Recent Post-Trib FB Season Wrap-up

[VULB#62]

This might be of interest to those of you following Valpo Football:

"Mutka: Valparaiso rookie gridders stride with baby steps
By John Mutka jmutkapt@gmail.com December 11, 2011 11:00PM
VALPARAISO — Going 1-and-10 is nothing to write home about. So put away your fountain pens if you're a Valparaiso University football fan.
Progress is painfully slow when you're relying on freshmen and sophomores to absorb bumps and bruises and the Crusaders finished the season with 30 on their 56-man traveling squad.
Dale Carlson came to VU with a reputation for jump-starting programs, something he established in coaching gigs at Tri-State (now Trane) and Ohio Dominican, but neither school was handicapped by a legacy which has produced just six winning seasons in the last 30 years.
Unlike 2010, which Carlson refers to as Year Zero, the Crusaders showed signs of life, particularly in their last four games. Still, rebuilding is moving along with baby steps.
"It's taken a little longer to change the culture than I anticipated," he shrugged, "but given the history and (negative) tradition ... I thought we made significant strides in the last month."
They snapped a 29-game losing streak against Campbell, which was a major upset, and were competitive in four other games, most notably Franklin (49-35) and Davidson (30-22).
Along the way VU's offense began to stir with underclassmen bubbling to the surface.
Carlson's optimism starts with an amped-up passing game, which generated nearly 900 more yards (2,673) and twice as many touchdowns (16) as his first team. Redshirt freshman Eric Hoffman played through injuries to  develop confidence. He topped 300 yards three times  and should benefit from a virtually intact receiving corps in 2012.
Gabe Ali El, who led VU in rushing and receptions, and wide receivers Tanner Kuramata (30 catches) and Cole Anderson, who scored three touchdowns, are freshmen.
Talented receiver Tim Bennett (26 catches) will be a fifth-year senior and junior Mike Gerton established himself as one of the premier tight ends in the Pioneer Football League.
Much of the time VU's running game was nothing more than a rumor. The Crusaders netted just 61 yards, a figure significantly eroded by 37 sacks. They didn't cough up the football nearly as much as a year ago. Fumbles dropped from 29 to 18. All but eight were covered, a plus-10 improvement in turnovers.
Defensively, the Crusaders will rally around eight holdovers from a solid linebacking corps. All are underclassmen except veteran Cody Gokan.
Containing rival quarterbacks continues to be a major obstacle. Valparaiso's rookie secondary — only one upperclassman and three freshmen starting — sprung more leaks than the Mississippi during monsoon season. The shell-shocked Crusaders yielded  32 touchdown passes against only eight interceptions.
Carson's staff should concentrate on recruiting to fortify the trenches, particularly the defensive end, which produced only 10 sacks and loses three starters. Offensively, they're in better shape with nine of their top 12 linemen returning.
Valparaiso also needs an upgrade in the kicking game, which produced only one field goal all season.   Field goals were missing in action because Carlson couldn't trust his kickers to convert anything longer than 30 yards.
Recruiting is complicated by the high cost of education ($40,000 a year) and the economic woes of a nation saddled with 8.6 percent unemployment and a do-nothing congress. 
Valparaiso does provide packages based on need and academic status, but the PFL prohibits athletic scholarships, which shrinks the talent pool.
"We have to do our homework on recruiting," concedes Carlson. "You have to find kids who can afford it."
Locally, Valparaiso is making some inroads with linebackers Chris Howard (Andrean), J.T. Rotroff (Crown Point) and Mike Sekulowski (Lowell) and lineman Mike Schroll (Michigan City) on the roster.  Between Carlson and assistant coach Robert Lee, who claims Gary roots, the Crusaders are blanketing Northwest Indiana, but a significant part of its athletes still hail from the Chicago Area.
How the Crusaders fare under Carlson in year three depend on how they recruit defensively. Unless they plug those leaks look for more baby steps from what will still be a very young team.
If you're looking for a grade,  Carlson gives the Crusaders an incomplete.
"Our next step is learning how to finish off drives," he said, noting their erratic production in the red zone.
That's a start."

[FWalum]

Recruiting is complicated by the high cost of education ($40,000 a year) and the economic woes of a nation saddled with 8.6 percent unemployment and a do-nothing congress

I don't like the situation in Congress but blaming it for difficult recruiting might be a little much. 

[historyman]

Recruiting is complicated by the high cost of education ($40,000 a year) and the economic woes of a nation saddled with 8.6 percent unemployment and a do-nothing congress

I don't like the situation in Congress but blaming it for difficult recruiting might be a little much. 

It does seem that Mutka found just about any excuse imaginable to use for the Valpo football team's woes. The only real solution is to finally win. When they beat Campbell that was the real solution at least on showing some progress for the season.

[milanmiracle]

Recruiting is complicated by the high cost of education ($40,000 a year) and the economic woes of a nation saddled with 8.6 percent unemployment and a do-nothing congress

I don't like the situation in Congress but blaming it for difficult recruiting might be a little much. 

It does seem that Mutka found just about any excuse imaginable to use for the Valpo football team's woes. The only real solution is to finally win. When they beat Campbell that was the real solution at least on showing some progress for the season.

In my opinion, winning a game is progress. Yes, they still got crushed often, but they won a game. Maybe next year they can win two games...though I am not holding my breath. The jury is still out.

[covufan]

In my opinion, winning a game is progress. Yes, they still got crushed often, but they won a game. Maybe next year they can win two games...though I am not holding my breath. The jury is still out.

I agree, the jury is still out.  If the last three games are an indication of next year, and more improvement is made, VU might be competitive in 6-8 games, winning 3 or 4.  Yes, that is optimistic!

[VULB#62]

It'll come down to recruiting more difference makers each year.  Hopefully Coach Carlson and his staff will add a couple more this recruiting season to replace the better departing seniors PLUS add to the overall quality of the roster.  Still think that a lot of what will attract those kind of kids is to push forward immediately on Brown Field completion and upgrade that venue.  Better weight training facilities would be a plus too.

[IndyValpo]

It'll come down to recruiting more difference makers each year.  Hopefully Coach Carlson and his staff will add a couple more this recruiting season to replace the better departing seniors PLUS add to the overall quality of the roster.  Still think that a lot of what will attract those kind of kids is to push forward immediately on Brown Field completion and upgrade that venue.  Better weight training facilities would be a plus too.

Agree with all here....plus we need to retain our sophomore and freshman class.  We lost a lot of Coach Carlson first recruiting class (actually partially his). We really need to hold on to the second to build some depth.