FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sjusection105]

I think the next 4 weeks will be interesting in Collegeville and amongst the USJ faithful. As an outsider, it looks to me like the recruiting effort hasnt adfapted to changes and the competition has stepped up- Caruso, Horan, Hegge, Johnson, etc are hauling in more and better recruits than in the past.

Maniac- since when are you an outsider? You may have gone to college at CST  (UST for the youngsters) but your Stearns County roots run deep my boy! You have probably forgotten more about SJU football than many of the SJU faithful have ever known 

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

I think the next 4 weeks will be interesting in Collegeville and amongst the USJ faithful. As an outsider, it looks to me like the recruiting effort hasnt adfapted to changes and the competition has stepped up- Caruso, Horan, Hegge, Johnson, etc are hauling in more and better recruits than in the past.

Maniac- since when are you an outsider? You may have gone to college at CST  (UST for the youngsters) but your Stearns County roots run deep my boy! You have probably forgotten more about SJU football than many of the SJU faithful have ever known 

true 105...you forgot that I'm a son of a johnnie (which sounds kinda obscene lol)....still, I havent followed the USJ program as closely the past 3 yrs with my Toms on the rise

[USTBench]

<a href="http://johnniefootball.com/archive/sjusection105/2011/09/11/blugolds-dismantle-johnnies-47-19/">SJU-UWEC game story   <----- Click There
Nothing good for SJU fans,but plenty of ammunition for the collapse of the Johnnie Empire for all the rest of the universe 

I'm still getting used to watching UST succeed to shove it anyone else's face. Was on an extremely talented team that went .500, only to be followed by a 3-7 and 2-8 record a few years later. Needless to say I know what it's like to watch a program that has every advantage in the world get complacent. "Adapt or die" to quote Moneyball I guess.

[faunch]

With 188 guys reporting to camp this year why wouldn't SJU take the 130 or more players that don't get on the travel roster and make 3 scrimmage teams.
I'm told that UST has their non travel players play an inter-squad game every Monday.  The Johnnies could have 3 teams, coached by some of the assistant coaches, and play 4-6 quarters every Monday. 
Doesn't it make sense to get these kids some playing time each week instead of just scratching their butts on the sideline every Saturday?  Wouldn't it help them develop and evaluate talent so they don't have to experiment with a bunch of players the first two games of the season?
I know John has his reasons for not having a JV team anymore but St. John's didn't have 180 guys out for football 40 years ago. 
I know it will probably never happen while John is still in command but maybe somebody in Collegeville will read this and think it's a good idea.

[tmerton]

(Boyle was decent but not close to what SJU has been accustomed to).

I'd have to question how many of Boyle's games you saw.

[BU Faithful]

I have always admired Mount Union for getting great players year in and year out and now UWW seems to be on that same path. I too have wondered why SJU can't do that, especially after 2003- maybe location? But agree that SJU can't sit and wait for guys to come to them and can't stick with central Minnesota kids-gotta expand.

Zip please clarify your thoughts.
1) UWW proximity to Chicago area or SJU being in the "sticks"?
2) UST winning the recruits from the Twin Cities because they are a suburban campus with real nice locker rooms and have momentum in the conference title & play-off appearances?
3) Bethel going after kids with a completely different priority set and a nice conduit to Texas H.S. ball for some reason as well as obscure southern MN HS football programs with freakishly large QBs?

Others may be ready to dance on the grave of SJU football,but I'm not ready to accept this just yet.

Are you coming back for Homecoming?

I am only aware of one Texas player in the past 10 years on a Bethel roster, and he graduated in 2003.  What am I missing?  I would love a conduit such as you describe, but I don't see it.  On the other hand, the freakishly large outstate QB's are nice.

[chewey]

(Boyle was decent but not close to what SJU has been accustomed to).

I'd have to question how many of Boyle's games you saw.

I've been to practically every game for the last 14 years and I saw Boyle many times.  He was decent but he was not AK or Keating or Denne or Linneman or even Stanger.  A good QB but a step or two below those guys without question.

[sjusection105]

I have always admired Mount Union for getting great players year in and year out and now UWW seems to be on that same path. I too have wondered why SJU can't do that, especially after 2003- maybe location? But agree that SJU can't sit and wait for guys to come to them and can't stick with central Minnesota kids-gotta expand.

Zip please clarify your thoughts.
1) UWW proximity to Chicago area or SJU being in the "sticks"?
2) UST winning the recruits from the Twin Cities because they are a suburban campus with real nice locker rooms and have momentum in the conference title & play-off appearances?
3) Bethel going after kids with a completely different priority set and a nice conduit to Texas H.S. ball for some reason as well as obscure southern MN HS football programs with freakishly large QBs?

Others may be ready to dance on the grave of SJU football,but I'm not ready to accept this just yet.

Are you coming back for Homecoming?

I am only aware of one Texas player in the past 10 years on a Bethel roster, and he graduated in 2003.  What am I missing?  I would love a conduit such as you describe, but I don't see it.  On the other hand, the freakishly large outstate QB's are nice.

My bad- I was under the impression there were more than Sam Lacy who came from The Republic of Texas to play at BU

[faunch]

Johnnies aren't the only Minnesota team with quarterback issues.  Donovan McNabb is not gonna cut it...might as well let Ponder have a shot at it.  Thirty nine yards passing with 2 minutes to go in the game??? 

[hazzben]

Look, I have been tough on SJU in the past, but, while yesterday was a debacle, let's just see if this was an aberration or not. I remember many folks saying in 1997 that the Old Man had lost it-SJU was in big trouble. But looked what happened-the perhaps the best six years in SJU football.
I will tell you that being in the Chicago area, UWW gets some nice players from the top classes in Illinois-programs that are consistently in the playoffs and make deep runs-kids that could play at DII, at least. I am pointing this out to suggest that SJU needs to go after that type of kid in the twin cities area. I don't know if this is a great analogy, but Monmouth in Illinois has gotten some nice players from the small division high schools in Illinois and I think that shows at the playoff level-they have success in the MWC, but can't quite match the bigger conferences. While NCC and Wheaton, who get the bigger class kids do very well on the national level, save playing Mount Union or UWW.
Next week will tell a lot for all of us-this may be the harbinger of a downward spiral or just an aberration.

The sky is falling!! Everyone take a deep breath. This is one game for SJU. Nope, it wasn't pretty. But one game does not a season make and one bad loss does not a dynasty destroy. If this continues in subsequent games, well then we've got something to discuss. But I don't think we're there yet.

As for needing to recruit 'in state' v. 'out state'...I'm not buying that. You just need to recruit quality football players, period. I can think of plenty of great MIAC players (All-American caliber) who were both small school and big school. I mean shoot, #2 Johnnie Jesus was a small school kid. Granted, a school like Eden Prairie is going to produce more elite players than, say, Triton. But a good football player is a good football player. Look no further than Chad Greenway, Colt McCoy and Adrian Peterson.

And as far as I know, Matt and Sam Lacy are the only TX kids who've played at Bethel recently.

[dahlby]

hazzben,

Plus 1K for good points.

One close win or close loss or big win or big loss do not a dynasty make.

[SUMMIT!!!!!]

I have always admired Mount Union for getting great players year in and year out and now UWW seems to be on that same path. I too have wondered why SJU can't do that, especially after 2003- maybe location? But agree that SJU can't sit and wait for guys to come to them and can't stick with central Minnesota kids-gotta expand.

Zip please clarify your thoughts.
1) UWW proximity to Chicago area or SJU being in the "sticks"?
2) UST winning the recruits from the Twin Cities because they are a suburban campus with real nice locker rooms and have momentum in the conference title & play-off appearances?
3) Bethel going after kids with a completely different priority set and a nice conduit to Texas H.S. ball for some reason as well as obscure southern MN HS football programs with freakishly large QBs?

Others may be ready to dance on the grave of SJU football,but I'm not ready to accept this just yet.

Are you coming back for Homecoming?

I am only aware of one Texas player in the past 10 years on a Bethel roster, and he graduated in 2003.  What am I missing?  I would love a conduit such as you describe, but I don't see it.  On the other hand, the freakishly large outstate QB's are nice.

My bad- I was under the impression there were more than Sam Lacy who came from The Republic of Texas to play at BU

One Sam Lacey caused enough nightmares for MIAC coaches. Anything more would be apocalyptic

[hazzben]

My bad- I was under the impression there were more than Sam Lacy who came from The Republic of Texas to play at BU

One Sam Lacey caused enough nightmares for MIAC coaches. Anything more would be apocalyptic

What's not to love about a crazy Texan that went on to get a masters from Princeton and then a Fulbright Scholarship.

Great Sam story. Interviewing for a full ride scholarship for grad school with the Dean at Princeton. Towards the end of the interview, they asked Sam if he had any questions for them. He said he could tell it was that point when he was probably supposed to try to impress them with some erudite question. So Sam promptly responds: "Yeah, y'all got any intramural sports around here."    They laughed pretty hard and decided they needed a little Lone Star out East. Classic!

[sju56321]

105:

1. yes, I think bethel tagrets different kids than SJU and UST.

2. The location refers to SJU being outside the Twin Cities and not in a town setting, but a few miles from St. Joe. Yes, it helps that UWW is only 1  and 1/2 to 2 hours for most kids in this area.

3. Yes, homecoming for me-it has been a long time.

[tmerton]

(Boyle was decent but not close to what SJU has been accustomed to).

I'd have to question how many of Boyle's games you saw.

I've been to practically every game for the last 14 years and I saw Boyle many times.  He was decent but he was not AK or Keating or Denne or Linneman or even Stanger.  A good QB but a step or two below those guys without question.

No, he wasn't any of those guys.  I don't know your knowledge base for critiquing quarterbacks but Joe Boyle was way more than decent.