletic uniform since their last Den Meeting.

But, you know what, that couldn’t have happened because CIT holds an exception to NCAA rule 1-4-5 ( http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2018MFB_FAQ_Uniforms_Contest_Delays_20180921.pdf ) that Furman does not enjoy. There is a reason for this exception, and FUBeAR thinks it’s a good reason, but if those Teams that are defined as “U.S. Military Academies,” are using Players with no past or current connection to the Military, then should the Team be granted this exception? Are they still “exceptional?” How many such Players or what % of such Players is “OK” for them to use and still be thought of by the NCAA as “exception-worthy” & for them to call themselves “exceptional?” FUBeAR thinks that number should be 0 & thinks (apparently, mistakenly) that the Alums would agree.

But as I said in an earlier post, perhaps FUBeAR has held The Citadel Football in too high regard for all these years.

[ElCid]

I guess we all have different perspectives / tolerances. See, I have NO problem with a kid going to a school, playing a season, taking a grad class or 2 & then moving on. College Football / College Athletics / College Teams are, in FUBeAR’s view, a part of undergraduate education/life. Schools ‘hosting’ Teams primarily as Cash Cows & Marketing/PR entities for their ‘affiliated’ Colleges & PRETENDING that their Players are REALLY part of the College/University (1-&-Done Hoopsters especially & to a lesser extent P5 Footballers) gets under my skin as blatanty hypocritical.

On the other hand, if a University has a Grad School & has several Players, who have already earned their undergraduate degrees, enroll there & play a sport for a season (or 2 nowadays), then those students are, actually, probably MORE involved in the University life than most of their fellow Grad Students. I can’t quote the stats, but my sense is that a very high % of ‘regular’ students who begin grad school do not finish their graduate degrees at the school where they began, if they finish at all - typically at a much higher attrition rate than undergrad students, I suspect. So, I don’t think Universities are (necessarily) being hypocritical by accepting qualified grad students, allowing them to play on their athletics Teams, and not necessarily expecting them to finish their graduate degrees there. I also believe every bit of education is helpful to an individual & maybe some who wouldn’t have gone to grad school without such an opportunity & don’t even plan to finish when they start find that they do want to finish up.

My ‘problem’ (and I would think the Alums “problem”) with The Citadel (or VMI, if they did) following this course is, again, based on the (perceived, maybe?) hypocrisy of all of the ‘trumpeting’ about how “exceptional” their Student Athletes are because of the Military component & particulary having survived their their knob/rat years.

Let’s look at an analogy...What kind of response do we think we would see from CIT Alums if Furman had come out this year in Charleston wearing jerseys with “Honor,” “Duty,” and “Respect” on the backs of their jerseys? I think we might hear and see a few unkind words from those Alums regarding whether or not Furman’s Players deserved or had earned the right to put those words on the backs of their jerseys...the same words as The Citadel’s Players have on the backs of theirs...including the Players that haven’t worn a non-Athletic uniform since their last Den Meeting.

But, you know what, that couldn’t have happened because CIT holds an exception to NCAA rule 1-4-5 ( http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2018MFB_FAQ_Uniforms_Contest_Delays_20180921.pdf ) that Furman does not enjoy. There is a reason for this exception, and FUBeAR thinks it’s a good reason, but if those Teams that are defined as “U.S. Military Academies,” are using Players with no past or current connection to the Military, then should the Team be granted this exception? Are they still “exceptional?” How many such Players or what % of such Players is “OK” for them to use and still be thought of by the NCAA as “exception-worthy” & for them to call themselves “exceptional?” FUBeAR thinks that number should be 0 & thinks (apparently, mistakenly) that the Alums would agree.

But as I said in an earlier post, perhaps FUBeAR has held The Citadel Football in too high regard for all these years.

You are making too big a deal over the whole thing. What I really think has got you flustered is that we may have a couple grad players here and there that may really contribute and that chaps your ass. And its not like we have a huge number. It's usually 0-4.

[FUBeAR]

You are making too big a deal over the whole thing. What I really think has got you flustered is that we may have a couple grad players here and there that may really contribute and that chaps your ass. And its not like we have a huge number. It's usually 0-4.
I think the issue of Transfers & Graduate Transfers is a pretty big deal in College Football these days. It certainly is here in UGa Country.

The Citadel, VMI, Wofford, and to some extent, Furman, all have unique (and interesting) situations when it comes to the Graduate Transfer aspect. The Citadel’s is more unique than the other 3 & CIT seemed to decide to ‘wade into’ the Grad Transfer pool last off-season, after occasionally ‘dipping their toes in the water’ in prior years & perhaps, has decided to ‘jump into the deep end’ this year with the SHSU ‘Recruit’ & offering others this year that have announced their intent to transfer (All-American LB from Colgate, for example).

Interesting to note that your only comment about that which makes the situation unique at The Citadel is to minimize it. If you are OK with 4 Grad Transfers that have never been part of the Corps of Cadets wearing “Honor, “Duty,” or “Respect” on the backs of their Citadel Football jerseys, would 14 be OK? How about 40? How many is too many in your view? How do you think you might have responded if Furman had flaunted NCAA rules last Fall & rolled out of the locker room at JHS with “Just as Much Honor,” “Just as Much Duty,” and “Just as Much Respect” on the backs of their white & purple jerseys?

Trying to turn the issue into something about my opinion is a weak response. I honestly don’t care if The Citadel puts the entire population of Perry Correctional Institute or the entire roster of the Carolina Panthers on their Football Team. As long as they can find a way to do it within the rules of all governing bodies, it’s ‘on’ the Teams I support to find a way to beat them. I’m just very surprised, given what I thought I knew about The Citadel, that Alums seem to be OK with this approach to Player acquisition for their Football Team.

[ElCid]

I think the issue of Transfers & Graduate Transfers is a pretty big deal in College Football these days. It certainly is here in UGa Country.

The Citadel, VMI, Wofford, and to some extent, Furman, all have unique (and interesting) situations when it comes to the Graduate Transfer aspect. The Citadel’s is more unique than the other 3 & CIT seemed to decide to ‘wade into’ the Grad Transfer pool last off-season, after occasionally ‘dipping their toes in the water’ in prior years & perhaps, has decided to ‘jump into the deep end’ this year with the SHSU ‘Recruit’ & offering others this year that have announced their intent to transfer (All-American LB from Colgate, for example).

Interesting to note that your only comment about that which makes the situation unique at The Citadel is to minimize it. If you are OK with 4 Grad Transfers that have never been part of the Corps of Cadets wearing “Honor, “Duty,” or “Respect” on the backs of their Citadel Football jerseys, would 14 be OK? How about 40? How many is too many in your view? How do you think you might have responded if Furman had flaunted NCAA rules last Fall & rolled out of the locker room at JHS with “Just as Much Honor,” “Just as Much Duty,” and “Just as Much Respect” on the backs of their white & purple jerseys?

Trying to turn the issue into something about my opinion is a weak response. I honestly don’t care if The Citadel puts the entire population of Perry Correctional Institute or the entire roster of the Carolina Panthers on their Football Team. As long as they can find a way to do it within the rules of all governing bodies, it’s ‘on’ the Teams I support to find a way to beat them. I’m just very surprised, given what I thought I knew about The Citadel, that Alums seem to be OK with this approach to Player acquisition for their Football Team.

My point is that we don't use that many of them. If we did have a big number, I would be concerned. We don't. Ergo, I am not concerned. The whole jersey thing is just a red herring. I am pretty sure that each and every one of these grad transfers believes in those traits as well. We have not had any issues with any of the grad transfers we have had. They were squared away young men, at least the ones I heard speak at press conferences, and I am glad they got to see the Corps up close even if they were not part of it. We will not tie ours hands behind our back by not using a legitimate rule just to please one disgruntled fan from the conference. To be honest I am more concerned with the actual huge numbers of "undergrad" transfers whom seem to bounce around and, which many SOCON schools seem to have no problem adding to their rosters. I think that is a bigger issue and open to legitimate abuse/concern. Yeah, and we got none of them.

[FUBeAR]

My point is that we don't use that many of them. If we did have a big number, I would be concerned. We don't. Ergo, I am not concerned.

The whole jersey thing is just a red herring.

We will not tie ours hands behind our back by not using a legitimate rule just to please one disgruntled fan from the conference.

To be honest I am more concerned with the actual huge numbers of "undergrad" transfers whom seem to bounce around and, which many SOCON schools seem to have no problem adding to their rosters. I think that is a bigger issue and open to legitimate abuse/concern. Yeah, and we got none of them.
1) What is a “big number?”
2) Why would a “big number” concern you?

3) A “red herring” that the NCAA thought was important enough to write an exception to a rule about AND to enforce that rule against Vanderbilt & UCF in recent years. Seems odd that the NCAA would care more about protecting that which makes Military Academies exceptional & the ability of those Teams to overtly highlight those exceptional characteristics than Alums of 1 of those Military Academies would.
4) Has any NCAA School/Team that enjoys this NCAA-protected exception, other than The Citadel, ever had Graduate Transfers as Members of their Athletics Teams?

5) FUBeAR is neither disgruntled nor gruntled about The Citadel’s Player acquisition strategies/tactics. As previously stated, as long as the rules of all governing bodies are followed, FUBeAR don’t care. As much as you seem to want to make this conversation about FUBeAR, it’s just not. It’s about The Citadel’s apparently increasing emphasis on actively recruiting Graduate Transfers AND, I believe, being the only Military Academy in the NCAA to utilize such Athletes. That is what makes this conversation-worthy; not who is bringing up the topic nor your repeated (and incorrect) opinion as to the motivation of ‘the messenger.’

6) Last 3 sentences...evoked thoughts of Matthew 7:5 in FUBeAR’s mind.

[PaladinFan]

UTC adds a few more to the staff https://gomocs.com/news/2019/1/10/football-wright-announces-addition-to-coaching-staff.aspx

Two more former Furman coaches/players. Continues the Paladins slow takeover of all the SoCon coaching positions.

[PaladinFan]

It appears Samford is bringing in a transfer QB.

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/usf-bulls/2019/01/13/former-bulls-qb-chris-oladokun-transferring-to-samford/

Samford has something like 9 or 10 QBs on the roster currently, so probably is not a depth move.

[FUBeAR]

It appears Samford is bringing in a transfer QB.

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/usf-bulls/2019/01/13/former-bulls-qb-chris-oladokun-transferring-to-samford/

Samford has something like 9 or 10 QBs on the roster currently, so probably is not a depth move.I believe you predicted Coach Hatcher would be hitting the Xfer QB market this off-season...yes?

[PaladinFan]

I believe you predicted Coach Hatcher would be hitting the Xfer QB market this off-season...yes?

Well, this is not outside of Samford's MO during most of the last decade. Prior to Hodges, Samford's last two starting QBs (Eubanks and Summerlin) were both transfers. As I look back, Samford had a number of other transfer QBs on the roster pre-Summerlin that did not play much (Fraites from FIU, Malouf from Memphis, Mortensen from Arkansas). Of course, a lot of that pre-dates Hatcher's tenure.

I guess the question I would have is whether this shows the coaching staff's lack of confidence in post-Hodges QB options on the roster.

[sudog03]

I think if one knew the actual number of those QB's on scholarship, one would see the concern. I don't look at it as a lack of confidence in the options currently available, but what it does is hopefully provide some good competition in the spring/fall and also prevents a tFr. from potentially being the backup QB choice next season.

[PaladinFan]

I think if one knew the actual number of those QB's on scholarship, one would see the concern. I don't look at it as a lack of confidence in the options currently available, but what it does is hopefully provide some good competition in the spring/fall and also prevents a tFr. from potentially being the backup QB choice next season.

Samford, for reasons I am not entirely clear on, has a roster that dwarfs most of the rest of the SoCon. I think in fall practice they listed like 110+ players.

I don't necessarily think you bring a guy like this in to be the day 1 starter. He hardly played at USF. Most of the time, guys that hardly play and then transfer more often than not were not playing for a reason. Eubanks was a good example: he was a 4 star player out of high school, played for a big program, but wasn't half as good as Hodges.

[sudog03]

A large amount of walkons helps the university enrollment wise, especially as it relates to male enrollment.

[PaladinFan]

A large amount of walkons helps the university enrollment wise, especially as it relates to male enrollment.

I'm sure there's a reason and a few of those guys may be getting money from somewhere other than scholarship spots.

That aside, I'm not sure how you run a practice with 10 QBs, though.

[ElCid]

Well, this is not outside of Samford's MO during most of the last decade. Prior to Hodges, Samford's last two starting QBs (Eubanks and Summerlin) were both transfers. As I look back, Samford had a number of other transfer QBs on the roster pre-Summerlin that did not play much (Fraites from FIU, Malouf from Memphis, Mortensen from Arkansas). Of course, a lot of that pre-dates Hatcher's tenure.

I guess the question I would have is whether this shows the coaching staff's lack of confidence in post-Hodges QB options on the roster.

I think it is telling that they can't develop one via recruiting. Filling a hole or two here and there occasionally is one thing. Making it standard to recruit a transfer at a position is something quite different.

[walliver]

I believe you predicted Coach Hatcher would be hitting the Xfer QB market this off-season...yes?

I think just about everybody predicted this. Although I think I predicted a higher profile transfer.


Samford, for reasons I am not entirely clear on, has a roster that dwarfs most of the rest of the SoCon. I think in fall practice they listed like 110+ players.

...

I think most schools have around 100 players on the team, so 110 probably isn't far from the norm. Schools may vary a little about which players get listed on the published rosters. With 85 potential scholarship athletes, it only takes 15-20 walk-ons to get to 100. (FCS limits are 63 scholarship among up to 85 players, and partial scholarships are common.)

[PaladinFan]

I think it is telling that they can't develop one via recruiting. Filling a hole or two here and there occasionally is one thing. Making it standard to recruit a transfer at a position is something quite different.

Well, that's the oddity. Hodges was a guy Samford recruited and developed. So, their best player was a guy that came through the pipeline.

My outsider read is that Samford doesn't feel comfortable with their QB depth. I have long said on here that it is really difficult for a team to replace a program-changing type of talent, and this year Samford has to replace three such players (Hodges, McKnight, Gooden). You can tell me "next man up" all you want, but virtually every time I see a program lose a top player, they will take a step back the next year. I think the most recent example is Jacob Huesman - he graduated and UTC's offense went with him.

Realistically, Samford probably realizes that the remarkable consistency they had at the QB position isn't likely to continue in 2019. If you look around the SoCon just last year, how many teams had to go to backup QBs for significant snaps during the season? (Furman, Mercer, WCU, ETSU, and the Citadel at least). Samford hardly ever had to go to someone other than Hodges for four years, while other teams struggled to keep a QB healthy for four games.

Best guess - Samford may be comfortable with Welch next season, but may not be comfortable with options at QB2. They may just need a rainy day plan.

[sudog03]

Best guess - Samford may be comfortable with Welch next season, but may not be comfortable with options at QB2. They may just need a rainy day plan.


Your best guess would be accurate. Also, I think the predictions of Samford taking a step back will prove inaccurate. I think we will be in the top half of the league next season as we have for about the last 7-8 years and if we can stay healthy compete for the league title.

[ElCid]

Well, that's the oddity. Hodges was a guy Samford recruited and developed. So, their best player was a guy that came through the pipeline.

My outsider read is that Samford doesn't feel comfortable with their QB depth. I have long said on here that it is really difficult for a team to replace a program-changing type of talent, and this year Samford has to replace three such players (Hodges, McKnight, Gooden). You can tell me "next man up" all you want, but virtually every time I see a program lose a top player, they will take a step back the next year. I think the most recent example is Jacob Huesman - he graduated and UTC's offense went with him.

Realistically, Samford probably realizes that the remarkable consistency they had at the QB position isn't likely to continue in 2019. If you look around the SoCon just last year, how many teams had to go to backup QBs for significant snaps during the season? (Furman, Mercer, WCU, ETSU, and the Citadel at least). Samford hardly ever had to go to someone other than Hodges for four years, while other teams struggled to keep a QB healthy for four games.

Best guess - Samford may be comfortable with Welch next season, but may not be comfortable with options at QB2. They may just need a rainy day plan.

Well yeah, I was looking at the longer period. They obviously got lucky with Hodges. But as far as developing one for the present, I don't think they did themselves any favors. I am not saying they did this, and knowing Samfords tendency to blow leads, could they not have played other QBs a bit more? I know they were taking care of Hodges and his records, but how many plays did they have where he should have sitting and another QB been in there? I don't know the answer to that. It's just an impression. I may be wrong.

[sudog03]

We went a 3.5 year period where we started Andy Summerlin and Michael Eubank, both transfers. Prior to those 3.5 years, we had a four year starter in Dustin Taliferro out of HS, and after those 3.5 years a 4 year starter out of HS in Hodges. My prediction is we will have another starter we recruited out of HS this season who has been in the program 3 years.

[PaladinFan]

Your best guess would be accurate. Also, I think the predictions of Samford taking a step back will prove inaccurate. I think we will be in the top half of the league next season as we have for about the last 7-8 years and if we can stay healthy compete for the league title.

I doubt it, frankly.

Samford was 6-5 and finished 4th in the SoCon. They finished with just over a .500 record despite having a clear talent advantage over most of their competition. They arguably had the best player on both sides of the ball in the FCS. Their QB is the best player in their programs history. They had the top WR in program history. They had the top defensive player in program history.

They played Furman without Harris Roberts. They played WCU without Tyrie Adams. In a game where Gooden did not play, the Citadel ran through their defense like crap through a goose.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I've followed SoCon football a while now and almost without exception teams that lose transcendent players are worse the next season. You don't just replace the Payton Winner with a rarely used backup and expect the same production. Not going to happen.

[PaladinFan]

We went a 3.5 year period where we started Andy Summerlin and Michael Eubank, both transfers. Prior to those 3.5 years, we had a four year starter in Dustin Taliferro out of HS, and after those 3.5 years a 4 year starter out of HS in Hodges. My prediction is we will have another starter we recruited out of HS this season who has been in the program 3 years.

As noted in one of my earlier posts, Taliferro beat out two transfer QBs on the roster. So, he was the starter, but there were still transfer QBs brought in to compete for that job.

[sudog03]

So excited about all this interest in our program! Yes, we also had to play Mercer with their best QB healthy and Citadel with half our defense missing. Devlin, KJ and Ahmad were all great SU players, but we had a competitive program before them, and will have one after them also. But, yes maybe Furman can get us this year, we've kinda had y'alls number as of late!

[Sir William]

But, yes maybe Furman can get us this year, we've kinda had y'alls number as of late!

You’ve had “our number” over the past few years b/c we experienced 6 difficult years under the previous staff, and the last 2 seasons rebuilding soundly and quickly under the current staff. Definitely looking forward to coming to Birmingham in 2019!