FB: USA South Athletic Conference

[kickerdad]

WFU34 & AUPOP,

Thanks for the insite. Key as one of you mentioned is those hot, boring summer workouts. The one thing that almost every player noticed 3 years ago when Mt. Union came to town was the size, strength and speed of every player on that team. Even the kicker looked like he could go against the best of them toe to toe. And discipline......Those players knew who was in charge and calling the shots and when he (the head coach) spoke you could see those players react instantly. The strength and speed is going to come from those hot summer days when no one is around to watch and supervise and you need to be running, lifting, running and lifting and not laying on the couch and eating Wendy burgers and fries and watching TV. You will be able to weed the out the first 3 days of practice when Dunlevy has them running the 40's and 110"s. Count the ones in the bushes talking to "ralph" and the ones standing on the line waiting for their next run.

I did ask Hasonava over on the ODAC Board about the kicker transferring from Guilford to Averett. He doesn't know about him first hand but thinks he is a sophmore and has fairly good leg strenght. As one of you mentioned earlier accuracy is the key.

Hope to get to meet the two of you this year. We plan on going to homecoming and the CNU game (thats in our back yard) and maybe we will get to the HS game. I don't miss those summer workouts as I have shagged more footballs than I care to count but I miss the traveling and tailgating and meeting nice folks on both sides of the field. D3 football is an experience I wish everyone could experience . The people are great, the players are great and the games are exciting.

[WFU34]

AUPOP & Kickerdad - the question about Chris Williams, he's gone.  They think he's going to FAMU.  So along with running back, wideout is another concern.  May see some position changes in the fall to add depth. (They do have a 30+ year old who participated in the spring - got to give him credit for being out there)

At the Senior-Coaches meeting earlier this week, the expectations are high for next year.  There's 15+ seniors and nearly all should contributing next fall.   Coaches believe line play (both sides) is going to be the key.  They believe they have as good an opportunity to get the ring as any year.  Hope its true.  Blaising's (Sr. OL starter) injury (bulging disc in his neck) is one to watch.  He particpated in most drills but held out of some others (particularly the sandbags up the hill).  You never know how those things heal and how they react once contact starts.

The new kicker in spring is from Guilford.  Has a good leg, but lacked accuracy Saturday.  Some players worry about the potential "high maintance".  We'll see. 

Opener should be tough against H-S, but even if they come up short in that game, I don't believe it will be a true indication of what they'll be like when they enter conference play.  I think they go 8 - 2 and win/tie for the conference @ 6 - 1.  They have 3 long road trips this year, but that's why they play the game.   Only wish they had a nicer venue for home games.  The local high school, George Washington has a much larger, nicer stadium than the "Cougar's Den".

Kickerdad - did I see you said you were going to HC & CNU?  Last time I looked they have 10 games scheduled.  What happened to the other 8?

[kickerdad]

WFU34

Wish I could find the time for all 10. Believe it or not I am still trying to catch up on "Honey Do" stuff from the 4 years we did make every game (home and away). Plus this year our oldest son is getting married and that's added more things to the list. We are going to try to make it to the HS game as well.

"High Maintenance"........that's interesting......if players are already thinking that and camp is 3 months away, then there may be some attitude issues in the package that could cause problems.

I hope Phil stays healthy, he deserves one full season of glory. They had high hopes for him and then the injuries set in.

I totally agree with you on the "Cougar Den". That has been a topic of conversation for at least the past 5 years and I am sure longer. You go to places like CNU, Shenendoah, Guilford, Methodist (even though you have to sit on the home side) and Ferrum and see how nice their facilities are and then you come to Danville. The visiting team has to walk a country mile just to get from the locker room to the field. Hopefully one day someone will give them a ton of money to get it right. Then they will have to find someone to keep it right.

[AUPOP]

WFU34

Wish I could find the time for all 10. Believe it or not I am still trying to catch up on "Honey Do" stuff from the 4 years we did make every game (home and away). Plus this year our oldest son is getting married and that's added more things to the list. We are going to try to make it to the HS game as well.

"High Maintenance"........that's interesting......if players are already thinking that and camp is 3 months away, then there may be some attitude issues in the package that could cause problems.

I hope Phil stays healthy, he deserves one full season of glory. They had high hopes for him and then the injuries set in.

I totally agree with you on the "Cougar Den". That has been a topic of conversation for at least the past 5 years and I am sure longer. You go to places like CNU, Shenendoah, Guilford, Methodist (even though you have to sit on the home side) and Ferrum and see how nice their facilities are and then you come to Danville. The visiting team has to walk a country mile just to get from the locker room to the field. Hopefully one day someone will give them a ton of money to get it right. Then they will have to find someone to keep it right.

Not to beat a dead horse but in talking with a couple parents of non committed kids on Saturday the facilities were a part of them looking elsewhere. My wife was talking to one o line mother during drills and she made the comment,  " For $30,000.00 a year you would think would have a better stadium than this.

A freshman player as part of a writing assignment did a paper on why so few students attended games. Main reason given was the facilities. Lack of restrooms was by far the #1 reason. Don't know how clearer a message you can get than that. Don't know if it got any farther than the Professor who assigned it but guess we will see.

WFU, sorry to hear about CW. Guess that explains why I didn't see him. Tough kid to replace. I'm like you guys, hope Blaze has a good year. He pretty much mentored my son last year so think a lot of him. He is due a good year and hopefully a ring as well.

[narch]

i keep scouring the nfl free agent signings for tunde ogun...i'm surprised, to be honest...i thought he would at least get a shot as an unsigned free agent

[WFU34]

Why would any one be surprised by Tunge Ogun not being signed?  It would have been a pleasant surprise and good for the conference & DIII football if he had.

The reality is that while he was a dominant back in USA South it's important to remember that he was playing DIII football and to compound that, he played in the USA South, which is ranked in the lower half of DIII conferences, i.e., the conference record against the more powerful teams in DIII.

Don't get me wrong, the kids playing DIII (and USA South) give just as much effort and love the game as much or even more than those at D-I, but to NFL scouts, there is just too much comparable talent out there that has play against tougher competition.  In addition, the injury he suffered this past year didn't help his situation.

For the most part, we all only see or have the opportunity to evaluate the players that our teams play, the NFL sees them all.  For example, NFL scouts were at Averett this spring and I'm sure they were at other USA schools.  They basically look at everyone who is eligible (and can breathe) in an effort not to miss a diamond in the rough.  One has to remember that only a very small fraction of all college players get drafted or signed as free agents and even a small percentage make it.  If they do make it, their "life span" is usually only 3 years in the pros.

If a kid makes it from DIII, it's because he had D-I talent and probably not there because of some issue, i.e., grades, behavior, totally "under the radar" in high school (which rarely happens anymore because of all of the high school combines, scout services, etcs). 

Ogun had an outstanding career, hopefully he's got his degree and he does well in whatever "pro" career path he chooses.

[Ryan Tipps]

I'm with narch here. (just got that weird, ghostly chill down my spine for saying that) 

I was expecting to see Ogun get signed to the big leagues as a FA. After an injury-plagued year, I wasn't holding my breath for him to get drafted, but he's been on some scouts' radars long enough that I thought they would give him a chance to show his stuff this summer.

Of course, I follow a lot more teams than just what's in the USAC, and when healthy, Ogun could tear the field up with the best of them. Maybe he'll get a CFL shot or something.

[WFU34]

Ryan - it would have been nice if Ogun got signed however, there's a reason we all opine on a message board and do something else for a living while others do the scouting. 

When you think about it, there are over well 500 universities and colleges playing NCAA football (not including those playing NAIA).  There is alot of talent in those upper divisions, particularly D-I & IAA (even if they aren't playing) and most of those players would star if played at D-III level.  That's not knocking D-III players either, but the fact is, if most D-III players had the opportunity, they would have been at a higher level to begin with.

He had an excellent career at CNU, no doubt about that, however, there is a significant difference in dominating defenses that are made up of guys that are usually a step too slow, too light and/or too short than being able to compete on the next level. 

[Pat Coleman]

I've been trying to provide the reality check side of the equation on this for a while. But of course, I'm not related to him either, so that helps with the whole impartiality thing.

Fred Jackson eventually made it to the show through a long, convoluted path. That's still out there for Tunde Ogun to follow if he can devote that many years to it. (Jackson was a senior in 2002, reached the NFL in 2008.)

[Ryan Tipps]

... the fact is, if most D-III players had the opportunity, they would have been at a higher level to begin with.

In many cases, yes, but remember too (as I reported last year) that Ogun did begin at the higher levels, specifically South Carolina and Cincinnati. There are other factors aside from basic skill that brought him to CNU.

And, yes, the path to the pros has a lot more speed bumps from the D3 level than it does from the D1 level. I said before I did think Ogun would get picked up as a free agent by a team because he does have the size and has been clocked with decent speed. I'm not advocating willy-nilly (did I spell that right?) for any great D3 player to go pro, but I specifically thought that Ogun had most of the right components to get him there as a FA.

Any shot out of D3 is going to be a tough shot, no doubt.

[narch]

Ryan - it would have been nice if Ogun got signed however, there's a reason we all opine on a message board and do something else for a living while others do the scouting.  

When you think about it, there are over well 500 universities and colleges playing NCAA football (not including those playing NAIA).  There is alot of talent in those upper divisions, particularly D-I & IAA (even if they aren't playing) and most of those players would star if played at D-III level.  That's not knocking D-III players either, but the fact is, if most D-III players had the opportunity, they would have been at a higher level to begin with.

He had an excellent career at CNU, no doubt about that, however, there is a significant difference in dominating defenses that are made up of guys that are usually a step too slow, too light and/or too short than being able to compete on the next level.  

the reasons you give are exactly why i knew he wouldn't be DRAFTED...but his measurables (height, weight, 40, short shuttle, etc.) are very comparable to guys who did get drafted and he has experience at the d1 level (albeit as a db, if i'm not mistaken) and when healthy, he was pretty dominant on the d3 level - there aren't as many roster limits placed on nfl teams this time of year...i thought it likely that he would get a mini-campu invite somewhere

[WFU34]

Ryan - it's obvious the scouts saw something with Ogun (or didn't) that we fans don't.  The NFL game is different than college, they look for different things (I haven't checked, but it would be interesting to see how many on this board were predicting a FA signing for the kid from William Patterson for example - so you never know).  

As you mentioned, he started at D-I and moved around, i.e., lack of playing time at South Carolina, moved to UC and left before ending up a CNU.  He was highly recruited out of high school but a number of highly recruited kids don't pan out in D-I.  Some can't handle the competition at the highest level in college because in HS there is rarely that much quality talent on the field at any one time and stars can easily dominate.    

HS stars are rarely challenged and often coddled, i.e., competition for playing time is a new experience for many and for most D-I players, the "love" they received from the college coaThe game may become a "job" vs. "fun".  ches during their recruitment ends once they sign the letter of commitment.  They become a number as it's a business.  The game may become a "job" vs. "fun".  The cheerleaders aren't baking them cupcakes or wearing their jerseys at Friday night pep rallies any longer.  Some may not be able to or want to handle that.  

I am not even going to pretend to know Ogun circumstances or why he finally settled at CNU however, from his career there, its obvious he was comfortable.  Maybe he'll still get a chance in the NFL some day, possible Canada.   Hopefully whatever his eventual career path is, he doesn't live in the "was" but in the "now".  He should take pride in all that he accomplished, i.e., All - American, because even though it was D-III, he is in a very select group and excelled at the level he played at.  Really, that's all one can truly strive for.

[CNU85]

While I was hoping someone would pick up Ogun as a FA, I'm not surprised at the turn of events.

[abnrgr]

I hope he gets picked up too (Ogun). It's probably better than humping a rucksack and keeping his carbine clean. 

[WFU34]

Well if Ogun doesn't get picked up as a FA somewhere, someday, I truly hope he got (and if he didn't, will get) his degree and is a successful "pro" in whatever his chosen occupation is and has a positive impact on people going forward as he did for the CNU fans that rooted for him the last several years.  In the end, that's what its really all about.