New Head Coach: Landon Fox

[JD24]

Good hire it seems. 1- Comes from a winning PFL program with good academics 2- Believes in simplicity to build excellence 3- Believes in simplicity in terms of recruiting focus.  Dayton did that well. - I have been screaming to do that for years.  There is a deep pool of smart players in metro Chicago who are able to afford Valpo and build pipelines to a deep group of feeder high schools.  For too many years we found random kids from far flung states (sometimes on basis of Pell grants) just doesn't build that network.

I'm sure a college football roster can be filled using kids within a 6 hour radius however Valpo's roster has been filled with multiple skill position players in particular from Florida and California which I think would be a mistake to simply give up on.

[crusader05]

In his press conference he mentioned both Florida and California as places we have had success recruiting from and that those spots will remain as targets as well since there is already good ground broken there so hopefully that stays true.

[vu72]

In his press conference he mentioned both Florida and California as places we have had success recruiting from and that those spots will remain as targets as well since there is already good ground broken there so hopefully that stays true.

The current roster lists players from 15 different state.  19 come from Florida and California combined. 40 players from states other than Indiana, Illinois and Ohio.

[VULB#62]

Fox's experience at Wayne State would be helpful in MI as well, I would hope. 

[VUOR63]

How is success defined at a school like Valpo competing at the FCS Non-Scholarship level?  Is it solely by wins and losses or is there something more which is not as measurable?

One of the things that struck me about the new coach's press conference was the emphasis on developing young men to be great husbands and fathers by using football as a teaching tool.  I am 15 years removed from my playing days.  With very few exceptions, my teammates all fit the great husband/father mold.  Busting their picks in a profession suited for them and providing for their family both monetarily and with their presence.  Very rarely do we talk about how many wins we had in one season or another.

If you put 80-100 family-minded guys together who are decent at football and who are persistently pursuing greatness, I have to figure at some point you're going to win on the field.

I hope the hire works out for Valpo.

[VULB#62]

Hey, OR63, good to see you chiming in.  Haven't heard from you since our meeting in Missoula.  Good comments on that side of why we play fooball at Valpo.  I don't think the wins side is keeping score between years --I think generally n the PFL it is "did we compete?"  and "did we win more games in the conference than we lost?"  I hope, however, that some of our teams can walk away from their 4 years at Valpo with a PFL title cuz that's why you play each game and never mail it in