I'll put in the placeholder. We need to look at both the strengths as well as the areas that need improvement. I'd also like to suggest one single rule to guide our dialogue based on a sound management principle that I have found works to positively improve situations. If ever someone had a gripe, they could come to me, but only if they also came with a thoughtful, suggested solution to that gripe (An example of an unacceptable visit: gripe - the coach sucks; solution - fire him). The rule: gripes are always accompanied with thoughtful, suggested solutions..
I'm anticipating a really good discussion. Have at it posters :twocents:
The football program must be looked at in a holistic manner in how it interacts with the university vision. Where does football fit in with Valparaiso University? Is it an important piece of the experience, or is it cash cow to bring in male students? What can be done to reduce the apathy to the football program?
Valpo needs to understand what this football program is about, define objectives and take actions to meet these objectives.
Valpo needs to make the football experience more likeable and exciting. Promote parties, get togethers and tailgating before the game.
Allow the best players to make you successful play - do not allow the millennials take control because they think are special or entitled.
Current team retention. As we try to build some depth we need to keep as many current players as possible. This is a unique twist to non-scholarship programs. We will certainly lose some, we added 12 WR's and OL last year for instance, but this is battle #1.
Next year recruiting needs to be solid. We need DL and RB's particularly but can use any talented player regardless of position except perhaps at K.
I agree ^^^.... Valpo can't keep losing players every year at the rate they were lost in the past. The good teams in the PFL are able to retain their athletes. I think it's just as important for Valpo to retain players as it is to recruit freshman. I think the "all about the incoming freshman" mentality was a mistake that was made by the coaching staff this year.
I'm hearing that many freshman (even some that were playing) aren't happy and want to leave. Valpo coaches need to address this if it's true so you don't bring in 50 freshman every year. Personally, I didn't see any freshman that played any better than the upperclassman. No matter who was in the game the outcomes were the same but a freshman is more willing to sit behind an upperclassman and then an upperclassman is willing to sit behind a freshman.
I think the coaches went into a panic after the EKU game and started making too many personnel changes and the season spiraled out of control. Playing a very good scholarship team early in the season shouldn't be a negative especially when you had so many kids suspended. They should have just accepted the loss and continued on the path from the summer verses moving all the kids positions around and effecting the team morale.
One issue which festered during the season and I have heard from a number of different players and parents of the players and includes both sides of the situation was a divide between the freshman and non freshman. It was all sourced from the coaches playing up their first full recruiting class to the level they did. I think it was a fairly large mistake which hopefully will not occur again.
The non freshman felt slighted and the freshmen felt less welcomed than maybe they should have been. The coaches did not create a roster of inclusiveness as there was repeated reference publicly and behind the scenes to the staffs first class. In short, those not recruited by this staff felt as if favorites were being played both in how they were treated in practice and with playing time. It doesn't matter what the reality of the situation was as the perception from both sides of the situation felt the negatives. I know of at least a few non freshmen who left the team because of it. The issue, overall, took most of the season to get past.
Getting back to a how do we get better frame of mind.
Strength and conditioning has to improve. Too beat up at the end of the year and Jax wiped out, I think, 8 in total. I missed a few in my post game comments. Some of the players were much lighter at the end of the year which may have been a cause of the injuries.
The good news is, players have reported that the offseason program is going to begin far sooner than it has the last few years. So it is an issue which is recognized and that in itself is a good thing.
Quote from: VU2624 on November 23, 2015, 03:02:25 PM
One issue which festered during the season and I have heard from a number of different players and parents of the players and includes both sides of the situation was a divide between the freshman and non freshman. It was all sourced from the coaches playing up their first full recruiting class to the level they did. I think it was a fairly large mistake which hopefully will not occur again.
The non freshman felt slighted and the freshmen felt less welcomed than maybe they should have been. The coaches did not create a roster of inclusiveness as there was repeated reference publicly and behind the scenes to the staffs first class. In short, those not recruited by this staff felt as if favorites were being played both in how they were treated in practice and with playing time. It doesn't matter what the reality of the situation was as the perception from both sides of the situation felt the negatives. I know of at least a few non freshmen who left the team because of it. The issue, overall, took most of the season to get past.
Makes a lot of sense. It's a lot easier keeping freshmen "in their place" (i.e., waiting their turn) because they are coming into a new situation (this isn't HS anymore, Dude) than rearranging the culture of the returning 3 classes. I also think that quantity, while good in one sense for identifying the truly talented among the new comers, also means that the number who don't measure up are much greater and, over the course of the season, this can be quite a liability especially when the team is not winning. I recall a conversation I had with Coach Cecchini at an alumni function right after he took the job. He told me that he was used to a roster more in the 80-90 range at Lehigh and The Citadel than 100+ that Valpo seemed to carry. But back there he was dealing with a different level of quality and skill (and some scholarships). He certainly had the 100+ these past two seasons, yet, he may rethink the large class approach and perhaps be more selective (if that is possible).
they need stability at QB, that is for sure.
My feelings is Cecchini needs to show positive results.
More medical staff may not be a bad thing.
Also, what can be done with the football atmosphere to keep players on the roster. How can you increase attendance beyond football parents?
I went to the game at Drake and fans tailgate and have fun before the game. They go to Jethro's BBQ and the Drake Library for lunch and a beverage. They draw around 2500 to 3000 per game but it's not a bad atmosphere - they also have a pretty cool old stadium used primarily for the Drake relays.
Addressing only the fan culture (at least for FB anyway): IMO there really is none at Valpo. The university does very little to encourage and expand the pre-game experience. Much of that may be due to the university's adopted conservative (not in the political sense) approach to promoting the pre-game activities of any sport. I won't get into the missed opportunity after "the shot" in generating fan and alumni support going forward. Much of what is always done is geared to us older geezers who are comfortable with a slower paced ....whatever. Younger graduates? What incentives are provided to make the trek back for games (FB? BB?). Students? The students are left to their own, aren't they? Come to think of it, it seems they are an afterthought. There is only the volunteer pep band, which I do not believe receives much university support.
Why not designate a special tail gate lot and promote it? Provide the opportunity to buy tailgate food and nonalcoholic beverages on site. But ..... Allow people to bring in beer and wine on their own. Move the parents' tent to that area. Establish a drum line group (that is so inspiring) and augment and encourage the development of the pep band. Make them special. Have them perform in the tailgate lot before games. Invite students to tailgate as well. Foster total involvement.
Like at Drake, USC, my experience at Butler ( also watching the Marist fans in Poughkeepsie on three occasions) reinforced in my mind that if the university (read the president and the B of D) wants to understand how to involve alumni (they really need to come out of their cocoons) they have to see how these schools create, foster and nourish alumni participation through simple things like supported tailgating.
Valpo is a private university. Private universities generally have a good reputation for avid alumni support. Valpo not so much. Valpo has a few big bucks donors, but once the average kid graduates, there is very little incentive to keep coming back and donating even a little bit. But at their stage of life, they just need to be attracted back as much as possible to encourage that love -- the donations ( after they pay off their loans ::) ) will come later. But that's how you build alumni fanaticism.
I would bet that most of us on this board evolved our love for Valpo over time and personal reflection. Hell, it took me 30 years to come back to campus (Sheer luck -- I got to see Macchi beat Robert Morris). But that's the Valpo way and has been for at least 50 years if not forever. That needs to be changed. It's an attitude thing.
I know this will not make our OL better. It will not make our QBs more accurate. It will not make our secondary coverage tighter. But it will help to create a compelling, competitive athletic environment that athletes, students, alumni and town citizens will want to be a part of. And this goes for MBB as well as other sports too.
When potential recruits see a more vibrant football atmosphere, it can only be a positive influence for them to want to signup.
The atmosphere at JU was a little different in that there was an alumni event combined with the fact that it was in a state which currently has a large number of players originating from for the final game of the season in which the players would be getting a ride home if they wished.
It was still a fun atmosphere...moreso than what I've experienced on campus....better attended and enthusiastically since more than just parents showed up. There were multiple instances of friends and non immediate family members and also a few of last years players and parents of some of those players came to the game.
The bizarre thing was that the alumni gathering was away from the game a bit although the attending alumni did make it to the game. Too bad a better show couldn't have been provided by the team. Why there wasn't an attempt to mix the tailgaters with the alumni I'm not sure.
I agree overall that the campus game experience improving might help the recruiting. What is the makeup of the typical basketball crowd? I imagine a fair amount of non alumni locals attend the game. That's the crowd the school needs to appeal to IMHO.
UP FRONT SIZE, STRENGTH & 1ST & GOAL
Sometimes it is good to hear what the announcers on the other side have to say about our team. Generally, the views are pretty straight forward and, to a greater degree than ours, unbiased toward us. I had only two opportunities (EKU and JU) to listen to opponent's broadcasts, but on both occasions one positive theme and one theme that I would call a 'comparative assessment' came across.
The strength: our kids play hard all 60 minutes despite, in many instances, being overwhelmed by superior opponent size, talent, speed, ......whatever. This is a tribute to the kind of kids we have and the ability of the staff to help the kids maintain a level of intensity throughout the game even when things go south during a losing effort. The reasons for things going south is a subject for a different post and a different discussion.
The comparative assessment: The announcers for both EKU and JU very early on and at times during each of the games made clear references to Valpo's lack of size and strength up front on both sides of the ball compared to their squads. That would be a 'duh' for EKU, but hearing JU provide the same assessment was a bit more disconcerting. Let's look at the D first. Quickness and speed can take you only so far and for so long against bigger OLs. If we are talking a 10 lbs. per man delta up front, it should not be that great a gap over the course of a full game. A greater average than that per man wears a D down at an accelerating rate over the course of a game. Strength dissipates at a greater rate over time when our players must continually compensate for the weight/size differential. And regardless of when in the game, it does not bode well for 1st and goal situations where bigger teams just bulldoze our smaller DL. If we are committed to a down-4 (2 DEs and 2 DTs) the DTs need to big enough and strong enough to fully control the A and B gaps. These are the 300+ pounders you see in the pro games. At our level, two 6-3, 285# studs are a good start. The DEs both need to be at least John Guilford's size, speed and strength, so we are talking at least 6-4, 265# as targets. Depth should parallel the target sizes.
On offense, the better teams line up against us defensively with players that are pretty much equal to or in some cases bigger than our OL. The same concept of diminishing returns over the length of a game apply here as well. As noted numerous times by posters, we are not getting much push from our OL and, on pass protection, we are sometimes steamrolled resulting in untimely sacks or pressures resulting in poorly thrown passes. Very seldom do we command the LOS. It is not just weight that comes into play, it's size combined with explosive power. With respect to 1st and goal, it was frustrating on a number of occasions when we were inside the five with a 1st and goal, only to be held on three downs (sometimes losing yardage) and being forced to go for a FG instead of walking away with 6. The answer to this is more, bigger O-linemen in the >290 range.
Average running backs can very look good running through holes consistently made by a powerful line. An average QB can better manage a drive and complete passes when he has more time to go through his progressions and find open receivers. Average LBs can make plays and the secondary can cover adequately when the defensive front 4 controls the LOS and pressures QBs. A powerful OL can make short yardage situations something to look forward to. With a bigger, stronger DL, we make more stops on short yardage and make it tougher on 1st and goal situations.
We have moved forward in the last year with the Biel weight training center. The actual impact of which can only to this point be measured over only one full off-season (it was only finished fall of 2014 -- seems so long ago). But it is a huge step in the right direction. Players who complete this next second off-season program should be noticeably stronger and a bit bigger. And the news that the off-season program is starting much earlier in the year is a second step in the right direction.
But in the long term, increased strength still does not fully compensate for the lack of up front size on both sides of the ball that I mentioned above. I guess what I am saying is that we need to start with bigger OL and DL players and make them stronger, so that over the course of a) four seasons for each player and b) a full 60 minutes of every game, we maintain a level playing field, not one where we are playing uphill for most of games. This is a recruiting and retention objective that, hopefully, has the staff's full attention as they evaluate potential class of 2016 candidates and assignments of returning players for next season.
Quote from: VU2624 on November 24, 2015, 11:39:48 AM
The bizarre thing was that the alumni gathering was away from the game a bit although the attending alumni did make it to the game. ..... Why there wasn't an attempt to mix the tailgaters with the alumni I'm not sure.
This goes back to the university's approach discussed below, 2624. I think only alumni were contacted about that and arrangements were made specifically for them outside of the context of a general tail gate experience. We need to first announce and coordinate tail gates at away games for anyone and everyone who follows the team and then include the alumni element within that whole tail gate experience. I know that at Butler a lot of Valpo fans didn't even know that there was a Valpo tail gate sponsored by some of our fans. It wasn't the sponsors' fault. They did a
great fantastic job setting up the food and reserving the corner of the lot. But registration and publicity was done only on the alumni web page (except for also being posted on this board by one of the sponsors). BTW, when we got there, nobody greeted us, there were no name tags, no program of activities (again, not the sponsors' fault -- which to my mind would fall on the shoulders of the appropriate university department(s)). As a result, we just showed up, kind sat around for a while, and ate and that was about it until we went to the game. Again it's a change in approach that needs to be made and a new culture that needs to evolve. Best place to start that is first at Valpo. Set the expectation there and then push it out to the away sites :twocents:
Valpo needs to quit being so damn conservative on some issues and activities. You do not want to create an educational atmosphere where you think you are living in a capsule for the rest of your life. OMG, beer on campus , where is this world coming to?
Quote from: VULB#62 on November 24, 2015, 12:24:12 PMUP FRONT SIZE, STRENGTH & 1ST & GOAL Sometimes it is good to hear what the announcers on the other side have to say about our team. Generally, the views are pretty straight forward and, to a greater degree than ours, unbiased toward us. I had only two opportunities (EKU and JU) to listen to opponent's broadcasts, but on both occasions one positive theme and one theme that I would call a 'comparative assessment' came across. The strength: our kids play hard all 60 minutes despite, in many instances, being overwhelmed by superior opponent size, talent, speed, ......whatever. This is a tribute to the kind of kids we have and the ability of the staff to help the kids maintain a level of intensity throughout the game even when things go south during a losing effort. The reasons for things going south is a subject for a different post and a different discussion. The comparative assessment: The announcers for both EKU and JU very early on and at times during each of the games made clear references to Valpo's lack of size and strength up front on both sides of the ball compared to their squads. That would be a 'duh' for EKU, but hearing JU provide the same assessment was a bit more disconcerting. Let's look at the D first. Quickness and speed can take you only so far and for so long against bigger OLs. If we are talking a 10 lbs. per man delta up front, it should not be that great a gap over the course of a full game. A greater average than that per man wears a D down at an accelerating rate over the course of a game. Strength dissipates at a greater rate over time when our players must continually compensate for the weight/size differential. And regardless of when in the game, it does not bode well for 1st and goal situations where bigger teams just bulldoze our smaller DL. If we are committed to a down-4 (2 DEs and 2 DTs) the DTs need to big enough and strong enough to fully control the A and B gaps. These are the 300+ pounders you see in the pro games. At our level, two 6-3, 285# studs are a good start. The DEs both need to be at least John Guilford's size, speed and strength, so we are talking at least 6-4, 265# as targets. Depth should parallel the target sizes. On offense, the better teams line up against us defensively with players that are pretty much equal to or in some cases bigger than our OL. The same concept of diminishing returns over the length of a game apply here as well. As noted numerous times by posters, we are not getting much push from our OL and, on pass protection, we are sometimes steamrolled resulting in untimely sacks or pressures resulting in poorly thrown passes. Very seldom do we command the LOS. It is not just weight that comes into play, it's size combined with explosive power. With respect to 1st and goal, it was frustrating on a number of occasions when we were inside the five with a 1st and goal, only to be held on three downs (sometimes losing yardage) and being forced to go for a FG instead of walking away with 6. The answer to this is more, bigger O-linemen in the >290 range. Average running backs can very look good running through holes consistently made by a powerful line. An average QB can better manage a drive and complete passes when he has more time to go through his progressions and find open receivers. Average LBs can make plays and the secondary can cover adequately when the defensive front 4 controls the LOS and pressures QBs. A powerful OL can make short yardage situations something to look forward to. With a bigger, stronger DL, we make more stops on short yardage and make it tougher on 1st and goal situations. We have moved forward in the last year with the Biel weight training center. The actual impact of which can only to this point be measured over only one full off-season (it was only finished fall of 2014 -- seems so long ago). But it is a huge step in the right direction. Players who complete this next second off-season program should be noticeably stronger and a bit bigger. And the news that the off-season program is starting much earlier in the year is a second step in the right direction. But in the long term, increased strength still does not fully compensate for the lack of up front size on both sides of the ball that I mentioned above. I guess what I am saying is that we need to start with bigger OL and DL players and make them stronger, so that over the course of a) four seasons for each player and b) a full 60 minutes of every game, we maintain a level playing field, not one where we are playing uphill for most of games. This is a recruiting and retention objective that, hopefully, has the staff's full attention as they evaluate potential class of 2016 candidates and assignments of returning players for next season.
Agreed on all. Whatever the paper listed difference in size overall for Jax vs. Valpo, there was a bigger difference than on paper. It had to be 20 to 30 lbs per lineman and it did look like their DL outweighed Valpo's OL which really is tough to deal with unless the DL can't move at all. However, it's not so disconcerting to me overall in looking at the PFL because, let's face it, Jax goes outside the rules. Thus we are unlikely to compete with them. Hopefully a full offseason for the interior lines and TEs as well will help with the running game and offense in general.
An issue which festered through half the season. After the Drake game:
Coach to Offensive unit:
"I know I can sleep well tonight because I called a good game".
This was said to the offense and was repeated to me by multiple players. It was still being repeated to me by players in multiple position groups and defensive players along with parents in a shaking their heads fashion on Saturday. Between this comment and the Stetson gameplan in which almost an entirely new scheme was installed on Tuesday with the players really not understanding why or having much faith in it, I don't think the players had a lot of belief in the staff. Whether this is supposed to be an issue or not, it was and this was illustrated with it still there more than a month later.
When coaches don't include themselves as part of a problem, the coaches become a bigger part of the problem.
Some of this staff is pretty young. Hopefully they learn from their mistakes. I think we may see some changes here at least in some fashion.
On a positive note:
Senior linebacker Alex Green (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community) was named to the All-Pioneer Football League First Team, as announced by the league office Tuesday. Furthermore, John Guilford (Spencer, Ohio/Black River), Cody Cotton (Maywood, Ill./Walther Lutheran), J.J. Nunes (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Lutheran), and Griffin Norberg (Sunrise, Fla./Western) earned Honorable Mention accolades as well.
Green led the Crusader defense in tackles for the third consecutive season, amassing 117 stops in ten games. His 11.7 tackles per game average led the PFL and was eighth in all of FCS football. Green also finished 11th in the country - and second in the league - in solo tackles per game, at 6.2.
Congratulation Alex on being the first Valpo PFL 1st teamer since 2006 and congratulations to John, Cody, JJ and Griff as well for being recognized for their play. IMO, John should have been a second teamer.
http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2015-16/15089/green-named-all-pfl-first-team-four-others-earn-honorable-mention-nods/#.Vl344oQ4ko8 (http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2015-16/15089/green-named-all-pfl-first-team-four-others-earn-honorable-mention-nods/#.Vl344oQ4ko8)
http://files.streamlinetechnologies.com/valpoathletics/9DB11E6F-3F84-43E9-884D-91E1862A0213/2015AllPFLTeamRelease.pdf (http://files.streamlinetechnologies.com/valpoathletics/9DB11E6F-3F84-43E9-884D-91E1862A0213/2015AllPFLTeamRelease.pdf)
Congrats to Alex and the rest of the gang!
Considering that the 11 PFL teams have 24 "starters" (11 O, 11 D plus 2 ST) each, that's 264 candidates to be among the top 59 is pretty good. Alex being in the top 11 is no mean feat. He's made over 100 tackles each of the last 3 years - that's incredible consistency.
Great news...very happy for him.
More accolades for Alex Green and 3 others.
PFL Academic All League.
Redshirt sophomore Brian Lang (Chicago, Ill./Marist) was elected to the First Team thanks to a 3.94 grade point average. The accounting major was a Second Team recipient last season after helping the Crusader offensive line lead the nation in fewest sacks allowed per game (0.42). Lang started in nine of Valpo's ten games in 2015.
Alex Green (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community) received Second Team accolades one day after earning a spot on the All-PFL First Team. Green, a mechanical engineering major, led the PFL in tackles per game at 11.7. The senior linebacker sports a 3.43 GPA. Green was a First Team Academic All-PFL selection in both 2013 and 2014.
Green joins fellow mechanical engineering major John Guilford (Spencer, Ohio/Black River) on the Second Team. Guilford amassed 12.0 tackles for a loss this past season while maintaining a 3.36 grade point average in the classroom. The defensive end was a Second Team Academic All-PFL honoree in 2014.
Special teams standout Jarrett Morgan (Cooper City, Fla./Cooper City) also made the Academic All-PFL Second Team. Morgan, who handled 35 kickoff returns for 790 yards, recorded the game-tying touchdown at Davidson via an 89-yard kickoff return. The sophomore is a sports management major with a 3.33 grade point average.
http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2015-16/15093/valpo-football-lands-four-on-academic-all-pfl-teams/#.Vl9ExoQ4ko8 (http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2015-16/15093/valpo-football-lands-four-on-academic-all-pfl-teams/#.Vl9ExoQ4ko8)
http://files.streamlinetechnologies.com/valpoathletics/9DB11E6F-3F84-43E9-884D-91E1862A0213/2015AcademicAllPFLTeamRelease.pdf (http://files.streamlinetechnologies.com/valpoathletics/9DB11E6F-3F84-43E9-884D-91E1862A0213/2015AcademicAllPFLTeamRelease.pdf)
Apparently QB Conner Smith's injury has been determined to be career ending. Too bad this guy was awesome in HS.
If so, that's a shame. For some unknown reason, that kid was followed by a gray cloud. Not fair. I viewed his recruiting highlights tape and was really impressed. I would have liked to have seen him on the field in a college game situation -- just once.
On "paper*," the 2016 QB roster is down to 3 returning: Ryan with the most experience, Dalton returning from shoulder surgery and Jake who redshirted last season. Ryan, mainly a passer not a runner, showed some flashes, but also made some bad reads and gave up a few pick 6s. Dalton was a hybrid runner passer or passer runner, but our sample size is too small to pass judgment. And we haven't seen Jake in a college situation yet, so we don't know what kind of ball he throws, how good/fast a runner he is or how he manages games.
In retrospect, Ben was best suited for the offense that Valpo is using as he could run, pass from the pocket and pass on the run. He proved that in the one year he was a starter. Using him as the benchmark, Dalton was first in line this season due to his versatility until he went down and no one else could quite do all that was demanded of the position. Essentially the QB slot was one-dimensional and posed no running threat.# That needs to be addressed - especially in that our O-line is/will be undersized and young even next year. It will be interesting to see whether the offense (and therefore, the QB role) changes/adjusts as a result of what we could and could not do this season.
*rumors of a QB defection not withstanding
# That's fine if you have a flat out great passer.
The other big general is how many of the 50 freshman will stay, regardless of the magnitude of playing time they had this year.
I think next year is a put up or shut up year for cecchini and maybe where the football program goes.
The fact that 2015 was his first full class (started late after his hire in 2014 and only got, what, 15 to come in?) and he lost twenty-something seniors from the 2014 squad, I'd say season 4 will be the pivotal season. By that time the 2015 class will be juniors and the 2016 class will be sophomores.
Quote from: VULB#62 on December 03, 2015, 10:14:38 AMIf so, that's a shame. For some unknown reason, that kid was followed by a gray cloud. Not fair. I viewed his recruiting highlights tape and was really impressed. I would have liked to have seen him on the field in a college game situation -- just once. On "paper*," the 2016 QB roster is down to 3 returning: Ryan with the most experience, Dalton returning from shoulder surgery and Jake who redshirted last season. Ryan, mainly a passer not a runner, showed some flashes, but also made some bad reads and gave up a few pick 6s. Dalton was a hybrid runner passer or passer runner, but our sample size is too small to pass judgment. And we haven't seen Jake in a college situation yet, so we don't know what kind of ball he throws, how good/fast a runner he is or how he manages games. In retrospect, Ben was best suited for the offense that Valpo is using as he could run, pass from the pocket and pass on the run. He proved that in the one year he was a starter. Using him as the benchmark, Dalton was first in line this season due to his versatility until he went down and no one else could quite do all that was demanded of the position. Essentially the QB slot was one-dimensional and posed no running threat.# That needs to be addressed - especially in that our O-line is/will be undersized and young even next year. It will be interesting to see whether the offense (and therefore, the QB role) changes/adjusts as a result of what we could and could not do this season. *rumors of a QB defection not withstanding # That's fine if you have a flat out great passer.
A few pretty well informed points and some opinion. Smith was very unlikely to provide much for Valpo as a QB. He's apparently sticking around in a coach/manager role which is a good thing. It's what he was doing this year anyway and the team can use the help in that capacity as well. The bizarre comment by Vickrey that Connor was in any way ready to play as a backup in Jax was just really weird as it was not happening.
Stokes fits the offense the best but has had a couple of injuries and now has a tough situation to come back from. Clarke's problem in this offense is less mobility than it is simple accuracy in the short game. He can make the long throws very well but the bread and butter of this offense is short to medium throws. Paliga? We'll see. Lot's of ability. There was a fair amount of comment that he is leaving. Coaches comments don't reflect that and it sounds like they are counting on him. Remember that, at this time last year, the expectation was that the QB was going to be a red shirt transfer who never even got to spring practice IIRC. I REALLY hope he's back.
Quote from: VULB#62 on December 03, 2015, 12:17:00 PMThe fact that 2015 was his first full class (started late after his hire in 2014 and only got, what, 15 to come in?) and he lost twenty-something seniors from the 2014 squad, I'd say season 4 will be the pivotal season. By that time the 2015 class will be juniors and the 2016 class will be sophomores.
I don't know about put up or shut up as it was put but the team has to show that they are moving forward.
Recruiting wise, typically Valpo takes what they can get and don't necessarily recruit for specific positions but this HAS to be a defensive recruiting class. QB could be an issue. RB will lose Jake and I'll guess BHall as well since that was the expectation I heard. Hopefully he has a change of heart. Bastin was out for quite a while with concussion issues, I don't think it's the first time and he may be a loss as well. That would leave Legend and Jarrett. Depth needed there...probably. OL should be much better just from a year's experience. Always need OLmen as recruits. WR with Catrine on one side is good. The other side someone needs to step up. They were essentially a zero when Catrine got hurt. Slots should be capably manned with Rene, Shea and Dugan. TE and Hback have two quality players who should only get better. With the right QB, these guys can run rings around a defense. If it's lob it up to Catrine again next year, they won't do anything.
They will need defensive players who can play right away. That's the concern. Offense should be ok except for some depth in spots.
As far a Cecchini, as I said, progress will need to be shown and he should have had enough time to evaluate his staff and make any changes if he feels the need. He can't wait until year 4 to start making moves on that front...in my opinion.
Quote from: VU2624 on December 03, 2015, 05:10:09 PMThe bizarre comment by Vickrey that Connor was in any way ready to play as a backup in Jax was just really weird as it was not happening.
Cecchini told me Thursday before the Jacksonville game that Smith was cleared to throw and sounded optimistic he'd be available as the backup for Saturday. I believe he tried to throw in practice later that day and it didn't go well. DC earlier this week: "His doctors quickly said, no you can't do that, and shut that idea down." Conner's going to stay around and help the coaching staff.
If I remember correctly Connor spent some time at the Perry Meridian radio station and might be a good asset to have in the WVUR booth. I heard that he once had a vision of being a broadcast personality.
Quote from: Brandon on December 03, 2015, 11:42:48 PM
Quote from: VU2624 on December 03, 2015, 05:10:09 PMThe bizarre comment by Vickrey that Connor was in any way ready to play as a backup in Jax was just really weird as it was not happening.
Cecchini told me Thursday before the Jacksonville game that Smith was cleared to throw and sounded optimistic he'd be available as the backup for Saturday. I believe he tried to throw in practice later that day and it didn't go well. DC earlier this week: "His doctors quickly said, no you can't do that, and shut that idea down." Conner's going to stay around and help the coaching staff.
Thanks Brandon and understand you can only report what you've been told. I wasn't implying that you were making it up, if that's your take, just that it was weird because he hadn't practiced. There were some other things going on with the QB situation which maybe the staff was trying to avoid discussing and not let Jax know what the backup plan was.
Quote from: VU2624 on December 03, 2015, 05:20:58 PMRecruiting wise, typically Valpo takes what they can get and don't necessarily recruit for specific positions but this HAS to be a defensive recruiting class. QB could be an issue. RB will lose Jake and I'll guess BHall as well since that was the expectation I heard. Hopefully he has a change of heart. Bastin was out for quite a while with concussion issues, I don't think it's the first time and he may be a loss as well. That would leave Legend and Jarrett. Depth needed there...probably. OL should be much better just from a year's experience. Always need OLmen as recruits. WR with Catrine on one side is good. The other side someone needs to step up. They were essentially a zero when Catrine got hurt. Slots should be capably manned with Rene, Shea and Dugan. TE and Hback have two quality players who should only get better. With the right QB, these guys can run rings around a defense. If it's lob it up to Catrine again next year, they won't do anything. They will need defensive players who can play right away. That's the concern. Offense should be ok except for some depth in spots
Seems to me we must add at least one QB (probably two given injuries) and two RBs. If most return we could live without any OL and WR but I assume we will add some which is fine. Agree on defensive especially DL. We lose Guilford, Cotton, White and probably Scoville plus Buchanan seems to have dropped during the season. Only De La Rosa and Sloane return who played a lot and lets be honest he is too small to be a DL. Add to that Green and his annual 100 tackles will graduate.
Sorta agreeing with 2426. As this program progresses toward competitiveness it needs to get the best players available regardless of position to bring up the overall quality of talent across the board. We are not in a position to be selective about positions - yet. Once the program is brought to a competitive level that sees us consistently winning at a .500 clip in the PFL with blips up into the 6+ win range on occasion, then we will have the luxury of more targeted recruiting. Having said this, obviously weak/thin positions need to be shored up ASAP.
I'm wondering if the staff is considering recruiting the JC football world for some immediate boost? That's how we got David Macchi.
Quote from: IndyValpo on December 04, 2015, 09:44:45 AMQuote from: VU2624 on December 03, 2015, 05:20:58 PMRecruiting wise, typically Valpo takes what they can get and don't necessarily recruit for specific positions but this HAS to be a defensive recruiting class. QB could be an issue. RB will lose Jake and I'll guess BHall as well since that was the expectation I heard. Hopefully he has a change of heart. Bastin was out for quite a while with concussion issues, I don't think it's the first time and he may be a loss as well. That would leave Legend and Jarrett. Depth needed there...probably. OL should be much better just from a year's experience. Always need OLmen as recruits. WR with Catrine on one side is good. The other side someone needs to step up. They were essentially a zero when Catrine got hurt. Slots should be capably manned with Rene, Shea and Dugan. TE and Hback have two quality players who should only get better. With the right QB, these guys can run rings around a defense. If it's lob it up to Catrine again next year, they won't do anything. They will need defensive players who can play right away. That's the concern. Offense should be ok except for some depth in spots
Seems to me we must add at least one QB (probably two given injuries) and two RBs. If most return we could live without any OL and WR but I assume we will add some which is fine. Agree on defensive especially DL. We lose Guilford, Cotton, White and probably Scoville plus Buchanan seems to have dropped during the season. Only De La Rosa and Sloane return who played a lot and lets be honest he is too small to be a DL. Add to that Green and his annual 100 tackles will graduate.
One thing a more experienced roster provides is quicker paced and more productive practices particularly in summer camp. In this staff's first year, the offense had a lot of returners and nearly no freshman who had to step in and play and the offense clicked pretty well. Last year, with a bunch of freshman WRs, TEs and OL, I can't imagine camp moved along all that swiftly. In fact, that was the word. So next year the offense has a chance to practice at a competitive pace after a full spring as well.
Defense may be another story.
That's what I heard from the coaches too after SHU. They needed to spend a lot of time bringing the freshman along and teaching college level techniques. Not to mention that they had a whole slew of them to teach.
Quote from: IndyValpo on December 04, 2015, 09:44:45 AM
Quote from: VU2624 on December 03, 2015, 05:20:58 PMRecruiting wise, typically Valpo takes what they can get and don't necessarily recruit for specific positions but this HAS to be a defensive recruiting class. QB could be an issue. RB will lose Jake and I'll guess BHall as well since that was the expectation I heard. Hopefully he has a change of heart. Bastin was out for quite a while with concussion issues, I don't think it's the first time and he may be a loss as well. That would leave Legend and Jarrett. Depth needed there...probably. OL should be much better just from a year's experience. Always need OLmen as recruits. WR with Catrine on one side is good. The other side someone needs to step up. They were essentially a zero when Catrine got hurt. Slots should be capably manned with Rene, Shea and Dugan. TE and Hback have two quality players who should only get better. With the right QB, these guys can run rings around a defense. If it's lob it up to Catrine again next year, they won't do anything. They will need defensive players who can play right away. That's the concern. Offense should be ok except for some depth in spots
Seems to me we must add at least one QB (probably two given injuries) and two RBs. If most return we could live without any OL and WR but I assume we will add some which is fine. Agree on defensive especially DL. We lose Guilford, Cotton, White and probably Scoville plus Buchanan seems to have dropped during the season. Only De La Rosa and Sloane return who played a lot and lets be honest he is too small to be a DL. Add to that Green and his annual 100 tackles will graduate.
Let's not forget we had two QB's and two starting RBs suffer concussions this season. The running game was stalled this year because of the OL. Hall suffered a concussion early and missed a couple of games and Bastin missed the last 5 (?) games with his. IMO (and the opinion of many others I have talked to) the OL is the most critical component of fixing the offense next season.
A good OL makes mediocre QBs and RBs look good; a mediocre OL makes good QBs and RBs look mediocre.
One thing I thought of after last posting is Spring Ball could have 2 or 1 QB participating which may limit some things they work on. I have no idea where Cody Labanowitz is with his injury recovery but he was a QB in HS although more of a runner. He may be pressed into service if healthy.
This string is about looking at who we are as a football program. So, I was scanning various Twitter pages and came across a retweet by VU FB coach Vinny Giacalone of a "Looking Beyond Sports" video of our Nick Turner. This is the type of kid we recruit. Couldn't be prouder of him or our program for finding kids like him.
[tweet]676491897544814592[/tweet]
From The VU Roster page:
Nick Turner
Freshman, ILB, 6-0, 230#
Prep: A three-year letterwinner for the Blue Devils...earned All-Conference Honorable Mention accolades and Academic All-Conference honors as a sophomore...named First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Area in addition to receiving his second Academic All-Conference nod his junior year...was an Academic All-State recipient in 2013...selected Team Defensive Player of the Year while collecting First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Area distinction his senior season...named a Daily Herald Player of the Week in 2014...earned a letter in basketball...made Honor Roll in 2011-12 and 2013-14, and High Honor Roll in 2012-13 and 2014-15.
Personal: Nick is the son of Coryn Turner...majoring in engineering...born September 23rd, 1996.
Wow! So impressive. Makes winning at all costs seem so worthless. What a fine young man.
There are winds of change starting to rustle up their ugly heads as the VU football program marches on.............into what?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Quote from: historyman on December 18, 2015, 04:07:09 PMThere are winds of change starting to rustle up their ugly heads as the VU football program marches on.............into what? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Don't be a tease. Do tell!
what's the big news? A heated pressbox? Tailgating with the evil malted beverage? Do tell!
Quote from: historyman on December 18, 2015, 04:07:09 PM
There are winds of change starting to rustle up their ugly heads as the VU football program marches on.............into what?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
"Ugly" is the operative term here. This isn't teasing, it's sadism.
In Dave Cecchini's first game as head coach I stated that I didn't think DavCe had done only slightly better than DalCa in his first game. Both first games were against WIU. I was told how much better Valpo was during the DavCe time because of some items he had done better during his first year. Valpo won 4 games, had a quarterback who performed reasonably well, and the defense was looking particularly better than under DalCa's time. Now during DavCe second year I'm hearing ugly rumblings about how the coaching staff is letting the team down and there are beginning to be mutinies among the players. As some of the upperclassmen were upset because some of the freshmen and sophomores were getting playing time without earning it in an effort to build the team for the future. So this past season the Crusaders won 1 game (not counting the CoF game) which is what DalCa did in 3 of his seasons. Is this truly going to be a better program in DavCe' time as compared to DalCa's time? I say only slightly better. Was it worth it to bring in DavCe? Only the next two years will tell. It is so interesting to see some people on here seeing the truth about the quality of DavCe. It might not be that the quality matches the hype.
Thanks HM for expanding on your original message. Yep, year two was not a happy year. And the issues you point to were/are real. Some mistakes were made, but a good staff will learn from those mistakes. I think most us agree that the next two years will indicate the direction of the program. But that's the case with many programs trying to dig their way out of the basement. Whew, at first, I was thinking that you were privy to news that Cecchini was leaving, or that the sport was being dropped, or something just as dramatic.
At this early stage, I believe that we will be 1-2 going into the 2016 PFL schedule and that we will probably win two games for a 3-8 season. A 4-7 record might be within reach, however. But there will also probably be one PFL clunker along the way.
In 2017 we again will be 1-2 going into the PFL schedule. The two losses should be less one-sided (although Montana is a top flight FCS team). We should win 3 to 4 PFL games for a 4-7 or possibly 5-6 record. Even then there may be a PFL clunker, but generally we should be in just about every PFL game.
That type of scenario would indicate to me that progress has been achieved and that we are headed in the right direction. By the 2018 season our program should be stable and deep enough to be, at a minimum, a 4 to 5 PFL win team year in and year out, with an occasional 6 PFL win season thrown in. And a 6-2 PFL season might even get us a championship depending on the season. Please note that my emphasis is the 8 game PFL schedule. Nothing else should realistically be a part of the progress measuring stick (unless perhaps if we can't even beat an NAIA school in 2017).
Again, compared to these other programs in the Pioneer League, is Valpo truly committed to football? Or is it a cash cow to bring in male students?
Perhaps the upperclassmen were not at a talent level for a successful program.
Sorry, 3-8 and 4-7 season does not cut it or should meet expectations.
Cecchini is an improvement over Carlson, period.
Quote from: VULB#62 on December 19, 2015, 10:44:31 PMThanks HM for expanding on your original message. Yep, year two was not a happy year. And the issues you point to were/are real. Some mistakes were made, but a good staff will learn from those mistakes. I think most us agree that the next two years will indicate the direction of the program. But that's the case with many programs trying to dig their way out of the basement. Whew, at first, I was thinking that you were privy to news that Cecchini was leaving, or that the sport was being dropped, or something just as dramatic. At this early stage, I believe that we will be 1-2 going into the 2016 PFL schedule and that we will probably win two games for a 3-8 season. A 4-7 record might be within reach, however. But there will also probably be one PFL clunker along the way. In 2017 we again will be 1-2 going into the PFL schedule. The two losses should be less one-sided (although Montana is a top flight FCS team). We should win 3 to 4 PFL games for a 4-7 or possibly 5-6 record. Even then there may be a PFL clunker, but generally we should be in just about every PFL game. That type of scenario would indicate to me that progress has been achieved and that we are headed in the right direction. By the 2018 season our program should be stable and deep enough to be, at a minimum, a 4 to 5 PFL win team year in and year out, with an occasional 6 PFL win season thrown in. And a 6-2 PFL season might even get us a championship depending on the season. Please note that my emphasis is the 8 game PFL schedule. Nothing else should realistically be a part of the progress measuring stick (unless perhaps if we can't even beat an NAIA school in 2017).
I assume Valpo will be able to beat Trinity Intl and indeed be 1-2 going in to PFL play. In league play they should be capable of a win vs. Davidson, Stetson, Butler, Morehead State with Drake, Dayton, SD and Jax being much tougher to consider at this point.
It will be very interesting to see if there are changes on the coaching staff during the next couple of months which is when assistants generally move around. Cecchini is going into a year in which there likely has to be demonstrated improvement. After a couple of years of evaluation of the staff, if he's going to make any moves, this would be the time you would expect him to do so. Scuttlebutt is that he is but that could also simply be scuttlebutt.
Roster wise, the offense is back for the most part with a few problems. The entire WR crew is back with a need for an outside receiver to step up opposite Catrine. TE/Hback should be fine with Sutter and Nordberg. RB has Legend and Morgan for sure. Bastin may be a question mark and we have to see if BHall elects to return for a 5th year. This is also a position where it is easier for a freshman to step in immediately if that becomes necessary. The OL should be markedly better as going from Freshman year to Sophomore year is usually a big improvement jump.
Then there's QB. Right now it's Clarke and Paliga. It may not be in a couple of weeks. Stokes won't be ready until fall and he's returning from a very tough injury for a QB. Having one QB for spring ball, if that is the case, will be a problem just in general. There aren't a lot of upperclassmen on the offensive side of the ball and even those will have eligibility beyond this season should they choose.
Defense is where the largest holes will be. The two or three best players on defense need to be replaced along with some depth guys. Hopefully some of last years recruiting class steps up because a defense with a few freshman starters could be a problem.
Next few months should answer some questions as to who returns both on the coaching staff and roster.
Hmmm soooo, the H-Man is correct ref current state of the team. Major issues with players and how the some of staff handled accountability (I did my job, you guys s@@k). Also, the messaging of "we are working towards the future" to the existing players. The reality was we had freshman and some soph's simply walk into positions in August that they never really earned. Am guessing they were promised a few things in recruiting? There will be some players not returning. In fact, we have a situation of a perfect storm brewing. I guess some freshman unhappy because of what they went through this season and also upperclassmen who witnessed a change in the coaching philosophy from the prior season. It is quite obvious having watched the players lack of some focus during the games, the staff (staff running out of the press box to scream at players on the field) and the expectations we had coming into the season, that 2015 was a major step back. Finally, for those of you saying maybe the freshman were just better, wake up. WE WON 1 GAME. We were smashed by Stetson. Stetson. Not Dayton. Stetson. Yet no attempt was made to try and use other players who had played last year, won a few games, are mentally tougher and came to VALPO trying to revive the program. I am objective enough to know there were a few impact players from the freshman class that deserved major reps, however, I feel that the team could of mixed in upper classmen and made more adjustments week to week to find the right mixes( IE not subbing 4 RB's per game) and game palns. Will see what happens.
According to Brandon Vickery, Paliga is transferring to Purdue at semester. With the injury to Stokes, Valpo is left with one quarterback for the spring. Shaping up like last offseason all over again.
think of the bright side, Valpo is still raking in cash by having football. With the status of the football at Valpo, and the lack of committment for success, it is a lean mean money making machine.
Genuinely interested, what do you believe a commitment for success in football looks like?
I have to be honest - better football facilities, overall university empathy for the program, more students at the game, providing a reason for fans to attend. If student athletes are paying to play, and we are trying to represent Division I football, I think the university, and not just the athletic department and player parents, needs to get more engaged.
I was at the Drake game with my family I felt like we were the only Valpo supporters that were not football parents. There were few Valpo alums at the game, and Des Moines is not that distant. It was kind of disappointing.
Also, I support the coaching staff and I think they are going through difficult hurdles but will hopefully get through the storm.
Quote from: dime life on December 20, 2015, 05:08:41 PMYet no attempt was made to try and use other players who had played last year, won a few games, are mentally tougher and came to VALPO trying to revive the program. I am objective enough to know there were a few impact players from the freshman class that deserved major reps, however, I feel that the team could of mixed in upper classmen and made more adjustments week to week to find the right mixes( IE not subbing 4 RB's per game) and game palns. Will see what happens.
Still waiting on a list of these players we did not play causing the bad season.
While we do need to continue to improve I believe we have been making progress in both those areas.
Since Coach Cecchini has arrived we have renovated and expanded the football weight room and completely renovated the football locker room.
The Alumni Association had events at both the Butler and Jacksonville games. The tailgating event at Butler was very well attended and I believe the Jacksonville event sold out. The Alumni Association has been instrumental in changing the way that Homecoming is organized so that most of Saturday's activity is adjacent to Brown Field. This includes a beer garden. This year there was a hospitality area adjacent to the east endzone during the Homecoming game. VUPD is much more thoughtful about the way that alcohol consumption is monitored. The University's Student Affairs staff has been proactive in helping engage fraternities and sororities in football games.
The challenge at this point is putting a team on the field that is not only competitive but wins games. Students, like all fans, want to see their team win. The best plan for growing attendance is to win games.
The University is committed to having a successful football program. Appreciate your support for Coach Cecchini and his staff. Thanks for your continuing interest.
Quote from: Vinny on December 20, 2015, 05:53:59 PMAccording to Brandon Vickery, Paliga is transferring to Purdue at semester. With the injury to Stokes, Valpo is left with one quarterback for the spring. Shaping up like last offseason all over again.
Saw that. Unfortunatley this rumor turns out to be accurate although it's been out there for months.
Wonder if Connor Smith takes snaps at QB in the spring. I have not idea how you hold spring practice with one QB. Last year it was the WR group which ended up with punters and DBs playing WR. This year they have one guy throwing to them.
Naturally, with the WR group having more than enough guys returning, the first announced recruit is a WR. :lol: :lol: :lol: :banghead:
Geez, a list???
Yeah, ummm let's see, the 4 starting WR's coming out of Spring, per the HC...Morgan, Catrine, Shea and Foley, rarely a snap with 2 of those 4 out there at once, let alone all 4. Jean Rene played well, other than that the WR's could not get off a press or block. Going "power" with 2 TE's and expecting them to open up holes? Stetson anyone? At RB, tried over and over all year to get Legend reps, in the end, he averaged 2 yds per carry. Should of been red-shirted. We had Bastin, Jake and B-Hall ready to go. The O-Line...jumbled and juggled all season to get freshman reps. and they were "monstered". Lead to some concussions, no running game and a weekly debate internally on who was going to start or not. So, this all helped to lead VALPO to a whopping 1 win. Now the red=shirt QB quit, more to follow. You have a roster of 90+, you make changes, you make players earn their spots. The entitlement plan for 2015 was a disaster.
Quote from: dime life on December 21, 2015, 01:11:48 PM
Geez, a list???
Yeah, ummm let's see, the 4 starting WR's coming out of Spring, per the HC...Morgan, Catrine, Shea and Foley, rarely a snap with 2 of those 4 out there at once, let alone all 4. Jean Rene played well, other than that the WR's could not get off a press or block. Going "power" with 2 TE's and expecting them to open up holes? Stetson anyone? At RB, tried over and over all year to get Legend reps, in the end, he averaged 2 yds per carry. Should of been red-shirted. We had Bastin, Jake and B-Hall ready to go. The O-Line...jumbled and juggled all season to get freshman reps. and they were "monstered". Lead to some concussions, no running game and a weekly debate internally on who was going to start or not. So, this all helped to lead VALPO to a whopping 1 win. Now the red=shirt QB quit, more to follow. You have a roster of 90+, you make changes, you make players earn their spots. The entitlement plan for 2015 was a disaster.
You do realize that we only had 6 upper class offensive linemen. 2 or more of those had a game suspension. 3 of those guys did not play in the second half of the season due to injuries. Who was supposed to play?
You love to hit the 4 RB thing. In reality Bastin did not play past week 4 and Hall missed multiple games. See my note above. it all starts there.
We had QB's get hurt, see above.
We started the season with one returning WR and he was #5 on the depth chart. We shoehorned 2 RB's and a DB in for the spring game so we would have enough to play. Some of those worked out, some apparently did not.
Quote from: IndyValpo on December 21, 2015, 02:11:22 PMQuote from: dime life on December 21, 2015, 01:11:48 PMGeez, a list??? Yeah, ummm let's see, the 4 starting WR's coming out of Spring, per the HC...Morgan, Catrine, Shea and Foley, rarely a snap with 2 of those 4 out there at once, let alone all 4. Jean Rene played well, other than that the WR's could not get off a press or block. Going "power" with 2 TE's and expecting them to open up holes? Stetson anyone? At RB, tried over and over all year to get Legend reps, in the end, he averaged 2 yds per carry. Should of been red-shirted. We had Bastin, Jake and B-Hall ready to go. The O-Line...jumbled and juggled all season to get freshman reps. and they were "monstered". Lead to some concussions, no running game and a weekly debate internally on who was going to start or not. So, this all helped to lead VALPO to a whopping 1 win. Now the red=shirt QB quit, more to follow. You have a roster of 90+, you make changes, you make players earn their spots. The entitlement plan for 2015 was a disaster.
You do realize that we only had 6 upper class offensive linemen. 2 or more of those had a game suspension. 3 of those guys did not play in the second half of the season due to injuries. Who was supposed to play? You love to hit the 4 RB thing. In reality Bastin did not play past week 4 and Hall missed multiple games. See my note above. it all starts there. We had QB's get hurt, see above. We started the season with one returning WR and he was #5 on the depth chart. We shoehorned 2 RB's and a DB in for the spring game so we would have enough to play. Some of those worked out, some apparently did not.
I don't disagree with the overall point but the WRs who returned, Catrine, Shea and Morgan all played WR last season '(14). Shea was #4 the previous year. Catrine took over for him late in the year when he was injured. Morgan was spotted in the slot also late in the season. For spring '15 they used Koz and Foley at WR along with a transfer who I think may have eventually left the team after starting the fall with the team in '15. The only real issue at WR was the z receiver which was all freshmen and none who stood out and who didn't step up when Catrine was out the last 2 or 3 games. The good news is they become sophomores. As to Jarret, it took too long to figure out he's a better fit at RB imho so having him out there with Catrine, et al, would have been a mistake anyway. He's fully recovered from his injury btw as it was not a long term injury.
I think some of the complaining I heard came out of the OL group but maybe it was more Sophs. I did hear of one or two leaving the team because of the whole "freshman" issue. I think the other spot was DB.
ml -
Thank you very much for your response and explanation. I have been critical of the football program and watching them this season was frustrating and challenging. When we were at the Drake game in Des Moines this year, my wife and pre-teen daughters attended and I thanked then and gave them kudos for making it through 4 quarters of football. At least the BBQ across the street before the game was good and the parents were friendly.
I heard from 62 and others about the efforts to boost the football experience, which helps. I hope to make it Valpo for a game, job fair or homecoming in the future.
Coach Cecchini and his staff are learning but I think they are building this program to win in a sustainable manner.
IMO, the team needs more overall talent.
Quote from: ml on December 21, 2015, 10:38:27 AMWhile we do need to continue to improve I believe we have been making progress in both those areas. Since Coach Cecchini has arrived we have renovated and expanded the football weight room and completely renovated the football locker room. The Alumni Association had events at both the Butler and Jacksonville games. The tailgating event at Butler was very well attended and I believe the Jacksonville event sold out. The Alumni Association has been instrumental in changing the way that Homecoming is organized so that most of Saturday's activity is adjacent to Brown Field. This includes a beer garden. This year there was a hospitality area adjacent to the east endzone during the Homecoming game. VUPD is much more thoughtful about the way that alcohol consumption is monitored. The University's Student Affairs staff has been proactive in helping engage fraternities and sororities in football games. The challenge at this point is putting a team on the field that is not only competitive but wins games. Students, like all fans, want to see their team win. The best plan for growing attendance is to win games. The University is committed to having a successful football program. Appreciate your support for Coach Cecchini and his staff. Thanks for your continuing interest.
Thanks ml. I agree that it's tough generating campus enthusiasm for a program that is not winning and often not competitive. Next year could be a challenge as well because of some of the personnel issues discussed elsewhere in this thread. Hopefully the staff can put together a plan which gets around these challenges.
The Jacksonville Alumni event was, apparently, away from the field. The parent and family friend/high school teammate portion of the crowd, which was substantial with a fair sum of players being from Florida and travelling home from the game, was away from the Alumni event. I'm not sure if that is typical or not but we friends and family found it a little odd.
Quote from: VU2624 on December 21, 2015, 07:29:19 PM
Quote from: ml on December 21, 2015, 10:38:27 AMWhile we do need to continue to improve I believe we have been making progress in both those areas. Since Coach Cecchini has arrived we have renovated and expanded the football weight room and completely renovated the football locker room. The Alumni Association had events at both the Butler and Jacksonville games. The tailgating event at Butler was very well attended and I believe the Jacksonville event sold out. The Alumni Association has been instrumental in changing the way that Homecoming is organized so that most of Saturday's activity is adjacent to Brown Field. This includes a beer garden. This year there was a hospitality area adjacent to the east endzone during the Homecoming game. VUPD is much more thoughtful about the way that alcohol consumption is monitored. The University's Student Affairs staff has been proactive in helping engage fraternities and sororities in football games. The challenge at this point is putting a team on the field that is not only competitive but wins games. Students, like all fans, want to see their team win. The best plan for growing attendance is to win games. The University is committed to having a successful football program. Appreciate your support for Coach Cecchini and his staff. Thanks for your continuing interest.
Thanks ml. I agree that it's tough generating campus enthusiasm for a program that is not winning and often not competitive. Next year could be a challenge as well because of some of the personnel issues discussed elsewhere in this thread. Hopefully the staff can put together a plan which gets around these challenges.
The Jacksonville Alumni event was, apparently, away from the field. The parent and family friend/high school teammate portion of the crowd, which was substantial with a fair sum of players being from Florida and travelling home from the game, was away from the Alumni event. I'm not sure if that is typical or not but we friends and family found it a little odd.
Thanks ML for posting the response yesterday. Everything that has transpired over the last two years, IMO, has indicated commitment to the program. However, I emboldened your key statement above that is, of course, obvious and supported by everyone on this board. I don't think there are any posters who don't want Valpo FB to win games, thus the frustration and emotions that sneak out every now and again. People want to help. Perhaps the athletic department could send out more information about how we
specifically can help the football staff achieve their player recruitment and training objectives. Once the whistle blows its up to Coach Cecchini and his coaches to do the winning part, but if the program needs other
specific things to get to where they want to be, football supporters need to know so they can help.
USC and 2624 have good points about the atmosphere at away games -- player parents' and alumni activities are not very well coordinated (and they could be better coordinated at home as well). We do need to promote (via the athletics website??) a single tailgate location for all in attendance and then co-mingle parents, students, alumni and fans somehow on a regular basis. Butler, for me, was a good example. I heard about the sponsored tailgate through the Fan Board, registered as an alum, but I spoke to a few player parents at the game, and they knew nothing about it. Students who drove down to cheer on the team also didn't get involved.
I would add that an effort to expand the pep band (especially drums and symbols) would help with home game atmosphere. The students who do it now try, but some leadership would help. If a tailgate area was setup
and promoted, an enhanced pep band could come through and play on their way to setting up in the grandstands -- increases atmosphere immediately. See the video of the Packer and U of Wisconsin drumlines at Lambeau Field. BTW a good drumline would be kicka$$ inside the ARC for BB games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVsd9RMJcxg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVsd9RMJcxg)
Excellent post 62! I agree with ml about winning solves everything, and Valpo needs talent and raw materials to mold that piece of clay into a masterpiece. In reality, the talent level is below that of San Diego, Drake, Dayton or Jacksonville, and the recruiting and maturing of talent must improve.
ml mentioned the university is committed to football, and I believe Valpo needs to set their standards to those schools listed above and not be satisfied with 3 or 4 win seasons. I would like to know what obstacles must be overcome to reach these standards.
Quote from: usc4valpo on December 22, 2015, 04:33:15 PM
Excellent post 62! I agree with ml about winning solves everything, and Valpo needs talent and raw materials to mold that piece of clay into a masterpiece. In reality, the talent level is below that of San Diego, Drake, Dayton or Jacksonville, and the recruiting and maturing of talent must improve.
ml mentioned the university is committed to football, and I believe Valpo needs to set their standards to those schools listed above and not be satisfied with 3 or 4 win seasons. I would like to know what obstacles must be overcome to reach these standards.
Me too.
Make sure you watch the drumlines video if you haven't yet. I was at a Packer game when the Tundraline performed all over the stadium parking lot. Those kids were real showmen and women (PC: show persons? ;) ) Throughout the game they showed up at various spots in the stadium and cranked out numbers that got 78,000 fans buzzed.
Cool!!
Also, check Stanford's marching band at halftime at the Rose Bowl. Let's just say they are atypical Big Ten.
Check out Brandon Vickrey's Twitter site for info on players who will not return next season.
https://mobile.twitter.com/BrandonVickrey
Note that I also posted this on 2016 Changes. There are more related posts there
Here is a really nice article about Conner Smith. Connor, if you remember, was a top QB recruit in the first Cecchini class. He never enrolled that year. But he did enroll later in the year and was one of the QBs competing to start in 2015. Brandon Vickrey tells us "the rest of the stoory."
http://www.valpotorch.com/sports/article_8df0c3b8-bbb2-11e5-af83-f78b7feaa9f8.html (http://www.valpotorch.com/sports/article_8df0c3b8-bbb2-11e5-af83-f78b7feaa9f8.html)
I wish Connor all the best in his studies and his coaching at Valpo.
Even at Butler, Smith watched every Valparaiso game and Cecchini's video interviews online. When the Crusaders upset the rival Bulldogs that season, he wore Valparaiso gear to his Butler classes.
I knew I liked this guy a lot.
Thanks for posting that article. Very nice to read.