TCY/FOF: Tim Moungey From the Sol-8 Up

[Izulde]

So here we are, with another TCY/FOF dynasty by yours truly.

I'll be starting off in the Sol-8, based in Wisconsin, and taking my soon to be alma mater, the UW-La Crosse Eagles for my first head coaching job. My eventual goal will be to break into the conference ranks and work my way up to whatever grad school I end up going to. (Now watch, it'll be SJSU and it'll be a short trip up :D)

To begin with: The 2004 Eagles' Roster


Schwartz, Marc 4 QB Sr 30 30
Thomsen, Jon 17 QB So* 3 10
Franklin, Dixon 11 QB So* 3 31
Cooper, Eddie 10 QB So* 5 20

Typical ugly situation here. Schwartz is the obvious starter and I'll probably go with Franklin as the #2 QB for his highest upside. Draw a number out of a hat for the #3 QB. This will be one of our most critical target areas in recruiting.


Bryant, J.J. 22 RB Sr 11 11
Gordon, Brandon 25 RB Sr 29 29
Finch, Barry 24 RB Sr* 12 12
Caldwell, Ricardo 32 RB Jr 13 13
Hook, Stanley 33 RB* Fr 10 23
Duncan, Frank 29 FB Fr 16 16
Walton, Wesley 47 FB Jr 23 25
Hebert, Clay 40 FB So* 12 16

Gordon the starter, Bryant the #2 back. Walk-on Hook will get a redshirt and could earn his way to a scholarship by the end of his four years. Walton's the top FB, Hebert the #2 man.

Oh that's right, we have to go 3 deep on these. Pfeh.

The flu's kicking my tail right now so I'm going to finish these roster previews later.

Sorry guys.

[Izulde]

Wolf, Marco 89 TE Jr 24 24
Walters, Sean 97 TE Jr* 22 48
Swift, Lamont 93 TE So 20 35
Enloe, Mo 84 TE* Fr 12 25
Collier, Ken 6 WR So 6 9
Hopper, Eric 8 WR Sr 41 41
Henson, Percy 87 WR Fr 14 33
Fields, Cris 3 WR Sr* 10 32
Rader, Archie 86 WR Sr* 9 31
*Huntley, Chad 7 WR* Sr* 9 33
Garrett, Billy Joe 83 WR* Fr 0 0

We actually have a semi-decent setup at TE, where RS Soph. Walters starts and Swift is his backup. WR will have Hopper and Henson as the starters and... yeah, it's real ugly from that point on. At least we won't need to recruit TE.


Holmes, Chris 50 C Sr* 26 26
Ramsey, Mack 54 C Fr 11 24
King, Albert 63 G Jr* 14 14
Ogden, Antonio 71 G Sr* 12 26
Fredrickson, Edgar 70 G Sr* 16 32
Mlazgar, Graham 66 G So* 6 45
Williams, Juan 68 T Sr* 30 30
Lott, Shannon 62 T Fr 5 20
Anderson, Shane 60 T Fr 10 26
Sherman, Everett 75 T Sr* 27 28


Grimness here on the line. The good news is, we can hold together a line of Williams-Ogden-Holmes-Mlazgar-Sherman for two years if we absolutely have to, but I want to get some talent involved here as soon as possible.


Baxter, Sam 15 P Fr 10 46
Richardson, Jermaine 18 P So* 5 47
Bontrager, Henry 1 K Sr 36 42
Galloway, Leroy 9 K Sr 34 46

Baxter will be our P, Bontrager our K. Galloway's going to redshirt his senior year so we don't have to recruit a K this season. We've got too damned many other holes to fill.


Yellope, Monty 73 DE Jr 11 30
Owens, Ricardo 94 DE Sr* 16 30
Watkins, Cornelius 79 DE Jr* 14 14
Vaughn, Timothy 92 DE So* 8 41
Perez, Marcus 77 DE* So* 5 5
Schulz, Edwin 95 DT Fr 6 21
Butt, Harvey 99 DT* Fr 4 10
Money, Mel 76 DT* Fr 2 37
Holliday, Damon 90 DT* Fr 4 8

This position group is... wow. So bad. Needless to say, we'll be running a 3-4 D until I get the horses I like in here. Yellope and Vaughn will be our DEs, Schultz our DT. Holliday's bars look way better than his scouted rating, so he'll redshirt.


Turner, Jerald 96 ILB Sr 16 22
Hughes, Ken 98 ILB Jr 17 17
Castillo, Mark 55 ILB Sr* 8 15
Reed, Ellis 52 ILB* Fr 8 23
Pearl, Duane 57 OLB Jr 17 17
Strickland, Mario 46 OLB Jr 21 24
Rodriquez, Terry 41 OLB Jr* 9 28
Mazzone, Derrick 53 OLB Jr* 4 19
Chadwick, Lamar 91 OLB* So* 1 7

Pearle and Strickland on the outside, Turner and Hughes in the middle. Man, this is just one bad, bad team... even for a Sol-8 squad.


Reeves, Arnold 23 CB So* 4 4
Claytor, Zach 20 CB Sr 14 15
Butler, Tyrone 36 CB So* 11 35
Erickson, Jimmy 49 CB* So* 0 1
Reid, Leland 39 CB* Fr 0 23
Mendoza, Kevin 21 CB* Fr 11 11
Martens, Richie 27 S So 10 47
Krakowski, Joseph 44 S Sr 31 37
Terry, Dave 26 S Jr* 14 43
Bullock, Jay 45 S Sr 37 58

A breath of fresh air at safety, where Krakowski and Bullock are the starters. There's hope for the future in Martens and Terry as well. Mendoza and Butler will start at CB.

All in all, one awful, awful group.

Senior Breakdown
QB
RB x 2
WR
K
ILB
CB
S
S

Of these, I'm not going to recruit K or S. Like I said, with the giant sucking talent hole we have pretty much everywhere, we need to prioritize. So yeah, my recruiting goals are every position save for K, S, TE.

Recruiting House Rules
*No black-line players.
*To start, only 1 red-line player per season.
*To start, only 1 negative distance or outside region player per season unless I manage to successfuly recruit a negative distance or outside region. Then I will be free to recruit that player's high school for the entire time that he's on the team without penalty or limit, plus I'll still have a new negative distance player to go after. This is so I can simulate building pipelines to specific schools.

Note: There are two states that are exceptions to the Great Lakes region only rule and they are Minnesota and Iowa. Minnesota because there's a lot of WI/MN exchange because of the tuition reciprocity agreement between the two states (not that it applies to scholarship football players who have a free ride, of course) and Iowa because it's quite close to La Crosse and can technically be considered a bordering state.

*1 Phone Call/Visit per week.
*I will be allowed to expand my recruiting base one state at a time upon reaching specific criteria that are yet to be determined. Can you guys offer any?

I'm not very good at this game, so I'm not going to handicap myself beyond that.

Initial Targets

1. QB Shawn Ventura, Thornwood HS, South Holland, IL
Nat. Rank: 879
Pos. Rank: 91
State Rank: 42
Pos. Rank: 2
GPA: 3.55
SAT: 1517
Values: Dist/Academics

My red-line player. Doesn't have the highest rating by my Excellent scout (46+), but he's just the kind of player we need to jump-start our football team. We're pretty good academically in his program and we're only 243 miles away, so we've got a decent chance, I think.

2. RB Rico Pascoe, Lincoln Community HS, Lincoln, IL
Pos. Rank: 86
State Rank: 51
Pos. Rank: 6
GPA: 3.61
SAT: 1387
Values: Academics/Dist
Idolizes: Illinois

Rico dreams of playing for the Illini, but my hunch tells me they're not interested in recruiting him, so I think we've got a real good shot at getting him. Interesting that I seem to be hitting Illinois pretty heavily so far.

3. WR Blake Stenstrom, Webb HS, Reedsburg, WI
State Rank: 100
Pos. Rank: 9
GPA: 3.11
SAT: 990
Values: Prestige/Academics

The main reason I'm going after him is because A) the WR pool really, really sucks this year and B) his school has a 93 Athletic Readiness and 41 Academic Prep. If I can grab him, which I think I can, I'll have myself a pipeline into one of the best programs in the state.

4. C Bill Barge, Logan HS, La Crosse, WI
Pos. Rank: 61
State Rank: 34
Pos. Rank: 2
GPA: 2.56
SAT: 1050
Values: Distance/Team Prestige

He's 50++, so he's going to be getting a lot more attention, I imagine, but I'm hoping to do what I can to convince him that he should stay right here in his hometown, where his parents and all his friends can watch him play. It'll be tough and Logan's not a very good high school, but if we can get him, we can prepare for the future.

5. G Alan Winkler, George Rogers Clark HS, Whiting, IN
Nat. Rank: 886
Pos. Rank: 78
State Rank: 22
Pos. Rank: 4
GPA: 2.83
SAT: 1069
Values: Academics/Distance

He really likes our Astronomy program, but honestly, getting Alan is going to be tough. He's a great player from a pretty good high school and we'll be fighting to get him. That said, if we land him, I fully expect him to be a four-year starter.

6. T Joey Kemper, Gilbert HS, Gilbert IA
State Rank: 13
Pos. Rank: 2
GPA: 3.40
SAT: 1265
Values: Academics/Distance

At 42+, not the most sensational player in the world and his school's an academic powerhouse, subpar in terms of the football field, but I feel like we should be padding our pursuits with guys that we know we've got a strong shot at getting.

7. DE Bobby Harper, Johnson HS, St. Paul, MN
State Rank: 23
Pos. Rank: 3
GPA: 3.34
SAT: 1205
Values: Academics*/Distance

Haven't had a chance to formally visit him yet, because I ran out of money, but he's from a ver good high school and he looks like he could contribute right away.

8. DE Marc Argelan, Mounds View HS, Arden Hills, MN
State Rank: 17
Pos. Rank: 2
GPA: 3.26
SAT: 962
Values: Distance/Academics

If I land both Argelan and Harper, I'll have a pretty solid pair of DEs to build the D-line around, though frankly, with as bad a shape as we're in, I'd be satisified with getting just one of them.

We still have to find 8 more guys to give scholarships to, but I think we'll do that soon.

[Izulde]

Our offense sucks, period. This means it doesn't really matter what we run and I can choose the offense I want to style for myself. And that offense isn't going to be the Flexbone, which is the default.

Normally I go with the I-formation offense, but that seems really vanilla and I feel like something different, so I'm going to pick the Veer offense.

Week 2 New Recruits
DT T.J. Rhodes, Waialua HS, Waialua, HI
Pos. Rank: 78
State Rank: 9
Pos. Rank: 1
GPA: 3.98
SAT: 1564
Values: Academics/Team Prestige

He's our out of region recruit this year and he's one of our most important targets. If we can get T.J., we can literally fill a huge hole in the middle of our defensive line and start making plans to eventually switch to a 4-3 D.

ILB Ken Libero, Maple River HS, Mapleton, MN
Pos. Rank: 57
State Rank: 16
Pos. Rank: 1
GPA: 2.62
SAT: 880
Values: Prestige*/Academics

Not the brightest guy on the planet, but Libero can flat-out play. ...Damn it. I just broke one of my own house rules about only one red-line player per season. Oh well, I'll give myself a break on this one. Anyway, we probably won't get him, so it'll be a moot point.

OLB Trent Caldwell, Fort Dodge HS, Fort Dodge, IA
State Rank: 16
Pos. Rank: 1
GPA: 3.38
SAT: 1452

High-energy motor on this kid and his school's not a bad one, either. Probably be a real easy pickup to boot.

S Jamie Maxwell, Belmont HS, Belmont, WI
State Rank: 45
Pos. Rank: 2
GPA: 3.29
SAT: 963
Values: Academics*/Prestige
Idolized: Wisconsin

SAT score raises a red flag, but he could probably step in and contribute right away. Although he dreams of playing for the Badgers, we're one of the top programs in the state in Dentistry, so he can get a great education with us if we land him.

Opening Game: VS. Hawaii (Hawaii by 3)

It's ironic that we're pursuing a Hawaiian and here the Rainbow Warriors come to town. I'm hoping that's a good sign. Truth be told, I thoroughly expect us to get slaughtered here.

A favorable wind was blowing as we struck first, S Jay Bullock picking off a pass and returning 57 yards for the TD early in the first quarter, but that wasn't all, as Jay Bullock had our next score too, with a 92 yard kickoff return for a TD. A 23 yard TD pass from Marc Schwartz to Eric Hopper finished off our first half scoring and we went into the locker room with a 21-16 lead.

Of course, the Rainbow Warriors weren't going to go away and they did all the scoring in the third quarter, going up 25-21 as we started the final period. Then, just for good measure, they add another TD at 10:21 left in the game and we're staring at 32-21.

And then Marc Schwartz takes over, directing two TD drives, the last of which hits Wesley Walton from 4 yards out for the TD with 28 seconds left in the game!

EAGLES WIN 35-32!!!!!

Although QB Marc Schwartz led us to the comeback shocker, he could've just as easily been the goat: 12/26 for 160 yards, 3 TDs and 4 INTs. And to think he's the best QB on our roster by far.

WR Eric Hopper had a big game, with 7 catches for 118 yards and a TD. S Jay Bullock, as you can imagine, was amazing, Game MVP with his two TDs, 5 tackles, 4 assists, and 2 INTs. ILB Ken Hughes was brilliant as well, with 7 tackles, half a sack, and an interception. CB Leland Reid somehow led in tackles with 10 and 3 assists.

What a sweet, sweet way to open the year. Hope the recruits took note!

[Izulde]

Week 3 Recruits
WR Jerome Kramer, Sault Area HS, Sault Sainte Marie, MI
State Rank: 59
Pos. Rank: 9
GPA: 3.29
SAT: 1014

We desparately need help at WR and Kramer looks like a lot better player than Senstrom, much more likely to contribute right away.

P Amos Weaver, Mumford HS, Detroit, MI
Pos. Rank: 73
State Rank: 87
Pos Rank: 4
GPA: 3.06
SAT: 1254
Values: Distance/Academics
Idolizes: Michigan

It's a rough row to hoe this year in the P spot. All the decent guys are academic busts, so we have to reach down for Weaver who'll never wear the Maize and Blue.

FB Derek Proctor, Boyceville HS, Boyceville, WI
Pos. Rank: 60
State Rank: 40
Pos. Rank: 2
GPA: 3.89
SAT: 1423
Values: Academics*/Prestige

With 6 of the 8 Sol-8 schools after him, along with Nevada, the competition for Proctor is something fierce. That said, it's not that big a deal if we don't get him. FBs never play a big role in my offense anyway.

There's now 13 scholarship offers out there, so we're 3 away from my own personal house rule that I forgot to mention where I can only have 16 scholarship offers out at a time or whatever would give me the max class of 16 if all offers were accepted.

Game Two: @ Northern Illinois (0-1) Northern Illinois by 7 points

Last week, we pulled off a miracle against the Rainbow Warriors. I don't see that happening again this week against the Huskies, especially not with QB Marc Schwartz doubtful with a pulled groin. Schwartz is going to have to cowboy up, though, because we don't have anything else even remotely close to being a QB on the roster.

We draw first blood with a 23 yard TD scramble by Marc Schwartz, but from there it's all Huskies as Northern Illinois blows us out of the water.

Jay Bullock continues his great play with 11 tackles and 6 assists and fellow senior S Joseph Krakowski records 10 tackles and a pass defense. DE Monty Yellope provides a glimmer of pass rush with 5 tackles, an assist and 2 sacks.

But overall, it was just an out and out ass-kicking.

La Crosse 14 Northern Illinois 42

[Izulde]

Our already atrocious WR situation gets even worse when WR Percy Henson (Fr) sprains his back and is out 5 weeks. This is so not cool, because not only is he a frosh with some growth potential, he's also one of our starters. Archie Radar (RS Jr) takes over in the interim.

Week 4 Recruits
ILB Riddick Beyer - Richton South HS, Richton Park, IL
Pos. Rank: 61
State Rank: 59
Pos. Rank: 4
GPA: 3.19
SAT: 1033
Values: Distance/Prestige

From a really good school and with a fair amount of talent for our level (47+), it'll be tough to get him as we're up against Ball State, who has beat in both categories, but it's worth a shot.

TE John Wolfe - Racine Case HS, Racine, WI
Pos. Rank: 81
State Rank: 42
Pos. Rank: 5
GPA: 4.00
SAT: 1351
Values: Academics/Prestige

I said I wasn't going to go TE, but he's from my hometown and he's one of the best players in the state that's willing to talk to us and Case got a decent roll this game. (35/81).

QB Raymond McCarthy - West HS, Madison WI
Nat Rank: 556
Pos Rank: 58
State Rank: 15
Pos Rank: 2
GPA: 2.70
SAT: 1117
Values: Distance (neg)*/Academics

I know I put the house rule of only 1 neg. distance or outside region player per season, but that house rule is trumped by the house rule of in-region. In short, if he's in-region, I can recruit him, no matter what his distance requirements, particularly as neg distance is more likely to hurt me than not, esp. with an in-state guy. If I get McCarthy, I'm set at QB for the next 4 years. He's that good, but we're the first team to offer him a scholarship.

That brings us to 16 offered scholarships, so now we have to sit tight and wait until we get acceptances or rejections.

Game 3: @ Wake Forest (1-1) - Wake Forest by 6

ACC squad? Welcome To The Trouncing.

Oh, I forgot to mention, last week's game against Northern Illinois was on TV5, so at least we made regional television.

K Henry Bontrager kicks 2 FGs, including a 56 yarder and S Jay Bullock puts on another amazing performance with 14 tackles, 2 assists, 2 pass defenses and an INT. It's too bad he's a senior on this crappy team, because he's an awesome player and an early contender for some All-Conference love.

And yeah, it was precisely the slaughter everyone expect. Bontrager's FGs were our only scores.

La Crosse 6 Wake Forest 49

[Izulde]

Bye Week

I figure I'd give a recruiting update. No one's visiting us thus far, but the competition is heavy for some of our guys, others we're the only one with scholarship offers on the table.

Unchallenged Recruits
QB Raymond McCarthy (63+) - 3 schools have contacted him, though, all of whom trump us.
RB Rico Pascoe (55+) - 5 schools with contact, Miami (OH) the only one who'd knock us off.
WR Blake Stenstrom (32+)
T Joey Kemper (42+) - 3 contacts, none a serious challenge.
P Amos Weaver (45+)
DT T.J. Rhodes (55?) - CMU the other contact
OLB Trent Caldwell (48+) - Army the only other interested school

The Others
QB Shawn Ventura (46+)
-Offers: UW-La Crosse, Northern Illinois
-Likely Winner: Too close to call

FB Derek Proctor (53+)
-Offers: Lawrence (Appleton), UW-Green Bay, UW-La Crosse, Nevada, UW-Parkside (Actually in Kenosha, but it's close enough to Racine to count), Lakeland, Northcentral Tech (actually a 2-year school, but for some reason Wausau is in the Sol-8 :rolleyes:)
Likely Winner: UW-La Crosse

TE Jon Wolfe (58-)
-Offers: Lawrence, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, New Mexico State, UW-Parkside, Northcentral Tech
-Likely Winner: Too close to call

WR Jerome Kramer (49+)
-Offers: Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, UW-La Crosse
-Likely Winner: Too close to call

C Bill Barge (50++)
-Offers: UW-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay, UW-La Crosse, UW-Parkside, Lakeland
-Visits: UW-Eau Claire
-Likely Winner: UW-Eau Claire

G Alan Winkler (62-)
-Offers: Indiana, UW-La Crosse, Louisiana Tech, Northwestern
-Visits: Indiana, Northwestern
-Likely Winner: Northwestern (Idolized School)

DE Marc Argelan (51-)
-Offers: Cincinnati, UW-La Crosse, Wyoming
-Likely Winner: UW-La Crosse

DE Bobby Harper (52+)
-Offers: UW-La Crosse, Lakeland, Tulsa
-Likely Winner: UW-La Crosse

ILB Kin Libero (59+)
-Offers: UW-La Crosse, Tulsa, Wyoming
-Likely Winner: Tulsa

ILB Riddick Beyer (47+)
-Offers: Ball State, UW-La Crosse, UNLV
-Likely Winner: Ball State

S Jamie Maxwell (56-)
-Offers: UW-Green Bay, UW-La Crosse, Nevada, Northcentral Tech
-Likely Winner: UW-La Crosse