09-02-2011, 02:14 PM | #1 | ||
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Reviving the Runnin' Rebels (TCY/FOF)
Yep, here we are again. Yet another Izulde TCY/FOF dynasty. On the other hand, it's only my second shot at UNLV. The last one ended after two posts and I forget why. I apparently bitched about the box scores, but watching college football and seeing UNLV get killed always puts me in the mood to play TCY/FOF and try to build the program.
I'm also going to try and finally figure out how to use TCY Helper. Try being the key word. So starting up new game, I realize only some of the bowls are set to something recognizable. Bleh I'll do the rest of them later. So here it is, 2004. I, Izulde Jestor, have been hired as the head coach of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels and we'll be introducing the concept of Fidometrics to try and make this a good football program. Code:
Both the rest of the coaching staff and Fidometrics agree Minter is the best QB on the team and will start this season. Where the disagreement occurs is who is the better future starter - Diaz or Rengel. The staff thinks it's Diaz, Fidometrics thinks it's Rangel. If I have my druthers, neither one will be it. Recruiting Priority: Very High Code:
The staff believes we have a lot of quality potential youth here, and Fidometrics agrees on Dupont and Dimick, who will be the #1 and #2 RBs. Dupont looks like a four year starter - I just wish his endurance was much better than what it is. Recruiting Priority: Low Code:
Really not much to choose from here. I see it more as different fullbacks will have different roles, with no real starter as such. Recruiting Priority: Medium Code:
Boy oh boy, does the staff love the TEs. Fidometrics is much less enthusiastic, although the low endurance Spindler will start, with Prescott his backup. The difference between Diaz and Coffey isn't that great by Fidometrics. Recruiting Priority: Low-Medium Code:
Both sides are in agreement that this is a group of good, but not great young potential ballcatchers. Fancher is far and away the most polished of the bunch and will also be a return man. The rest of the group is a little hard to distinguish right now, so there will be fights for PT. Recruiting Priority: Very Low Code:
Meier is the clear-cut starter. Love Emerson's potential, but he's so raw right now, he could use a redshirt to let him grow and develop, so we're going to go ahead and do that. More help is needed though, in case Emerson isn't ready. Recruiting Priority: High Code:
If TCY ran parallel with the latest FOF at game start, Miller would be the first Rebel of my regime in the NFL. He's that good. Unfortunately, it won't start matching until 2008, so it's a no go. Tatum's the other starter and they're both juniors thankfully, but we need to build some more quality youth. Recruiting Priority: High Code:
The staff hates this group, but Fidometrics loves Peterson and Bernstein's upside. Peterson and Jenkins are the obvious starters, and I'd love to redshirt Bernstein, but we just don't have the bodies. Another massive critical area. Recruiting Priority: Very High Overall Synosis of the Offense Overall it's a blend of youth and experience here, though tilting more towards the upperclassmen. I'm thankful all our best linemen are RS juniors or we'd be in a world of hurt next year. Our 55 year old OC, who, by the way, is pretty good as far as they go, is a 5 year veteran of the Wing T formation. Is it my favorite offense? No. Is it the best offense for us right now? Probably, although look for a change next season. QB Geoff Minter (Sr) RB Jamal Dupont (Fr) FB Richie Gaylor (Jr) TE Junior Spindler (Sr) WR Tracy Fancher (Jr) WR Seth Hungate (Fr) C Antoine Meier (Sr) G Orlando Miller (RS Jr) G Luther Tatum (RS Jr) T J.B. Peterson (So) T A.J. Jenkins (RS Jr) Code:
Ah yes, the usual overload on scholarships for kickers. Fidometrics doesn't like any of the punters, but I'll redshirt Buckley anyway and give Porter the starting punting duties. Duncan is clearly the best kicker. Fido doesn't like Amdahl, but he'll redshirt. Recruiting Priority: Medium-Low for P, Medium for K Code:
Barlow and Watkins grade out as the best DEs on the balance of things, with Barlow the defensive stopper and Watkins the lone legitimate pass-rush potential threat. I feel like even with all this youth that the talent here is sorely lacking, no matter what Fidometrics says. Recruiting Priority: High Code:
Long and Farrell are obvious starters and they're good enough for me to be able to run a 4-3 scheme like I prefer. But Shanabrough is raw and has only average potential, so this is another big need area. Recruiting Priority: Very High Code:
Fidometrics loves the upside of some of these guys. It's a pile of really bad options to choose from, but for my money McWilliams is actually the best of a bad, young bunch. Still, we have so many other pressing needs, and we're running a 4-3, so I'll downgrade this from what seems obvious. Recruiting Priority: High Code:
Norton and Sampson are the starters, with Newton the pass-rush threat. Like DT, this is going to look really damn ugly after this season, so it's a high priority area of so many. Recruiting Priority: Very High Code:
Gargiulo has some serious potential, even with Fidometrics' tempered expectations. He and Nylund will start, but this, too, is an area in major need of upgrades. Recruiting Priority: Very High Code:
Fidometrics is high on Dempsey's potential, so he and Donovan will be the two starters. Although we need talent infusion here as well, the youth is enough to keep us going if worst comes to worst. Recruiting Priority: High Overall Defensive Synopsis Weird blend of young starters and old starters overloading specific position groups. Obviously we're going with the 4-3 scheme. DE C.J. Watkins (So) DE Todd Barlow (RS So) DT Robbie Long (Sr) DT Clay Farrell (Sr) ILB Henry McWilliams (RS So) OLB Dan Norton (Sr) OLB Teddy Sampson (Sr) CB Travis Nylund (Sr) CB Bernie Gargiulo (Fr) S Zack Dempsey (So) S Sammy Donovan (RS Jr) Recruiting Trail Very High ---------- QB T DT OLB CB High ---------- C G DE ILB S So it's pretty obvious what we need to do - find a new QB, beef up the offensive line, and focus on all areas of the defense. House Rules #1. Nevada is fair game because you want to win your state. #2. One black, one red target out of state, unless there's a teammate from that high school, to simulate pipelines. #3. Recruits must have a 2.3 GPA and a non-red SAT score. No dummies here. Note: I'm not using TCY Helper's time management suggestions for the first year. I'm too lazy. I'll use it starting with the freshmen of my first recruiting class, though. I feel like that will help simulate the gradual climate change of a program. We find our ideal QB target early - Rufus Heath of William Workman High School in City of Industry, CA. More on him later, but he'd be a huge get. He's our black line recruit and gets the full press, including scholarship offer. Other Week 1 Recruits: WR Floyd Beyer - North Las Vegas, NV (HS teammate) - Campus Invite C Herb Mackay - Waipahu, HI - Scholarship G Louie O'Neill - Davis, CA (HS teammate, redline) - Scholarship T Leland Wolflick - Purvis, MS - Scholarship T Oscar Kozhin - Mililani, HI (HS teammate, redline) - Scholarship ILB Neil Lyon - Las Vegas, NV (redline) - Scholarship S Dennis DeNeff - Elko, NV (HS teammate, redline) - Scholarship Without realizing it, I started using the pipelines set down by my predecessor, which allowed me to target two redline guys and still have my one redline spot open. Now if we can just land some of these guys... Week 2 Precruiting Notes -WR Floyd Beyer has an offer from Purdue, so I'll probably just let him go. -C Herb Mackay has an offer from Iowa State, but we've got the edge, I think. -T Oscar Kozhin has a lot of interest, including offers from Utah and Wisconsin. TE Richie Springer - Sparks, NV (redline) - Scholarship WR Rickey Newsome - Winnemuca, NV (HS teammate, redline) - Scholarship DE Bubba Overton - Kent, WA (redline) - Scholarship DE Mo Dillon - Malibu, CA - Scholarship DT Desmond Ross - Middlefield, OH - Scholarship DT Brant Dacosta - Waukesha, WI - Scholarship OLB Erik Emmons - Antioch, CA - Scholarship OLB Martin Butler - Antigo, WI - Scholarship That means we've handed out 15 of 16 scholarship offers already and haven't yet addressed the CB position. But things will shake out one way or the other. @ #11 Tennessee (+16) (ESPN 2) This went about as expected. Solid game by QB Geoff Minter - 18/31 for 237 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs, but Timothy Bycroft was horrible in mopup duty - 1 of 4 with 2 picks. Nice game by OLB Teddy Sampson, too - 5 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 pass defenses, and a half-sack. We fail to beat the spread, unfortunately. UNLV 14 Tennessee 31 Week 3 Pre-recruiting Notes Great, great news. S Dennis DeNeff is making a Visit and we're still the only ones to pursue a kid who looks terrific. I'll be thrilled if we land this kid. Now for the bad news: -QB Rufus Heath got a scholarship offer from USC and is visiting. -G Louie O'Neill has a scholarship offer from Auburn. -Florida State jumps in on T Oscar Kozhin. -T Leland Wolflick has offers from Mississippi and Tennessee. -DE Bubba Overton has an offer from Washington State. -DT Desmond Ross has an offer from Miami (OH). -OLB Erik Emmons has an offer from San Diego State. QB Cedric Albers - Wichita, KS - Scholarship -We've had him on our backup radar for a while now. Idolizes Kansas State, so we may be pulling out here, too, but it's worth a shot. CB Matthew Mustard - Martinsville, IN - Scholarship That puts us at one over, so we'll sit tight now and see what pans out. @ #15 Wisconsin (1-0) (+10) (Big 10 Network) The good news is we're getting a truckload of TV exposure. The bad news is we get shut out. This game was so ugly we're not even going to talk about it. Let's just say absolutely nothing good happened in Madison last night. UNLV 0 Wisconsin 38 Week 4 Prerecruiting Notes -Georgia Tech is trying to horn in on S Dennis DeNeff. Buzz off, assholes. -Writing's on the wall for QB Rufus Heath. UCLA and Penn State join the hunt and he's visiting the Bruins, but pride and the want of a challenge will keep me fighting. That is until he tells me, "I probably won't consider UNLV." Ugh. -TE Richie Springer gets an offer from Ole Miss. -Shit is on! UNR just offered WR Rickey Newsome! -Arizona State offers C Herb Mackay. -G Louie O'Neill gets an offer from Cal and goes visiting. -T Leland Wolflick gets another offer, this time from Texas A&M. -DE Bubba Overton takes a visit with Washington State. -DT Desmond Ross has an offer from Wisconsin. -Really? UW-Stout offers DT Brant Dacosta. -CB Matthew Mustard gets an offer from Mississippi. vs Air Force (1-1) (-2) Finally we're at Sam Boyd Stadium in our first truly winnable game of the year. Oh and is it a thing of beauty! RB Jamal Dupont rushes 21 times for 200 yards and 2 TDs, then catches 2 passes for 44 yards and another TD. OLB Teddy Sampson continues his fabulous senior campaign with 5 tackles, 2 assists, a 48 yard interception return for a TD. DE Jesse Haddock records 1.5 sacks and a QB hurry, and the junior has shown in the first three games that he's our biggest pass-rush threat this year. Needless to say Dupont is PotG and gets a mention for Offensive Player of the Week, but he's beaten out by QB Lamont Booker of Ole Miss, who throws for 392 yards, 4 TDs and 0 picks. Air Force 24 UNLV 49 The win is a good stopping point.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 09-02-2011 at 02:15 PM. |
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09-02-2011, 07:12 PM | #2 |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
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Where did you get your copy of TCY Helper? I've been looking for it for a while.
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U of Hawaii | U of Alabama | Montreal Impact | Montreal Canadiens | West Ham | West Indies cricket | Portland Trail Blazers |
09-02-2011, 07:15 PM | #3 |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
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Nevermind. Just found it on the forum. Thanks! Go Rebs!
__________________
U of Hawaii | U of Alabama | Montreal Impact | Montreal Canadiens | West Ham | West Indies cricket | Portland Trail Blazers |
09-02-2011, 08:29 PM | #4 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Savor the moment, guys, because with that win, UNLV is now 1-0 in Mountain West play and all alone in first place. But that's only because nobody else has played a conference game.
Week 5 Pre-Recruit Notes -Georgia and Texas join the QB Rufus Heath chase, with the Longhorns getting a Visit in the same week that he comes out to Las Vegas for our second visit of the year. At least we'll make his final dance card. -Purdue hops in on C Herb Mackay, but I'm betting it comes down to us or Arizona State. -T Leland Wolflick gets an offer from Texas A&M and he treks out to visit the Aggies. He then tells me he's almost 100% sure to commit to them and that we're out of the running. -DT Desmond Ross visits the Badgers. -Meanwhile we're fighting WIAC schools for DT Brant Dacosta, with UW-Eau Claire stepping up with an offer. -CB Matthew Mustard now has offers from Missouri and Marshall on the table. Internet message boards claim that Mustard is a 100% absolute guaranteed lock for the great Mizzou Tigers. Injury Report (Serious Ones Only DE Harris Burbank - Dislocated Knee - 14 Weeks TE Junior Spindler - Torn Knee Ligament - 24 Weeks Burbank's loss is pretty much a whatever, but losing Spindler, our starting TE, for the entire season, really hurts. Peter Prescott takes over as the starter. vs Utah State (1-2) (-9) We're heavily favored against this Sun Belt squad as we try and even our record for the year. This one's over very early, thanks to RB Jamal Dupont adding to his legend with 18 carries for 159 yards and a TD and 2 catches for 13 yards and a TD. Reserve RB Gerald Dimick tacks on 87 rushing yards and 2 TDs and even FB Richie Gaylor gets two TDs on the ground. DE Jesse Haddock got another 2 sacks, but it was C Antoine Meier's 8 key run blocks that won Player of the Game in this laugher. All three QBs got in the game, that's how bad we kicked the Aggies' asses. Utah State 7 UNLV 56 Great game for Rufus Heath to see, although I doubt it changes anything. Now we lose ILB Dustin Conway for the year with an ACL injury. Lovely. At least he wasn't the starter, but considering how many people kinda liked him, it's a tough blow. WEEK 6 - FREMONT CANNON WEEK! The most important week of the season is, the Battle for the Fremont Cannon. We win a pre-emptive battle by being the first school WR Ricky Newsome visits. Yay!!! Middle Tennessee State also offers Newsome scholarship but it's clear he's down to either us or UNR. -Utah is now offering TE Richie Springer. -G Louie O'Neill now has an offer from Fresno State. -T Oscar Kohzin gets an offer from and visits Michigan. That's two Big 10 schools he's taken visits to, now. -DT Desmond Ross visits Miami (OH) and it's not looking good for us. -DT Brant Dacosta says if Marshall offers him a scholarship, we're out of the running. -Ball State offers CB Matthew Mustard. I may have mentioned this before, but it's an awful class for CBs we have a realistic shot at, so I'm really hoping we get him. Fremont Cannon - 2004 Preview Code:
The Wolfpack are led on offense by sophomore RB Mike Threats, a local Reno native. Interception-prone senior QB Todd Holmes is Questionable with a strained triceps, so true freshman Tommie Bucher from Mankato, MN, may get the call. UNR's defense isn't that good, but they have a knack for generating turnovers, which could spell trouble with our own interception-happy QB. OLB Zach Whiting, senior, is one of their top playmakers, a Las Vegas native from Eldorado High School, betrayed us by going to the school up north. CB Deon Levine, a junior from Antonito, CA, also bears watching. Code:
We have a horrendous turnover margin and turn the ball over more than just any other team in the country. One thing to keep in mind, though - we played two elite opponents on the road the first two weeks, which is skewing the numbers. True freshman RB Jamal Dupont from Yerington, NV, is, of course, our top offensive threat. On the other side of the ball, it's a pair of seniors, DT Clay Farrell (Des Moines, IA) and OLB Ted Sampson (Ellicott City, MD) who have emerged as our top players. Outlook In short, it's about as even a game as you could hope for. The oddsmakers here in town have us favored by 4, though, partly because we're at home, partly because of Holmes' injury issue. What an important game, not least because Ricky Newsome, who we're fighting UNR for, is sitting in the stands on the UNLV side at Sam Boyd Stadium. There's also the chance to have a winning record for the first time this season, while simulataneously sending the boys from Reno to .500. The Game We play perfect football for three beautiful quarters, running away with a 35-0 lead. Then it's garbage time in the fourth and the Wolfpack get a small moral victory out of winning the 4th quarter 9-0. Their top two running backs gained 201 yards on us, while RB Jamal Dupont had a merely good game with 16 carries for 95 yards and a TD. The game hero was QB Geoff Minter who pitched an almost flawless 16/17 for 193 yards, 2 TDs and 0 picks. Funny thing was, it wasn't one of those games where we had individual standouts. This was just a total team effort that resulted in our winning the Fremont Cannon!!!! Final - Nevada 9 UNLV 35 S Dennis DeNeff calls after the game and he commits to UNLV!!!! Our first recruit of the year!!! S Dennis DeNeff Profile Height/Weight: 6', 172 lbs. Hometown: Elko, NV High School: Elko High School (33 Athletic/38 Academic) Teammates on Roster: T Rodney Bernstein (Walk-on freshman) GPA: 2.85 SAT: 964 Intended Major: Marketing National Rank: #346 National Pos: #15 State Rank: #3 State Pos: #1 Nevada All-State Scouting: 71++ (Fair Scout) Strength: Zone Defender / Weakness: Kick Returning A huge get for our program and given our comparatively low talent at safety, maybe he can step in as a true freshman starter next year. We beat Georgia Tech to get him, but I never felt the Yellow Jackets were a serious threat. Week 7 Pre-recruiting -Miami offers QB Rufus Heath -WR Rickey Newsome, who I hoped would sign immediately after our blowout win in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon, goes up to Reno to visit the Wolfpack. -Well shit, there goes QB Cedric Albers, who gleefully got an offer from Kansas State, his idolized school. We'll pull out now. This leads me to spend stupid money going to check out far-flung QBs who either don't look like they'll pan out, or who.. yeah. Argh. -Iowa offers G Louie O'Neill, as does Auburn. -Clemson, Florida State, and Oklahoma all offer T Oscar Kozhin, who is quickly becoming the most popular of all our targets. -Texas Tech and North Carolina State jump in on the DT Desmond Ross train. He says he's almost a lock to go to Miami (OH). -Now UW-Stevens Point is offering DT Brant Dacosta, making it us and 3 WIAC schools. -Mississippi offers ILB Neil Lyon and it feels like we and Ole Miss are locking horns over several recruits this year. -UW-Stevens Point also offers for OLB Martin Butler. -CB Matthew Mustard visits Ball State and also has a new offer from South Carolina. For the first time in a long time, we add a new recruit, DT Wally Horton from Kalamazoo, MI, who only has a few walk-on offers (Boston College, Michigan State), so we try and sneak in there with a quick-hit scholarship offer. @BYU (0-5, 0-1) (-13) I'm nervous going into this one. It has classic trap game writ all over it - a shockingly winless Cougars team hungry for their first victory, us coming down from an emotional high after whipping UNR, and a trip to Utah. Our defense went to hell, making an exciting display on offense. RB Jamal Dupont continues to wow the hell out of everyone, rushing 25 times for 222 yards and 2 TDs, while backup Gerald Dimick just misses the century mark with 98 yards and a TD. Dupont clinched the game for us with a 36 yard TD run right after the 2:00 warning. He also caught 2 passes for 11 yards and a TD. G Orlando Miller won Player of the Game with 12 key run blocks as we overcome Geoff Minter's 3 interceptions (though he did also throw 3 TDs). Scary game, but we grind out the win. UNLV 42 BYU 30 We're now tied for the Mountain West lead with Utah, who are 4-1 (2-0). Injury problems continue to mount. Reserve CB Jim Horvath hyperextends his knee and is Out 4 weeks and backup TE Quentin Diaz is Doubtful with an abdominal strain. 4 emails from recruits.... WR Rickey Newsome... SELECTS UNLV!!!!! RUNNIN' REBELS 1 WOLFPACK 0! C Herb Mackay.... SELECTS UNLV!!! DE Bubba Overton... chooses Washington, shocking everyone who thought he was a lock for Washington State. DT Desmond Ross... chooses Miami (OH), which isn't a surprise. I'm honestly stunned we won Mackay. I know I said it was either us or Arizona State, but in my heart I was pretty sure he was going to take the Pac-10 school. WR Rickey Newsome Profile Height/Weight: 5`11, 164 lbs. Hometown: Winnemucca, NV High School: Albert M. Lowery High School (1 Athletic/54 Academic) Teammates on Roster: G Orlando Miller (RS Junior starting RG), QB Marshall Rangel (Walk-on RS freshman) GPA: 3.66 SAT: 1148 Intended Major: Genetics National Rank: #450 National Pos: #27 State Rank: #5 State Pos: #1 Nevada All-State Scouting: 80+ (Good Scout) Strength: YAC / Weakness: Catching in Traffic I didn't intend on going for a WR, but Newsome's scouting just looked too fantastic to pass up in addition to his being an in-state kid. My guess is he comes in very raw and that he'll redshirt a year, then get into the mix after that. C Herb Mackay Profile Height/Weight: 6`4, 280 lbs Hometown: Waipahu, HI High School:Waipahu High School (50 Athletic/38 Academic) GPA: 3.07 SAT: 1164 Intended Major: Geology National Rank: 189 National Pos: 7 State Rank: 2 State Pos: 1 Hawaii All-State Scouting: 79- (Pretty Good Scout) Strength: Pass Blocking / Weakness: Run Blocking Our highest ranked recruit yet, Mackay looks like he could be a Week 1 starter. I know we have Andrew Emerson waiting in the wings to take over next season, but from the looks of it, Mackay will give him one hell of a fight for it. So that's 3 of 16 recruits in the bag. Thus far we're 3-2 on the recruiting front. The problem is WR and C weren't our biggest areas of need. Losing Ross in particular stings. Overton we can overcome.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-02-2011, 08:30 PM | #5 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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So far I've only used it to help me figure out my starting lineup. Its biggest asset will be fixing the time management for this first class and future generations beyond it.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-03-2011, 05:27 PM | #6 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Week 8 Pre-recruiting Notes
A slew of visits this week: T Leland Wolflick OLB Erik Emmons T Oscar Kozhin OLB Martin Butler G Louie O'Neill DT Wally Horton DT Brant Dacosta ILB Neil Lyon A number of players have their final five as well: T Leland Wolflick - Mississippi, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UNLV T Oscar Kozhin - Hawaii, Michigan, UNLV, Utah, Wisconsin QB Rufus Heath - Nebraska, Texas, UCLA, USC, UNLV DT Brant Dacosta - UNLV, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout I feel confident about none of these four. Hawaii jumping in at the last second on Kozhin probably kills our chances at him. Wolflick is probably a Texas A&M lock, Heath will go to either UCLA or USC, and Dacosta will likely go to UW-Eau Claire. Other news: -OLB Martin Butler also visits UW-Stevens Point. -G Louie O'Neill also is visiting Fresno State and Virginia Tech, but I still say he's a lock for UC-Berkeley. -We're temporarily in the lead on DT Wally Horton, but if Sparty comes offering a scholarship, we miss out. -ILB Neil Lyon also visits Mississippi. -OLB Erik Emmons checks out San Diego State, too. -QB Herman Devalle, our third option at QB, just got an offer from South Florida, his dream school. -Speaking of dream schools, I just checked and QB Cedric Albers is indeed going to Kansas State. Oh I forgot to mention, new house rule. If any player has UNLV as his dream school, he doesn't count towards the red/black exception. Surprise, surprise, nobody who hasn't signed somewhere idolizes UNLV. If it was basketball, it'd be a different story. Still, can't complain about our 4-2 (2-0) record thus far. Hell, we eke out two more wins along the way and we'll be bowl eligible. Last time UNLV went to a bowl game? 2000, when we ironically beat Arkansas 31-14 in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Runnin' Rebels have been to four bowl games (1974, 1984, 1994, 2000) and are 3-1 in them, losing only the first game in 1974, 49-11 to Delaware in the Rice Bowl. I should be targeting more guys, but I want to play it safe and not offer so many i miss out on key players. As a result, we only have one new recruit added to the list, DE Jackie Pendergrass of the Bronx, NY. vs New Mexico (1-5) (-14) 8 recruits coming to Las Vegas this week, so we absolutely can not afford to lose to the lowly Lobos. Fortunately, RB Jamal Dupont is there to rush 17 times for 114 yards and QB Geoff Minter has arguably his best game of the year at 18/31 for 272 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. WR Seth Hungate has the undisputed top performance by a Rebel receiver thus far with the freshman grabbing 4 catches for 82 yards and a TD. Yet it was G Orlando Miller's 6 key run blocks that won Player of the Game. New Mexico 22 UNLV 38 Now 5-2 (3-0) and in first place in the Mountain West. Directly behind us are 2-0 Utah and Colorado State. I don't harbor any illusions of our being able to beat the Utes for the championship as they're a legitimate Top 25 contender (and are #26 right now). Funny enough, we've got them this upcoming week. But more on that later. Our backup ILB situation continues to deteriorate as Carl Raymond, a walk-on, tears his Achilles tendon and is done for the year. Two recruits makes their decision after the game. G Louie O'Neill.... COMMITS TO UNLV!!!! DE Jackie Pendergrass... chooses Michigan. Wow. Just wow. I thought O'Neill was a surefire lock for Berkeley and instead he commits to us. Pendergrass is no surprise. We were too little, too late getting in on him. G Louie O'Neill Profile Height/Weight: 6'2, 268 Hometown: Davis, CA High School: Davis (56 Athletic/94 Academic) Teammates on Roster: WR Ernie Hillery (5th WR) GPA: 3.87 SAT: 1274 Intended Major: Speech National Rank: 276 National Pos: 28 State Rank: 41 State Pos: 4 Scouting: 73- (Pretty Good) Strength: Run Blocking/Pass Blocking We've got Orlando Miller and Earl Tatum both around for one more year, so the first non-All State player we sign probably won't be a starter as a true freshman, unless he beats out Tatum. No question, though, he'll be starting by his sophomore or redshirt freshman year. Davis is a good high school to keep that pipe in, too. Week 9 Pre-Recruit Notes TE Richie Springer and DE Mo Dillon both visit this week. Springer's also visiting Mississippi and Utah. -OLB Erik Emmons - California, Fresno State, Mississippi, San Diego State, UNLV -DT Wally Horton has 4 of his 5 visits lined up - Boston College, Marshall, Michigan State, and us. Sparty gets a middle finger from me. -ILB Neil Lyon visits Virginia Tech. We have 4 commits and 10 offers out there, so time to start hitting the backup plans. I also just realized that DE Bubba Overton was our redline exception, so that slot is now open again because he didn't sign with us. We immediately rush out and offer QB Bert Greene from Derry, NH, a scholarship. We also add DE Daniel Vance of Hillman, MI to the list. @ Utah (5-1) (+12) (ESPN2) Nobody expects us to have a prayer against the Utes, hence the 12 point spot in the thread. Even I don't think we'll win, so I'm not bothering an extended preview. Sure enough, we're down 23-3 after three quarters, but a furious 22 point fourth quarter rally makes it respectable and we actually had a shot to win it and were at 23-17 before Utah scored twice in the last five minutes of the game to put us away. 2 sacks for DE Jesse Haddock, but even a last second TD to beat the spread simply couldn't conceal the fact that we're not yet up to Utah's level. UNLV 25 Utah 36 8 emails in the Inbox. I know at least one or two of these are healed injury related, but my heart's still thumping. 7 decisions. QB Herman Delvalle chooses South Florida. Forgot to pull his walk-on offer. No worries there. QB Rufus Heath... OMG OMG OMG!!! RUFUS HEATH HAS CHOSEN UNLV!!!!! HEATH A RUNNIN' REBEL!!!!! TE Richie Springer... COMMITS TO UNLV!!! T Oscar Kozhin... chooses Hawaii. DE Mo Dillon.... COMMITS TO UNLV!!! DT Wally Horton... chooses Michigan State DT Brant Dacosta... COMMITS TO UNLV!!! Kozhin I had figured for the Rainbow Warriors the moment they rushed in, and Horton had already said that about Michigan State. But Heath said the exact same thing about UCLA, so it just goes to show you never know what can happen in this recruiting business. I'm absolutely floored. QB Rufus Heath commits to UNLV Let's show by the numbers just how big a get Heath is. QB Rufus Heath Profile Height/Weight: 6'3, 203 Hometown: City of Industry, CA High School: William Workman (74 Athletic/54 Academic) GPA: 3.48 SAT: 1157 Intended Major: Jurisprudence National Rank: 30 National Pos: 3 State Rank: 6 State Pos: 1 California All-State High School All-American Scouting: 77+ (Lousy) Strength: Medium Passing / Weakness: Timing Receivers Yep, that's right. The #3 QB in the country and a High School All-American just committed to UNLV. It was a crazy year for top-flight QBs committing to places. From the Rivals.com Top 100 List: #13. QB Rex Laflamme - BYU #26. QB Darrin Parker - Texas A&M #30. QB Rufus Heath - UNLV #31. QB Jerald Sibley - North Carolina State #39. QB Corey Crownover - Michigan (But academic risk) #45. QB Lamont Hartman - Ohio State #52. QB Kirk Shepherd - Northwestern #55. QB Vernon Rivere - Kentucky #58. QB Oscar Hines - Tennessee #70. QB Robert Duffy - Notre Dame #85. QB Wayne Valentin - Florida Yep, 1-7 (1-3) BYU landed the #1 QB in the entire country. That strikes me as reasonable, though. The Cougars are just having a down year and Laflamme comes from a very Mormon family. But a lot of surprising schools got steals this year. Other current records: N.C. State: 5-2 (3-2) Florida: 6-1 (4-1) Michigan: 7-1 (5-0) Ohio State: 6-1 (4-0) Northwestern: 1-6 (0-4) Kentucky: 1-6 (0-4) Tennessee: 6-1 (4-1) Notre Dame: 6-2 Texas A&M: 7-0 (4-0) Yeah. BYU, Northwestern, and Kentucky all hit it big in the QB derby this year. Then there's us, doing well in a second-tier conference. I'm absolutely stunned at the year the Aggies are having. They're ranked #6 in the country right now and have to be one of the biggest surprises of the season. Should be some epic QB battles between Heath and Laflamme over the next four years. I'll do our other recruits this week next post. I'm just too giddy over landing Heath right now.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-03-2011, 06:00 PM | #7 |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
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Congrats on landing Heath. The QB of the future!
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09-03-2011, 09:06 PM | #8 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Indeed. Stoked am I. I've never had that huge a recruit in any of my TCY plays.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-04-2011, 01:15 AM | #9 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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While everyone is dreaming of Rufus Heath becoming the greatest UNLV QB since Randall Cunningham, let's not forget the other catches we landed this week.
TE Richie Springer Profile Height/Weight: 6'4, 216 Hometown: Sparks, NV High School: Sparks (9 Athletic/19 Academic) GPA: 2.36 (Just made the cut) SAT:878 Intended Major: Algebra National Rank: 386 National Pos: 16 State Rank: 4 State Pos: 1 Nevada All-State Scouting: 94- (Good) Strength: Yard After Catch/Weakness: Catching in Traffic He'll be in the mix at TE his first year, but Peter Prescott has been more than adequate filling in for Junior Spindler, whose college career ended after 3 games. My hunch is Prescott stays the starter in his senior year and Springer will probably redshirt. DT Brant Dacosta Profile Height/Weight: 6'2, 249 Hometown: Waukesha, WI High School: Waukesha South (35 Athletic/28 Academic) GPA: 2.63 SAT: 987 Intended Major: Astronomy National Rank: 735 National Pos: 64 State Rank: 19 State Pos: 3 Wisconsin All-State Scouting: 67- (Decent) Strength: Rushing the Passer/Weakness: Defending the Run Actually projects more as a DE by my lights and he'll probably get moved there. Nowhere near the appeal of the other guys, to be honest, which is why we were the only non-WIAC school to pursue him. I'm surprised we got him, truth be told. DE Mo Dillon Profile Height/Weight: 6'1, 213 Hometown: Malibu, CA (3 Athletic/70 Academic) High School: Malibu GPA: 3.51 SAT: 1285 Intended Major: Economics National Rank: 794 National Pos: 68 State Rank: 93 State Pos: 9 Scouting: 61+ (Pretty Good) I think Mo has more upside than Dacosta, assuming Bryant switches. But that Athletic Prep also has me thinking that of the two, Mo will be redshirted since we're not losing any DEs. That brings us to 8 committed players, or half our class. We have 6 other offers out there, so we've a couple spots open, even more if we withdraw our offers to a couple of our fallback options at QB and DE. DT Lawrence Coles from Fairfax, VA gets an offer, as does DT Colin Money from Forest Grove, OR. T Rickey Schmitz from Manchester, NH becomes our third new recruit. We're going to stick with our backup redline being the backup QB. Visits QB Bert Greene - also visiting Oregon State DE Daniel Vance - Final Five of Central Michigan, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, UNLV, and Western Michigan. ILB Neil Lyon - Final Five of Colorado, Mississippi, UCLA, UNLV, Virginia Tech OLB Erik Emmons - Final Four of Fresno State, Mississippi, San Diego State, and UNLV OLB Martin Butler - Four visits so far - Syracuse, UNLV, UW-Stevens Point, and UW-Stout I'm betting Greene goes Oregon State unless someone better jumps in. Central Michigan or Colorado for Vance. Colorado, UCLA, or Virginia Tech for Lyon. Ole Miss for Emmons. Syracuse for Butler. No games this week. Slow week compared to last week's bonanza, with 3 emails. DE Daniel Vance... chooses Eastern Michigan. ILB Neil Lyon... CHOOSES UNLV!!! OLB Martin Butler... chooses UW-Stout. ...Ouch. That's a kick in the teeth to lose an OLB to a WIAC school. But the best news is, we convinced a local kid to stay in town. ILB Neil Lyon Profile Height/Weight: 6'3, 203 Hometown: Las Vegas, NV High School: Durango (25 Athletic/90 Academic - Hahaha!) GPA: 3.68 SAT: 1387 Intended Major: Computer Science National Rank: 292 National Pos: 20 State Rank: 2 State Pos: 2 Nevada All-State Scouting: 65++ Strength: Zone Defense/Weakness: Intercepting Passes The reason for my laughter - Clark County is notorious for having one of the worst school districts in the country. It's one of the major reasons why UNLV has to structure their introductory composition courses the way they do, because the quality of education in CCSD is so wretched. That aside, I love this kid and his high consistency motor. I think he's going to be one of the best players out of his cohort here when he's done. True freshman starter? That I don't know about. I do know I am very quietly excited about this kid. I see him as a great MLB. Week 11 -Washington and Boston College are horning in on QB Bert Greene. This could be the second straight redline exemption the Huskies steal from us. He visits both. -T Rickey Schmitz final fives Michigan, Tulsa, UNLV, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia. Very odd list there, but I'm putting money down on the Wolverines. -DT Colin Money final five of Boston College, Miami, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and UNLV. My gut says Miami or Oklahoma, but I feel like we might have a chance. 9 and we'd be at 14 if all accepted. So two spots open for sure. I feel like we could upgrade our kicking game so P Ben Norris from Grand Island, NE is offered along with K Seth Fuller from Kaneohe, HI. Neither one is great; in fact Norris is 70--, but what the hell? vs Wyoming 1-7 (0-4) (-18) If we lose to the Pokes, I will cry like a little bitch. This is our best opportunity of the season to get bowl eligible and stay ahead of Air Force for third place in the Mountain West, as both Utah and Colorado State are still undefeated in the conference. ...The only thing you need to know - We turn the ball over 3 times and Wyoming runs for 307 yards on us. Wyoming 45 UNLV 28 Two games left. @ Colorado State and vs San Diego State. Win either of those games and we finish with a winning record and bowl eligibility. Lose both and we're toast. 5 emails. ILB Leland Smolka wants a scholarship since he's been starting. That's fair and I'll give it to him. A couple injury recoveries, which is cool and all. K Seth Fuller... chooses Louisiana Tech. OLB Erik Emmons... CHOOSES UNLV!!! That slow exhale you just heard was me relieved that our OLB situation won't be total shit next year when our starting seniors graduate. OLB Erik Emmons Profile Height/Weight: 6'4, 229 Hometown: Antioch, CA High School: Antioch (23 Athletic/48 Academic) High School Teammate: OLB Daniel Norton (Starting OLB) GPA: 2.79 SAT: 954 Intended Major: Hotel Management (Ironically only 42 in this universe, when it should be 100 if it reflected reality) National Rank: 721 National Pos: 40 State Rank: 90 State Pos: 7 California All-State High School All-American Scouting: 88-- (Poor) Strength: Man-to-Man/Weakness: Zone I know Emmons may not be all he's cracked up to be, but hell, you can't argue with our second High School All-American of the class, and I'm loving the idea that he and Norton have this lineage of Antioch HS OLBs suiting up for UNLV. He'll probably be an immediate starter, simply because we have nothing else there. Week 12 -T Leland Wolflick is down to a final four of Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and us after dropping Notre Dame from consideration. -T Rickey Schmitz cuts it to Michigan, us, and West Virginia. He told me last week he was going to be a Wolverine, but we've been down that road before. -QB Bert Greene finalizes a five of Boston College, Clemson, Oregon State, us, and Washington. I don't see any way he signs with us - everyone's still gaga over Rufus Heath here. -P Ben Norris declares a final three of Central Michigan, Memphis, and us, heartbroken because his dream school of Nebraska didn't offer. I think we have this one pretty much in the bag. What haven't we filled yet? Oh yeah, CB. Problem being, by this late stage in the game, there's very slim pickings. Still, CB Tommie Poore from Yakima, WA, gets an offer. Heh, fitting name. @ Colorado State - 5-4 (4-1) (-1) (Regional TV) Can't believe it, but we're favored by one. The Rams got their asses reamed 42-10 by Utah last week and the oddsmakers evidently think they're in still enough of a funk that we can win. I don't like the odds. I think CSU is going to come out pissed off and looking to take it out on us while guaranteeing they're bowl-eligible. We're down 24-21 going into the fourth quarter and then they just bury us. Some great tackling by our boys, but I'm too depressed to post the players and the stats. Three straight losses and our fourth television loss of the year. At least we kept it close until the final quarter for this one. UNLV 28 Colorado State 41 Three big recruit emails come in. T Rickey Schmitz... chooses Michigan. T Leland Wolflick... chooses Texas A&M. P Ben Norris... chooses UNLV. Yeah. I'm not excited about Norris, but I'll post his info up anyway. P Ben Norris Profile Height/Weight: 6'1, 185 Hometown: Grand Island, NE High School: Grand Island (17 Athletic/96 Academic) GPA: 3.88 SAT: 1415 Intended Major: English National Rank: N/A National Pos: 42 State Rank: 8 State Pos: 1 Nebraska All-State Scouting: 70-- (Good) Definitely the least exciting of all our recruits, but considering P Hunter Porter is averaging a horrible 30.9 yards a punt and has only 5/43 inside the 20, we needed to invest in somebody, and we could do a lot worse than Norris. We're now 0-3 in attempting to get OTs. That's not good. Week 13 -QB Bert Greene narrows it down to Clemson, Oregon State, and us. I'll go with the Tigers here. -DT Colin Money is now down to Miami, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and us. Hurricanes or Sooners, probably Sooners. -CB Tommy Poore, who desperately wants to play for Washington, visits us. UW-Stout is the only other school to even contact him. We're down to garbage at T, but it's what we need to go with. T Charles Ashcraft of Whitefish, MT gets an offer, as does G Leon Hubert of Sturgeon Bay, WI. @ San Diego State - 2-8 (1-5) (-6) Simply put, our entire season comes down to this game. Win and we probably go bowling. Lose and it's a huge collapse down the stretch. ...2 point OT loss. Okay, I'm stepping away from my computer before I fucking break the thing.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-04-2011, 01:29 AM | #10 |
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Sounds like a great recruiting class coach! I haven't played TCY in a long time, I may have to download it again. Sounds like I need to look into this helper too. Tough downward spiral at the end of the season though, ouch!
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09-04-2011, 12:05 PM | #11 | |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
I don't know how it'll grade out, but yes, it's certainly the best class I've had in TCY. Also, I think TCY Helper is pretty much a must, especially with sorting out time management.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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09-04-2011, 02:04 PM | #12 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Picking through that 42-40 OT loss, S Zack Dempsey opened scoring with an 87 yard interception return for a TD and we finished out the half 17-3. Then we were obviously outscored in the second half by the same margin. Another great game by RB Jamal Dupont - 18 carries, 116 yards and a TD, and 3 catches for 47 yards and another TD. I have to think he'll be in the conversation for Mountain West Offensive Freshman of the Year.
The ironic part of it all is that this final game was the first time this season we had players with multiple sacks. The usual suspect, DE Jesse Haddock, netted 2.5, fellow DE C.J. Watkins racked up 2, and DT Robbie Long had 1.5. Oh well. 3 emails. QB Bert Greene... chooses Clemson. G Leon Hubert... CHOOSES UNLV. DT Colin Money... chooses Oklahoma. No surprise on Greene and Money. Greene Money isn't something UNLV has a lot of these days, but I won't get into the politics of the state. Our redline exemption now opens up again, but is there anything left? G Leon Hubert Profile Height/Weight: 6'2, 263 Hometown: Sturgeon Bay, WI High School: Sturgeon Bay (20 Athletic/47 Academic) GPA: 2.71 SAT: 1119 Intended Major: Marketing National Rank: N/A National Pos: N/A State Rank: 57 State Pos: 4 Wisconsin All-State Scouting: 54 (Terrible) Strength: Run Blocking Didn't get a chance to visit him, so I don't know if he could end up useful or if he's just a scrub, but it's our second All-State player from my native state in this class. -T Charles Ashcraft has a list of Arizona, us, and Wyoming. -UW-Stout breaks off contact with CB Tommie Poore, which leaves us the lone interested team. The only redline player available is a QB who, after we check him out, there's no interest on our side. After searching and searching, we find RB Julio Weiler from Alexandria, VA and FB Bubba Moses from Rocky Gap, VA. Both players were a result of our visiting the QB in Virginia, which automatically made all the other VA visits really cheap. RB Julio Weiler... chooses Iowa, who swoops in on him at the very last second, which really pisses me off. Screw you, Hawkeyes. -T Charles Ashcraft is down to us and Texas Tech. I think we can win this. -CB Tommie Poore gets another offer, from Utah. Back the eff off, Utes. I'm the one who found him! FB Bubba Moses... CHOOSES UNLV. T Charles Ashcraft... CHOOSES UNLV! CB Tommie Poore... CHOOSES UNLV!!! -Finally- we land an OT. And I'd have been pissed all over again if we'd lost Poore to Utah. FB Bubba Moses Profile Height/Weight: 6'0, 206 Hometown: Rocky Gap, VA High School: Rocky Gap (4 Athletic/65 Academic) GPA: 3.39 SAT: 1149 Intended Major: Business National Rank: N/A National Pos: 70 State Rank: 45 State Pos: 2 Scouting: 58+ (Lousy) Strength: Gaining Extra Yardage/Weakness: Third Down Running Won't unseat Richie Gaylor, but will probably redshirt and see what comes of him after that. T Charles Ashcraft Profile Height/Weight: 6'5, 266 Hometown: Whitefish, MT High School: Whitefish (0 Athletic/17 Academic) GPA: 2.61 SAT: 1023 Intended Major: Geology National Rank: NA National Pos: NA State Rank: 7 State Pos: 2 Montana All-State Scouting: 51+ (Decent) Strength: Pass Protection Oh so very, very raw by the looks of it. But he may end up being a starter by default, I don't know. Swing and missing on three offensive tackles absolutely killed us in one of our biggest need areas. CB Tommie Poore Profile Height/Weight: 5'9, 156 Hometown: Yakima, WA High School: East Valley (29 Athletic/22 Academic) GPA: 2.66 SAT: 954 Intended Major: Astronomy National Rank: NA National Pos: NA State Rank: 44 State Pos: 2 Washington All-State Scouting: 44+ (Excellent) Strength: Kick Returning/Weakness: Zone Defense Tommie got a scholarship for one reason and one reason only - his kick returning talent. We don't have enough guys who are good at returning kicks or punts, so the tiny Yakiman pays for his school that way. I don't ever see him as a starter, but he'll definitely be running kicks back from the get-go, as Travis Nylund, our top returner, is a senior, and I'd like to get Tracy Francher out of the danger zone, given he's a starter. 15 scholarships filled, 1 to go. Mountain West Bowl Games Utah: Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia Colorado State: Music City Bowl vs. Minnesota Air Force: Emerald Bowl vs. Notre Dame Now this is something I've never seen before. QB David Kemp abandoned his desire to go to college. Wow. Wonder if he got a girl pregnant or something. So did QB Ricky Mang, and WR Carlton Levine. Music City Bowl #15 Minnesota 45 Colorado State 16 Emerald Bowl Air Force 7 #21 Notre Dame 33 Ouch. Sugar Bowl #6 Georgia 30 #10 Utah 7 Double ouch. We get our last recruit and fill our class. WR Rico Shehee Height/Weight: 5'11, 172 Hometown: Wichita Falls, TX High School: Wichita Falls (16 Athletic/88 Academic) GPA: 4.00 SAT: 1523 Intended Major: Physics National Rank: NA National Pos: NA State Rank: NA State Pos: 13 Scouting: 36+ (Fair) Strength: Punt Returning/Weakness: Yardage After Catch It came down to either this guy or one of the kids who'd get a scholarship just so I could get a line into one of the elite Texas schools. The latter point felt a little dirty to me, so I went with Rico, whose punt return ability has me thinking in the same vein as Tommie Poore. So here it is: Your 2004 UNLV Runnin' Rebels Recruiting Class! Code:
State Breakdown CA: 4 HI: 1 MT: 1 NE: 1 NV: 4 TX: 1 VA: 1 WA: 1 WI: 2 So 11 were from the West part of the country, 3 from the Midwest, 1 from the East and 1 from the South/West depending on where you want to put Texas. My guess is that Nevada and California will continue to be our biggest recruiting areas throughout this dynasty, with Wisconsin likely still the biggest non-Western state we pull recruits from. National Championship Oklahoma 13 Miami 20 Great game, but it's the Hurricanes who complete the undefeated season and win the national title. QB Mel Butler of Georgia wins the Heisman 4,440 yards, 49 TDs, 16 INT He's also the guy I voted for, but it was neck and neck between Michigan QB Patrick Parker and Texas Tech QB Adam Westbrook until the Southeast votes came in to give Butler the win with 131 votes to Parker's 119 and Westbrook's 112. UNLV is one of only two schools to land two High School All-Americans. The other two? UCLA and USC. This translates into our having the #27 recruiting class in the first rankings, with a Top 5 of UCLA, Penn State, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, and Michigan State. USC was #6. National champion Miami got #8. UNLV Awards G Orlando Miller - 2nd Team All-American, Mountain West 1st Team CB Bennie Gargiulo - Freshman All-American, Mountain West Defensive Freshman of the Year RB Jamal Dupont - Mountain West Offensive Freshman of the Year FB Richie Gaylor Mountain West 2nd Team DT Clay Farrell - Mountain West 2nd Team CB Travis Nylund - Mountain West 2nd Team A handful of guys on the Mountain West All-Academic Team Code:
I have to admit, I'm shocked DE Jesse Haddock didn't get any recognition. Even though he was a top backup and a situational rusher, what he did with that specialized role was phenomenal, accounting for half the team's sacks by himself. Must have been a slow year for freshman DBs for Bennie G. to earn those honors. The one I'm most stoked out about is Jamal Dupont obviously. Funny thing was, the coaches all wanted him third string. I insisted on starting him, so that victory is mine. And finally... We've got a ways to go, but realistically, we did better than I thought we would this season, even with that four game slide.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-04-2011, 06:41 PM | #13 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Graded out at 54/100 overall, the sterling factor naturally being 94/100 in recruiting.
...And here goes. S Russell Crozier suspended for failing a class. Mid-Atlantic Scout retires Midwest Scout retires and the big one... Offensive Coordinator retires. Sucks about Crozier; he was a guy I saw as someone who could be a starter this year possibly after Sammy Donovan graduated. But before I decide what OC to go after, I need to take a look at the roster. Code:
Fidometrics rates Heath much higher than the coaches (44/70). In any case, it's clear. The Heath Era at UNLV begins this season. Code:
No change here at RB. This is still Dupont's team to run the ball with. Bubba is a 17/48 by Fidometrics compared to the NFL-worthy remarks of the staff. But he'll redshirt and Gaylor, who really stood out last season much to my surprise, will again get the nod. Code:
Springer is definitely the real deal. 45/81 by Fidometrics, so he's got NFL potential. I'm half-tempted to go with a two TE offense of Prescott and Springer, because Richie isn't ready to take Peter's place. I also think we'd be okay running the same three TEs we did last year. On the other hand, if there's an injury, Richie needs to have his redshirt yanked. So yeah, we'll go with Prescott the starter, Springer the backup. Code:
Holy WR corps, Batman! 53/73 for Newsome by Fidometrics. I'm looking at this roster and Fancher and Newsome are the clear starters. Shehee needs a redshirt, because one day he could be a great punt returner, but that day is not yet here. Code:
43/90 for Mackay by Fidometrics, so he's another legit pro possibility. He's also clearly the best center on the roster, so he'll start. Code:
2nd Team All-American Miller is of course a starter, but do we go with Tatum or one of the freshmen? Fido says 38/78 for Hubert, 21/63 for O'Neill. I'll stick the two freshmen with redshirts; we've got enough depth along the offensive line that it seems the smartest play after reviewing everything. Code:
10/37 by Fidometrics for Ashcraft, a huge difference. Frankly, I'm not seeing him as being worth redshirting. Schwantes beats out Jenkins for the starting RT spot. Offense Synopsis 7 of 11 starters return and it would be 9 if Schwantes hadn't beaten Jenkins and Newsome wouldn't have steamrolled Hungate. That includes bringing back a 2nd Team All-American at G and last year's Mountain West Offensive Freshman of the Year. Overall, I'm very excited about the offense this season and can't wait to see what Heath does. QB Rufus Heath (Fr) RB Jamal Dupont (So)* FB Richie Gaylor (Sr)* TE Peter Prescott (Sr)* WR Terry Fancher (Sr)* WR Rickey Newsome (Fr) C Herb Mackay (Fr) G Orlando Miller (Sr)* G Luther Tatum (Sr)* T J.B. Peterson (Jr)* T Bryant Schwantes (Sr) Recruiting Notes - Offense TCY Today ranked our class #27, while Rivals.com ranked it #59. While there's a huge gap, no matter how you slice it, we finished in the top half of recruiting classes, whether you think it's borderline Top 25 as TCY Today did it, or whether you think it's mid-pack as Rivals.com did. That distinction also allows us to be proactive rather than reactionary. We have less critical needs than last year and thus we get into luxury mode. But getting back to the OC, we take a long, hard look at a 56 year old with experience in the Singleback, but ultimately decide on Sam Maffett, an exceptional 45 year old who is taking his first job as offensive coordinator. His newbie status allows us to go with whatever offense we want, but that apparently is done after hiring and scheduling and the like. We also find a great pair of 30somethings to fill in as Mid-Atlantic and Midwest scouts. Scheduling Happily, UNR is a permanent game, so I don't need to fight to reschedule them every year. I set up an away and home with Arkansas and a home and away with UW-La Crosse. So about that there offense. The I-formation has always been the one I've liked most, but the pro style intrigues me. I've also always wanted to use the run and shoot, but we don't yet have the horses for that, so we'll run with the pro style. I belatedly realize I should have changed defensive coordinators. Oops. Code:
Norris will redshirt, but there's no question he's our P of the future (31/62 by Fidometrics). Duncan and Porter reprise their roles, but K is right up there with T on our list of urgent needs. Code:
Barlow keeps his starting spot, but Haddock tops Watkins for the other starting gig. Dillon (9/58 Fido) redshirts. Critical area again. Code:
Remember when I said Dacosta was best suited to DE? Well, Barlow is moving to DT and Dacosta is switching to DE. ...Crap, I shouldn't have done that. Both drop considerably in their potentials. But what's done is done. Barlow is the new starting DT in our forced 3-4, while Dacosta becomes the #4 DE. We absolutely need DT to be able to go back to a 4-3. Code:
Lyon is even better according to Fido (16/86). He and Henry McWilliams will be our starting ILBs. There's a crying need for more legitimate depth here, but we'd be okay if we can get the DTs to run the 4-3 again. Code:
Fidometrics loves Emmons (30/88) and he's an immediate starter. Fitzgerald is the other starter as the best of a bad lot. Are you starting to see what I see here? Code:
Gargiulo and Horvath get the start. Poore is too raw yet to return kicks. Yeah, this is looking dire, too. Code:
36/80 for DeNeff by Fidometrics. I thought Donovan graduated last year but I was wrong. He and DeNeff are the starters, with Dempsey bowing out to the heralded freshman. We can run with Dempsey and DeNeff next year too if we had to. Defensive Synopsis Just 5 starters return form a defense that wasn't that great last year and one of them, Barlow, is at an entirely new position. We're going to need to win games with our offense this year because the D looks dreadful. DE Jesse Haddock (Sr) NT Todd Barlow (RS Jr)* DE C.J. Watkins (Jr)* ILB Neil Lyon (Fr) ILB Henry McWilliams (RS Jr)* OLB Erik Emmons (Fr) OLB Dean Fitzgerald (So) CB Bennie Gargiulo (So)* CB Jim Horvath (Jr) S Sammy Donovan (Sr)* S Dennis DeNeff (Fr) Recruiting Priorities Very High -------------- T K DE DT OLB CB High ------------- RB QB ILB Last year's goals: 1. Find a new QB. Check 2. Beef up the offensive line. Check 3. Focus on all areas of the defense. FAIL. This year's goals: 1. Bolster the T situation. 2. Address all areas of the defense 3. Find challengers at QB/RB. 4. Get a new K.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-04-2011, 09:51 PM | #14 |
Go Reds
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Bloodbuzz Ohio
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Can you ever stick to one dynasty man? It gets tough to try to immerse myself on your threads when I know you'll be bailing on it soon
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09-05-2011, 05:09 AM | #15 |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
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Be patient. Let him find one that works.
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U of Hawaii | U of Alabama | Montreal Impact | Montreal Canadiens | West Ham | West Indies cricket | Portland Trail Blazers |
09-05-2011, 08:29 AM | #16 |
Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Maybe David Kemp got a job working for his family business.
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09-05-2011, 10:13 AM | #17 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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korme: Fair criticism, but I've always been scattershot with dynasties. Some, like a couple of my CK dynasties and that one DDSPB dynasty, hook in and last a long time. Others die out quickly. I'm hoping this one will fall into the former category.
bbgunn: Thanks, but it's warranted. Dark Cloud: Reference to the soccer player/manager I presume?
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-05-2011, 11:04 AM | #18 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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The first thing we do is hit the Silver State. We're really working on getting it out there that if you're any good and if we're not set at your position, you're staying home.
Next up, we're going to look at specific schools we successfully recruited in last year, so focusing on the freshmen. This is to emulate me as the new coach building ties, rather than relying on the previous regime. Unfortunately, nothing comes up there, but at least I've started a list. Week 1 Recruits T Clay Clinton - Reno, NV (Redline) WR Tyrus DeBoer - Las Vegas, NV (Redline) T Jared Kok - Las Vegas, NV (Redline) T Emmanuel Tobias - Sparks, NV (Redline) RB Damon Parten - Van Nuys, CA (Redline exemption) DE James Wentdorf - Fort Lauderdale, FL (Blackline exemption) DE Howard Weideman - New Milford, NJ ILB Les Perry - Soquel, CA I've noticed our academic ratings, which were all pretty good last season, have hit the tank this year. That's killing us on the recruiting trail. vs UW-La Crosse (-11) If we can't beat my old alma mater at Sam Boyd Stadium, it's going to be a very long season. What a fantastic start to his UNLV career for Player of the Game QB Rufus Heath. 17/26 for 261 yards, 4 TDs and one INT. Our pass rush ate the Eagles alive, with a few multi-sack guys: DE Harris Burbank with 3, DE C.J. Watkins with 2.5, and DE Jesse Haddock with 1.5. Just the blowout we needed to set the tone for the year. UW-La Crosse 6 UNLV 56
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-05-2011, 12:16 PM | #19 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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So where do I see us this season? Honestly, probably close to that 5-6 (3-4) mark. It felt like the Mountain West had a bit of a down year last season and I don't have faith in our defense. By the way, QB Rex Laflamme? Comes in at 9/55, and the Cougars are redshirting him this season.
Week 2 -RB Damon Parten has a slew of offers already: LSU, Nebraska, and USC. Trojans will probably win, but we'll stay in on him. -T Jared Kok has an offer from Arizona State. -ILB Les Perry gets offered by Penn State and says he probably won't consider our school. New Additions: QB Lewis Lowery - Brookline, MA CB Marcus Gerhardt - Athol, MA CB Stephen Randle - Georgetown, MA K Leon Codeke - Lynn, MA As you can see, a new strategy I'm trying is to find an entry point into a far-flung state and then tackling multiple players within that state. I'm already feeling like this year's recruiting class won't be as good as last season's, so I'm experimenting with different things. Bye week. Week 3 -T Clay Clinton has an offer from Minnesota. -Tennessee and UCLA offer RB Damon Parten and he immediately visits the Bruins. Best to back off him, I think. -ILB Les Perry has an offer from Stanford. -CB Stephen Randle's phone blows off with offers from Florida, Iowa, Miami (OH), and Penn State. He immediately visits the Nittany Lions. Ugh. -CB Marcus Gerhardt gets offers from Colorado, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Stanford. New Recruits RB Lionel Kerner - Schenecdaty, NY S Howie Tubbs - Washington, DC OLB Karl Freeman - Billings, MT OLB Bo Tubbs - Cape May Court House, NJ DT Shaun Mull - Tampa, FL TE Andrew Corbett - Milpitas, CA @ Arkansas (1-0) (+8) (ESPN3) The Hogs are gonna gore us, I have a funny feeling, but you never know. Yep, they do. RB Jamal Dupont is definitely in a sophomore slump early in the season. Our lone bright spot in this debacle is ILB Neil Lyon, who racks up 13 tackles, an assist, and a TFL. UNLV 7 Arkansas 52 As if that isn't bad enough, reserve RB Rich Fleming pulls his hamstring so badly he's done for the year. Week 3 -TE Andrew Corbett visits us ahead of offers from Duke and Rutgers. TE isn't a major need area, but at this point, we'll take everything we can get. -QB Lewis Loney gets an offer from Boston College and immediately visits. -RB Lionel Kerner has an offer from Arizona State. -Texas Tech joins the RB Damon Parten fray and he's visiting UCLA. -Arizona now offers T Clay Clinton. -T Jared Kok gets offered by Indiana. -New Mexico State offers T Emmanuel Tobias. -Texas A&M offers ILB Les Perry, as does Penn State, the latter of whom he promptly visits. Damn, the Nittany Lions are kicking our asses in recruiting this season. -Kansas offers OLB Karl Freeman. -Let's just say CB Stephen Randle has a slew of offers and leave it at that. Ditto CB Marcus Gerhardt. Bye week. ..Great. DE Jesse Haddock gets busted stealing a car and going joyriding. He was also drunk and hit a telephone phone on Tropicana, destroying the car. Congratulations, Jesse, you're suspended. Way to ruin your senior year. True freshman DE Bryant Dacosta has shown enough in practice to win the starting job. Week 5 -T Emmanuel Tobias visits us and Colorado. -Michigan, Stanford, and Texas all get visits from T Clay Clinton. I'll be damned if I let the kid from Reno go without a fight, though. -K Leon Codeke has an offer from Michigan State. -DE James Wentworf gets an offer from South Carolina. -ILB Les Perry has 7 offers and is visiting Virginia Tech. -At this point, I'm going to stop mentioning offers and visits and just report when players drop down to a final five, four, three, whatever. @ Wyoming (1-2) (-1) Yep, we're favored by a single point in our MWC opener against the Pokes. Probably something to do with Haddock's suspension, but I think we can still get this. Sadly, despite WR Victor Rabini's 5 catches for 107 yards, the first Runnin' Rebel receiver of my regime to break the century mark, our offense falls apart. UNLV 7 Wyoming 17 ILB Neil Lyon sprains his wrist and is Out 7 weeks. Fucking wonderful. T Emmanuel Tobias commits to our school, but it's hard to feel too excited about it. Between all the injuries and the rough recruiting trail and the struggles with the offense as everyone adapts to our new scheme, it's a nasty season ahead.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-12-2011, 11:15 AM | #20 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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T Emmanuel Tobias Profile
Height/Weight: 6'6, 287 Hometown: Sparks, NV High School: Reed GPA: 3.2 SAT: 1240 Intended Major: Social Work National Rank: 503 National Pos: 47 State Rank: 3 State Pos: 2 Nevada All-State Scouting: 67+ Strength: Pretty Good All in all, an important get, considering our OT issues. -QB Lewis Lorey says he probably won't consider us and is all about Boston College. -RB Damon Parten says the same thing about USC, which I probably already mentioned, but it's been a while since I had a chance to write an update. -K Leon Codeka says the same about Michigan State. Sheesh. -CB Stephen Randle the same with Penn State. Can this get any worse? -CB Dana Downs, one of our backup DB options, wants to go to BC with Lowery. FML. Bye week, for what it's worth. No emails, but we're only delaying the inevitable.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-18-2011, 11:38 AM | #21 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Week 7
-T Jared Kok visits us and Arizona State. Everyone else I just kind of skim through because being able to update only once a week makes this hard to track. vs Colorado State (3-2) (+3) The Rams are favored to beat us, which is fair. We blow it in the fourth quarter, allowing Colorado State to score two TDs in the last five minutes of the game. I'm so pissed right now. QB Rufus Heath is 22/37 for 297 yards, 2 TDs and an INT, with WR Rickey Newsome catching 5 passes for 104 yards. 15 tackles, 3 assists, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery for OLB Erik Emmons, 12 tackles, 2 assists, and 3 pass defenses for S Dennis DeNeff. Our pass rush is horrible. T Clay Clinton signs with UNLV, but CB Stephen Randle spurns us for Penn State. Clinton profile later, although I'll say he's the #10 player in the entire country, the hugest grab I've ever had.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
09-19-2011, 07:30 PM | #22 |
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
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#10? Nice!
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