FB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[tigerdadplm]

I voted with my heart but I think that 06 will be a tough year for DPU, they will either grow up in a hurry of struggle through growing pains, replacing a great QB/Ath, 2 damn good WR's, 4 of 5 on the O-Line...but the defense may be able to carry them through the early going.

[evacuee]

Graduating a QB is always tough, but especially so if a freshman by the name of SPUD DICK ends up under center(see daily dose). 

Actually, I'm sure he's a good player.  But the name.  Ouch.   

[Superfoot Wallace]

Ive seen Spud Dick play at least four times in high school and he is a solid recruit.

His weightroom numbers arent outlandish, but they are more than respectable for a high school quarterback.  240 bench and 340 squat with a 4.9 second forty yard dash.

His height is a little different than what the folks in Greencastle are used to.  Since Clippinger, DPU quarterbacks have been fairly tall and Spud measures in stretched at 5'10.

What was most impressive about Spud was the transition from his junior to senior high school years.  He was surrounded by gretaer talent as a junior than as a senior, but the teams overall capability dropped very little as Spud matured and found better and innovative ways to get the ball to the remaining talent.

While his senior numbers, win-losses werent as prolific as his junior numbers, I was of the opinion this had more to do with the improvement of play in his high school conference than with any letdown by his team. 

While a team from the rival conference bulldozed everybody with the wing t and suprior talent and size, the rest of Spuds own conference improved drastically as several very talented running backs transferred into systems with veteran lines.  As a junior, Spud was the only quarterback to test that dominant wing t team.

Depauw got a quality recruit there, valued probably more for his leadership and mind than physical prowess.

signed,
Curly Lambeau

[warriorhog51]

Graduating a QB can be rough on any team.  I think that DPU has some quality guys coming back in Abe Winkle, who was no. 2 last year, and Robbie MacLaughlin, who is a freshman currently and only saw action in JV games.  Also, Spud sounds like he is a pretty good player and leader.  What might be of more concern for DPU is graduating 4 of 5 starting o-linemen and 4 d-linemen (3 starters and 1 backup).  All of the second units saw limited playing time last year, and several guys who will probably be stepping into varsity positions are freshmen right now.  There are some upper classmen ready to step in, as well, but they have only seen limited playing time over the last couple of years.  It will be interesting to see who steps up as leaders (both by their performances and throught their words) for the Tigers.

[Superfoot Wallace]

Thats probably the highest rate of attrition for both lines on a college squad that I have ever heard.  Methinks some of this has to do with the frequency of coaching turnover, never a good thing!!

Which positions and players are returning for Depauw along the frontline.  Im supposing one of them is the guy listed in the poll at the top of the page.   The offensive starter returning being?

Better hope for some solid fullback and linebacker play to hang the teams toughness on.  Nothing against DBs and WRs but the tone is set up front and can be done by tweeners as much as fullblown hogs sometimes, depending on scheme and other factors.  Though DeAngelo Harris did a quality job of exuding toughness for his team down in Memphis with a very thin and inexperienced line. 

Wabash is running their yap about the size of their oline over on the NCAC page.  Never too soon to throw some fuel on the Monon fire.  Claiming the best returning recievers in the land as well.

signed,
Chuck Bednarik

[warriorhog51]

Hertel is returning on the d-line at end and Pappas on the o-line at one of the gaurd positions.  I think that it should also be noted that one of the o-linemen graduating this year was a 5-th year who battled with a junior for the starting job as the beginning of the season last fall. 
I think there is a lot of potential and talen in the guys who will be fighting for starting spots.  There just isn't a lot of experience.
No offense intended MacLeod, but I don't think that the coaching turnover has much to do with graduating so many.  This senior class had A LOT of talent in it at almost every position, and most of the guys started for 2-3 years at their position, and the guys behind them have some experience but not as much as most coaches would like.

[Superfoot Wallace]

Might be that those guys played early because of the coaching changes.  Easier to go with the old standby, what have you done for me lately, than be forced to dance with the gurl you brung when your the new guy on the block and you didnt brunger.

You are/were there in Greencastle, so Im assuming your scenarios the real lowdown.

Remember reading about Pappas a while back.  Struck me that he was something like 240 or so.  With smaller size Im expecting hes a mean badger and an excellent technician to be playing amongst the redwoods. 

Guards around that size are what those on the outside of division three site as the inferiority of the division, whereas I believe it to be the strength.  Ive known a 240 pound guard in my day take some division 1 talented tackles out back behind the woodshed and treat em till they were no longer randy.

One of the regulars on the board talked about an old time Tennessee team that was made up of eleven fullbacks.  Division three Outsiders would be surprised at some of the real innovations and evolutions attributable to different not lesser skill sets.

regards,
MC Hammer

[warriorhog51]

Those guys started playing their sophomore year while Coach Nick was still there because they were good.  They were competing with and beating out seniors and juniors for the starting jobs.  (Hertel started over some pretty good guys as a freshman, but he is by far the exception)  When Coach Lynch came in those guys were already developed somewhat, and had the experience and talent it took to play.  With Coach Rogers the same guys were now seasoned veterans who knew what they were doing.  Without the talent in the senior class this year, DePauw would not have been as good as they were.

Pappas was listed at 6'2"-250 this year.  He doesn't have the height that some coaches would like (the 6'2" is about 2-3 inches taller than what he really is), but he is more athletic than just about any offensive linemen that I have seen.  And you are correct that his technique is really good.  He went to Trinity H.S. in Louisville, KY, which from my understand produces D-I talent on a regular basis.  I think that if Pappas was a lot closer to the 6'5"+ that D-I schools look for he has the technique and athleticism that he could play at that level. 

[historymajor]

Just saw the news that Colorado College HAS joined the SCAC..... bring on the frequent-flier miles!

[Ron Boerger]

Still TBD is how and when several sports, including football, will be integrated into the SCAC schedule.  More details on the front page; in some sports, CC starts SCAC play in the upcoming season:

• Cross Country
• Swimming/Diving
• Tennis
• Track & Field

Pairing CC with Austin in most team sports is going to make for an ugly travel weekend for the rest of the SCAC.   D/FW is 70+ miles away from Sherman, and if you fly in Friday afternoon you are going to deal with the UGLY rush-hour traffic on 75, 35, you name it. 

In other news, the conference today announced its support for the repeal of the Wright Amendment (that's a joke folks).   That said, about the only airline flying DFW-Colorado Springs non-stop is American.  Love Field would be closer and one would think fares on SW to Colorado Springs would be cheaper  ... but SW doesn't fly into the Springs, only Denver, an hour+ away.  In any case, open-jaw airfares (e.g. Indianapolis-DFW-Colo Sprs/Denver-Indianapolis) are generally much higher than standard round trips.  Good luck to the Hendrixes and Oglethorpes and other schools that don't have big endowments. 

[Warren Thompson]

Still TBD is how and when several sports, including football, will be integrated into the SCAC schedule.  More details on the front page; in some sports, CC starts SCAC play next year:

• Cross Country
• Swimming/Diving
• Tennis
• Track & Field

Pairing CC with Austin in most team sports is going to make for an ugly travel weekend for the rest of the SCAC.   D/FW is 70+ miles away from Sherman, and if you fly in Friday afternoon you are going to deal with the UGLY rush-hour traffic on 75, 35, you name it. 

In other news, the conference today announced its support for the repeal of the Wright Amendment (that's a joke folks).   That said, about the only airline flying DFW-Colorado Springs non-stop is American.  Love Field would be closer and one would think fares on SW to Colorado Springs would be cheaper.  In any case, open-jaw airfares (e.g. Indianapolis-DFW-Colo Sprs-Indianapolis) are generally much higher than standard round trips.  Good luck to the Hendrixes and Oglethorpes and other schools that don't have big endowments. 

Was it the president of Princeton who once said (about a hundred years ago) that he couldn't endorse the idea of Princeton's football team trekking all the way to the University of Chicago "merely to agitate a bag of wind"?

[Ron Boerger]

Was it the president of Princeton who once said (about a hundred years ago) that he couldn't endorse the idea of Princeton's football team trekking all the way to the University of Chicago "merely to agitate a bag of wind"?

It wouldn't surprise me if so ...

and I just realized that we have yet ANOTHER "Tiger" school joining the conference.  Bully.  Look, CC is up in the mountains, why don't they become the Cougars or Catamounts or Mountain Lions or something?    ANYTHING but another Tiger school. 

Colorado College Tigers
DePauw Tigers
Sewanee Tigers
Trinity Tigers

Sounds like we should divide football into the "Tiger" and "non-Tiger" division.   

Seriously, welcome to Colorado College.  It sounds like I'm not happy with them coming into the league and it's just the logistics that are a concern.  From an academics/athletics POV they are an excellent addition to the conference, tho I wish they didn't have two Division I sports (ice hockey, women's soccer). 

OBTW the Colorado College website says they'll begin playing in all other sports in '07-'08. 

[Pat Coleman]

The conference office suggested to me that a league meeting over the summer would determine those dates, and whether there would be a split into divisions in basketball.

[Ralph Turner]

I still wonder where the SCAC will find the 12th member that they have talked about since last spring.  The 6 and 5 division format would work in the West and East.

I am guessing CC-AC/SU-TU/HC-RC in the West,
and DPU/MC-OU/CC-US in the East.

As for Hendrix and the travel schedule, I believe that HC is in this for the long haul.  They have been a member of the CAC/SCAC for a long time and probably do not see themselves as an ASC-East team (UT-Tyler, UT-Dallas, U Ozarks, LeTourneau and football schools like Miss Coll, LaColl and ETBU.)

I still wonder if Oglethorpe would find the GSAC a better fit for their budget.

[Ralph Turner]

Hendrix' Endowment was reported to NACUBO in 2004 as $137M for #268th of the reporting schools.

John Carroll at #270 and Kalamazoo at #271 report endowments of $135M.

I think that they can afford it.