FB: USA South Athletic Conference

[AdmiralPapi]

Highlander, to be honest with you I don't know enough about Maryville to even give you an answer.  I know they took MC to the wire last year but that's about all I know.  They seemed to have a good squad that was right there for a bunch of games.

[Highlander]

Admiral,
Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your honesty, but you know you hit the nail on the head. Maryville being one of only three D3 teams in the state of TN and a new member of the conference makes them a relative unknown. Also, until they are able to earn respect by playing good, hard, tough, clean football on the field of play they will continue to be unknown. What makes me happy is the fact that after sooooo many years playing as an independent that they are able to finally be able to participate in conference play. Especially a conference that seems to be on the verge of gaining much respect nationally.

[hasanova]

Apparently I got my answer on what everyone thought of Maryville's first year in the conference. The lack of posts and thoughts tells me that no one thinks enough of them to even reply. I have been reading this forum ever since Maryville became a member, and have really enjoyed everyones views. There are some people who really have a great knowledge of the game. As a former player at Maryville I was just curious to what everyone thought of their play. I believe that they were at times competitive, and at other times showed their youth and the fact that they are still learning what it takes to compete and be a winning team. Any thoughts??

Hey Highlander, don't get too upset if you don't get very many replies this time of year - it's a slow time on most of the football boards.  I'm an ODAC fan, but the USASAC guys definitely have Maryville on their radar screens.  You'll see a lot more posts and analysis after spring practice and again during August preseason drills.  Besides, Maryville only visited about half the USASAC schools in 2005 - some of the guys won't be able to see them in person until this fall.  I can tell you, however, Maryville is well-respected academically and athletically by all the DIII schools in NC and VA.  They know Maryville will be "in the hunt" within just a few years.

[D3Newbie]

d3newbie - just finished reading all of the information on your son...he seems like an outstanding student-athlete - how did he wind up at gc?  no offense, but it seems like there would have been some other opportunities to play for a winning program along the way...why a team that has never had a winning season and is coming off a 1-9 campaign vs. a team like, say, mc which is coming off a conference co-championship, runs the spread option (which seems suited to your boys talents) and has had a winning record in 4 of the last 6 years?  did he look at any of the area d2's like wingate, lrc or catawba?

Spending nearly three years a 1000 miles away at a school in Missouri made him want to be close to home - even though his team won their conference championship and made it to the final 8 in NAIA last year. When he decided to move closer to home, he looked at several schools in the area and their QB situation.  The GC QB graduating on a passing team made GC look more attractive. Coach Mitchell made a very good impression and my son saw the talent at the offensive skill positions on tape. He liked the campus when he visited and he felt that GC had the talent to succeed in spite of the last couple of years. Probably the fact that he had been in a similar situation in HS with a team going from 3-37 to 13-1 his first year makes him more optimistic. The clincher was the influence of the offensive coordinator and the wide open offense of GC. Unfortunately, the OC left to coach in Texas (I think at my dad's alma mater), so we will miss him. Also, my son wanted to be in school in the spring and things had to move quickly to get that done. Everything fell into place, he loves the school and is looking forward to graduating in 2008. 

Now, if Ferrum will just stop sending us mail and calling us . . . .

He really feels blessed to be at GC. He's learned a lot in a short time with their offense and it is a very good fit for his abilities. Personally, I like the education he's getting at GC!


GO PRIDE ! !

 

[D3Newbie]

d3newbie - just finished reading all of the information on your son...he seems like an outstanding student-athlete - how did he wind up at gc?  no offense, but it seems like there would have been some other opportunities to play for a winning program along the way...why a team that has never had a winning season and is coming off a 1-9 campaign vs. a team like, say, mc which is coming off a conference co-championship, runs the spread option (which seems suited to your boys talents) and has had a winning record in 4 of the last 6 years?  did he look at any of the area d2's like wingate, lrc or catawba?

Spending nearly three years a 1000 miles away at a school in Missouri made him want to be close to home - even though his team won their conference championship and made it to the final 8 in NAIA last year. When he decided to move closer to home, he looked at several schools in the area and their QB situation.  Ferrum sent about 3 letters a week and called at least a dozen times, but he wanted to be closer to home than Virginia. The GC QB graduating on a passing team made GC look attractive. Coach Mitchell made a very good impression and my son saw the talent at the offensive skill positions on tape. He liked the campus when he visited and he felt that GC had the talent to succeed in spite of the last couple of years. Probably the fact that he had been in a similar situation in HS with a team going from 3-37 to 13-1 his first year makes him more optimistic. The clincher was the influence of the offensive coordinator and the wide open offense of GC. Unfortunately, the OC left to coach in Texas (I think at my dad's alma mater), so we will miss him. Also, my son wanted to be in school in the spring and things had to move quickly to get that done. Everything fell into place, he loves the school and is looking forward to graduating in 2008. 

Now, if Ferrum will just stop sending us mail and calling us . . . .

He really feels blessed to be at GC. He's learned a lot in a short time with their offense and it is a very good fit for his abilities. Personally, I like the education he's getting at GC!


GO PRIDE ! !

[narch]

d3newbie - thanks for the candid response...it's always interesting to get a first hand account of the recruiting process - aside from ferrum, what other schools in the conference or out of the conference did he contact and look into?  too bad (for mc) your  boy didn't give the monarchs a look...with a graduating conference poty qb and no established heir apparent, the deepest (and possibly most talented) returning receiving corp in the conference, an outstanding rb, a qb friendly offense, an underrated offensive line, and an oc who is also the associate hc and a graduate i would imagine our coaches would have welcomed your boy to compete for the job - as it is, i wish him the best of luck for the next few years...except when he's playing the monarchs, of course - the gc/mc game is always a lot of fun, even if the series is one sided  - i think everyone at mc has a lot of respect for the gc coaching staff and the gc kids always play hard

welcome aboard and enjoy the banter on this board...it's a lot of fun - please don't take offense if some folks don't say the most glowing things about your boy...i was pretty harsh on the gc qb last year when he threw something like 13 int's in the first 3 games...it's nothing personal, just a performance thing, but i can imagine if his dad (or he) read this board they were probably cursing me in 8 different languages - i know a few years ago some su fans were a bit critical of the qb and his dad was a poster...it was a bit awkward at times, but i thought all parties handled the situation very well - we expect YOU to think your boy is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but don't expect US to think that way - there have even been some active players who have identified themselves and posted on this board

p.s. - i'm not sure if you are aware of this, but if you've told the ferrum coaches that your boy is enrolled at gc and they are still contacting you/him, they are violating ncaa regulations...just an fyi - there might be folks on who read this board on the conference level or even coaches from opposing teams...you might want to make sure you clarify this statement

Now, if Ferrum will just stop sending us mail and calling us . . . .

[narch]

highlander - as others have said, the extent of my knowledge about m'ville is what i've seen statistically and what i heard on the broadcast of the mc/m'ville game - i know this...they gave the monarchs ALL they could handle and they have (or hopefully had ) a fantastic wr who put up really nice numbers and burned the monarchs - i think they'll be a team that will make life difficult for every team they play and could legitimately be 6-4/7-3 and in contention for the conference crown depending on what they lose and what comes back - i'm looking forward to seeing them in fayetteville next year

do the m'ville football fans get into the games like their hoops fans do?

[footballjoe]

Nach I understand the Monarchs' are having spring football starting today.  Let us know how they look shaking the winter rust off

[moshergc9]

Im headed to the UNC coaches clinic tommorow.  Should be fun.  Ill teach you oldtimers what I learn...

Maryville,
I think you guys are going to be a force in this conf.  Good plus for you guys is that you out of nc and va.  Plus everyone that plays you has to travel a really long way..  That sets you up with some serious home field advantage....

[narch]

fbjoe - i saw a little bit of practice while i was at the softball game yesterday - i watched the qb's, primarily as that's the position with the most question marks - bartee looked VERY athletic, and he seemed to throw a good ball - looked like the coaches were really working on some footwork things with him - schultz looked like he had a pretty strong arm, too - i saw him throw a couple of outs that were on a rope - not sure who the other qb's throwing were, but none of them threw any ducks...of course, there was no rush and no db's on the wr's, so it's tough to really evaluate, but i've talked to some players and coaches, and i think everyone feels like whoever steps up this spring and takes the job will be in good shape...there are a lot of weapons returning, and a very solid o-line

[footballjoe]

Narch since you were able to see a little of the practice could you tell if some of those injured last year and could not play were practicing and did they look healed.  Thanks for your input.

[AdmiralPapi]

Narch, I saw a MC van pulling out of UNCW this weekend...couldn't think of any athletic team that could be competing there...any idea what they were there for?

[narch]

Narch since you were able to see a little of the practice could you tell if some of those injured last year and could not play were practicing and did they look healed.  Thanks for your input.

no...i was watching from the softball game and wasn't close enough - the qb's were easy to spot from my vantage point...the others, not so much

[Highlander]

Narch & Mosh,
Nice of you to provide a reply. After reading this board for quite a while I have become to know and appreciate the insight that ya'll have regarding the conference and the teams that play in it. I may be biased being an alum, but I believe that Maryville has a nice atmosphere for college football. Plenty of parents and alumni show up early to fire up the grills and turkey friers to tailgate under the trees surrounding the stadium. During the game the crowd can really get into the action. At the present time they have also learned to stay to the end, because the game might always be decided in the fourth quarter. LOL

[moshergc9]

UNC put together a pretty good experiance. 

Trent Dilfer delivered some jokes and a prayer.  The Wr coach from the indanapolis colts gave a pretty moving speech ( about dungies sons death)...

The thing that I learned the most from was the practice setup at UNC.  I watched alot of the db drills (they had a nice flow)..

Looks like the head coach is doing a good job.  In one of the presentations they showed how North Carolina High School Football  is tenth best in the nation.   Not bad considering texas and texas and pa are all bigger states.

Roll Pride