FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[formerd3db]

DAWG:

Hope had about 172 report today.  I forgot the breakdown on that, but someone had posted those figures a few weeks ago.  At least the first day of practice today for the players everywhere in our league was not anywhere as humid as this past weekend.  Hope has about 12 QB's on the roster it was my understanding today.  Should provide some interesting competition.

[Uncle Rico]

I believe Tri-State has about 150 players across the board this year.

[MId3Fan]

Updated as of 8/13:

76 Freshmen
42 Sophmores
18 Juniors
28 Seniors
____________
164 Total

reported for camp....but who's counting.

[ACRULZ]

80 frosh?  172 players on the roster?  Those are some huge numbers?  MIAA teams must have been on the recruiting trails hard in the off-season!

[formerd3db]

MId3Fan:

Thanks for the specifics.  Yes, there was some attrition as usual (no shows and/or some that were not medically approved to start practice).  Still, those are some big numbers.  See also my comments below.

ACRULZ:

Actually, both Albion and Hope have had in the 140 range the last 3-4 years.  Even back in 1999, Adrian had about 177 players (a huge accomplishment for them - I remember seeing and saying..."where are they going to put all these guys, both with regard to the varsity and JV?   It seemed like they "just kept coming out onto the field!"

Certainly, when programs get success, that draws in recruits.  Alma used to have in the high '60's but in recent years above 100.  "Way back when", in my playing days, Hope had 110 out which was the highest turnout at that time in its history (they even made some cuts after the first week).  However, as we all know and has been discussed in the past, there is always some attrition in the first week.  It will be interesting to see how things go in regards to this after this first week at all the MIAA schools.

[formerd3db]

BTW, no one has yet posted any info in regards to my question as to the fb status of Adrian's Wallace and Alma's Brehm.  Does anyone know their current status?  Just curious.

[LetItRain]

More scrimmage info:

Tri-State is scrimmaging Anderson University (Anderson, IN) on 8/23 at Tri-State. 

[HOF]

Ahhh....the first week of camp is always a good thing.  Tired legs, tired bodies, great spirit and competition....it doesn't get any better than this.

Presidents love this time....as they can walk out on the practice field and count their money.

170 kids at Hope equals big time money for the school.

Camp is always a surprise...coaches can get ticked off easy around this time.  They recruit a kid from November through July and the kid shows up with great potential, only to quit after one day.  It happens in every camp, but a big let down for coaching staffs.  A slap in the face if you will.  Probably the one thing I dislike about DIII.  No binding commitment.

[miaafbfan]

This seems like a great recruiting year in the MIAA.  Word from Alma is that their freshman class will be possibly the largest ever with around 450 students.  They expect 70+ freshmen at FB camp.  Alma will scrimmage Northwood August 24.

[Uncle Rico]

HOF, I see your point about the binding committment and the player quitting.  I think it goes both ways though.

I wonder how often it happens that a player is told by a coach they are the best kid they have seen, a #1 recruit, etc...etc... and they show up and see 50 other kids that were all told the same thing.  They might feel they were mislead, and don't want to play for a coach like that.  Am I wrong, or aren't some coaches getting paid extra for the number of kids they recruit?  Using the football program to boost enrollment?

Don't get me wrong...I still feel it is best for a kid to keep his committment.  They also need to earn their positions.  No kid should show up expecting anything to be given to them.  And if they quit because they didn't think they would have to work for that position then perhaps it is best they don't play. 

But last I heard kids in div 3 aren't getting paid to play.  As a matter of fact, unless they are getting a fair amount of financial aid, they are paying to be on that field.  If a coach misled a player into coming to their program just to boost their numbers than that is a little disappointing too.

[HOF]

Uncle Rico,

I agree.

I'm also on the fact if there is 300 kids on the team, who cares.  If you like to compete and your the best at that position and get a fair shot...then damn...you can't ask for anything else.  If your the type of kid that goes man....ten WRs...I'm outta here...that also tells me you don't like competition and the coach probably doesn't want somebody who doesn't want to compete.  This all barring that you get a fair look. 

Most coaches in the MIAA don't get more pay for more kids.  If coaches lie about playing time, it comes to bite them in the butt.  I don't think many programs give the old you can start.  If they do that...they're rookie coaches and will find that doesn't work and makes kids quit believing in you.  I think they sell their programs more.

I'm sure Adrian sells their facilities, Hope sells their overall record of dominance in the MIAA, Albion sells their attitude, Kazoo sells low numbers = quicker playing time, etc.

All is all...with everything I said...my perfect TEAM would be about 75 kids.  Two deep at each position, a couple of swing guys, some extras and four QBs.

[formerd3db]

HOF:

Good points.  Only exception I would counter with is that 75 IMO is just a bit too low.  2 deep at every position can be difficult at times.  That example happed at Alma in the late '90's; with about that for the linemen, they had a string of injuries unfortunately, to the point where they almost did not have enough to live scrimmage or at least take the chance to do so (although if you run a program like St. John's, that latter aspect might not matter !).  By having some additional players, that provides an opportunity for some of them to "step up" when they get their chance even though obviously no one likes to see anyone get injured.  But that is part of the game as we all know.

Uncle Rico:

I agree with you that coaches should never promise playing time.  I agree with HOF, though, that no one in the MIAA to the best of my knowledge, gets paid extra for bringing more fb recruits in - certainly doesn't happen at Hope.

miaafan:
Indeed, we had heard that Alma's overall student freshman class was it's largest in history.  That is a good boost for that school, and with 70 freshman fb players, almost unheard of there!  Thanks for the info regarding the scrimmage.   

 

[Uncle Rico]

Thanks for all the comments, guys.  This is certainly a learning experience and this is a great forum to pick up knowledge.  The numbers that some of these schools pull in is great, and hopefully the MIAA in general will be a stronger conference all the way around as a result.

[ScotsFan]

It's funny that on the front page of D3football they had a photo of a Tim Hiller that is gunning for the starting QB job at Adrian.  There is a local kid from the Wooster area named Tim Hiller that is gunning for the starting QB job at Western Michigan as well.  He was actually the freshman of the year in the MAC before he sustained an injury that kept him out of action last season.  What a coincidence that there could be 2 Tim Hillers QBing at a DI and a DIII school in the state of Michigan! 

[ACRULZ]

D3DB:

As far as I know Taz Wallace is not playing anywhere right now, but he is finishing his degree at Adrian.  However, this is only hearsay.  I am not sure about Brehm.