FB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[DadofBashWarrior..]

    You may find it instructive to read the last few posts on the SCAC thread concerning DPU's "pipeline" tothe Chicago area (8-9n the new freshman class). Their recent history, Mulligan, Ellis and Jeremiah Marks have been some good pickings. We have not seen a complete list of Wabash '13 yet, other than a few gems (all from Indiana). I have addressed this point before along with Dad ot Bash Warrior, who  was much more eloquent (and insistent), being closer yo the action than I. The talent is there- let's go get them.

Pat Clegg is coming to Wabash from the Chicago area...it's pretty much a footnote in this story but Mr. Clegg is an all-state NT and is a great addition to the Wabash roster.  He's also a tremendous wrestler and should be a welcome addition to that program as well.

                                                       

Welcome Pat Clegg

BEST QUOTE
Defensive line coach John Melone Hinsdale Central, on all-state nose tackle Pat Clegg:

"Every team needs a Pat Clegg. He's right out of the North Woods."

Pat Clegg
Hinsdale Central
The bruising senior nose tackle smashed double- and tripleteams in relentless pursuit of the ball. The West Suburban Silver's co-defensive player of the year and a Coaches Association Class 8A all-state pick, Clegg recorded 45 solo tackles and 18 assists with 2 of his 5 tackles for loss in the 8A title game. "His motor doesn't quit," coach Mike
DiMatteo said.

This young Man will be a player...8A All-State...three year starter...He could be making an impact as a freshman

As a wrestler.he went downstate as well...found this about him...

February 19, 2009

The senior captured the 285-pound championship at the Class 3A Leyden Sectional Saturday to earn a trip to the state tournament. He beat Maine South senior Chris Brassell, who was ranked No. 1 in the state, 8-6 in overtime in the final.

[bashbrother]

Clegg kinda sounds Hammer-esque. (Motor, drive etc.)

Lets hope he can fill the middle like the Hammer Bros did.

We are going to need some depth at defensive line this year.

[WabashOline09]

Coaching staff is after a big time DL from Indy. I could not get a name... Coach Adi wanted that to remain aloof.

[wabco]

Another wrestler/footballer from the Chicago area is Bill Wood (Dan Ryan's brother).  It is my understanding he is a standout wrestler and an ... in the vein of his brother ... in football.

My understanding is that wrestling had very outstanding recruiting results this year with several in the wrestling/football crossover.  My sense is that there is developing a synergy in recruiting between wrestling and football ... to the increased benefit of both.

[D306]

I think that Wrestling and Line Play are great crossover sports for each other.

My HS (back in the day, that I am part of the Athlete Support now) has always had the majority of their Lineman Wrestle as well.
Typically very successful in Wrestling and Football, players move onto college athletes from both every year.

Keeps you in shape, learn leverage, and endurance with an equal body mass leaning on you. Line play and Wrestling require toughness mentally and physically.

[smedindy]

I think that Wrestling and Line Play are great crossover sports for each other.

My HS (back in the day, that I am part of the Athlete Support now) has always had the majority of their Lineman Wrestle as well.
Typically very successful in Wrestling and Football, players move onto college athletes from both every year.

Keeps you in shape, learn leverage, and endurance with an equal body mass leaning on you. Line play and Wrestling require toughness mentally and physically.

Though I always like to see linemen as power forwards as well. And then be the Greg Luzinski / Ron Kittle type in baseball!

[DPU3619]

Some upstanding young man on the ASC conference board ran across the USA Today Preseason Top 25 poll.  His words are below:

On a happier note another pre-season poll came out and there are two ASC teams in the top 4.

USA Today Sports Weekly 2009 College Football Special Edition Preseason Top 25
1. Mount Union
2. Wisconsin-Whitewater
3. Mary Hardin-Baylor
4. Hardin-Simmons
5. North Central
6. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
7. Willamette
8. Wheaton
9. Wartburg
10. Ithaca
11. Wesley
12. Cortland State
13. St. John's (Minn.)
14. Monmouth (Ill.)
15. Washington & Jefferson
16. Hobart
17. St. Thomas (Minn.)
18. Case Western Reserve
19. DePauw
20. Trinity (Texas)
21. Christopher Newport
22. Curry
23. Redlands
24. Salisbury
25. Delaware Valley

Just for the sake of shaking the fruit out of the tree a little bit, I notice that a certain somebody has been omitted.

[Brashbash]

I'm a recent alum, played football, but like my anonymity...haha.

Defensively, how will Wabash be next year?  I know that they are missing three of the best D Linemen to play in the conference in Kennon, Lange, and Gangloff, but how will they fair?  If you guys could fill in my gaps, I'll tell you what I know.

D Line- Number 94 Whyde looked like a stud.  I look for him to be an absolute animal.  Who will be coming back?  Who's going to step up?

LBs- Two Seniors gone, which is an experience problem.  But Watson is coming back, and with that #40 on his back he might as well have a Superman Cape on.  I look for him to be a dark horse for Defensive POY, especially now that the pressure is on the LBs to make plays this year.  I also heard Kraft is back, and he's a definate stud.  What about this Gum kid?

Secondary- Dan Ryan Wood?  I know that Frederick is a pick machine back there, but who else will step up with him?

Projections for next year, correct me if wrong:
1st team all NCAC
Jeremy Morris, Evan Isaacs, Kody Lemmond, Matt Hudson, Skip Tokar, Wes Chamblee

Matt Whyde, Bryan Watson, Matt Kraft, Addrian Frederick, Dan Ryan Wood

Think thats pretty solid, and a pretty solid first post I'd say!

[wally_wabash]

Some upstanding young man on the ASC conference board ran across the USA Today Preseason Top 25 poll.  His words are below:

On a happier note another pre-season poll came out and there are two ASC teams in the top 4.

USA Today Sports Weekly 2009 College Football Special Edition Preseason Top 25
1. Mount Union
2. Wisconsin-Whitewater
3. Mary Hardin-Baylor
4. Hardin-Simmons
5. North Central
6. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
7. Willamette
8. Wheaton
9. Wartburg
10. Ithaca
11. Wesley
12. Cortland State
13. St. John's (Minn.)
14. Monmouth (Ill.)
15. Washington & Jefferson
16. Hobart
17. St. Thomas (Minn.)
18. Case Western Reserve
19. DePauw
20. Trinity (Texas)
21. Christopher Newport
22. Curry
23. Redlands
24. Salisbury
25. Delaware Valley

Just for the sake of shaking the fruit out of the tree a little bit, I notice that a certain somebody has been omitted.

Franklin?

[DPU3619]

Franklin?

Oberlin.

[cave2bens]

Some upstanding young man on the ASC conference board ran across the USA Today Preseason Top 25 poll.  His words are below:

On a happier note another pre-season poll came out and there are two ASC teams in the top 4.

USA Today Sports Weekly 2009 College Football Special Edition Preseason Top 25
1. Mount Union
2. Wisconsin-Whitewater
3. Mary Hardin-Baylor
4. Hardin-Simmons
5. North Central
6. Wisconsin-Stevens Point
7. Willamette
8. Wheaton
9. Wartburg
10. Ithaca
11. Wesley
12. Cortland State
13. St. John's (Minn.)
14. Monmouth (Ill.)
15. Washington & Jefferson
16. Hobart
17. St. Thomas (Minn.)
18. Case Western Reserve
19. DePauw
20. Trinity (Texas)
21. Christopher Newport
22. Curry
23. Redlands
24. Salisbury
25. Delaware Valley

Just for the sake of shaking the fruit out of the tree a little bit, I notice that a certain somebody has been omitted.

Heck, Wes - it's refreshing to see some black and gold, Hoosier love expressed in the media that isn't Michael Jackson.  A moment to be savored.   

[bashbrother]

Response to the Danny poster who withdrew his "Silence" post sometime yesterday,  It is not nearly as quiet as Blackstock after mid-November.   

Pre-season polls are just that "pre-season polls"  I don't think you see too many, if any, Wabash folk getting too excited about them.   The final poll is what counts.

But if you must, yes, you were listed in a poll that we were not in.... Hip-Hip-Hooray!

[DPU3619]

Pre-season polls are just that "pre-season polls"  I don't think you see too many, if any, Wabash folk getting too excited about them.   The final poll is what counts.

I understand what you're trying to do, but you're not correct.  I know you personally don't care - you said as much that last two seasons.  I'm not in the business of trying to make you look bad by going through every June's posts in the last 3 years just to prove my point, but the polls have generated a lot of summer conversation the last two off-seasons.  The proof is there.  Go back a few hundred pages.  People talked and talked last year about how the hell Wabash was #7 and Witt was right behind them at #11. 

I think it's important.  I also think it's important when Wabash is ranked #7, like Lindy's had them last year.  I understand it's a guessing game, but I'd like to know why somebody is guessing like this.  How is a team that has 3 playoff trips in 4 years with their 2 year QB returning as a junior not ranked?  How is a team that is currently on a 27-1 clip against it's conference not ranked?  As a counterpoint, I think it's right that DePauw is ranked, but I've got a hard time ranking them above a team they've never beaten. 

It just puzzles me.  Por ejemplo, Wabash has beaten CWRU the last two seasons.  They're in and Wabash is out.  What's the deal here?

[Pat Coleman]

Well, a preseason 2009 ranking is based certainly on 2008 results and players returning but that doesn't mean that it's beholden to the entirety of Division III football history.

How is a team that has won 27 of 28 games against its league not ranked? Fairly simple -- the NCAC isn't a very strong football conference. (BTW, Millsaps has won 20 of 21 against its league either and also is not ranked.)

I think, by a narrow margin, DePauw is the best team in the SCAC and is ranked as such. I think Case will be the best team out of the UAA/NCAC this year. The fact that Wabash won by three last year does not mean that they would this year if they met.

That's my thinking. And remember, that's my preseason Top 25 in USA Today Sports Weekly.

[wally_wabash]

Pre-season polls are just that "pre-season polls"  I don't think you see too many, if any, Wabash folk getting too excited about them.   The final poll is what counts.

I understand what you're trying to do, but you're not correct.  I know you personally don't care - you said as much that last two seasons.  I'm not in the business of trying to make you look bad by going through every June's posts in the last 3 years just to prove my point, but the polls have generated a lot of summer conversation the last two off-seasons.  The proof is there.  Go back a few hundred pages.  People talked and talked last year about how the hell Wabash was #7 and Witt was right behind them at #11. 

I think it's important.  I also think it's important when Wabash is ranked #7, like Lindy's had them last year.  I understand it's a guessing game, but I'd like to know why somebody is guessing like this.  How is a team that has 3 playoff trips in 4 years with their 2 year QB returning as a junior not ranked?  How is a team that is currently on a 27-1 clip against it's conference not ranked?  As a counterpoint, I think it's right that DePauw is ranked, but I've got a hard time ranking them above a team they've never beaten. 

It just puzzles me.  Por ejemplo, Wabash has beaten CWRU the last two seasons.  They're in and Wabash is out.  What's the deal here?

If memory serves, our esteemed D3football.com publisher has a pretty heavy hand in the USA Today poll.  Pat's eyewitness account of Wabash and DePauw is not going to play favorably for Wabash.  We can sit back and say "oh it was just one game and wasn't representative" all we want, but the fact remains that on the day he saw our teams play, Wabash looked like garbage and DePauw looked every bit a playoff team...and not just a playoff team but one very capable of advancing a round or two.  Couple that with Wabash's 30-point drubbing at home against Wheaton, and the taste left in the pollster's mouth really isn't very good. 

In the big national picture, the reality is that while Wabash has figured out how to consistently win the NCAC (4 straight conference titles, 5 in 7 seasons), every time Wabash has gotten a chance against a major player from a power conference, the LGs have not fared well.  Save the 2005 game against Capital, Wabash hasn't even been particularly competitive.  I've had some offlines with people about this very thing, and the consensus is that the next step for Wabash is to actually step up and win a game in the playoffs against a CCIW team or an OAC team.  Beating MIAA, IBC (may it rest in peace), or UAA teams just doesn't carry much juice.  So I can understand why Wabash isn't in this poll...the LGs were shot all the way up to the top 5 in the poll last year and then lost two of their last three games by about a million points.  These results don't instill confidence with voters that have been really giving your team the benefit of the doubt. 

If that's the logic that keeps Wabash out of the poll, then I don't particularly understand CWRU's inclusion.  CWRU has put together two consecutive 10-0 seasons, but the best team they've beaten is Wooster and the rest of their schedule is really really soft.  And they've lost at home twice in a row to Wabash.  So that's puzzling, but it is what it is.  It may be that CWRU hasn't had enough swings and misses yet to get bussed back down out of the top 25. 

Whatever the case may be, I'm fine with Wabash not being ranked.  I think it serves the team well to see a poll like this and have something to prove.  Wabash has been a heavy favorite in every regular season game that they've played for the last three years.  That won't be the case this year and I think that can be a good thing. 

But it's just a poll.  It will be interesting to see if Wabash uses these polls and conversations as a source of motivation.  It'll be interesting to see if how DePauw handles their first exposure to high national expectations.  2009 looks like a lot of fun to me.