FB: Centennial Conference

[iamhuge]

I guess this qualifies as a hypothetical...but if you took the 10 teams from the Centennial and had them go head to head with the 10 teams in the NESCAC, what would be the result (top team plays the top team, 2nd place team plays 2nd place team, etc)?

I think level of football in Centennial is better...what say you?

[BTEXPRESS]

I thought about your question long and hard and am not sure I can give you an exact answer. The biggest reason is the NESCAC teams don't play any other schools but themselves, so it is very hard to gage just how good they they really are. They do not participate in the NCAA playoffs and from what I understand, they don't even scrimmage a non NESCAC team. I would guess the perennial top teams like Williams and Trinity could compete with the top CC teams. I know when my son was being recruited we looked at an NESCAC school but felt the overall competition was better in the CC. I think from top to bottom, the CC is a better conference.

[iamhuge]

I thought about your question long and hard and am not sure I can give you an exact answer. The biggest reason is the NESCAC teams don't play any other schools but themselves, so it is very hard to gage just how good they they really are. They do not participate in the NCAA playoffs and from what I understand, they don't even scrimmage a non NESCAC team. I would guess the perennial top teams like Williams and Trinity could compete with the top CC teams. I know when my son was being recruited we looked at an NESCAC school but felt the overall competition was better in the CC. I think from top to bottom, the CC is a better conference.

I guess if someone was really bored they could break down the rosters of the starters and see how many of the kids were All State, All Conference, etc.  (5 points for First Team All State, 4 Points for 2nd Team All State, 3 Points for All Confernce, etc) That would give you some kind of quantitative starting point.

[BTEXPRESS]

I don't think All State is the right measuring stick. It's like comparing Apples to Oranges. A kid could play on a 4A school loaded with D1 kids and not even get a sniff at All State let alone all conference, yet another kid could play at a small school in a different state on a team that STINKS but because he is a big fish in a small pond that kid makes All State. My Daughter plays soccer at a D1 school. Last year at the start of the season there were players on her team who came in with all kinds of ALL STATE, ALL EVERYTHING labels and they did not see the light of day on the field. All State picks are purely subjective and in my experience watching High School teams, sometimes based purely on the size of the players and what level they are projected to play in college. Some of the most talented High School players that I have ever seen play over the years, were 5'7" 160lb linebackers if you get my drift.

[iamhuge]

I don't think All State is the right measuring stick. It's like comparing Apples to Oranges. A kid could play on a 4A school loaded with D1 kids and not even get a sniff at All State let alone all conference, yet another kid could play at a small school in a different state on a team that STINKS but because he is a big fish in a small pond that kid makes All State. My Daughter plays soccer at a D1 school. Last year at the start of the season there were players on her team who came in with all kinds of ALL STATE, ALL EVERYTHING labels and they did not see the light of day on the field. All State picks are purely subjective and in my experience watching High School teams, sometimes based purely on the size of the players and what level they are projected to play in college. Some of the most talented High School players that I have ever seen play over the years, were 5'7" 160lb linebackers if you get my drift.

I know what you are saying but, all things being equal, if 15 starters on one team from Centennial are All State and only 5 starters from a team from NESCAC are All State, I would say that this is a significant difference.

[Pat Coleman]

Disagreed. Means nothing in college.

[iamhuge]

Noted...however if you were to look at the rosters of Texas, USC and Florida, you'd see that the overwhelming number of starters were All State in high school.  If you were to look at the starting roster of the typical D3 school, you would only see a handful of All Staters.

There IS a correlation.

[BTEXPRESS]

D3 is NOT D1. As I stated above, it's all about SIZE and SPEED. We had a kid at my son's High School who was 6'6" and 290lbs, made all conference, all area and all state. Signed with a major D1 school. You know what? He was as soft as could be on the field and I wouldn't have picked him for THIRD team all conference let alone First team all state. But he had potential, he Red Shirted a year, spent a lot of time in the weight room, they reshaped his body and now is a starter his Junior year. I think you will fine even at THE D3 LEVEL, all the acolades in the world mean absolutely ZIP when the kids report to camp in August. The upper classman laugh when Freshman start talking about All Conference and All State, Pat is right. It means absolutely nothing when practice begins. I have seen many All State selections ride the pine in the CC over the years.

[ccfan27]

I will have to agree with BT and Pat on the all-state debate. From my experience playing in Division 3 we had a lot of kids coming in from New Jersey saying they were all-county, all-state, won 4 state championships, etc. By the time we were seniors we put together a pretty good team (8-3) and of the players that started on both sides of the ball I would bet maybe 2 or 3 were even all conference in high school. A lot of the players from my area in high school turned into All centennial team players and were not even honorable mention all conference or all area in high school. The reality is many people don't develop fully until they hit college and particularly in Division 3 you will find a lot of the kids who only started for maybe a year in high school because they were behind some talented players but didn't draw enough attention from the higher levels or quite a few 5'8 180 lb running backs or small linebackers who a higher level didn't want to take a chance on. These types of players can turn into All-conference even All-Region performers when they get to Division 3. Just my opinion on the All-state debate, I don't really have any insight into the NESCAC conversation because I have never seen a team from there play and honestly didn't even know they existed til about a year ago when I started following D3football.com

[BTEXPRESS]

CC Excellent post, that has been my experience as well, watching the CC teams play over the past few years. I would bet even Mount Union and Wisconsin Whitewater do not have rosters full of All State kids as well. It is amazing watching the development of skinny 18 year old kids who turn themselves into all CC type of players after a few years in college.

[old ends]

When an athlete is in high school they do not just concentrate on one sport, in most cases. Therefore when they get to the college level there are only a few that play two sports. Being able to limit themselves to just one sport helps them develope the skills needed to play. The major part is the mental toughness. The winning mind set or just being on the team.

I have seen All-State players fall away at college and those who just went out for something to do and they become All Americans.

The factors that go into a winning programs comes from all levels at home and at school. We, in fact, are products of our own enviroment.

[GoHop]

I my opinion th CC would dominate the NESCAC. My son was being recruited by Middlebury so we went to a couple of games. Although there are certainly some talented players on each NESCAC team, I think from top to bottom a CC team generally has more talent than a NESCAC team. Fortunately my son went to Hopkins, started as a freshman and had a great career. Although Middlebury is a great school I don't think my son would have enjoyed the football there as much.

Regarding "All State" in high school, it means nothing.

[Bulldog10]

Any potential Aztec Bowl players in the Centennial this upcoming season?

[BTEXPRESS]

Spring practice starts today for alot of the CC schools.!!

[Buck Lateral]

I'm interested in hearing what kind of recruiting year CC schools are having. I heard that Ursinus got stud RB/SS Bryan Ellis from the McDonogh School in MD. The kid is an absolute beast and will be an impact player as a freshman. They also got Neill Kennedy, a DB/WR also from McDonogh. Very smart kid with great football instincts who will develop into a nice asset. Susquehanna is bringing Alex Terpening, brother of DE Trevor. He'll probably be moved to WR. Any others?