2016 Football Recruits

[VU2624]

Here's what I got so far: Taylor Allen   DB   5' 10"   170   Zionsville   IN Jamari Booker   DB   6' 0"   175   Kentwood   MI Chris   Duncan   QB   6' 4"   190   Woodland Hills   CA Chris   Elion           K   5' 10"   150   Homewood   IL Bailey Gessinger   WR   5' 9"   160   Goshen   IN Tyler   Newkirk    LB   6' 2"   190   Homewood   IL Kyle Cartales   RB/DE  6' 1"  220   West Palm Beach   FL Dimitrios Latsnas  K   5' 11"   170   Westmont   IL Ron Williams   OL   6' 2"   315   Jacksonville   FL Thomas   Hassel   ?   ?   ?      ? 

This is where is got weird...We already announced Williams and Cartales in the first wave. Not sure why we did it again.  Hassel is a TE. There are two additional players who have said they were coming DB Sean Moore and DE Tyler Somers who have not been announced by VU.

Whatever had to happen with Sean Moore for him to be acknowledged as the other recruits have been, has happened as his commitment to Valpo was put out on twitter today.

Spring practice begins Wednesday.

[hailcrusaders]

Football team has announced that their team motto for 2016 will be "No weapon" in relation to Isaiah 54:17, "no weapon forged against me shall prosper."

I know nothing about selecting team mottoes, but does anyone else find it a little mock-able? I'm sure a lot of mottoes get really cliche ("Play like a champion today", "Hard work beats talent..." etc.), but I could easily hear someone saying

"'No weapon' -- does that describe Valpo's motto, or their offense?"

[78crusader]

Football team has announced that their team motto for 2016 will be "No weapon" in relation to Isaiah 54:17, "no weapon forged against me shall prosper."

I know nothing about selecting team mottoes, but does anyone else find it a little mock-able? I'm sure a lot of mottoes get really cliche ("Play like a champion today", "Hard work beats talent..." etc.), but I could easily hear someone saying

"'No weapon' -- does that describe Valpo's motto, or their offense?"

Completely and respectfully disagree with your take on this

Paul

[hailcrusaders]

Football team has announced that their team motto for 2016 will be "No weapon" in relation to Isaiah 54:17, "no weapon forged against me shall prosper." I know nothing about selecting team mottoes, but does anyone else find it a little mock-able? I'm sure a lot of mottoes get really cliche ("Play like a champion today", "Hard work beats talent..." etc.), but I could easily hear someone saying "'No weapon' -- does that describe Valpo's motto, or their offense?"

Completely and respectfully disagree with your take on this Paul

I understand that, and I was hoping some people would for discussion's sake. Again, I support our football team as much as anyone else does, and I don't mean to ridicule them myself. I was just wondering if that crossed anyone else's mind when they heard this.

[VULB#62]

Without an explained context (I stopped reading after "no weapon" -- my first thought was "what?" ) I have to agree that it is an unclear and ambiguous. However,  after I read the rest of the explanation, I understood.  Still, if you put it on a tee shirt, there really isn't much space for the explanation.

[historyman]

[tweet]562804420585725952[/tweet]


JERY: Goodbye Newman *sheds a single tear* *drops a Bee Movie blu-ray into Newman's coffin*

So sad. Newman is gone.

[VULB#62]

New QB commit as of yesterday.  6'3", 190, 4.8 - 40, West Palm Beach, FL

[tweet]719703950811926528[/tweet]

Hudl
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2566222/grant-papenfuss

[VU2624]

Same school as 2016 recruit RB Kyle Cartales.

[vu72]

Wow!  The kids has a strong arm and great touch.  Somewhere between the California kid and the Florida kid or possibly the Michigan kid, we are going to find a great quarterback!!

[VULB#62]

I was watching the Hudl clips on this kid and thought it would be fun to see the school he comes from.  I am impressed and it was fun to rummage through their website.

Tuition:
Affiliated Catholics - $ 11,000.00 per year
Non Affiliated Families - $ 12,000.00 per year (When I attended Concordia Prep, NY it was $1,000 a YEAR!  But that was before they invented the wheel.)

Enrollment: 540.   They wear uniforms (but they are pretty cool)

They play Lacrosse!  [Valpo should play Lacrosse!]

From The School Website:
Welcome to Crusader Country!
Cardinal Newman High School, home of the Crusaders, is a co-ed college-prep high school in the Diocese of Palm Beach. Located on a 45 acre campus, CNHS students enroll in College-Prep, Honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Courses. Established in 1961, CNHS is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

40,000 service hours are logged each year by the 165 Key Club members!  [Fits with the Valpo way.]

http://www.cardinalnewman.com/pdf/CN%20Broch_FINAL%20PROOF%20LR.pdf

Athletics website: http://cardinalnewmanathletics.com

I also looked at his receivers.  Wonder where they are going.  They are pretty good (especially #80)

[VU2624]

Wow!  The kids has a strong arm and great touch.  Somewhere between the California kid and the Florida kid or possibly the Michigan kid, we are going to find a great quarterback!!

I didn't find his arm particularly strong and he had receivers waiting on the ball. To me, all of the other QBs looked better. However film is film and can be deceiving.

I found the kid from CA and Seewald the most impressive based on their highlights.

My guess is at least one of the QBs will probably play some next year with Stokes still not throwing in practice and only one other QB on the roster.

[VU2624]

I was watching the Hudl clips on this kid and thought it would be fun to see the school he comes from.  I am impressed and it was fun to rummage through their website. Tuition: Affiliated Catholics - $ 11,000.00 per year Non Affiliated Families - $ 12,000.00 per year (When I attended Concordia Prep, NY it was $1,000 a YEAR!  But that was before they invented the wheel.) Enrollment: 540.   They wear uniforms (but they are pretty cool) They play Lacrosse!  [Valpo should play Lacrosse!] From The School Website: Welcome to Crusader Country! Cardinal Newman High School, home of the Crusaders, is a co-ed college-prep high school in the Diocese of Palm Beach. Located on a 45 acre campus, CNHS students enroll in College-Prep, Honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Courses. Established in 1961, CNHS is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. 40,000 service hours are logged each year by the 165 Key Club members!  [Fits with the Valpo way.] http://www.cardinalnewman.com/pdf/CN%20Broch_FINAL%20PROOF%20LR.pdf Athletics website: http://cardinalnewmanathletics.com I also looked at his receivers.  Wonder where they are going.  They are pretty good (especially #80)

The team wasn't.

[VULB#62]

1-9     

Defense gave up a pile of points apparently.  First reaction I had was that it reminded me of Valpo in the Eric Hoffman years.  Decent QB who now holds Valpo career passing yards record, but a defense that was almost nonexistent.  But as mentioned earlier, film is just that.  Was there zing on the ball?   Probably not what you want from an immediate freshman starter, but at 6-3 and only 190  he has a long way to go strength-wise. Can't tell from the edited film about overall decision making, but seems to be able to escape pressure (at 1-9 I bet there was a lot of that).  Liked that he also took snaps from under center and had enough speed to turn the corner on QB keepers. We know that Cecchini likes his QBs mobile (like Ben) so Grant fits that mold.

With 3 new QBs plus a healthy (fingers crossed for Spring Game) Ryan and hopefully a healed and in shape Dalton Stokes we will have an interesting summer and preseason. 

I wonder how many players will stay on campus over the summer.

[usc4valpo]

Given that Hoffman has the career passing yards record at Valpo, would this suffice for him to be in the Valpo Hall of Fame despite his record?

[valpotx]

Absolutely not.  He built up those yards because we were always behind, and he had to pass on every down.  You can blame it on the defense all you want, but he had A LOT of 3 and outs on the offensive side.  There is no way that he should be in the HoF, with no offense intended to Mr. Hoffman.

[VULB#62]

I don't think so as well.  There are two modern QBs in the HOF:  Dave Lass and Dave Macchi.  Both of them have a much better body of work and a more well-rounded collection of records. And here is the key to HOF entry (IMO):  Both Lass (my QB BTW) and Macchi were winners and took Valpo to conference championships.  I believe Eric was the winning QB in only three games in 3 years.

However, as time passes, Eric's numbers will continue to be among the leaders but the context of how those numbers were achieved will become fuzzier and fuzzier.  But that is something for HOF voters to wrestle with a decade+ from now.

[bbtds]

Absolutely not.  He built up those yards because we were always behind, and he had to pass on every down.  You can blame it on the defense all you want, but he had A LOT of 3 and outs on the offensive side.  There is no way that he should be in the HoF, with no offense intended to Mr. Hoffman.

Since I know a lot of people on the HOF selection group this will now guarantee Hoffman's selection to the Valpo HOF. For sure. Way to go guys!

[usc4valpo]

well they did add Jon Steinbrecher as a football player who was very mediocre statistically on some bad teams. so who knows.

[bbtds]

well they did add Jon Steinbrecher as a football player who was very mediocre statistically on some bad teams. so who knows.

Exactly!

[usc4valpo]

I am still waiting for the late and great Eugene Parker to get inducted. His accolades are tremendous and it is a crime that Valpo is not recognizing this.

[VULB#62]

In addition to Papenfuss, we've signed another QB.  Joe Mullen from IL. We go from 1 QB in the Spring to 6 in August (assuming Dalton is ready).

[tweet]723533554504753152[/tweet]

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1546596/joseph-mullen

New QB commit as of yesterday.  6'3", 190, 4.8 - 40, West Palm Beach, FL

[tweet]719703950811926528[/tweet]


Hudl
http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2566222/grant-papenfuss

[VU2624]

There was a QB on his visit for the Spring Game. I assume it was Mr. Mullen. Looks like he's got some ability.

[VULB#62]

Gonna be crazy in August, unless Ryan clearly separates himself from the other 5. Hate going into the opener with a ? at QB. 

[VU2624]

Gonna be crazy in August, unless Ryan clearly separates himself from the other 5. Hate going into the opener with a ? at QB.

If Dalton is healthy it's very likely to be the two of the returners initially. If not it gets dicey and will depend on what is likely to be a pretty quick decision on who the best freshmen (1 or 2) are. On the offense, the guys they are throwing to are fairly well defined at this point so I'd expect a fairly quick division into team/scout based on who picks things up the fastest. Even the RBs may be set to some degree although that's a position I think a freshman can play more quickly. They have to get these guys ready to play games in a pretty short period of time.

[VULB#62]

Agree 2624. Once again we are faced with a dilemma that will probably confront us for a year or two to come: Going into August with essentially a question at QB.  Will Ryan's performance and judgment take a large leap forward and give us the versatility and skill at the position that will give our offense the ability to move the ball and the maturity to sustain drives and limit back-breaking turnovers?  Or will we be starting off with a new #1 QB with less (Dalton) or no college experience (one of the 4 freshmen QBs)? 

Which brings me to the real point in my reply.  It's too bad that we are ratcheted into opening our next two seasons against top tier FCS scholarship programs.  It's too bad that we can't schedule an NAIA or D-II school to "settle in," as it were, before we take on the big boys.  Yes, both NAIA and D-II have scholarship players, but the number and level of skill/talent is at a more competitive level with VU.  That said, Illinois State will use us to work out the kinks before they take on Northwestern the following Saturday.  Next year, we'll go to Montana to help them warm up for the University of Washington the week to follow (they play Oregon in 2018).  In many cases, but not always, our FCS opponent then gets thrashed by the FBS team like we were thrashed the week before.  For instance, EKU lost 0-35 to NC State the week after they played us (and NC State went only 3-5 in the ACC) but at least EKU had a game under their belt going in.  I am just acknowledging the position we are in.  We want the payday.  We use those attractive games to help us recruit.  The kids want those games to see how they measure up, yaddah, yaddah  -- we've been through all this numerous times in previous discussions.  It is what it is, and because the Big Boys control the schedule (not unlike VU being a mid-major in BB), this will be the scheduling pattern.  I'm resigned to it, but it sure would be nice to open a season in a little more of a competitive contest, so that WE could work out some wrinkles. Just saying..............

Anyway, I hope the off season has been a productive one for the returning players and that the young OL has added a bit more mature muscle and reduced some baby fat going into August. The same for the DL.