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Valpo has added Northern Iowa as its opener 08/31 then travels to Youngstown State on 09/07. Gulp. 3/4 Non conference games are Saint Francis NY (D1) and home vs IWU.

That may be the hardest non conference schedule I've seen Valpo play

So far recruiting has been a bit slow

OT Mason Koch , New Haven, IN. 6'4 285

Other offers: Rose Hulman, Lincoln, St Francis, Tiffin

WR TJ Caldwell, Hobart , IN. 5'10 165

Other Offers: Eastern Michigan (PWO), Findlay, Southwest Baptist

DE Nick Johnson , Highland, IN. 6'4 220

Other Offers: Ball State (PWO) , Drake

Looks like three pretty talented local kids. Had 25 seniors walk and about another 9 hit the portal. Think next few weeks will be busy

Coach Rob Tenyer is out at Morehead State. 20 year employee 39% win percentage.

47-73.

Valpo plays Dayton today in the bottom bowl and race for 127/128. It should be noted Valpo is 3-0 in such games

2013: Campbell
2015: @ Davidson
2019: Stetson

Let's make it 4-0!

Valpo travels to play the Team Down South behind Chief Keefe. My prediction

24-10 Dawgs

WR Carter Payne has hit the transfer portal.

Valpo hosts SW Minnesota ST next who is 10-27 their last 4 seasons and 1-3 this year. Only win is over a 0-4 Minot State.

THAT BEING SAID Massey still calls for only a 7 point win. This is the last real time (outside of maybe Stetson) that Valpo is realistically favored.

1.7 YPC won't get it done. Last week I'm hoping for the best.

20-6 Valparaiso

Valpo takes on Marist who has been routed by Georgetown and Davidson.

They handled Marist last season for a multi score win in New York. The Beacs have more experience on O and D in the two deep.

All being said. This should be a 2-3 score Valpo win. However the offense was dysfunctional last time out.

If Valpo wins the goal for 6 is still alive. If the Beacs lose this game it's doomsday for the record.

I am hoping offensive play calling is really cleaned up.

28-10 Beacs

Game notes for IWU said this is game 3 of a 4 year agreement.

2024 Nonconference schedule:

@ - Youngstown State
@ - Saint Francis (FCS)
H - Indiana Wesleyan

No ham and eggers there

Indiana Wesleyan won their first game 56-7 and has lost one game since Valparaiso last season.

This is on the road where they handled Valpo in the first Q in 2021.

Hoping for the best. I'll remain optimistic

31-17 Beacs

We are one week out for the season opener for Youngstown.

Youngstown comes off a 7-4 season last year with their annual PFL win coming over Dayton 49-16. They return their leading QB and WR.

From the season preview at Hero Sports they return 4/5 OL and 8/11 starters on defense. All in all to have a preseason no. 23 rankings.

This is a very good MVC team.

Prediction: 38-7 YSU

Hello all, Paul Oren is doing a fantastic job covering Valpo football in his Victory Bell site. He is currently breaking down all 110 players on the roster positionally.

Great content to prep for the season

Was able to watch the scrimmage and just some things I noticed.

QB- Appel was there , healthy, and getting the ball out quick with his huge arm. Jackson was the 2nd QB on "Varsity" side. Caron Tyler busted about a 60 yard run and great arm strength in the team portion.

RB- No Labus, No Butler. Mann ran the ball tough, Lane busted about a 30 yard TD run. Thomas showed speed, Shrader had a great jump cut in team period

WR- Tezzo was only one of the shiny new transfers to play. No Locke, Davis, or Yeats either. Allowed for Mackay to have a really big day against the one defense. Bennett McCormick, Peterson, Barthel appeared to join Mackay/ Tezzo with lions share of snaps

TE- lots of Vickers / Jernegan / Hooper was third right in. Jones (Lincoln) / York (UAB) did not scrimmage

OL- Mason Smith looks like he added quite a bit of weight. Smith / Paic / Eberhart / Woody/ Gray look like the group. Pauley , Kline , Ojaide, Szczepanski , Kotoles also saw time.

DL-Was a dominant group. (Chastain) did not play.

LB- played fast , was primarily Pouba , Annis, Abrams, Birmingham and Nabers out there.

DB-  Looked great with only one play all day over the top.

If I missed anything or anyone my apologies. The amount of offensive skill sitting out was definitely notable.

The PFL has hired current OVC and Remaining (?) OVC employee as commissioner.

The 2nd commissioner since inception. The league has grown to 11 teams and a national schedule. With all consolidation in football conferences the reasoning of the hire is 1/3 things

Most likely: OVC is looking for a discounted partnership for "pay" games. Already seeing with Murray State/Valpo post 2024.

Somewhat likely: OVC is absorbing the top half of the PFL and positioning itself if teams jump ship.


Not happening: PFL as a whole going full scholarship. Valpo for sure could not handle it, not sure other schools finances

1. Gabe Miller has left head of S&C
2. RB Coach left post spring
3. Matt Symmes appears to be on a monthlong tour of Texas recruiting

Won leadership award at Arc Awards. Quite the career arc.

Recruited by Cecchini/Moore, stayed for Fox. Redshirted and Covid first 24 months on campus. All Conference in 2021. Torn ACL, did not start spring game and still coming back for year 5. No transfer portal.

Something tells me this guy will do very well in his professional career after football.

According to 2023 junior day invited spring game will be played on April 30.

Some Qs

Offense:

- Who gets carries at RB?
- Who replaces Byrd at LT?
- is there a 3rd QB on roster?
- What type of system is Symmes running?
- Who lines up at WR?

Defense:

- Who replaces Sherman at Safety?
- Which of the redshirts take a leap?

General:

-Of three transfers (Tezzo,Pauley,Geiman) who will start in 2023?

New Coordinators:

From what I have gathered.

Offense - Matthew Symmes - Has had GA spots at Florida, South Carolina, was a scout team coach for Steelers, elevated to an interim QB coach until 2021. Then has been at ECU as a defensive analyst. Duke Grad

Defense- Dave Marquis - DC Wittenberg since 2019. Coached LBs with Fox at Dayton in 2011/12. Kent state grad.

Symmes appears to be an up & comer in the profession. Marquis is from Fox's Dayton tree.

Is it me or is Symmes a bit of a head scratcher?

Looks like the Saint Francis game has been dropped (good news!) and Indiana Wesleyan has been retained (better news!)

Dayton, Morehead State, Southwest Minnesota, Stetson , Marist are the home games.

@ Butler , Davidson, Saint Thomas to finish the test is a bit rough

Damien Ross is on board as the WR coach - previously at Missouri S&T

Jackson Smith has returned in some capacity to the program. A great sign, maybe offensive line as that is what's open

Not sure what it is but something does not sit right with me here and it should be something Alpo is aware of moving forward.

A scholarship opponent poached a player during season (deal was done the Monday following the season ) and another of our key guys.

They get three game films of the player and see them in person. Good for kids, just something feels off about it

Congrats to the players below:

1st Team:

RB- #21 Aaron Dawson RSSR
WR- #10 Solomon Davis RSJR
OL- #68 Aaron Byrd RSSR
ILB - #9 Ben Hines RSSR

2nd Team

DE- #90 Sam Hafner RSSO
SS- #29 Kohlton Sherman RSSR
P - #11 Evan Matthes RSSR

Honorable Mention

TE- #87 Evan Jernegan RSFR
WR - #4 Matt Ross RSJR
DE - #91 Kevin Spelman RSFR

Obviously something to monitor with Landon Fox's experience and Ohio roots.

A move back would be crippling for the Valpo program.

Per Paul Oren, VU is awaiting a pay day with NMSU if they receive permission from the NCAA.

NMSU is coming off a shellacking of Liberty.

Maybe not the best idea for the program. However need to continue to fund that basketball team because ?

After losing 24 seniors , their leading Passer and Robert Washington, and six of the front 7 was not sure how this season would go.


Positives:
Appel was absolutely a pleasant surprise and looks to have a very bright future. Kaplan as well. Everything should be funneled around them moving forward. Dawson had an ALL-PFL season, Vercher / Clarke showed promise. Receivers Davis, Contreras and TE Jernegan all showed flashes. Hope to return each of them.

The Dline was fantastic outside of Butler and Dartmouth. They should all be back. Birmingham and Doerer stepped up. Franco / Graves and Turner all played well. Sherman / Hines all PFL seasons.

The Bad:

Penalties. Several false starts. Personal fouls and PIs. The OL while young in 2/5 spots struggled significantly in 5/11 games , really capping off with the Drake performance.

Being able to establish and put away teams. Let Butler / IWU sneak back, traded scores with Marist , San Diego , and Morehead State.

Starting slow. Killed the team against Drake, Dayton and could've killed them against Presbyterian.


Fox has 13 wins in the last three season (one shortened). Which hasn't been done in a while. Let's see how the off-season goes. Improvement is improvement

Valpo has a chance to obtain several things this weekend. 2nd 6 win season in 6 years. 4/6 winning PFL seasons.

Drake is no chump, their defense is very good and the offense has gotten better (was abysmal hints starting 0-8).

I am hoping for a Valpo win in 18 degree weather and great momentum into recruiting season

Massey is projecting Valpo to win in a very pivotal game for the program. Marist has taken care of business against Morehead and Presbyterian last two weeks.

Young QB 9-9 TD-INT ratio

I am hoping for a Valpo win and 5-5 with a chance for the 3rd winning season in 6 years.

Valpo 24 Marist 21

Side Bar: Marist finishes season with Patriot bottom feeder Bucknell and Coach Dave Cecchini.

7-1 Tommies head to 4-4 Valparaiso. Was a one score game last season at Saint Thomas.

If Valpo does not get behind early and can figure out their 4th quarter offensive woes, this is winnable.

If the offense stalls or they get  down early the promising Beacs would have to win out for .500

Valpo comes off a hard fought win @ Morehead and now takes on Landon Fox's previous employer the Dayton Flyers.

Massey is calling for a 27-24 Dayton win. Fox helped call O last season in a Valpo win.

Jeffrey Jackson was offered by Dayton out of high school and looks like he could have a chance to go full circle

Chisholm is still somehow on the roster. Think a winning season possible not sure they get a step closer this week 

24-10 Flyers

Valpo goes to play at a place they haven't won at since '06. After a complete meltdown in the 4th Quarter of a rivalry game.

No word as to why Appel did not finish the game and Morehead played Davidson extremely well.

28-14 Eagles

#119 Butler travels to #105 Valparaiso. Massey calling for 28-20 win. Valpo won 47-3 last season.

It appears the Harvard receiver has had an impact. After reading box score zero idea how they 31-0 Dayton.

Bushka is back at QB , the defense is young.

Prediction: Valpo 14 - Butler 3

Valpo comes off a grueling 4 game schedule and comes out 2-2. Next the Beacs travel to #130 (last) Presbyterian. Fun tidbit Beacs are rated higher than Bucknell now.

Presbyterian comes off two shellackings from Western Carolina and Davidson only win was a 1 score game against #697 overall VA Lynchburg. Massey calling for a 2 score victory.

Prediction: Valpo 28 Presbyterian 7

#105 San Diego heads to #116 Valparaiso. Massey is calling for a Torreros win.

I think this is a very pivotal game for Fox's iteration of this program. A win here with a 2-2 start would be quite the statement.

Player to watch on San Diego is Chris Childers who comes from the Big 10 and Iu. The starting QB is a Colorado State bounce back and the back up (who plays quite a lot/running downs) is Temple bounce back. Expect a lot of read option after Dartmouth

Beacs have a lot of talent and season has been admirable.

21-14 Beacs?

Valpo pushed #38 Illinois State  and now is rewarded with #17 Dartmouth. Massey calls for a 41-7 Dartmouth victory with 1% win chance.

I think a more realistic prediction is 21-14, 21-7 in favor of Dartmouth. Have a hard time seeing this defense giving up 40

Valpo Rank: 117
Dartmouth Rank: 17

Was a tall task to pick off #9 NAIA Indiana Wesleyan. Valpo moves from that task to #29 FCS team (Massey Rating) Illinois State coming off a 38-0 loss to Wisconsin. Looking back on the last few ISU - Pioneer games the average score is about 42-10.

Zach Annexstead the former University of Minnesota starter will be at QB. 3 year starter Zeke Vandenbugh is name to know on defense at LB. 10 FBS transfers.

If Mikey Appel is questionable he should not touch the field in this game. Might be smart to limit Aaron Dawson reps as well.

Final Prediction: 35-3 Illinois State

Valpo Current FCS Rank Massey: 116/130 FCS

Indiana Wesleyan 5-1 in games played last season. Their defensive line and running back were major problems for the Beacons.

Unanimously ranked top 15 in NAIA again (9/14). Will be a tall task for the Beacs but the game is at home.

Thinking 35-18 Wesleyan. But homer pick 24-17 roll Beacs

New Commit: William Thorgersen John Carroll HS Florida

OL 6'3 270

1. Davidson, 98 points (8 first-place votes)
2. San Diego, 91 (3)
3. St. Thomas, 78
4. Dayton, 72
5. Morehead State, 58
6. Marist, 52
7. Drake, 42
8. Valparaiso, 34
9. Stetson, 33
10. Butler, 30
11. Presbyterian, 17

Drake ahead of Valpo with a 1-7 PFL record makes little sense. Dayton seems high. Marist / San Diego / Saint Thomas margin was thin with the Limbach offense.
Valpo historically struggles with Morehead State.

Hoping for a 6-2 conference slate this season

After countless hours through the recruiting season and following transfers. I have gotten together the fall roster. I have 113/110 players, still some finalizing

Name # HT WT ELIG POS GP YR STATE

Everything by position and GP

Kohlton Sherman   29   5'11   190   RSSR   DB   38   2018   MICHIGAN
Keyon Turner   1   5'9   160   JR   DB   17   2020   ILLINOIS
Jadarius Horton   3   5'9   165   RSSR   DB   17   2018   NORTH CAROLINA
Austin Chilton   20   6'2   180   RSJR   DB   14   2019   FLORIDA
Anthony Sciarroni   21   6'0   205   RSJR   DB   14   2019   OHIO
Garner Jones   25   5'9   165   RSSO   DB   14   2020   TENNESSEE
Donovan Earles   5   5'11   165   RSJR   DB   14   2019   ILLINOIS
Max Franco   31   5'9   175   SO   DB   6   2021   CALIFORNIA
Colin Graves   35   5'10   160   SO   DB   5   2021   WASHINGTON
Marvin Rushing   14   5'10   170   RSSO   DB   0   2020   MICHIGAN
Caleb Rao   37   5'11   175   RSFR   DB   0   2021   OHIO
Alton McCollum      6'1   195   FR   DB   0   2022   TENNESSEE
Jon Henderson      5'11   180   FR   DB   0   2022   OHIO
Anthony Hightower      5'11   175   FR   DB   0   2022   OHIO
Connor Dickson      6'0   185   FR   DB   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Frank Bartell      5'10   205   FR   DB   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Owen Cherry      6'1   200   FR   DB   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Akim Abdur-Rahim      6'1   180   FR   DB   0   2022   INDIANA
Kurt Kessen   93   6'3   255   JR   DL   17   2020   MICHIGAN
Trent Miller   53   6'0   235   RSSO   DL   14   2020   PENNSYLVANIA
Fletcher Christian   56   6'4   235   RSSR   DL   7   2018   CALIFORNIA
Kevin Spelman   96   6'5   240   RSFR   DL   4   2021   ILLINOIS
Sam Hafner   90   6'2   250   RSSO   DL   4   2020   WISCONSIN
George Dristiliaris   88   6'3   225   RSFR   DL   1   2021   MASSACHUSETTS
Chase Randall   99   6'1   275   RSFR   DL   0   2021   ARIZONA
Chase Folkestad   59   6'1   230   RSSO   DL   0   2020   ARIZONA
George Trojanek   97   6'1   260   RSFR   DL   0   2021   ILLINOIS
James Keighley   95   6'3   235   RSFR   DL   0   2021   OHIO
Jake Paulline      6'1   280   FR   DL   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Adrian Divcic      6'4   255   FR   DL   0   2022   FLORIDA
Niko Paic      6'2   285   FR   DL   0   2022   INDIANA
Matthew Francisco      6'3   230   FR   DL   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Jason Harden      6'2   225   FR   DL   0   2022   CALIFORNIA
Matt Molnar      6'3   235   FR   DL   0   2022   OHIO
Amar Elmore      6'2   250   FR   DL   0   2022   ARIZONA
Logan Chastain      6'1   280   FR   DL   0   2022   OREGON
Brian Bartholomew   87   5'11   165   RSSR   K   16   2018   ILLINOIS
Ryan Hawk   99   5'10   165   RSFR   K   2   2021   OHIO
Patrick Oliva   44   5'10   170   RSJR   K   1   2019   INDIANA
Laddie Skarecky   8   6'0   215   RSSR+   LB   32   2017   ILLINOIS
Evan Annis   2   6'1   220   RSJR   LB   21   2019   OHIO
Adam Mekky   42   6'3   205   RSSO   LB   9   2020   ILLINOIS
James Doerer   58   6'1   220   RSSO   LB   4   2020   MICHIGAN
Jake Birmingham   50   6'1   215   RSFR   LB   3   2021   ILLINOIS
Max Kobs   51   6'3   220   RSFR   LB   0   2021   NEBRASKA
Hayden Bedell   57   6'1   205   RSFR   LB   0   2021   ILLINOIS
Matt Cotterman      6'3   225   FR   LB   0   2022   OHIO
Wade Abrams      6'0   200   FR   LB   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Brenden Freiermuth      6'2   215   FR   LB   0   2022   MINNESOTA
Keagan Henschel      5'11   200   FR   LB   0   2022   WISCONSIN
Alex Goworowski      6'3   220   FR   LB   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Christian Hilton      6'2   220   FR   LB   0   2022   VIRGINIA
Tommy Palmer   91   6'2   245   RSSO   LS   0   2020   MAINE
Aaron Byrd   68   6'4   305   RSSR   OL   29   2018   ILLINOIS
Drew Parrish   72   6'3   285   RSJR   OL   17   2019   ILLINOIS
Danny Files   73   6'3   305   RSJR   OL   14   2019   MICHIGAN
Carter Woody   62   6'3   315   JR   OL   13   2020   SOUTH CAROLINA
Jon Stone   75   6'5   295   RSSO   OL   11   2020   MICHIGAN
Tyler Eberhart   60   6'1   270   RSSO   OL   10   2020   OHIO
Stone Dixon   69   6'3   290   RSJR   OL   7   2019   OHIO
Keith Szczepanski   78   6'7   345   RSSO   OL   6   2020   NEW YORK
Brett Gray   74   6'3   275   RSFR   OL   1   2021   WASHINGTON
Jacob Ford   61   6'2   265   RSFR   OL   0   2021   FLORIDA
Bennett Meyers   63   6'2   250   RSFR   OL   0   2021   MICHIGAN
Ryan Merklinger   64   6'5   325   RSFR   OL   0   2021   GEORGIA
Josh Leathers   66   6'2   280   RSSO   OL   0   2020   ILLINOIS
Andrew Covert   79   6'7   350   RSSO   OL   0   2020   MICHIGAN
Daniel Heinrich   75   6'5   270   RSSO   OL   0   2020   INDIANA
Mason Smith      6'4   285   FR   OL   0   2022   PENNSYLVANIA
Bryce Kotoles      6'2   285   FR   OL   0   2022   MICHIGAN
Clayton Fliss      6'6   255   FR   OL   0   2022   WISCONSIN
Matthew Logan      6'3   290   FR   OL   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Gabe Watkins-Daigle      6'3   270   FR   OL   0   2022   ARIZONA
Evan Mathes      6'1   216   RSSR   P   0   2018   VIRGINIA
Jackson Dorr   49   5'11   190   RSFR   P   0   2021   COLORADO
Jeffrey Jackson   1   6'1   200   RSSR   QB   6   2018   CALIFORNIA
Teryn Berry   8   6'3   205   RSSR   QB   3   2018   WASHINGTON
Mason Kaplan   16   6'2   210   RSFR   QB   2   2021   GEORGIA
Michael Appel   17   6'3   210   RSFR   QB   0   2021   OHIO
Cam Harbaugh      6'1   210   FR   QB   0   2022   PENNSYLVANIA
Rowan Keefe      6'3   185   FR   QB   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Barret Labus   39   5'11   185   SO   RB   11   2021   OHIO
Darius Lane   30   5'10   195   RSSO   RB   8   2020   VIRGINIA
Jahni Clarke   45   5'6   200   RSFR   RB   3   2021   GEORGIA
Ryan Mann   22   5'11   210   RSFR   RB   0   2021   ILLINOIS
Jeffrey Vercher      5'9   195   FR   RB   0   2022   TENNESSEE
Aaron Larkins      6'0   190   FR   RB   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Gabe Olvera      5'10   180   FR   RB   0   2022   OREGON
Andre Tarver      5'8   165   FR   RB   0   2022   MICHIGAN
Alex Conlin   82   6'2   230   RSJR   TE   17   2019   KENTUCKY
Jake Vickers   89   6'3   250   RSSO   TE   14   2020   MICHIGAN
Gaven Hooper   87   6'3   230   RSFR   TE   0   2021   CALIFORNIA
Evan Jernegan   44   6'1   215   RSFR   TE   0   2021   CALIFORNIA
Devin Yeats      6'2   200   FR   TE   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Max Carter      6'5   230   FR   TE   0   2022   CALIFORNIA
Cameron Rojik      6'4   220   FR   TE   0   2022   FLORIDA
Jordan Bingham   12   6'1   195   RSJR   WR   21   2019   INDIANA
Chuck Maxwell   2   5'5   150   JR   WR   16   2020   INDIANA
Braden Contreras   13   6'2   175   JR   WR   15   2020   ILLINOIS
Matt Ross   4   6'1   180   RSJR   WR   12   2019   ILLINOIS
Josh Becton   81   5'8   155   RSSO   WR   12   2020   KANSAS
Diego Del Castillo   88   6'1   185   RSSO   WR   12   2020   CALIFORNIA
Solomon Davis   10   6'1   165   RSJR   WR   11   2019   TENNESSEE
Tytus Ragle   19   5'7   180   RSSO   WR   7   2020   INDIANA
Dom Grguric   86   6'0   165   RSFR   WR   3   2021   OHIO
Cam Livinston   9   6'3   190   RSSO   WR   2   2020   INDIANA
Brian Hunter   5   5'8   145   RSFR   WR   0   2021   MICHIGAN
EJ Locke      6'4   205   FR   WR   0   2022   ILLINOIS
Jaeden Acker      6'1   170   FR   WR   0   2022   TEXAS
Justin Jurmu      6'1   205   FR   WR   0   2022   MICHIGAN
Matt Martin      5'10   150   FR   WR   0   2022   CALIFORNIA
Owen Semp      6'2   175   FR   WR   0   2022   MICHIGAN
Grady Hickey      5'9   175   FR   WR   0   2022   ARIZONA

Was not at the spring game but was able to talk to many that were. A few things of note.

-Over 100 juniors on-site- never before has that happened in my experience.

-Kaplan took majority of snaps at QB. Get vibe he is the future. Whether that be week 1 who knows

-Laddie Skarecky is back with the team at LB with 33 games played. Huge addition.

-Wide Receiver is banged up with Bingham and Maxwell out. Was a different group out there today.

- defense outplayed the offense despite having the less experienced line. Think new coordinator a big part of it.

- Some RSFR that made plays, Kaplan, Kobs, Merklinger, Hunter

Hello all, just popping in to give the spring check in. Usually I hibernate 6-8 weeks after signing day then get back at it.

Fox had a very productive zoom call with alumni. If you are a football alum and not on the zooms please get in contact with me.

QB and RB are wide open. Great news as young Orr and Clarke are still on roster at RB.

Had a few more guys enter portal. No one of real consequence. Brought in another RB

Spring numbers at 65-70 with a large attendance for junior day. It appears the program is at an upwards trajectory.

Niesner working out with the Seattle Seahawks this weekend. Washington is looking at CFL and XFL , will not be returning

Upon reading Paul Orens Valpo state of the union Robert was quoted saying he would return if the draft does no go his way.

Think had he had his '21 spring season in the fall that year he could have landed an NFL deal but timing was off due to covid.


This would be year 7 for Robert and certainly raise the ceiling of this year's roster

Non conference again is tough. IWU was senior heavy last year. That is probably our shot. butler and Presbyterian are two must wins mid season.

3-4 should wins (drake Marist butler Presbyterian)

2-3 toss ups (San Diego , Dayton, IWU )

1-2 probable losses ( Morehead State, St. Thomas)

2 good luck games ( Illinois State, Dartmouth)

Indiana Wesleyan
@Illinois State
@Dartmouth
San Diego
@presbyterian
Butler
@morehead state
@ Dayton
St. Thomas
@marist
Drake

Figured one thread would be easier

QB Nimz -
DB Mitchell-
DL Ford- North Central College
OL Orr-
TE Broussard-

Two year starter was often replaced in lineup by Carter Woody.

Don't really see it, but best of luck!

Very big misread of his value. If Jarnigan / Turner could not find a scholarship in portal Nimz will not.

Wish best for kid , have to wonder what advice he's taking.

Deuce Larose who had a much better Valpo career than Nimz didn't record a stat at ETSU

After watching every game this season have come away from season with following thoughts:

HC: Fox has shown the ability to manage a game , his defense is proven sans Presbyterian and Morehead

OC/Offensive Staff: Very clunky, receivers were a non factor most of year. Outside of 3 FBS xfers was non existent. Play calling questionable. Hard to evaluate as third OL coach in that many years but hard to see Limbach coming back. Three years is a large sample size. Special Teams coordinator was awesome this year

DC/D-Staff: D played excellent in 7/11 games. Succeeded with very undersized line. Secondary gave up more a bit later in the season. Dougherty should be back same with the DL coach.

QB: Nimz walked with seniors , Berry and Jackson did not. Nimz shaky year but appeared to build confidence throughout season. Berry was awful when he played. Jackson/Kaplan/Lawson haven't shown a ton yet. My guess Jackson is guy heading into spring

RB: Washington and Orekoya are moving on and spot snaps were left. Lane / Clarke/ Labus all played but not in same tier. Washington attitude came out late in season. Hard to imagine this won't be a committee

WR: probably the deepest position heading into the off-season. Reese had a very solid 4 year career. Back will be Maxwell, Contreras, Bingham, Ross, Diego Del Castillo, Jones, Ragle. 2 commits over weekend here as well

TE: Hebbeler was a great grad xfer after last years grad xfer. Vickers played well here. Bittner gone but Conlin there. another grad xfer?

OL: Entire OL is returning Byrd confirmed. That being said only 2 games they were noticeably better was Presbyterian and Butler. I think they were still very young last year. Hoping for a big jump from this group.

DL: Purty, Orlandini, Martin's will all be huge losses. Kessen , Price , and Miller come back. Redshirted the entire freshman class here. Need some of young guys to get old quick

LB: Twigg , Peifer, Psota leave. Over 80 games between the three. Annis will be back as the leader of the D. Need young guys to step up here as well

DB: Turner / Chilton return which is a solid foundation. Horton was very good need to replace him / Sherman was a career starter, tough loss too.

Special Teams: Need xfers our kicker, long snapper, and punter leave

.500 in conference, if our offense was more competent we probably win San Diego and Marist , maybe Saint Thomas. On paper we have 87 returning. a smaller freshman class with a large xfer pool may be in order

See you all in recruiting season!

Senior Day let's send them out right

Valpo: 28
Morehead: 21

Probably even talent on paper. Transfers everywhere

Facing off against the 2-7 Bulldogs who have looked improved on offense last few weeks.

No idea who the starting QB will be for the Beacs. And Butler has a lot of film on our defense giving up plays last week.

That being said!!!!!!

24-21 Beacs , 4-6

Valpo plays arguably the oddest opponent in the NCAA this week. Big time analytic driven football (no punting, onside kicks)

Most of the conference has put up 50+ and ran away with games. However I believe we have worst OC in the conference. (Although there is a world where Limbach comes out throwing the ball)

Run the ball play good defense. Use clock and give our D rest.

Prediction : Valpo 45 Pres 14