11-14 Morehead State

[VU2624]

It takes a special kid to play this level of football. It is not for everyone. If players choose to leave, so be it. There are few if any players that are not replaceable at this level. I hope most stay, it helps us, but unhappy players and parents do not help the cause.

So be it is true however so be it is unlikely to improve the team.

[VULB#62]

Essentially, we are still in season and emotions are still high.  After the final game, I would expect that the staff sits down with every player and conducts  a detailed debriefing and dialogue.  At that point players will get a better sense of where they stand, what the outlook is for the future, and how the coaches value the player's contribution.  After a disappointing season like this one, it will take a bit of time for players and coaches to come to their conclusions.  But it must be remembered that 50+ kids were brought in and the competition for playing time by default was a sorting out process.  I believe we will lose some players to a)  the realization that they might not be good enough, b) the thought that they think they can play on a better D-IAA team or a D-II or D-III team or somewhere else closer to home, 3) because they felt they got screwed and are giving up FB but staying for the degree, or 4) they don't think the effort is worth it for them.   But let's wait until the dust settles after the season to see which players stay and which other players fit into one of the above categories.

Personally, I'm hoping a lot of the young potential returnees have the same long term perspective as Scott Staal -- he hung in there for 4 full years despite injury and adversity and, like Saturday, came up big when asked.  From what I could observe, he was a great teammate whether he was on the field or on the sidelines.  I wish Scott all the best.  He made a good decision for himself.  Coming back on your own nickel for a fifth year is not cheap. Plus he's got, what, a 3.9 GPA?  He's gonna be successful in whatever he does.

[valpotx]

David Macchi played in Europe somewhere

[VU2624]

Essentially, we are still in season and emotions are still high.  After the final game, I would expect that the staff sits down with every player and conducts  a detailed debriefing and dialogue.  At that point players will get a better sense of where they stand, what the outlook is for the future, and how the coaches value the player's contribution.  After a disappointing season like this one, it will take a bit of time for players and coaches to come to their conclusions.  But it must be remembered that 50+ kids were brought in and the competition for playing time by default was a sorting out process.  I believe we will lose some players to a)  the realization that they might not be good enough, b) the thought that they think they can play on a better D-IAA team or a D-II or D-III team or somewhere else closer to home, 3) because they felt they got screwed and are giving up FB but staying for the degree, or 4) they don't think the effort is worth it for them.   But let's wait until the dust settles after the season to see which players stay and which other players fit into one of the above categories.

Personally, I'm hoping a lot of the young potential returnees have the same long term perspective as Scott Staal -- he hung in there for 4 full years despite injury and adversity and, like Saturday, came up big when asked.  From what I could observe, he was a great teammate whether he was on the field or on the sidelines.  I wish Scott all the best.  He made a good decision for himself.  Coming back on your own nickel for a fifth year is not cheap. Plus he's got, what, a 3.9 GPA?  He's gonna be successful in whatever he does.

I wish Scott the best as well. Haven't heard a negative word about him.

One other fly in the ointment for returners is cost. It seems there's always a couple of players who may have bitten off more than they can chew financing Valpo and they need to move on strictly because of that reason.

[VULB#62]

The cost thing -- yep, that's true.  That's valid for 5th year seniors as well (when you initially figured on a 4 year experience e.g., Eric Hoffman last year and Scott this year).

[historyman]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Browder Here is the QB referred to above.

Browder is the current head coach of the Waukegan High School Football Team

Good for Nick!