#SWARM - The Reboot

[young22]

Westlake State Football Staff Communucations

From: Head Coach Dion Barkley

To: All Coaches

CC: Position changes, cuts

Hey everyone. Here's the list of official position changes for this upcoming season.

Deonte Abrams will go from FS to SS. Been playing there anyway, logical fit.

Gerry McKnight is gonna slide inside to RG, Joe Edwards would likely have taken his spot at RT anyway. Former backup RT Dane Chavez is gonna flip to LT.

Sergio Keith is gonna play MLB for us this year. He's our best backer. Korey Townes will shift to ROLB, and Brian Mooney will flip to LOLB.

So we had to cut 4 guys, unfortunately. My least favorite thing to do.

Note: Not sure if it's in the OP, but I don't cut incoming players or seniors. Ever. One house rule I won't ever make an exception for.

WR Rufus Jensen is gone. Too many wideouts, he never would've played.

RG Kelvin Gould, junior backup. I'd rather keep the younger Akim Gallagher.

ROLB Leigh Hardin was buried on the depth chart, same with LOLB Dan Chavez.

[young22]

Quote: Originally Posted by SilverBullet19

Some really rough losses there, but I like the transfers. Should be 70+ easily by the time they're eligible. I can never remember, do they get the spring training boost too? If so, they'll all be 75+ by 2015. I'll follow today. I have nothing going on. Just started working out again from my injury but taking it light until the doc officially clears me. Either way, I did legs Monday...after 2 months off...so I can barely walk lol. That, combined with 110+ weather today...I'll be inside.

Lol about to go do legs myself... haven't been lifting much for the past few months either, just running + bodyweight stuff. So I'm gonna be feeling that big time tomorrow, might stay in again if it's still hot out. I'm gonna get everything out, and probably some "training camp" in practice mode, so some position battles, I'll do a writeup for that.

[young22]

April 4th, 2014

SWARM OFFICIALLY IN THE MAC, WILL JOIN EAST DIVISON

Swarm announce football contracts with FIU, Kentucky, and Boise State as nonconference schedule is revealed

Westlake, OH -- Westlake State is officially a MAC member. They'll join the East division, while Bowling Green will slide into the West. The move to the MAC coincides with the opening of Westlake Stadium (anyone got any name ideas?).

The Swarm also revealed their non conference schedule. They'll inaugurate the new stadium in week 2, playing FIU. Then, they go on the road to face Boise State, Cincinnati, and Kansas State before starting conference play. They also signed contracts to play reverse fixtures, away at FIU, and they'll host Boise State and Cincinnati next season.

[SilverBullet19]

I have a couple name ideas for the stadium. The swarm leaves some possibilities. Is it a swarm of hornets, wasps, bees?

-The Hive
-The Hornet's Nest
-The Wasp Nest

[young22]

Quote: Originally Posted by SilverBullet19

I have a couple name ideas for the stadium. The swarm leaves some possibilities. Is it a swarm of hornets, wasps, bees? -The Hive -The Hornet's Nest -The Wasp Nest

I think I called it The Hive originally actually, way back in the original report from last summer. I'll pick a name before the season starts, probably end up using one of these, I haven't had any ideas.

Sent from my SM-A520W using Operation Sports mobile app

[moose141]

Tough losing your best player, but it looks like you got a solid recruiting class! A decent chunk of 3 star guys there, especially with a lot of them coming in at the skill positions. Hopefully a few of them can even make an impact on Day 1, plus maybe one of your QBs will emerge from the pack with solid growth and can really take the reins this year.

[young22]

Quote: Originally Posted by moose141

Tough losing your best player, but it looks like you got a solid recruiting class! A decent chunk of 3 star guys there, especially with a lot of them coming in at the skill positions. Hopefully a few of them can even make an impact on Day 1, plus maybe one of your QBs will emerge from the pack with solid growth and can really take the reins this year.

I did my rolls for manual progression and I did get some favorable results. I also had some big reductions, but there's a couple guys that will really help us out. Thomas Green should be dynamic, but let's hope he can stay out of trouble. Really talented player, you'll see when I do the roster.

Preciate you following bro.

Sent from my SM-A520W using Operation Sports mobile app

[young22]

2014 Westlake State Swarm Football Preview

HC: Dion Barkley (2-10, 2nd year)

OC: Roger Bean (2nd year)

DC: Michael Freeman (2nd year)

2013 record: 2-10

Roster

Wendell Hearn had an amazing offseason. Put on about 15 pounds, got more explosive, watched film, improved his arm. He looked good in spring ball, but can he lead this team. Remember, he was benched last season because of his attitude, Jeremy Ostrander wasn't much better on the field. Hearn could be the difference between another 2-10 year, and bowl eligibility.

Transfer Ricardo Marble is a great athlete, and will be a capable backup at the very least when he's eligible. We now have a backup that fits the offense. Daniel Cummings didn't work very hard, accuracy and awareness worsened. Doubt he'll ever see the field with Hearn still here for 2 years, and Marble behind him.

This group is pretty mediocre compared to what we had last year. Trent Brantley is probably the starter. He has a bit of power, and has good top end speed. But he doesn't really show anything unless he can get to the second level. Louis Dowdell isn't fast, strong, or super elusive.

Dionte Norton is supposedly this team's fastest player, but he doesn't evn show off his speed. All he does is run into guys, and he can't break a tackle for his life. He's fast and agile but lacks the wiggle to get that yard of daylight.

Tristan Cox and Darren Smith will both redshirt. Smith is someone I don't see ever contributing, Cox has some upside.

Nothing to say here. We don't even use a fullback.

Now this is an intriguing group. Stanley Wayne returns, he'll play in the slot again. Thomas Green is a JUCO transfer who is talented, and can break a game open, but he has temper issues. Had to go to JUCO after he beat up a student at his old high school. Calvin Foster will start over senior Brodie Norman. The 6'3 wideout has good speed, and pretty solid hands. He also has a 40 inch vertical.

Freshman Daniel Thompson is a big bodied wideout, another guy with solid athleticism. After him, the other guys will play sporadically. Kory Meadows was primed to see playing time but came into camp in bad shape.

Tight end is once again a thin position. Only guy we recruited was T.J Thomas, but he'll just be long snapping. Expect a lot of 4 wide sets.

The line looks pretty solid. Guy Olsen and freshman Joe Edwards worked their butts off all summer, and it shows. They'll start on either side of the line. The weak spot is probably center Jovon Crowell. He's only 284, and not in great shape, he gives up a lot of pressure up the gut. Transfer Chris Beech will help us a lot there next season.

As of right now, Raishuan Swan has outperformed Reggie Blanco. He'll start at left end. Right end will be held down by Jamal Mangum, who hopes to build on his 4 sack season from a year ago.

Derron Swan and Jerrell Cutler worked out together all summer, and got a lot stronger and better conditioned. For now, Santonio Valentine will be relegated to a rotational role. Justin Miles progressed as expected, but Gerard Britton, who started last year, is 30 pounds heavier and looks like a snail out there.

Sergio Keith moves inside, as Arnold Godfrey improved a lot. Korey Townes should be valuable for us once again. This is an athletic group, with some young backups who could grow into good players.

Note: ROLB Brian Mooney's awareness and acceleration are switched, made a mistake.

Corner is very shaky. Our best corner, Isaac Robinson, is a guy who will almost certainly be our starting free safety next year, as he's just a touch too slow to be a 5'11 corner. Darnell Woods does better, he has a quicker first step, but we will definitely avoid man coverage this season. Abdul Coles is a hard hitter, decent in coverage, but not the athlete you need a 5'9 corner to be. He gets killed in press because he's just too small and lacks length.

Safety is our best position group, on offense or defense. Donte Oliver can do whatever you need. If he can stop dropping picks, he'll be a game changer. Transfer Khari Anderson will compete with Isaac Robinson for the free safety job next season. Terrance Owens was promising as a true freshman, but all he did all summer was hit the weight room. Got more athletic, but his skills waned. He'll redshirt.

Deonte Abrams is our most dynamic player on defense. Can blow up plays, he's an elite athlete.

Grant Marquardt and Leslie Motley both improved. Solid special teamers.

2014 Schedule

We have a really weird schedule. Bye in week 1, then we play every week until week 14. Byes in week 14 and 15. Our non-conference games look pretty tough, with 3 solid teams, and then preseason #11 Kansas State on the road. Bill Snyder and the Wildcats are consistently a good team by P5 standards.

In our first year in the MAC, we're pretty easily the weakest team in the conference on paper. I think we have a good shot at beating Akron and UMass at home.

General Thoughts

The offense will make or break the season in my opinion. Our defense was bottom 5 in the country last season, and while I don't think it'll be as bad, we haven't really addressed any weaknesses. Our corner situation is bad, we're gonna get burnt if we play man. Our front 7 is mediocre on a good day, only real positive players are our safety tandem, but they're both seniors.