University Athletic Association

[jaybird44]

I was hoping that Patrick Blanks would play.  He was impressive when I last saw him two seasons ago at Wash-U.

The Bears' defense has great balance.  Good pass rush and run-stopping ability.  The young linebackers have quickly exceeded expectations.  And, the secondary is equally adept at run support and pass coverage.  Only weakness:  being left on the field too long in each half by a sputtering offense. 

[DagarmanSpartan]

Looks like next week's game between Case and Wash U. could decide it all.

If Case can win it, then I suspect that they'll take care of business against CMU, PARTICULARLY if CMU is as depleted as others say.

That said, even if Case wins the next two, and takes the UAA title, we need to do some work during the off-season on getting better.  There were some disappointing close losses this season, and some wins that were too close for comfort.  If we're ever going to get back in the NCAA playoff picture, then we're going to need to make some improvements.

[casefldad]

Case will look quite different next year.  On defense, 10 out of the top 11 tacklers are 'seniors', the center and quarterback (Olsen) are also seniors.
I am sure that coach Debs and the rest of the coaching staff are preparing themselves for a new group of starters and contributors.
I do agree that there were far more games close or outright losses than I expected.  We just need to take care of the UAA at this point.

[DagarmanSpartan]

I think that we can replace the center and QB.

But 10 of the 11 top tacklers on defense?

UGH!!!!!

Is that really true?

Geez.

If that's the case, then next season could turn out to be a MAJOR rebuilding year.  That's a lot of holes to fill.  I'd like to believe that we have talent and depth, and can simply reload as opposed to rebuild.  But in my heart of hearts, something tells me that we're going to have a difficult time improving on D next season.

Not sure how recruiting is coming along, but defense would definitely be my focus, if I were Coach D.

[SpartanMom_2016]

Case will look quite different next year.  On defense, 10 out of the top 11 tacklers are 'seniors', the center and quarterback (Olsen) are also seniors.
I am sure that coach Debs and the rest of the coaching staff are preparing themselves for a new group of starters and contributors.
I do agree that there were far more games close or outright losses than I expected.  We just need to take care of the UAA at this point.

The team as a whole is going to get young.  Right now there are 66 underclassmen (Fr/So) and 40 upperclassmen.  Of the 40 upperclassmen 20 will be gone next season.  If they bring in a similarly large freshman class next season there will be twice as many underclassmen as upperclassmen next season.

On defense the team is losing 11 seniors out of 47 total players.  There are currently 20 Jrs on the team but only 7 on defense.  Of those 7 more than half are DBs and NONE are LB.  There are currently 21 So. on the roster but only 5 on defense.  Of those only ONE is a LB. 

On offense the team is only losing 9 of 56 total players, a much smaller proportion.  Plus they are not losing as many key players on offense.

There is a great opportunity for the rather large freshman class to have an impact on defense next season.

[ExTartanPlayer]

The team as a whole is going to get young.  Right now there are 66 underclassmen (Fr/So) and 40 upperclassmen.  Of the 40 upperclassmen 20 will be gone next season.  If they bring in a similarly large freshman class next season there will be twice as many underclassmen as upperclassmen next season.

SpartanMom, I think you're new (so don't take the following as a "lecture" of sorts), but this is fairly typical on the Division III scene.  This is ESPECIALLY true at academically demanding schools, such as the UAA schools, when some kids realize that they're spending 15 hours a week on football that could be spent on a combination of homework and some semblance of a social life.  The attrition rate is high and there are always about twice as many freshman/sophomores as upperclassmen on most of the UAA rosters.

My freshman class had 47 players in camp our first year.  Eighteen of us were there on Senior Day, and that came during a generally successful time in program history (success leads to a higher retention rate, because it's just more fun when the team is winning and junior/senior benchwarmers are more likely stick it out all four years).  Imagine the attrition if we'd been 2-8 or 3-7 every year!  These numers were pretty typical of every senior class that I observed.  Freshman classes almost always ranged from 35-50 incoming recruits and senior classes generally had 15-20 there on Senior Day.  Many more were still at school but no longer played football.

Point being, every year it looks like the team will "get young" because there are 35-40 freshmen and 25-30 sophomores on the roster.  So this is pretty normal. 

However, your positional breakdown is particularly interesting.  The fact that 10 of the top 11 tacklers are seniors, combinded with your point that there are only 7 junior defensive players and none are LB's, does point to a very young defense next year.

[SpartanMom_2016]

Not sure how recruiting is coming along, but that would definitely be my focus, if I were Coach D.

Isn't that why there was a larger than average number of freshmen recruits this year?   It looks like there were only 26 freshmen on the roster last year, compared to 45 this season.  I used the 2011 media guide to estimate how many were on the roster last year.  It also looks like CWRU has a history of being able to replace key players on defense.  I am basing my opinion on the statements in the 2011 media guide. 

[SpartanMom_2016]

The team as a whole is going to get young.  Right now there are 66 underclassmen (Fr/So) and 40 upperclassmen.  Of the 40 upperclassmen 20 will be gone next season.  If they bring in a similarly large freshman class next season there will be twice as many underclassmen as upperclassmen next season.

SpartanMom, I think you're new (so don't take the following as a "lecture" of sorts), but this is fairly typical on the Division III scene.  This is ESPECIALLY true at academically demanding schools, such as the UAA schools, when some kids realize that they're spending 15 hours a week on football that could be spent on a combination of homework and some semblance of a social life.  The attrition rate is high and there are always about twice as many freshman/sophomores as upperclassmen on most of the UAA rosters.

My freshman class had 47 players in camp our first year.  Eighteen of us were there on Senior Day, and that came during a generally successful time in program history (success leads to a higher retention rate, because it's just more fun when the team is winning and junior/senior benchwarmers are more likely stick it out all four years).  Imagine the attrition if we'd been 2-8 or 3-7 every year!  These numers were pretty typical of every senior class that I observed.  Freshman classes almost always ranged from 35-50 incoming recruits and senior classes generally had 15-20 there on Senior Day.  Many more were still at school but no longer played football.

Point being, every year it looks like the team will "get young" because there are 35-40 freshmen and 25-30 sophomores on the roster.  So this is pretty normal. 

However, your positional breakdown is particularly interesting.  The fact that 10 of the top 11 tacklers are seniors, combinded with your point that there are only 7 junior defensive players and none are LB's, does point to a very young defense next year.

I played D3 soccer for one year at Alfred U (in a demanding engineering program).  I stopped playing for exactly the reasons you discuss above.  My grades really suffered and I wasn't having enough fun playing to make it worth it.  My coach did not respect that there were afternoon labs for engineering and science classes.  It wasn't worth it.  There were very few engineering majors who played four years of women's soccer when I was there although the vast majority of us did graduate in four years.

While it may be typical to have more frosh than upperclassmen it should be noted that in 2011 there were 29 recruits announced and I count around 30 freshmen on the 2010 roster.  This year there were 46 recruits announced.  That is a significantly larger number than previous years.

Can you tell I'm bored waiting for the refrigerator repair guy to come? 

[DagarmanSpartan]

SpartanMom,

One correction.  I should have said that DEFENSE should be the focus of recruiting for Coach D this off-season.  My post wasn't very clear.  So amended.

If I were Coach D, and I were capable of bringing in a 40+ person recruiting class, then I'd aim to make 28-30 of them defensive players.

I'd look for recruits with a nose for the football, and a controlled, but killer, instinct.

I didn't realize that we were so Senior heavy on Defense.  We may struggle to keep opponents out of the end zone next season, if that's the case.

[SpartanMom_2016]

SpartanMom,

One correction.  I should have said that DEFENSE should be the focus of recruiting for Coach D this off-season.  My post wasn't very clear.  So amended.

If I were Coach D, and I were capable of bringing in a 40+ person recruiting class, then I'd aim to make 28-30 of them defensive players.

I'd look for recruits with a nose for the football, and a controlled, but killer, instinct.

I didn't realize that we were so Senior heavy on Defense.  We may struggle to keep opponents out of the end zone next season, if that's the case.

There are 45 freshmen on the roster.  12 are LB.  I was surprised to note that there were so few So/Jr. LB on the roster. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

One correction.  I should have said that DEFENSE should be the focus of recruiting for Coach D this off-season.  My post wasn't very clear.  So amended.

If I were Coach D, and I were capable of bringing in a 40+ person recruiting class, then I'd aim to make 28-30 of them defensive players.

I'd look for recruits with a nose for the football, and a controlled, but killer, instinct.

I think I may have beaten this drum before, but I'll do so again...and I'll have to play the "recent former player" card again, so my apologies...but...I made recruiting phone calls as a work-study job, and I do have a pretty good idea how this works.

In Division I, you might prioritize certain positions because you can only bring in 25 guys per year, so you damn well better make all of them count. 

In Division III, you recruit every kid that can play & meets the admission requirements for your school.  You'll figure out what position to stick them at once they get to camp, and most likely you'll shift a few kids to the other side of the ball during camp if you're flooded with bodies at one position and short somewhere else.  But there's not really a quota at any position (other than making sure you bring at least one QB every year, if possible, and a K/P every few years).  Very little prioritizing offense or defense in the recruiting process in a given year.  You're casting a wide net and taking everybody you can get.

Another factor is that many Division III recruits come from smaller high schools and played both sides of the ball in HS anyway, so they aren't really an "offensive" recruit or a "defensive" recruit right away.  They can play either side.  So recruiting one side of the ball usually isn't a priority so much as just landing as many bodies as possible, hopefully with a couple real studs to lead the class.

One other thing worth pointing out: if you ARE going to target positions, you aren't going to recruit just where you're short RIGHT NOW, you have to recruit where you're going to need kids 1-2 years from now, not next year.  Impact freshmen are relatively rare.  There are individual cases, yes, but most deep Division III programs will not have more than 1-2 freshman starters in a given year, and often will have zero.

[mustang]

Spartan Mom isn't #99 a junior LB? I may be wrong about that but he has been getting some playing time and I expect he'll be a starter next year.

It's a great time to be young and aggressive. The defensive coaches there are very good and I am hopeful that they'll coach these young men up.

[SpartanMom_2016]

Spartan Mom isn't #99 a junior LB? I may be wrong about that but he has been getting some playing time and I expect he'll be a starter next year.

It's a great time to be young and aggressive. The defensive coaches there are very good and I am hopeful that they'll coach these young men up.

Yes, Scott Campbell is a junior.  I must have missed him.  Oops. 

I don't like to talk about anything here that will get my son in trouble but I feel comfortable saying that he is very happy with the coaching he has been receiving.  I thought he would be upset about the lack of playing time but every time I talk to him he is excited about football, his team mates and the coaches. 

[ExTartanPlayer]

Hi everyone,

(if this isn't allowed here, I'm sorry, just remove it...no harm done)

I'm competing in a "Tough Mudder" adventure race next summer in memory of a slain police officer from my hometown to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.  The young man was 25 years old and good friends with some of my high school football teammates, one of whom was his partner on the police force.  If you can spare a minute and 5-10 bucks, I'd really appreciate it if you went to the following link and donated:

https://register.toughmudder.com/fundraising/donate.aspx?event=13400&fundraiser=r7166109

Many thanks,
XTP

[ADL70]

We're getting ahead of ourselves a bit here.

Focus on winning out.

That said, since seniors will be recognized this week, I've been told not to assume that Olson, Fioramonti, Scott, and Roby won't make use of their extra year's eligibility just because they are recognized.