FB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[HSCTiger fan]

Congrats to Josh Breece, Chris Osier, Max Garrett, D'Eric Bell, and Vic Smith on D3football.com First Team All South Region Team. The first 3 from W&L, the last two from Guilford. More on the 2nd and 3rd team but too hard to switch back and forth on my cell.  Breece is the only FY on the First Team for the South.

Yes, congrats to all these young men as well as HSC's Cam Johnson ODAC POY for making second team all-south.

[D O.C.]

Shenandoah's MILES K. DAVIS one of two finalists for the Presidency of LINFIELD COLLEGE.

[hasanova]

De'Eric Bell of Guilford named to first-team AFCA All-America Team.  Congratulations!

[jknezek]

W&L's Max Garrett and Grey Reames selected to the first and second team respectively CoSIDA Academic All Americans. Garrett was also Second Team AFCA All-American.

[jknezek]

Congratulations to Josh Breece. Second team AP All-American. The only freshman on either team.

[HSCTiger fan]

Cam Johnson named AFCA All-American 2nd team and was voted the offensive POY by the Virginia Sports Information Directors!  Lots of ODAC guys on list - http://vasidsports.com/news/2017/12/14/vasid-announces-2017-college-division-football-all-state-team.aspx?path=football

[Ralph Turner]

In the podcast at 1:26, (is that Adam Turer that I hear?)

In voice not unlike Howard Cosell, the 2017 ODAC champions, the Washington and Lee Football Generals.

[Birddawg79]

Congrats to Josh Breece, Chris Osier, Max Garrett, D'Eric Bell, and Vic Smith on D3football.com First Team All South Region Team. The first 3 from W&L, the last two from Guilford. More on the 2nd and 3rd team but too hard to switch back and forth on my cell.  Breece is the only FY on the First Team for the South.

Great accomplishment for all these young men.  Balancing academics and athletics is hard enough but to excel in either is awesome.

[BillyRayJimBob]

I posted this question over on the North's OAC Board:

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Just curious...

I have been aware of the Salem (VA) High School Spartans' football success from my early 2000s days in the Air Force down in southeast Virginia, and also from attending Stagg Bowls at Salem Stadium.  This year, I noted the signage at the stadium ... State Runner-up in 2014, and State Champions in 2015 and 2016.  The stadium scoreboard marquee advertised their 2017 State Championship, as was also mentioned by Mr. Harveycutter during Pat's podcast following the game.

My question is, have any Salem High School, or greater Roanoke high school, football players matriculated to Mount Union or another Stagg Bowl participant due to their participation and/or success during these past 25 years?  I would like to think that Mount Union's, and even UW-Whitewater's, participation and dominance during the last 10-12 years could have gotten some local attention.  I would like to think that the opportunity to come back home and play on a bigger stage for a national championship, possibly for one or more years, would be attractive to some of the local football talent.

Again, just curious (and a tip of my flight cap to those of you who know the rosters over the years, both inside and out)...
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Not looking for anyone on the ODAC board to directly answer it, but maybe share, if known, where the Salem High School (or greater Roanoke area high school) football talent is ending up after high school.  Are there any particular ODAC schools benefitting?  Did 25 years of the Stagg Bowl in Salem have any influence in local high school player's D3 school selections?

[HSCTiger fan]

I'm sure players from VA have played at MU. Two that come to mind are Drew Ferguson played at MU and transferred to Shenandoah.  He played HS in Mechanicsville near Richmond. The other was Johan Lorenzo who played at Averret. He transfer from both MU and UWW. But he played HS in Florida.
Emory and Henry hired an assistant from MU to be their head coach.

I know this does not answer your question but thought you might find it interesting.

[BillyRayJimBob]

I'm sure players from VA have played at MU. Two that come to mind are Drew Ferguson played at MU and transferred to Shenandoah.  He played HS in Mechanicsville near Richmond. The other was Johan Lorenzo who played at Averret. He transfer from both MU and UWW. But he played HS in Florida.
Emory and Henry hired an assistant from MU to be their head coach.

I know this does not answer your question but thought you might find it interesting.

Thanks, Tigger!
There was an OL(?) from Fredericksburg VA in my daughter's 2004 class.  Always joked in my drive up I-95 to the Fred'burg US 17 exit heading to Alliance (from Langley AFB area) that I should carpool/meet up with the guy's Dad for gamedays.
Otherwise ... yeah ... wondering what influence the Salem-based Stagg Bowl had on local talent ... where they matriculated.
Cheers!
(I live in Maryland now ... right outside Fort Meade ... and surprised at the Maryland dudes on the roster.)

[jknezek]

Scott Abell resigns as W&L head coach to move on to Davidson. That's going to hurt...

This one feels like a punch to the gut. I'm happy for Coach Abell and thankful for what he has done for the program. I had faith that we would compete, barring injuries, every year with him in charge. He will be very hard to replace.

On the other hand, congratulations to him. Davidson isn't really a great job now, but I think he will have a chance to turn it around given the constraints on the team and the league they play in. He really is a fantastic coach and a school like Davidson could definitely benefit from a coach with his experience and system.

I wish him good luck and deep and sincere thanks for his work at W&L. I just wish he wasn't leaving...

[HSCTiger fan]

He's a perfect fit for Davidson. He goes from a D3 academic powerhouse without athletic scholarships to a D1 academic powerhouse without football scholarships. He is a great coach and will IMO do very well at Davidson.

JK anyone of staff at WL waiting in the wings?

[jknezek]

He's a perfect fit for Davidson. He goes from a D3 academic powerhouse without athletic scholarships to a D1 academic powerhouse without football scholarships. He is a great coach and will IMO do very well at Davidson.

JK anyone of staff at WL waiting in the wings?

Not really. At least, not in the obvious sense of Coach Abell when Coach Miriello resigned. I think Coach Berlin is the only one with head coach experience. He's been with the program 5 years but was a h.s. head coach before that. Coach Colliton has been around the program forever and was head golf coach at W&L and a baseball assistant. LeRose has also been around for a decade but he's been there since he graduated W&L. No head coach experience or experience anywhere else.

O'Brien has also been there a while and has a lot of experience at other stops around DIII, but no head coaching experience. He's also on the defensive side of the ball.

I'm guessing if they go internal it will be Berlin, but they will still need to hire a new OC. Berlin comes from the defensive side and Abell was obviously the OC since he arrived.

[HSCTiger fan]

He's a perfect fit for Davidson. He goes from a D3 academic powerhouse without athletic scholarships to a D1 academic powerhouse without football scholarships. He is a great coach and will IMO do very well at Davidson.

JK anyone of staff at WL waiting in the wings?

Not really. At least, not in the obvious sense of Coach Abell when Coach Miriello resigned. I think Coach Berlin is the only one with head coach experience. He's been with the program 5 years but was a h.s. head coach before that. Coach Colliton has been around the program forever and was head golf coach at W&L and a baseball assistant. LeRose has also been around for a decade but he's been there since he graduated W&L. No head coach experience or experience anywhere else.

O'Brien has also been there a while and has a lot of experience at other stops around DIII, but no head coaching experience. He's also on the defensive side of the ball.

I'm guessing if they go internal it will be Berlin, but they will still need to hire a new OC. Berlin comes from the defensive side and Abell was obviously the OC since he arrived.

I'm sure the WL football community wants to stick with the success they've had running the option. I would speculate that if they don't hire within they would look for similar offensive minded assistant coaches from Citadel or similar programs. It's not an offense that many teams run. I can't see an assistant from GA Tech or Army or Navy dropping to D3 without WL dropping some serious coin. If they cannot find an offensive coach within the program, I could see them hiring a defensive minded coach and then hiring a successful HS coach who runs a similar offensive scheme to be the OC.

I'm sure they will be bombarded with candidates. Abell built a tremendous program.