(10-18-2016 04:26 PM)bucfan81 Wrote: (10-18-2016 12:26 PM)brock20 Wrote: (10-18-2016 12:20 PM)bucfan81 Wrote: Yes I think Bucs will come out focused this Thursday. I think it will not be easy but we will get a much needed win. I heard Coach T's press conference and he is staying the course and making any radical changes which I believe is best for the program. Looking at last year with freshmen we were probably at the Division III level and this year with freshmen and sophomores we appear to be at the Division II level. Next year with juniors added in we should be at the FCS entry level and actually start to compete. I want to win every game and have been upset with the last four games but it looks like we just need another recruiting year and another growth year for current players. I look forward to going out Thursday to the game.
Do we know how many scholarship players we have right now? We have way too many freshman and sophomores right now. I would imagine we will be seeing a purge of players coming in the spring.
Maybe someone with knowledge can let us know about how many we currently have. I think what complicates it is that FCS schools can give partial scholarships and therefore have more than one player on a scholarship. I think the way we are building the program with high school recruits rather than many transfers makes most of our players freshmen and sophomores. It will be interesting to find out how many total scholarships we are now using.
You’re on the right track, but filling the roster with talent goes in a few different directions. Couple that with starting up a new program and it becomes even more convoluted.
ETSU plays in the FCS (Mid-Major or D1AA) as opposed to FBS (Major D1A). As such, FCS programs are at a talent disadvantage because FBS programs are mandated to award 85 full ride scholarships; whereas FCS teams get 63 total scholarships to fill out an 85 man team. So, some players will be recruited as full rides; whereas others will receive partial rides so the program can spread them out among more players and fill out the 85 man roster. (ETSU has still not hit the 63 limit yet. They are somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-44 total with less than half of them at full ride)
Now then, most FCS schools prefer to be experts in certain regions (mainly within 200 miles), as opposed to the national realm. Many BCS programs use recruiting services to find players (I know because I was one of them). FCS coaches do the bulk of scouting and recruiting themselves. FCS coaches try to find sleepers who slip through the cracks (maybe because of injury, coaching changes, program changes, not enough film, limited exposure, etc.). Staying local sometimes is not always the best thing; whereas the school wants to maintain/retain a strong embrace with the local community, but the community may not be producing enough D1A and D1AA talent. Rule of thumb: FCS teams with fewer BCS programs within a 200 mile radius tend to be more talented because their talent pool is not tapped as much. Consequently, FBS teams that expand their recruiting radius stand a much better chance of success.
Next is signing day - February 5. By this point, teams are expected to have put together a class of 20 or so players. Although teams can sign players up into September, the good ones are gone by Feb 5th. We can get into early commitments and all kinds of other aspects, but that would take much more time. Anyway, according to the top recruiting sites, 20 out of 25 (4 of 5) top recruits sign with a BCS team on Feb 5th. That means 1 of 5 top recruits signs with an FBS team on signing day. These players should be your full ride athletes. Players signed after Feb 5th tend to make up the partial ride squad. It’s not an exact science, but it’s a good way to look at it. Another way to look at it is to keep an eye on who the staff brings in first on their official visits. At LSU, we would always try to lock in our commitments early in hopes to get them off the market.
Next up – Transfers: An issue surrounding FCS programs is the perception of competing at “lower tier” programs. Recruiting a player to join an FCS program comes with obvious facilities and prestige issues (playing at high school style stadiums, locker rooms, lacking weight/training facilities, etc.). A lot of times players who were unable to fit in at BCS schools can be stars at the FCS level. Remember players transferring down a division do not have to sit out a year; whereas players transferring up to BCS status have to sit out a year (there are exceptions). FCS programs do offer a high level of play – after all, it is Division I football and an avenue to the league without having to sit out a season.
Now with respect to your question/comparison towards DII and DIII programs. The talent level at DI (FCS or BCS) is far superior to DII and DIII talent. Remember, you have to evaluate the player at his appropriate age/grade level. You can’t accurately compare this ETSU team to any DI, DII or DIII team unless they played only with the same number of Freshmen, Sophomores, etc. The correct evaluation is how the Buc Freshmen match up against other FCS Freshmen, RS Freshmen to other RS Freshmen, RS Sophomores to RS Sophomores, etc. etc.? Note: You will quickly see the drop off of ETSU JRs and SRs to compare. It is because of this, you can’t compare teams until you field a full graduating class.
Now then – this is an answer to the question presented. The coaching, discipline, scheme, etc. are all separate issues…
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Official Game Thread: West Virginia Wesleyan (W 38-7)
