FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[frank_ezelle]

Went by the Millsaps practice yesterday.  It was cut short by about an hour by lightning in the area--at least I left at that point and it's possible that they got back out after the fast moving storm cleared.

About all I can tell from the stands is that they have a lot of players and practices are very well organized.  They have been split up into 3 groups at the two practices I've seen, one group working near the sideline at mid-field and the other two taking the last 30-40 yards of each end of the field. 

Can't tell much about size from the stands.  I do know that they have 11 QBs because that many guys have red jerseys.  They did a length of the field practice yesterday of 11 v 11.  They ran it 4 times with 4 different QBs.  Not surprising, Chris Graves was the first QB used.  After that it was a sophomore and 2 freshmen.  I don't want to read too much into the order of players used this early in practice so I won't give the names of these players.  The bottom line is that Millsaps has 1 senior who might be very capable of getting the job done and then it seems like the next in line might be a lot of youth and it will be interesting to see who picks up the system the fastest.

Another non-surprise is that they work a lot on the passing game.  With the graduation of Juan and a bunch of receivers, plus the graduation of most or all of the defensive backs, working on the passing game addresses the two big question marks.  There's one freshman receiver who has caught my eye but maybe he is going against non-experienced freshmen DBs.  He's not big but has great hands and was a fairly good sprinter in high school--how he'll do when people are hitting for real is a good question, but the guy sure looks good as a future deep threat.  It looks to me like Millsaps will be just fine on the receiving end of the passing game and I believe they will find the answer on the throwing end.

Along those lines, I won't be surprised if at least 3 QBs play against MS College and then again against Belhaven.  Even if Chris Graves has the starting spot locked up, they still have to find the #2 from a bunch of inexperienced players. 

I've probably mentioned this before, but barring a tie, Millsaps will either be 2-0, 1-1, or 0-2 when they go to Austin and I think the odds are highest that they will be 0-2.  Before Millsaps fans get upset, let me explain why:
---MS College and Belhaven are both good teams
---This season has the feel of 2006 and in that season the non-conference games were used to prepare for winning the SCAC without a lot of concern about wins and losses in the non-conference part.
---With so many starting spots up for grabs, I believe DuBose will give a lot of guys the opportunity to prove themselves on the field.  I expect to see around 70-75 players getting into both of those games.
---Millsaps will not tip their hand to Trinity and DePauw this early in the season. 

I hope my prediction is 100% backwards.  I hope Millsaps is so good that they can play a lot of guys, stick with a very basic scheme, and still beat MS College and Belhaven.  That would be impressive but that's asking a lot.  Plus, I have no problem at all if the team starts out 0-2 by doing things that will give them the best chance to go 3-0 vs Austin, Trinity, and DePauw.  That's when the real season begins and that's when we'll really see what Millsaps has this year.

[exmajor]

Thanks for the insight Frank!  I also hope the Majors can get some experience in the first two games and come out with two wins on top of that.  I did see that Millsaps has posted its JV schedule for this year, another good way to get valuable experience for the young guys. 

This is a far cry from the Millsaps teams that I played on, we never had enough for a JV team, credit to Dubose and staff for their recruiting efforts and retention rates.

http://gomajors.com/sports/2009/8/18/FB_0818094133.aspx?path=football

[scaccommish]

SCAC Director of Sports Information Jeff DeBaldo has just releaed the 2009 SCAC Football Prospectus, which includes, among many other things, the 2009 Coaches' Preseason Poll.

http://www.scacsports.com/sports/fball/2009-10/releases/09_football_prospectus

If you sign up to be on the SCAC e-list, you'll get these notifications sent to your inbox. Find out how to do that here:

http://www.scacsports.com/inside_athletics/newsletter_signup

[frank_ezelle]

Considering how these pre-season votes often reflect the results of the previous year, I guess it isn't a surprise to see the order as Millsaps, Trinity, and DePauw.   Maybe a bigger surprise is that these three didn't capture all of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place votes. 

Unless my math is off, the total of 7x7 plus 6x7 plus 5x7 is 126 points.  The top three only combined for 124 points so I guess Centre got a couple of third place votes or maybe a second.  It's a good reminder that there are more than 3 good teams in the SCAC and there's work to be done every weekend. 

[frank_ezelle]

In news that will mostly be of interest to Millsaps fans, I see that MS College lost Desmond Mays, their star running back who lead the ASC in rushing last year with 1,137 yards.  To add insult to injury, they will have to face Mays this year since he transferred to ASC rival UMHB for his senior season.  That's got to leave some bitter feelings.

[D3_DPUFan]

Considering how these pre-season votes often reflect the results of the previous year, I guess it isn't a surprise to see the order as Millsaps, Trinity, and DePauw.   Maybe a bigger surprise is that these three didn't capture all of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place votes.  

I agree, Frank. And that's right where DPU needs to be. They have not done the deal...and until they do, they won't be voted higher...and of course, the preseason is meaningless. And I don't think it's surprising that the top three didn't garner all the votes. IMHO the SCAC is a tough conference because teams like Centre and Rhodes are looming each week, not to mention up and coming programs like Austin and Sewanee...it's what makes the conference fun...

[rooski]

Does it interest anyone that two terrific teams will enter the season with two rather contrasting challenges. Millsaps faces the challenge of losing an "all-everything" player in JJ, and other key contributors. DePauw must overcome the loss of a dynamite head coach. Interestingly, when the topics were passed around the board the past several weeks the general line of thought was that DuBose would shine in light of the lost player{s}, but on the other hand that at DePauw the players would pull through for the Tigers.

So, whose is the more difficult challenge?

Perhaps their seasons will dramatize the notion that, properly employed, a team can overcome most any challenge by emphasizing it's relative strength - whatever it may be.

[Ralph Turner]

Former Colorado College head coach Bob Bodor is now coaching in Kauai.

http://www.csindy.com/colorado/end-zone/Content?category=1064551

[D3_DPUFan]

Former Colorado College head coach Bob Bodor is now coaching in Kauai.

http://www.csindy.com/colorado/end-zone/Content?category=1064551

Good for him...hope it works out for him after getting hosed by the clowns at CC.

[Ron Boerger]

Former Colorado College head coach Bob Bodor is now coaching in Kauai.

http://www.csindy.com/colorado/end-zone/Content?category=1064551

Trinity ended up with a CC transfer, an all-conference DB.  Nice !!!

And OMG, if you had to end up somewhere teaching HS football, you couldn't do much better than Kauai.  I just hope they pay him enough that he can afford to live there.   From the article it sounds like he's already made a difference in the program.  

[TigerDad]

To add insult to injury, they will have to face Mays this year since he transferred to ASC rival UMHB for his senior season.  That's got to leave some bitter feelings.

Unless my memory is failing me, I believe this is either the 4th or 5th college that has hosted perennial transfer student-athlete Desmond Mays.  This former two-year Texas Class 1A MVP and star running back from Normangee has done alot of moving since he graduated in the spring of 2005.  Sam Houston State, Southwest Baptist (MO), Mississippi College, and now UMHB?  A little surprised that Coach Fred would take in a transfer from within the conference, but there you go.  Guess we'll see what happens to him as a Crusader.  Wonder why he can't find a team to stick with ....

[Ralph Turner]

To add insult to injury, they will have to face Mays this year since he transferred to ASC rival UMHB for his senior season.  That's got to leave some bitter feelings.

Unless my memory is failing me, I believe this is either the 4th or 5th college that has hosted perennial transfer student-athlete Desmond Mays.  This former two-year Texas Class 1A MVP and star running back from Normangee has done alot of moving since he graduated in the spring of 2005.  Sam Houston State, Southwest Baptist (MO), Mississippi College, and now UMHB?  A little surprised that Coach Fred would take in a transfer from within the conference, but there you go.  Guess we'll see what happens to him as a Crusader.  Wonder why he can't find a team to stick with ....

He let former McMurry and Mt St Joseph player Rashon Lewis into camp in 2008.

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=3803.7583 

Not trying to besmirch a reputation, but it might be part of Coach Fred's regimen.  Sometimes a player can demonstrate what the coach wants by the player's own "dysfunctionality".  The dysfunctional player  makes himself the example of what is not the "Coach Fred" way.

If Mayes has come to terms with what he needs and he needed to be closer to home, then I hope that he does well.

[Chronological Order]

To add insult to injury, they will have to face Mays this year since he transferred to ASC rival UMHB for his senior season.  That's got to leave some bitter feelings.

Unless my memory is failing me, I believe this is either the 4th or 5th college that has hosted perennial transfer student-athlete Desmond Mays.  This former two-year Texas Class 1A MVP and star running back from Normangee has done alot of moving since he graduated in the spring of 2005.  Sam Houston State, Southwest Baptist (MO), Mississippi College, and now UMHB?  A little surprised that Coach Fred would take in a transfer from within the conference, but there you go.  Guess we'll see what happens to him as a Crusader.  Wonder why he can't find a team to stick with ....

Its seems he followed Jack Peavey from Southwest Baptist (where he was Head Coach) to Mississippi College (where he was Offensive Coordinator). However when Peavey left over the off-season for Texas A&M Commerce (DIV II)...he probably had no reason to stay in Clinton, MS.

[TigerDad]

In hindsight, perhaps this should have been posted in on the ASC board ... but, alas, it's here now.

He let former McMurry and Mt St Joseph player Rashon Lewis into camp in 2008.

Not trying to besmirch a reputation, but it might be part of Coach Fred's regimen.  Sometimes a player can demonstrate what the coach wants by the player's own "dysfunctionality".  The dysfunctional player  makes himself the example of what is not the "Coach Fred" way.

If Mayes has come to terms with what he needs and he needed to be closer to home, then I hope that he does well.

Ralph, I could not find the D3board reference, but Google did serve up this little tidbit from last summer's Temple newspaper
http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2008/08/29/51857

Athletic senior Rashon Lewis, who had transferred from McMurry and was playing for his fourth school, no longer is with the program after a falling out on Wednesday.

"Rashon Lewis is not a part of this team and did not want to be a part of this team," Fredenburg said.

It will be interesting to see how the UMHB stable of running backs fares ... especially with Quincy Daniels returning from an early-season exit due to knee surgery last year.  

This early article in the Temple paper mentions Mays as a new addition to the Crusaders running back attack
http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2009/08/19/60050

And this one has some quotes from him that seem reasonable to me:
http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2009/08/18/60036

Over on the ASC board, there's quite a bit of related discussion for those interested ...

Hope young Mr. Mays fares well in his new environment ... except against McMurry, of course!  

Hope to see you in two weeks at Moore Stadium in Abilene!

[Ralph Turner]

To add insult to injury, they will have to face Mays this year since he transferred to ASC rival UMHB for his senior season.  That's got to leave some bitter feelings.

Unless my memory is failing me, I believe this is either the 4th or 5th college that has hosted perennial transfer student-athlete Desmond Mays.  This former two-year Texas Class 1A MVP and star running back from Normangee has done alot of moving since he graduated in the spring of 2005.  Sam Houston State, Southwest Baptist (MO), Mississippi College, and now UMHB?  A little surprised that Coach Fred would take in a transfer from within the conference, but there you go.  Guess we'll see what happens to him as a Crusader.  Wonder why he can't find a team to stick with ....

He let former McMurry and Mt St Joseph player Rashon Lewis into camp in 2008.

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=3803.7583 

Not trying to besmirch a reputation, but it might be part of Coach Fred's regimen.  Sometimes a player can demonstrate what the coach wants by the player's own "dysfunctionality".  The dysfunctional player  makes himself the example of what is not the "Coach Fred" way.

If Mayes has come to terms with what he needs and he needed to be closer to home, then I hope that he does well.

Post # 7583 on the ASC board...