FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Also, you can vote for Hank Spencer for the top Elite 89 Winner from last year.

Story Here: #Vote4Hank

Vote Here:  NCAA.com

[Dr. Acula]

Given that 95% of freshman have no chance to play first year, it is really a waste of time to watch the highlight videos. I suggest you pick up golf, fishing or some other hobby to get you through Summer months.

There will likely only end up being a couple freshmen that play much and since there are probably 200 coming in the odds are definitely stacked against me stumbling onto anyone who will actually play. 

That being said, I would rather do anything...golf, fish, mow the lawn, etc. than watch those videos.  Unfortunately, I was stuck in the office "just in case" and had nothing to do all day both days for the most part.

While watching the videos may not have been totally enthralling, did you find out anything about any of the players you watched and what did you notice?

The biggest thing I noticed was that the kids were from all over not just OH and FL.  There were kids from places you don't see pop up a lot on the roster like TN, NV, MD, CT and Long Island.

While I was not watching highlight videos, I have seen guys from TX, CA, AZ, MI, IN, PA, WI and others as well. From gleaning information off of the Internet, there are at least 51 recruits I know of now. The talent seems to be spread across the board: fast RBs and WRs, quick DBs with hops, big, strong linemen, LBs who can rival linemen with size but have speed. I think the coaches did a good job recruiting this year.

It's been interesting to watch the shift in the roster through the years from an Ohio/western PA focus years ago to a much more diverse geographic roster recently.  In a radio interview last year VK credited the internet with a lot of that.  It's much easier for D3 coaches to see video on kids nationally and communicate with them now.  Plus kids (I'm guessing) are more aggressive marketing themselves to coaches with the aid of stuff like YouTube, Hudl, MaxPreps, etc. 

[bceagle80]

Given that 95% of freshman have no chance to play first year, it is really a waste of time to watch the highlight videos. I suggest you pick up golf, fishing or some other hobby to get you through Summer months.

There will likely only end up being a couple freshmen that play much and since there are probably 200 coming in the odds are definitely stacked against me stumbling onto anyone who will actually play. 

That being said, I would rather do anything...golf, fish, mow the lawn, etc. than watch those videos.  Unfortunately, I was stuck in the office "just in case" and had nothing to do all day both days for the most part.

While watching the videos may not have been totally enthralling, did you find out anything about any of the players you watched and what did you notice?

The biggest thing I noticed was that the kids were from all over not just OH and FL.  There were kids from places you don't see pop up a lot on the roster like TN, NV, MD, CT and Long Island.

While I was not watching highlight videos, I have seen guys from TX, CA, AZ, MI, IN, PA, WI and others as well. From gleaning information off of the Internet, there are at least 51 recruits I know of now. The talent seems to be spread across the board: fast RBs and WRs, quick DBs with hops, big, strong linemen, LBs who can rival linemen with size but have speed. I think the coaches did a good job recruiting this year.

It's been interesting to watch the shift in the roster through the years from an Ohio/western PA focus years ago to a much more diverse geographic roster recently.  In a radio interview last year VK credited the internet with a lot of that.  It's much easier for D3 coaches to see video on kids nationally and communicate with them now.  Plus kids (I'm guessing) are more aggressive marketing themselves to coaches with the aid of stuff like YouTube, Hudl, MaxPreps, etc.

I agree completely, Dr. Acula, and no need to guess because my son is one of those kids marketing themselves better. We used NCSA and found it well worth it. Over 200 coaches viewed my son's highlight videos from all levels (D1A down to D3 and NAIA as well. It made it simpler to find the school with the right fit. While my son came very close to an athletic scholarship and was invited to walk-on on the D1 level, he chose Mount Union because it was the right fit for him. In fact, one thing that was impressive is the coaches (including VK and LK) stressed the importance of each kid finding the right fit. He said he would hate to lose a great young man and athlete but he would rather have you completely happy with your choice for your education. Even if my son could not play football anymore, he would want to be a Mount Union.

[Kira & Jaxon's Dad]

Congratulations to Coach Dartt who tied the knot with Jan Kehres today!

[HScoach]

Congratulations to Coach Dartt who tied the knot with Jan Kehres today!

Nothing like a little job security. 

[raiderguy]

I read a recent article about a new Mount recruit that appeared in an all star game. Stephen Shorts, Cecil's younger brother. He is a quarterback like his brother when he came to Mount so maybe we have our next dual threat qb already coming. Or if he decides to make a switch to WR, well we all know how that turned out.....

He said it was no problem coming to Mount and following his brother and expectations because of his success. He said his brother had one ring and he hoped he would be able to top that for bragging rights in the family! I hope he does.

[Dr. Acula]

He says he's going in as a WR.  Hopefully he has a great career at Mount.  It's completely unfair to compare him to Cecil.  That's lightning in a bottle.  But we can assume he's a good kid who will work hard just like his brother. And I respect that he didn't shy away from coming to Alliance.  Good for him.

News Herald article

[pradierguy]

I read a recent article about a new Mount recruit that appeared in an all star game. Stephen Shorts, Cecil's younger brother. He is a quarterback like his brother when he came to Mount so maybe we have our next dual threat qb already coming. Or if he decides to make a switch to WR, well we all know how that turned out.....

He said it was no problem coming to Mount and following his brother and expectations because of his success. He said his brother had one ring and he hoped he would be able to top that for bragging rights in the family! I hope he does.

Man, that just doesn't seem right!

[emma17]

I read a recent article about a new Mount recruit that appeared in an all star game. Stephen Shorts, Cecil's younger brother. He is a quarterback like his brother when he came to Mount so maybe we have our next dual threat qb already coming. Or if he decides to make a switch to WR, well we all know how that turned out.....

He said it was no problem coming to Mount and following his brother and expectations because of his success. He said his brother had one ring and he hoped he would be able to top that for bragging rights in the family! I hope he does.

Man, that just doesn't seem right!

I agree. That 2008 game was 5 minutes away from being UWW's championship.

[Dr. Acula]

I just preordered Kickoff.  I'll hop up on my soapbox again this year and remind everyone that everything on this site aside from that is free.  We get tons of content for nothing.  IMO $11 a year is a steal for this site. And that's not even getting into the fact that Kickoff is worth the money anyway.  Hopefully if you enjoy the site as much as I do you'll support Pat the one time a year we're able to. 

Now back to watching incoming freshmen highlight videos....   

[pradierguy]

I read a recent article about a new Mount recruit that appeared in an all star game. Stephen Shorts, Cecil's younger brother. He is a quarterback like his brother when he came to Mount so maybe we have our next dual threat qb already coming. Or if he decides to make a switch to WR, well we all know how that turned out.....

He said it was no problem coming to Mount and following his brother and expectations because of his success. He said his brother had one ring and he hoped he would be able to top that for bragging rights in the family! I hope he does.

Man, that just doesn't seem right!

I agree. That 2008 game was 5 minutes away from being UWW's championship.

Oh, I see what you did there! 

[emma17]

He said it was no problem coming to Mount and following his brother and expectations because of his success. He said his brother had one ring and he hoped he would be able to top that for bragging rights in the family! I hope he does.

Man, that just doesn't seem right!

I agree. That 2008 game was 5 minutes away from being UWW's championship.

Oh, I see what you did there! 
[/quote]

Kidding aside- he was/is a special player and athlete and as much as I feared his big play ability- I enjoyed watching him.
Good for Mt to be getting his brother.

[Dr. Acula]

The real preseason top 25 poll is out.  The Raiders check in at #3 edged out by UMHB for #2 (rightfully so, IMO).  JCU cracks the top 10 at #10 and Berg rounds it out at #20.  No one else received any votes.  Pretty much as expected based on how all 3 finished up last season. 

If JCU gets by Berg in the 2nd game of the season (which they should) they should be 9-0 heading to Alliance for the finale.  Pretty safe to assume a couple of teams ahead of them will drop a game in that time so we could be looking at a 3 vs. 7 match up or something like that.  Should be another SRO battle!     

[Festus]

Has anyone seen a full list of the Mount Union recruits for 2014, I heard there was close to 70.

[Dr. Acula]

Probably won't see anything official for at least another month.  Once the kids arrive on campus the official freshmen roster comes not long after. 

And only 70??  What was VK vacationing all summer?  Haha.