Maryland In Transition With Coaching & Recruitment?
by Jay Parchman, recruit757
Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen (AP Photo)
Ralph Friedgen soon begins his tenth season as the head coach in College Park, Maryland. He entered with a bang going 31-8 in his first three seasons. Since then, however, a cumulative 35-38 record has followed in years four through nine. The bottom was reached last season at 2-10.
Joker Phillips (Kentucky) and Jimbo Fisher (Florida State) each begin the first season as a head coach after serving multiple seasons as an assistant with the designated tag of “coach in waiting”. James Franklin has been granted that same title with 2011 expected to be the last season for Friedgen. Many Maryland fans, however, are growing impatient with the direction of the program.
Examining impact to the recruiting efforts in The 757 is not easy to determine. Three local quality local players were inked for the 2007 class. Each remains at Maryland: Running Back Haroon Brown of Phoebus, O-Lineman Maurice Hampton of Phoebus and Defensive Back Trenton Hughes of Kempsville.
However since then, Maryland’s recruiting success and efforts are hard to pinpoint. The Terps offered scholarships to at least eight local players for the 2008 class and did land a big time prospect at WR with Kerry Boykins of Oscar Smith, but they were shut out locally in the 2009 class from their six offers that can be accounted for. Maryland’s recruiting efforts in The 757 were nearly fruitless for the 2010 class, but they did land one key player in Mario Rowson, a DB prospect from the talent laden Lake Taylor program.
The recruiting surge of new Virginia coach Mike London and staff seems to have impacted the Terps this year. Of the present six offers, two have already committed to play for the Cavaliers – Clifton Richardson and Caleb Taylor. Another, Daquan Romero of Phoebus, states he’ll play for North Carolina.
But good news might still be on the way. The Terrapins have made the trimmed list of five of Travis Hughes (6-1 220), LB prospect from Kempsville. The #1-rated Southside player according to the Virginian-Pilot, Demetrious Nicholson of Bayside, includes the Terps on his long list of suitors. The Terrapins have been recruiting Quinta Funderburk, the long, tall, WR prospect from Oscar Smith. Maryland did not appear on Funderburk’s recent final five.
All of the above players are blue chip caliber recruits and are among the most notable. Maryland is most certainly recruting the area more deeply than it appears.
The Terps are looking to tap the Lake Taylor talent pool again as Maryland Offensive Line Coach Tom Brattan is calling on the Norfolk School to land WR/DB Deandre Moore (6-1 185). It’s still too early in the recruiting season to call Moore’s recruitment, but Maryland is definitely in the mix.
With quite a bit to go, Maryland has their opportunities to make a large dent in the local 2011 class as they did with the 2007 group. A winning season would certainly help. Maryland draws a favorable schedule from the Coastal Division of the ACC. They play Virginia, Duke and Miami from that side of the ledger which is certainly more favorable than drawing three Top 25 teams in Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
With the right bounces, a bowl season could be in reach. That kind of achievement would certainly be favorable for the Terps’ recruiting efforts.
It would also help Coach Ralph Friedgen keep his job.
- Jay Parchman
JMU QB Situation Resolved
#9 Drew Dudzik (Photo: JMUSports.com)
For the 2009 season, the Dukes had a quarterback controversy that was resolved only when redshirt junior Drew Dudzik went down with an injury. This year, James Madison University won’t have that problem.
Last season the Dukes had to figure out who was going to succeed star QB Rodney Landers. Coach Mickey Matthews decided on a platoon with Dudzik and redshirt freshman Justin Thorpe splitting time at the position. Dudzik suffered a foot injury in the Dukes’ game against Richmond and Thorpe took over the season from there. JMU struggled a bit with Thorpe at the helm, but the Dukes managed to close out the season with four straight wins and a 6-5 season once Thorpe got his bearings.
There will be no quarterback controversy and no splitting time in 2010. Coach Matthews has named Drew Dudzik the starter going into the 2010 season. Some of it can be attributed to Dudzik’s status as a redshirt senior and leader of the offense. Dudzik’s solid performance in Spring Practices didn’t hurt him either.
James Madison kicks off their 2010 season with a September 4 home game against Morehead State before heading to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech on September 11. The Morehead State game will give Dudzik and the Dukes an easy start to the season before the Tech game throws Dudzik into the fire of top level competition.
Chris Beatty Article on PilotOnline
Kyle Tucker published a fantastic article on Chris Beatty this morning in the Virginian-Pilot. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. I’ve linked it at the bottom of the page.
For those of you unfamiliar with regional recruiting, or maybe you’ve just been living under a rock for the last five years or so… Chris Beatty is a rising star in the football world who got his first big break here in The 757. Beatty coached Percy Harvin at Landstown High School from 2003 to 2005 after two previous high school coaching gigs at North Stafford and Salem (Virginia Beach). Beatty’s Landstown teams made three straight State Title game appearances, winning it all in 2004, Percy Harvin’s junior year.
From there, Beatty was offensive coordinator at Hampton for one year, coached running backs at Northern Illinois for one year, then landed at West Virginia in 2008. This year, Beatty was promoted to recruiting coordinator and H-Backs coach for the Mountaineers. He’s been recognized as one of the nation’s top recruiters and he regularly visits his old stomping ground in search for new talent. Beatty knows the area. He knows many of the area’s high school coaches and he has a fantastic web of contacts for recruiting The 757.
For a great read on Chris Beatty and his recruiting efforts in the area, check out the article at PilotOnline.com.
Preseason Picks For The Fun Of It
Football season is year ’round now. We’ve known that for years. We have training camps in the summer, kickoff around Labor Day, playoffs at the end of the year, the Super Bowl has been stretched to February, National Signing Day is in February, the next round of recruiting kicks in… the schedule is released and the NFL draft is in April, colleges make recruiting visits in April and May…. Do we take the month of June off? Nah.
It’s still too early to tell exactly how every program is going to shape up at the start of the season, but for entertainment purposes, how about a preseason Top 10?
#1 Alabama – they’re the defending National Champs and will have to be knocked off before anyone else gets to claim they’re the nation’s #1 team. Coach Saban doesn’t take a day off and the Tide return eight of their offensive starters including QB Greg McElroy and running backs Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. The Tide only returns five defensive starters from 2009. Defense may be the only early point of concern for them.
#2 Boise State – This would be rare air for the Broncos. Boise State usually starts much lower in the polls and spends most of the season working their way up the ranks by winning and winning and winning. This year, they’ll get respect because they return 21 of their 22 starters plus their kicker and their punter. The only player not to return is CB Kyle Wilson. Boise starts the season off against Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Washington D.C. and will have a lot to prove.
#3 Texas – Colt McCoy is gone, but QB Garrett Gilbert got plenty of valuable playing time in the national championship game when McCoy went down with an injury in the first quarter. Texas loses a few other key starters and has to hit the road for conference play at Oklahoma and at Nebraska this year. There are a few places for them to stumble, but they should start the season at #3.
#4 Ohio State – The Buckeyes finished strong by beating Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Coach Tressell may have finally figured out what he has in QB Terrelle Pryor. As conservative as Big 10 football is typically, Tressell may be forced to open up the offense and let Pryor loose.
#5 TCU - This is another squad that plays in a non-BCS conference and dominated their schedule last year. Last year’s Horned Frogs returned only 10 players but this year’s edition brings back 16 starters. TCU lost their BCS Bowl game to Boise State last year, but that was no shameful loss. Perhaps both Boise State and TCU will make BCS Bowls again this year. This time let’s hope they both get to play against “traditional powers”.
#6 Iowa - Iowa had to do a lot of work to get ranked highly last season. They climbed from #22 to #4 in the National Rankings before being stunned at Northwestern and losing a heartbreaker at Ohio State. This year, the Hawkeyes get a much more favorable conference schedule including the Ohio State game at home. This team has arrived.
#7 Virginia Tech – This is the hometown favorite of course, and they’ll have a week one test against Boise State in DC. Virginia Tech returns very few players on the defensive side of the ball and may be outmatched in the game against the Broncos. From there, the Hokies should rebound and if they pull it together, they could run the table. The next tough game for Tech after their opener is the November 4 home game against Georgia Tech. As far as the polls are concerned, a loss to Boise State wouldn’t knock them far down in the rankings and Tech could easily be a Top 5 team again by November 4. If Tech beats Boise State, the sky’s the limit. They will have to contend with consecutive November road games against North Carolina and Miami that might stand between the Hokies and an undefeated regular season. They just have to get the first game out of the way.
#8 Florida – Florida loses their QB, their top WR and top TE, yet they will still do well in the rankings. Florida is expected to be the class of the SEC outside of Alabama, and should be the favorite in all of their games except for that one. Urban Meyer has recruited well and should be able to reload quickly.
#9 Nebraska – Ndamukong Who? Yes, their top ranked defensive lineman was one heckuva presence for the Huskers. Otherwise, Nebraska returns a lot of talent and should have no problem winning the Big 12 North. Nebraska has a cakewalk of an early schedule and doesn’t have a tough game until their October 16 home game against Texas.
#10 Oregon – The Ducks had new coach Chip Kelly last season and they stumbled out of the blocks. This year, their rival USC lost their Head Coach Pete Carroll and they’ve picked up Lane Kiffin. Winning their conference might be easier this year than it was last year. Ducks QB Jeremiah Masoli has been suspended for a year and RB Lagarrette Blount went pro, so Oregon will have to overcome those setbacks and move on. The Ducks return 16 starters from last years team and have time to steady themselves with opening games against New Mexico, at Tennessee and against Portland State.
Just think, we’re less than four months from football season!
Navy Football Visits White House Today
Navy Football Visits Barack Obama at the White House in 2009.
The Navy Football Team will visit Barack Obama at the White House today for the presentation of the Commander in Chief’s Trophy. The trophy is given annually to the service academy that wins the head-to-head matchups between Army, Navy and Air Force. The 2009 trophy will be a school record setting seventh straight award for the Midshipmen.
Navy beat Air Force 16-13 in overtime and managed a 17-3 victory over Army to claim the award for 2009. The current Senior class at Navy managed a perfect 8-0 record against the other service academies.
Navy Football has made seven straight bowl game appearances and they finished their 2009 season 10-2 with a shocking upset of Missouri at the Texas Bowl in Houston. The Tigers went into the game as a 6.5 point favorite, but the Middies won easily, 35-13.
Night and Day – Recruiting Varies By Program
It’s mid-April and how’s recruiting going at your favorite college program? It all depends on where they are in the food chain, so to speak.
Big colleges aren’t necessarily better or worse when it comes to being an ideal fit for any student-athlete, but the perceived status of a program and the recruiting territory around a program will dictate how much they can control the process.
There’s no single path to filling out a recruiting class. National Signing Day is always the first Wednesday in February. On that date, student-athletes can sign a National Letter of Intent to enroll at the college of their choice (with a scholarship offer from that institution). Every program wants the best athletes they can get. They push to get verbal commitments from student-athletes so that they can plan to sign their full allotment on National Signing Day if possible. Until that point, any commitment from an athlete is only verbal.
Bigger programs have the clout to get commitments early. More athletes want to play for “big-time” programs, so the scholarship slots at those schools get filled up more quickly. Smaller schools are often forced to work harder and dig more deeply when it comes to finding scholarship eligible athletes that are a fit for their program. Here’s a current case in point….
The University of Texas is blessed with arguably the most fertile recruiting territory in all of college football. It’s not surprising that UTA can recruit just within their state and end up with a top 10 recruiting class year in and year out. Most people might be surprised that Texas is way ahead of the curve in getting commitments for next year’s class. For the 2011 class, Texas has 23 scholarships available and has 19 verbal commitments already. Of those 19, 18 of them are in-state kids. The Longhorns only have four more scholarships to give and they’re essentially done for the 2011 class. From that point, they’ll have to wait until February 2, 2011 to confirm their haul.
That kind of quick work is good if you’re confident that you’re getting the right kids for your program. A lot can change in the last 18 months before a kid enrolls in college. A school like Texas goes into the process convinced that they’re getting the highest caliber players available that fill team needs.
In contrast, Virginia Tech only has two commitments for 2011. That doesn’t mean that Tech is behind in recruiting, it just demonstrates how far ahead Texas is working the recruiting process.
On the other end of the spectrum is a school like Hampton University. Hampton is almost the polar opposite of Texas in all respects. Hampton is a small, private school here in the area and they play Division I FCS Football. Hampton is attractive to many players, but for reasons different from the reasons that players are attracted to Texas.
Hampton has a recruiting class of 21 players signed for 2010. Coach Donovan Rose still has as many as seven scholarships that he can award for the 2010 class, if he finds the right fits. Is the Hampton staff working on recruits for 2011? Absolutely. Unfortunately, the Hampton staff doesn’t have the same luxuries that the Texas staff has.
It’s a tale of two programs. There isn’t a “right way” to recruit. You recruit for need. Coaches want the best athletes possible. Whether they’re coming after kids after their sophomore year or still finishing up the class after National Signing Day, coaches and programs will do what is right for their program. There’s room for late bloomers. Just ask Coach Rose at Hampton.
’tis the Season For Spring Football
Photo: Bruce Yeung/Yeung Photography
If you’re following college football, you know that spring has sprung. Last Saturday was the culmination of spring practices for UVA, Richmond, and North Carolina among others in the region. This Saturday the slate of spring games continues with on-campus pep rallies and intra-squad exhibitions for Wake Forest, East Carolina, North Carolina State, William and Mary and Tennessee.
In Winston-Salem, Wake Forest has a day full of festivities planned including tailgating and giveaways with the Spring Game starting at 1 p.m. at BB&T Field. Head Coach Jim Grobe has changed some assignments within his coaching staff, otherwise news coming out of spring practices has been almost non-existent. Wake will have to replace starting QB Riley Skinner and as of now they have five choices at quarterback. Skylar Jones will come into next year as a redshirt Junior and he’s gotten most of the reps at QB in spring practice. Coach Grobe’s other four choices are sophomores or freshmen, including redshirt freshman D.J. Jones who’s been converted from defensive back. Redshirt sophomore Ted Stachitas has been injured for the entirety of spring practice while Turner Faulk and Patrick Thompson have ably filled backup roles.
At East Carolina, Coach Ruffin McNeill has been in attrition mode. He lost two running backs (Giavanni Ruffin and Brandon Jackson) due to their arrests for alcohol related charges. Ruffin has been suspended indefinitely and Jackson has been dismissed from the team. This past weekend, McNeill was forced to dismiss Linebacker Austin Hayes for disciplinary reasons related to an arrest. Painfully, ECU Football is being retooled. The Pirates were already losing 15 starters from last years team. The further attrition due to disciplinary issues is only going to hurt them in the short term. ECU’s Purple-Gold game takes place at 2 p.m. on Friday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on the campus of East Carolina.
North Carolina State has a budding quarterback controversy on their hands. Two-year starter Russell Wilson may not return in the fall and that has redshirt sophomore Mike Glennon getting most of the reps this spring. Wilson is red hot for the NC State Baseball team and he’s already planned to spend all Spring and Summer on baseball. Because he will have finished three years of college in May, Wilson will have the opportunity to declare for the MLB Draft this summer. That could lead to Glennon getting the starter’s job if Wilson stays with baseball. The Wolfpack have to wait and see at this point. The Kay Yow Spring Football Game takes place at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh at 1 p.m. this Saturday.
William and Mary have very few new elements to the team. The most noticable will be the new mascot that was unveiled last week. The Griffin is now their official mascot. Beyond that, William and Mary might not want to change too much from last season. Coach Laycock guided his team to the Division I FCS semi-finals where they fell to eventual National Champions Villanova. After a year like 2009, they should be looking to hold the status quo as much as possible. W&M loses only three starters from the offense: WR Brandyn Harvey, C Brian Brannigan and OT Johnathan Bugli. On the defensive side of the ball, W&M loses four starters: DE Tim Kukucka, NG Phil Matusz, LB Osayi Osunde and FS Ross Ventrone. Coach Laycock has a lot of senior leadership coming into next year. The CAA will be more competitive than ever. Could William and Mary repeat their good fortune from 2009? The Green and Gold Game at Zable Stadium at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday.
University of Tennessee has dealt with a lot of adversity this off season. They’ve seen the departure of charismatic Head Coach Lane Kiffin, the arrival of a more down to earth coach in Derek Dooley, and personnel changes due to discipline introduced by the new head coach. The Vols were due to have a down year before Coach Kiffin left. The cupboard was rather bare. Can Dooley outcoach the likes of Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Urban Meyer and Les Miles? The Vols have a tough schedule as always. Beyond their games with Memphis, UAB, Tennessee-Martin, Vandy and Kentucky, they’re likely to find their schedule tough to overcome. The Orange and White game will be played at 2 p.m. at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
Funderburk to Visit Bama
Quinta Funderburk (video still from recruit757)
It’s no surprise. Phillip Sims’ favorite target from 2009 is getting offers from schools in the SEC, Big East, ACC, Big 10 and more. The list of big time schools vying for Funderburk’s services is a hit list of big programs. Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Florida, Penn State, Clemson, Maryland, Carolina, Virginia, Alabama and several others have already joined the chase for perhaps the best wide out that the state can offer in the 2011 class.
Funderburk, now 6-4 and 205 has gotten taller and stronger since his junior season. He’s a big time high school wide out and will transition very easily to the next level. He’s bordering on tight end size, but has the agility and hands that will likely keep him at tight end in college.
This weekend, Funderburk is heading to Alabama for the annual A-Day Spring Game in Tuscaloosa. Last year’s All-State/All-American QB Phillip Sims will be on the field since he enrolled at Alabama early. You can be sure that Nick Saban would like to go back-to-back in landing stud players out of Oscar Smith.
Funderburk claims his recruitment is wide open at this point. He certainly has plenty of choices. Phillip Sims made his decision early last year. Will Quinta follow Phillip to Bama?
BCS Football Doesn’t Want a Butler at the Party
Butler advances to the 2010 National Title Game (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo)
Where would a school like Butler be in the NCAA Football post-season? Buried… for all of the wrong reasons.
Watching Butler advance to the National Championship Game in Basketball was beautiful. The game was hard fought, the sportsmanship was solid, the fans were enthusiastic, the winners and losers were both gracious. For the first time in school history, Butler will go to the National Title game in Basketball.
NCAA Basketball will soon expand their playoff field to 96 teams. Whether you like the idea or not, you have to admit that March Madness is exhilarating. The ceremony, the upsets and the fever of the fans makes the entire month special. While college bowl season is wonderful, you’ll never capture the same passion during late December and early January until something changes.
Yes, basketball is different from Football. It’s easier to field a competitive basketball team. As long as there are 85 man rosters and the financial disparity between BCS schools and everyone else, there will be few “mid-major” underdogs in college football, unlike college basketball. In football it’s just too hard to gather together enough high quality players to compete with the depth that BCS teams can put on the field. Boise State and Utah have done it recently, but it’s tough to do.
Then there’s the scheduling. With no playoff, there’s no incentive for elite BCS teams to play competitive non-BCS teams. Because of the bowls and the polls, there’s little incentive for a Top 25 team to play a schedule any tougher than they have to. If team starts the season in the Top 25 and can win every game in their schedule, they’re likely to compete for a national title under the current system. It’s a beauty contest. At the least, an undefeated BCS team can complain that they were unjustly disrespected if they finish undefeated and don’t get a Championship Game bid. If a non-BCS team finishes undefeated, they won’t get a crack at a Championship Game. Why? Because they haven’t played a tough enough schedule. But who will schedule them? Do you see Alabama, Florida, or USC lining up to play Boise State as an out-of-conference game? At least Virginia Tech has stepped up and scheduled Boise State to start the 2010 season.
BCS schools have everything to lose and nothing to gain by giving viable non-BCS schools a shot at knocking them off. Without a playoff system in College Football, we’ll never know if the football version of the Butler Bulldogs would have a shot at winning the National Title.
Here’s the biggest travesty. The Football Postseason isn’t even controlled by the NCAA. Yes, they have a hand in it, but not like the College Basketball postseason. The bowl games run the Football postseason. What runs the bowl games? Sponsor money and bowl committees designed to keep things the way they are.
It’s time that the NCAA took back the College Football Bowl Season and it’s time to run it the way it ought to be run. Give the little guy a shot! College Football is about tradition, blue bloods, and Rose Bowls with USC and Michigan. College Basketball is also about tradition, blue bloods and Final Fours with Duke, Carolina or UCLA. Sponsors still pay and viewers will still watch with Butler in the final on Monday night. America loves an underdog, especially one they’ve gotten to know in the tournament. If Utah Football had an “unbelieveable” post-season run of wins against teams like Oregon, Ohio State and Florida in order to get to the title game, don’t you think that fans would tune in to see a Utah vs. Texas title game?
College Basketball has it right. The NCAA is missing the boat by letting the bowls control the Football postseason.
London’s 757 Splash More Intimate than Extravagant
Photo: Thomas Bacon, recruit757
UVA Football’s big day in the 757 was well received. Unfortunately for the Cavs, the crowd was mostly friends, family and diehards.
The spring practice event at Foreman Field on Saturday was well planned. There were T-Shirt giveaways and contests. Dozens of potential recruits were invited to attend. Earlier in the day Old Dominion and UVA co-hosted a coaches clinic for local high school coaches. Overall, the event benefitted both Old Dominion Football and Virginia Football greatly. In the end though, it was a glorified spring practice.
There were offensive drills and defensive drills. Everyone from quarterbacks to kickers, linemen to receivers went through their paces. The most exciting on-field event may have been the seven on seven drills. For a 20,000 seat stadium, you can’t expect a capacity crowd for a spring practice. The weather was brisk and sunny. The crowd was a bit on the slim side considering all of the promotion and positioning involved in the event. Roughly 2,000 people showed up, according to estimates. To me, it looked like at least 3,000, but I’d still call that a bit of a disappointment.
London and the Cavs still took advantage of the opportunity. Virginia Football has languished in the Al Groh era. London is driven to take UVA Football back to the status it has enjoyed in the past, which will be an uphill battle considering the current state of Virginia Tech Football.
London addressed the crowd at Foreman Field, calling on the fans from The 757 to embrace the program and embrace the team. The crowd welcomed UVA Football to Norfolk with open arms. “We want to make this our backyard,” London told the crowd. While the fans in attendance supported London’s efforts, thousands of Hokie fans in the area would emphatically disagree. A new era in UVA Football is starting, and you can expect that Hokie fans will begin to get uncomfortable when London shows a measurable amount of success.
UVA Football wasn’t the only winner on the day. Old Dominion got the benefit of hosting the event and showing S.B. Ballard Stadium off to potential recruits and their families. Due to NCAA rules, Virginia staffers couldn’t interact with the recruits that they invited to the event, but Old Dominion’s football staff could. Virginian Pilot writer Bob Molinaro reported that ODU Coach Bobby Wilder said he would be thrilled to finish third in recruiting the state behind Virginia Tech and Virginia. That wouldn’t be a stretch for Wilder considering the strides he’s already made and the recruiting turf he has in his backyard. After all, Tech and UVA will soon be fighting pitched battles in The 757. Wilder lives here.
Recruits from The 757 are going to become an even hotter commodity. That’s good for all of the players here. That doesn’t mean that more scholarships to Tech and UVA will necessarily go to athletes from the region. It might however get other schools to check again and see what they’re missing by not getting the entire story when recruiting the area.
The level of play here in Hampton Roads is high. Blue chip athletes are easy to find. There are plenty of hidden gems as well. College Coaches, do you know where to find all of the “hidden” talent in The 757?
Check out more photos from the event on Facebook on the recruit757 fan page. Become a fan of recruit757 today!