Johnny the Jayhawk: A Kansas Dynasty (NCAA 14 – XBOX 360 – Coach Mode)

[RoyHahn]

Introduction

Hi everyone,

I am very excited to begin my new dynasty – Johnny the Jayhawk: A Kansas Dynasty. After previously having one dynasty on here, I have learned very much. In my first dynasty, my sliders were far too easy. By the time I became a head coach, I ended up 8–0 with my closest game being 56–28 before I stopped playing because of boredom. Since then, I’ve adopted the OS Community Sliders, with a couple minor alterations, and the result has been spectacular. I’ve had two test dynasties – the games are close, fun and unpredictable. You really have to work for it. I love it. I am especially passionate about it when the games have a storyline and a purpose, and that’s why I love to actively run dynasties. By actively run, I mean keeping track of which coaches go where, which teams are doing well, and generally getting invested in the game beyond my own team’s success. I find that sharing my dynasty on here made it even more fun, because I had all of you following along with me.

This new dynasty is going to be far better than my last – at least I hope so. The character I have created is actually based partially off Jim Harbaugh, in the sense that he will be coming to save his alma mater after an NFL career and relatively brief prior coaching career. As you’ll see in his biography below, he is as Kansas as they come. I chose Kansas because of the challenge represented by its starting ratings. My test dynasties have been Washington State and Iowa. Both of those teams started with a solid foundation, whereas Kansas does not. I want more of a challenge, so Kansas is it – despite my reluctance to play another dynasty in a conference with no conference championship game. I do love the Big 12 aside from that though – great collection of schools, and fun playing style in the real life game.

This dynasty will be detailed. You will know what is happening across the college football world at large in addition to following the Jayhawks. I debated including some narrative pieces, and I still may, but as of now I am planning to write this from the perspective of a sports website, such as a Bleacher Report or SB Nation. Occasionally, I will give some ideas of what I/the main character is thinking, or the significance of a game, etc. I will be keeping track of every school’s record every year, so if you have any questions about your team, just ask. Every season, as we get closer to the season’s conclusion – maybe around the time bowl projections come out, I will do a “weekly” series based on and named after ESPNU’s Championship Drive. The piece will analyze the championship picture, commenting on the prospects of each of the Top 10 in the BCS standings.

I hope you are almost as excited as I am for this – you will be with me every step of the way, and I invite you to comment and question as much as you please. This will be a fun ride, and I’m planning to stick with this one for a long time.

Enjoy!!!


Settings and Sliders
***Mode: Coach***
Offensive Playbook: Mississippi State
Defensive Playbook: 4–3
Coach Level Progression Rate: Slow
Offensive Skill: Heisman
Defensive Skill: Heisman
Injuries: On
Fatigue: On
Quarter Length: 10 minutes
Play Clock: On
Game Speed: Very Slow
Home Field Advantage: On
Ice the Kicker: On


Penalties
Offsides: 99
False Start: 80
Holding: 80
Facemask: 55
OPI: 51
DPI: 50
KPI: 1
Clipping: 50
Int Grounding: 99
RTP: 1
RTK: 10


Custom AI (User/CPU)
Category/User/CPU
QBA: 5/5
PB: 30/40
WRC: 40/40
RBA: 40/50
RBL: 5/35
PC: 25/30
Int: 3530
Rush D: 5/5
Tackling: 15/50
FGP: 70/70
FGA: 0/35
Punt P: 25/50
Punt Acc: 50/100
KP: 0/50


(Note: I used OS Community Sliders as the basis for the above categories, with some minor revisions.)

Other Settings and Important Notes

Recruiting
I have opted not to place house restrictions on recruiting. The reason I am not placing further recruiting restrictions is that, from my experience with NCAA 14, recruiting rests heavily on a program’s performance and prestige. If I am doing my job on the field, I should be rewarded with recruiting benefits; I feel that is realistic.


Rosters and Coach Names
I do not have XBOX Live, and therefore cannot download other rosters. Therefore, I use random generated names for the players only. For the coaches, while I have not downloaded any coaching name lists, I have gone through – and it took a while – every 2013 FBS coach and coordinator to match them with their random generated name. So you will get accurate coach names. I find it makes the game far more fun, from having done it in one of my test dynasties.


FCS Team Names
As most of you know, NCAA 14 does not provide school names for the FCS teams. To be able to use the matchup table generator, I will be assigning FCS schools to fill the FCS slots in the schedules for the purposes of this dynasty. For the first few years, where we have schedules available, I will assign actual FCS schools that the school Hahn is working at actually faced in that year. After that, I will assign a school matching NCAA 14’s given geographic area. For example, FCS Southeast will instead become an FCS school from the Southeastern United States on the schedule.


Historical Revisionism
This dynasty will be based on some revisions to history to allow for the plot. There are a few specific revisions:
- Charlie Weis never came to Kansas. Turner Gill was not fired after the 2011 season, and remained the coach through the 2012 season. The Jayhawks still went 1–11 in 2012, and that prompted his firing.
- Johnny Wilson (the main character) was a starter for the Jayhawks and – two teams later – the Chiefs. Whatever years I indicate he has played, please ignore any blatant inaccuracies in terms of replacing well-known players for convenience of the plot.
- The South Dakota Coyotes (an FCS team) drastically improved over their real life performance during the course of 2007–2012, making it far in the FCS Playoffs a couple times.


Time Setting
There are only two years that matter when it comes to how this dynasty is set up: 2013 and 2016. All of the conferences will be arranged the way they are as of the 2016 real life football season. The Sugar Bowl will be changed to explicitly include the SEC Champion and Big 12 Champion, unless one is in the BCS National Championship Game. Also, I have opted NOT to give the American Champion an automatic berth in a BCS bowl; they will get it if they earn it anyway. As we all know – and as I discuss below – Group of Five teams do well enough in the season and in the rankings very often to garner them a spot in a BCS bowl anyway. There is no need to guarantee them a spot and therefore take up another berth from a deserving Power Five school. In my last dynasty, Connecticut beat me for the American Championship and went into the Fiesta Bowl unranked at 8–5, and rightfully got demolished by Georgia Tech. It would have been a far better game if another team got in there – not that I care about it from my perspective (other than losing the American title), but if I were in the position of a Power Five team that got beat out, I’d be upset.

Aside from what is above, everything else will be based off the 2013 real life season. This includes:
- The names of bowl games, as well as the conferences that have berths in them. The Gator Bowl does not become the TaxSlayer Bowl, nor does the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl become the Cactus Bowl. Bowl names stay as they were in 2013. This is done for the sake of realism, strictly because in-game photos will show the bowl game’s logo, and I do not want it to conflict with the name of the bowl game I put in my posts.
- The BCS structure. Sadly, I am not tech savvy enough to use the game editor. Therefore, the BCS system will remain in place for determining a national champion.


Stacked Defense
Since I am doing this dynasty in coach mode (which I find most realistic) plus using probably the most realistic sliders, I don’t have many complaints about the realism of the game. My one big one is that the defenses are STACKED when the game plays out before us. It doesn’t happen in games we don’t see. But in games we play in, it’s not rare to see 8 or 9 team sacks a game. I’ve had multiple players in my dynasties – using our OS Community Sliders – who achieved 7 or more sacks in a game. We’re just going to have to accept this. My defensive players, even if my team is 4–8 probably, will win many awards. I don’t have any way to change this, and because everything else is completely spot on, I wouldn’t want to. So let’s accept it.


Co-Championships
If I could change one thing about the real-life game, I would eliminate co-championships. I really respect and admire Gary Patterson and the entire TCU program, but in 2014, both TCU and Baylor had one loss and Baylor had the head-to-head win. Therefore, Baylor should’ve been the undisputed champion. This also goes for division championships. In this dynasty, there are no co-championships.


Group of Five Teams
We all know from playing dynasties of our own and reading others’ that Group of Five teams can often sneak into the BCS National Championship Game with an undefeated record, often without ever even playing a Power Five opponent. Sometimes, these teams will even defeat Power Five teams to win the national title. There is nothing I can do about this. Therefore, I am going to accept it and the analysis part of my dynasty – Championship Drive, for example – will not consistently be pointing out how ludicrous it would be for San Diego State to be in two BCS National Championship Games in three years. I choose not to let it ruin my good time, and simply find it an entertaining – if sometimes annoying (such as when a team is in front of you that you know you’d beat) – part of the game.


Rankings
The game uses the Coaches Poll for everything until bowl week, after which it switches back to using the Coaches Poll. Therefore, I use the Coaches Poll all the time – even in bowl week. You will see that I post Wikipedia-esque season summaries as seasons progress and conclude. These will include – and it will be noted – rankings from the Coaches Poll primarily, except where it reflects the end-of-season AP ranking. Yes, I will refer to it as the AP Poll, not “Media” Poll.


Camera/Pictures/Graphics
In my last dynasty, I simply used real-life pictures to add images to my dynasty. This time, I knew I had to upgrade. I considered getting a capture card, but they’re a bit expensive. So, because I like most of you have a phone with a fairly decent camera, I am going to use that for the images. I have been practicing using instant replay and because I will know if it is a major play, I will be able to get the perfect shot and with a high-resolution camera, it will be just like a capture card.

Aside from that, do not expect too many fancy graphics. I am not the best with all that stuff, but it will be neatly organized and very easy to read – that I promise.

[RoyHahn]

Table of Contents (by page)
Dynasty Information…………………………………………1
Records………………………………………………………1


Coaching Career
1996–1999: Unpaid Assistant, Kansas Jayhawks
2000–2004: Head Coach, Lawrence High Chesty Lions
2005–2007: Tight Ends Coach, Kansas Jayhawks
2008–2012: Head Coach, South Dakota Coyotes
2013–present: Head Coach, Kansas Jayhawks

[RoyHahn]

Championship Records

[b]IMPORTANT NOTE:[/u] I am playing NCAA 14, so my dynasty starts in 2013. I am including 2012 here merely as a point of reference, to see what we are coming from. I didn’t want anyone to be confused and think I was using NCAA 13, as there are important differences between the games.

National Champions
2012: #1 Alabama (13–1)
2013: TBD


Heisman Winners
2012: QB Brandon Flores (Texas A&M) *Johnny Manziel
2013: TBD


ACC Champions
2012: #8 Florida State (12–2)
2013: TBD


Big 12 Champions
2012: #11 Kansas State (11–2)
2013: TBD


Big Ten Champions
2012: Wisconsin (8–6)
2013: TBD


Pac-12 Champions
2012: #6 Stanford Cardinal (12–2)
2013: TBD


SEC Champions
2012: #1 Alabama (13–1)
2013: TBD


American Athletic Champions
2012: #13 Louisville (11–2)*
2013: TBD

*as Big East Champions

Conference USA Champions
2012: #25 Tulsa (11–3)
2013: TBD


MAC Champions
2012: #24 Northern Illinois (12–2)
2013: TBD


Mountain West Champions
2012: #14 Boise State (11–2)
2013: TBD


Sun Belt Champions
2012: Arkansas State (10–3)
2013: TBD


Note: Bold indicates a team for whom Johnny coached.

[RoyHahn]

Annual Results

Year-by-Year Results

2013
Record: 0–0 (0–0 Big 12)
Recruiting Class Rank: TBD


Bowl Games


Awards Won


Records Set


Players Drafted

[RoyHahn]

Pre-Dynasty Biography

John Carver Wilson, Jr. was born on January 29, 1971 in the small town of Eudora, Kansas to John Wilson, Sr. and Emma McMaster Wilson. He was the third oldest of four children: two older sisters and one younger brother. John, Jr. became known as Johnny soon after his birth to distinguish him from his father, John, Sr., who worked as the offensive coordinator for Eudora High School varsity football. When Johnny was two, his father was promoted to head coach – a prominent position in a small plains town. Johnny grew up in Eudora’s “First Family,” known to all of his peers as the coach’s son.

From a very young age, Johnny took to football. And from an equally young age, he had his mind set on attending his father’s alma mater: the University of Kansas. He played football recreationally throughout his schooling, first in Eudora and in Topeka, where his father accepted a job as head football coach at Hayden High School in 1984, right before Johnny began high school. Despite not being Catholic, Johnny was offered a scholarship to play middle linebacker as a condition of his father’s contract. He immediately made an immediate impression due to his size and strength, as well as his relatively high speed for a big man.

After spectacular seasons as a starter in his sophomore and junior seasons (1986–87), Johnny was offered a scholarship to play for the Kansas Jayhawks starting in the 1989 season. He instantly committed, telling the press later that day to refer to him as, “Johnny the Jayhawk” – a play on Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, who had just made unlikely history ski jumping in the Calgary ’88 Winter Olympics. Whatever the basis, the name stuck: the Lawrence Journal-World referred to him as Johnny “The Jayhawk” Wilson in the next day’s paper.

Johnny had notable seasons his freshman and sophomore year, generally being regarded as a charismatic leader for the defense and a gifted athlete overall. However, his career took a turn before the 1991 season. An injury to the starting tight end, and a lack of depth at that position overall, prompted Coach Glen Mason to force the development of Johnny as a tight end. In his junior and senior seasons on the other side of the ball, Johnny excelled beyond his prior defensive success. He quickly became known across the country as his play contributed to a rise in the team’s fortunes: the Jayhawks went 3– 7–1 in 1990, improving to 6–5 in 1991 before vaulting to 8–4 in 1992. That year, the Jayhawks won the Aloha Bowl on their way to a #23 final ranking in the Coaches Poll.

Johnny’s success in Lawrence earned him national media recognition, which contributed to his selection as the 20th overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft – the first tight end to be drafted that evening, scooped up by the New Orleans Saints. Playing for Coach Jim Mora (here referring to the father, though the son was the team’s defensive backs coach), Johnny failed to meet expectations in the 1993 and 1994 NFL seasons. This lead to his becoming a free agent after the 1994 season, and he eventually signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup in the spring of 1995.

In Kansas City, Johnny was immediately thrust into the spotlight when starting tight end Keith Cash went down with a career-ending knee injury. Coach Marty Schottenheimer – to the surprise of many – chose Johnny as the new starter. His choice was validated in 1995, as Johnny became a favorite target of quarterback Rich Gannon. Johnny was instrumental in executing offensive coordinator Paul Hackett’s efficient offense.

It was in his days playing for the Chiefs that Johnny endeared himself yet again to the people of Kansas. His high school nickname returned, and the commentators and even coaches began referring to him as “Johnny the Jayhawk.” During his five seasons in Kansas City, the Chiefs made the playoffs twice – in 1995 and 1997. Yet, as busy as he was, Johnny would make the 45-minute drive to Lawrence as often as he could to serve as an unpaid assistant coach for the Jayhawks, mentoring tight ends and linebackers for his old head coach Glen Mason and his successor Terry Allen.

During this time, Johnny met the girl of his dreams: Grace Parnell of Lawrence, Kansas. His frequent trips to Lawrence were not merely to coach at his alma mater, but also to see the woman who quickly became the love of his life. The two were married in 1997, with their first child – Charlotte – arriving in 1999. Charlotte would eventually be followed by three younger sisters: Susie (born 2001), Emily (born 2005) and Claire (born 2008).

After seven total seasons in the NFL, the hard hits Johnny endured began to take a toll on his body. That, combined with a couple disappointing seasons in Kansas City, prompted his retirement as a player after the 1999 season. He left the NFL with a commitment to spend the rest of his career coaching, and an immediate ambition to coach tight ends for the Jayhawks. Yet, Coach Allen would only offer Johnny a continuation of his unpaid assistantship, urging him to apply for a graduate program to become an assistant that way. With no interest in that, Johnny began considering offers from elsewhere.

Eventually, Johnny accepted an offer to become the head coach for the Chesty Lions football team of Lawrence High School, home to the University of Kansas. During his five seasons leading the Chesty Lions, the traditionally average team far exceeded their usual performance, including a berth in the 2003 state championship game.

Johnny’s leadership of the Lawrence High football program led to an offer from Mark Mangino to become the Tight Ends Coach for the Kansas Jayhawks, a role he held for three seasons starting in 2005. During this time, the Jayhawks had an above average three year run, concluding in arguably the greatest season in school history in 2007. The Jayhawks went 12–1, winning the Orange Bowl and finishing #7 in the nation. The Jayhawks’ performance put their staff on the map, and Johnny was offered the job of head coach of the South Dakota Coyotes in the FCS.

Yet again, Johnny’s time with a team coincided with a rise in that team’s fortunes. Johnny’s Coyotes enjoyed winning seasons every year he has served as head coach, including two deep runs in the FCS Playoffs. Johnny’s role in so many program revivals has had the Kansas faithful calling for a return home of their favorite son. After a 1–11 season for the Jayhawks in 2012, now more than ever, Johnny the Jayhawk will be asked to come home.

[RoyHahn]

Please go ahead and feel free to post!

[djp73]

Great start. Following for sure.

[kswgrad2012]

^ What he said. This is excellent so far.

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