Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

From: Galoshes, Lunar ([email protected])
To: Nonek, Reinhold ([email protected])

Subject: Am I a God among men? I think I might be....

Somehow this class went from being an absolute embarrassment to being perhaps the best overall haul since I've been in charge. Guys that I haven't called in months came out of the woodwork... begging to commit. I could understand if I had actually decided to result to bribery and/or blackmail, you know my usual modus operandi, but I actually stayed above board!

It wasn't a total clean sweep, as we did miss out on a few of the targets:



John Howard / G / 3-star
6'5" / 288 lbs / Attalla, AL
Signed with Florida

Ron Hampton / LB / 3-star
6'2" / 225 lbs / Washington, OH
Signed with Illinois

Roy Owens / P / 2-star
5'10" / 222 lbs / Rockcreek, OR
Didn't sign at all, apparently is going to play professional soccer in Estonia




But now the good news, we landed four of our targets, including the top 2 on my list!

Eddie Quinn / DE / 4-star
6'6" / 260 lbs / Morehead, KY
75 OVR

John Ingram / ATH / 4-star
6'1" / 207 lbs / Fort Lee, NJ
78 OVR

Tony Potts / LB / 3-star
6'2" / 227 lbs / Bloomfield, MI
75 OVR

Joel Scott / HB / 3-star
5'8" / 210 lbs / Ballwin, MO
74 OVR



But here's the crazy part... these are guys that I hadn't spoken to in months. Not even sure if I officially offered them scholarships... They might be trying to scam me or something... I am dumbfounded... but we'll take the bodies.

Nick Schmidt / LB / 3-star
6'1" / 218 lbs / Chadron, NE
66 OVR

Gerard King / T / 2-star
6'5" / 296 lbs / Carrollton, GA
72 OVR

Collin Jenkins / HB / 3-star
6'0" / 212 lbs / Thomasville, GA
69 OVR


According to news sources, Niagara has just cracked the top 25 in recruiting class rankings at 24th!

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Nunyer's Recruiting Notes

Ok seriously, that was probably the best offseason haul I've ever had in NCAA 14. I was semi-confident in landing those top two guys (DE Quinn and ATH Ingram) as I had decent leads on both of them... but it's not uncommon for the CPU to come charging in with 10,000 points on the guy you think is yours. But everybody else was either a tight battle or guys that I simply didn't apply any points at all. I'm typically good for one of those "no points" guys to sign because nobody else wants him... but I don't think I've ever landed three in one class. The only points that went completely wasted was roughly 2,000 that I threw at that punter... I figured his lock percentage was probably still too low for that to get the job done, but it was worth a try. I had a slight lead with LB Hampton, but Illinois dropped roughly 3,500 points on him and I only had 1,000... Similar situation with OG Howard except I was slightly trailing, either way Florida brought a lot more points that I had available.

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Nunyer's Notes - Position Changes

I'm just going to do this quick and dirty and out of character. Normally this would be a bigger deal and be done to line up with spring training, but I'm going to knock it out now so that I can concentrate on the conference shuffling. Nothing too major here, but wanted to have a record of it somewhere. Once I settle on the conference and scheduling stuff, I'll have my boring CPU name change spectacular, so as always, incoming recruit names are subject to change.

Incoming athlete John Ingram will move to CB (76 OVR). His "best" positions as far as OVR would be QB (78 OVR) and WR (77 OVR) but he only has a carry rating of 55 and I hate fumbling! I think I'll work him into a few sets as a WR, but his 85 MCV and 85 ZCV instantly make him my best cover guy.

Incoming SS D.J. Williams will move to MLB. He just doesn't have the speed (77) to be a defensive back in my opinion... his OVR drops from 78 to 75, and size/strength are a concern... but I think it's a better fit.

Incoming T Gerald King will move to center, as I had none on the roster. His 72 OVR bumps up to 74 after the move. He's really slow, so I don't like him at guard as he won't have much use on pulling plays or screens.

Incoming DE Eddie Quinn will move to DT. If I ran a pure 3-4, he probably makes more sense a run stopping DE... but I do a good amount of 4-2-5 as well and I like him better plugging the middle. His OVR bumped up to 77 from 75 as DE.

Non-freshman position changes:

Long time reserve LB Nathan Bergstrand moves to reserve DE. He's strong and not terribly agile, and I needed depth at DE. His OVR actually raises one point, up to a whopping 65 OVR.

Last year's MLB2 JJ Nunnelly moves to SS. Last season's starter at SS, Deshawn Mansfield, racked up a decent amount of tackles... but also got bulldozed a lot and is a pretty poor pass defender. I flipped a coin last year as to whether I wanted JJ at MLB or SS and MLB won out, this year I am reversing that. He's an improvement over Deshawn in both tackling and ZCV. His OVR goes up to 73 at SS, he was 70 at MLB.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Well you know I like to go crazy with conference realignments. feel free to look at any of those I did.

Also up to you, but I sorta like having Conferences like CUSA/American have a bowl tie in to the Orange and ACC going against the SEC in the Sugar, MWC getting locked into the Fiesta with the Big 12, and Pac-12/Big Ten with the Rose.

It still opens the door for 2 At Large bids typically depending on who is playing for a National Title.

I also like the fact that in my 10 years, I have had Navy and Army both play for titles. Georgia Tech has become a power house well Alabama and Ohio State have disappeared. Central Michigan and Troy both got to play for titles and CMU won.

Also last year I had Troy, South Alabama and La Tech all finish in the Top-15 playing in the Sun Belt. Who knew they would turn into a Power 5 conference.

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

get crazy with the conferences, you're working with a more "fictional" universe than a lot of us so anything you want to see is cool

MWC PAC swap a couple teams
make the big 12 have 12 with an all texas division
best mac or american into the big 10

I was already thinking about some PAC12 / Mountain West swaps... but I hadn't thought of an all Texas division... that's a neat twist.... I will make that happen.

** I started typing this reply and never hit "submit", stepped away from the PC for a few hours, then came back and made the following changes to the dynasty, so I will pick up where I left off **

Anyways, nothing too outlandish, tried to keep things sound as I could from a regional/travel perspective... and did "demotions / promotions" based on a combination of recent record, team OVR and team prestige. I probably won't do any complicated news story post to try and explain / justify all this stuff. I might mention details here and there to flesh out some backstory, suffice to say it's just a bunch of athletic directors swinging their wangs around.

I did some conferencing swapping at the start of this dynasty, so the changes below only reflect changes from last season, not changes from actual reality. These changes are in bold.

There are now four Independents:
Army leaves C-USA
Navy leaves C-USA
Notre Dame leaves Big Ten
Idaho leaves Mountain West

ACC Atlantic:
Clemson
Florida State
NC State
Syracuse
Wake Forest
Florida International
West Virginia
ACC Coastal:
Duke
Miami
Georgia Tech
North Carolina
Pitt
Virginia
Virginia Tech

American Graffiti Division:
Cincinatti
UConn
Houston
Louisville
Memphis
Rutgers
American Pie Division:
Niagara
Arkansas State
Vanderbilt
Northwestern
USF
UCF


Big 12 Lone Star Division:
Baylor
Texas
Texas Tech
TCU
Texas A&M
SMU
Big 12 No Texans Division:
Indiana
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State


Big Ten Six Division:
Illinois
Iowa
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin
Big Ten Halfdozen Division:
Boston College
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Nebraska

(Always hated that "Leaders" and "Legends" nonsense, so figured I'd poke fun at the Big Ten having 12 teams)


Conference USA East:
ECU
Florida Atlantic
Marshall
Mid Tenn State
Old Dominion
Southern Miss
UAB
Conference USA West:
LA Tech
North Texas
Rice
Tulane
Tulsa
UTSA
UTEP

Mid American Conference East:
Akron
BGSU
Buffalo
Central Michigan
Kent State
Miami of Ohio
UMass
Mid American Conference West:
Ball State
Eastern Michigan
Northern Illinois
Ohio
Temple
Toledo
Western Michigan

Mountain West Mountain Division:
Air Force
Colorado State
New Mexico
UNLV
Washington State
Wyoming
Mountain West West Division:
BYU
Colorado
Fresno State
Nevada
San Jose State
Utah State

Pac-12 North Division:
Oregon State
Cal
Stanford
Boise State
Oregon
Washington
Pac-12 South Division:
Arizona
Arizona State
San Diego State
UCLA
USC
Utah

Sun Belt:
Troy
UL Monroe
UL Lafayette
Western Kentucky
Hawaii
Georgia State
Texas State
South Alabama

Only changes to the SEC was that they lost Vandy and Texas A&M and are running as a 12 team conference.

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Well you know I like to go crazy with conference realignments. feel free to look at any of those I did.

Also up to you, but I sorta like having Conferences like CUSA/American have a bowl tie in to the Orange and ACC going against the SEC in the Sugar, MWC getting locked into the Fiesta with the Big 12, and Pac-12/Big Ten with the Rose.

It still opens the door for 2 At Large bids typically depending on who is playing for a National Title.

I also like the fact that in my 10 years, I have had Navy and Army both play for titles. Georgia Tech has become a power house well Alabama and Ohio State have disappeared. Central Michigan and Troy both got to play for titles and CMU won.

Also last year I had Troy, South Alabama and La Tech all finish in the Top-15 playing in the Sun Belt. Who knew they would turn into a Power 5 conference.

Hmm.. I hadn't really looked closely at the Bowl Tie-Ins... I haven't advanced yet, so before I do I will revisit that and see if some tweaks make sense.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Looks like your going to need to upgrade your travel budget. Does Florida become a new hotbed for Moonboots to recruit from.

I am a little surprised you didn't put the Rhinos in the same division as Rutgers and UConn seems like those would be more geographical opponents to face every year. Feel like Rutgers needs to be a rivalry game maybe being they are not in your divison

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Looks like your going to need to upgrade your travel budget. Does Florida become a new hotbed for Moonboots to recruit from.

I am a little surprised you didn't put the Rhinos in the same division as Rutgers and UConn seems like those would be more geographical opponents to face every year. Feel like Rutgers needs to be a rivalry game maybe being they are not in your divison

Hmm.... I find your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

At first glance I just plopped myself in the same division where I moved Vandy because I liked the angle of playing against my former coordinator. But I agree, makes more sense to take travel distances into consideration. So, swapped four teams around to make a North / South layout... and more fitting division names.

American Conference: Union
Cincinatti
UConn
Niagara
Louisville
Northwestern
Rutgers

American Conference: Confederacy
Arkansas State
Vanderbilt
Houston
Memphis
USF
UCF

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Ok, I made the bowl game tie-in adjustments that Deuce suggested... and advanced past the conference customization, although I had to go with "Blue" and "Gray" as the division names. Turns out the word "Confederacy" has too many letters to be a division name.

Well... with that out of the way.... it's time for the...

Dull Computer Name Replacement Spectacular!
Hosted by the world famous...



WINK MARTINDALE!

Who am I kidding? We don't have Wink Martindale money... oh well, let's get to it...

---------------------------------------

Eddie Quinn / DT

New Name: Eddie Bamba

---------------------------------------

John Ingram / ATH (CB)

New Name: Demetrius Howze

---------------------------------------

Tony Potts / LB

I actually like Tony Potts... name stands

---------------------------------------

Joel Scott / HB

New name: Brock Apisa

---------------------------------------

Nick Schmidt / LB

Another name I like... boring in a way, yet still a little punchy... name stands

---------------------------------------

Gerard King / C

OL don't get renames... name stands

---------------------------------------

Collin Jenkins / HB

Another name I like... so it stands

---------------------------------------

Tom Thomas / WR

New Name: Tommy Kubiak

---------------------------------------

Darrell Miller / WR

New Name: Socrates Watkins

---------------------------------------

Ivan Sims / DT

New Name: Ivan Pasternak

---------------------------------------

D.J. Williams / LB

New Name: D.J. Daniloff

---------------------------------------

Mike Brown / LB

New Name: Quan Jeffries

---------------------------------------

Andrew James / FS

New Name: Anselem James

---------------------------------------

Jason Flanagan / (walk-on punter)

New Name: Ronnie Finkbeiner

---------------------------------------

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

To: Lerma, Curt ([email protected])
From: Hisle, Larry ([email protected])
Subject: 2016 Rhinos Schedule

Good Morning Curt,

This is Larry over in Marketing. As I am sure you have heard by now, the university is getting quite a lot of backlash for joining the "American" conference... So we all thought it would be a good idea to emphasize the homeland in our schedule design this year.

Attachment:
2016_niagara_rhinos_schedule_uni_gov_edu_ca.png




(Nunyer's Note: The locked part of the schedule was goofy, with week 2 and 4 as conference games and week 12 and 14 as open dates surrounded by road games. I moved two of the non-conference games, Missouri and Air Force, way at the end of the year just to get some home games for recruit visit purposes.)

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

(Nunyer's Notes: I slightly simplified the custom progression this year, removing the additional penalty for a player getting a "bust" dice roll. I also increased the chances for a player to roll a "boom" to 8%, up from 5%. At the end, I slightly outperformed that, with 13% of players earning a "boom" and getting a bonus over their CPU applied progression. Roughly 19% of players took a "bust", losing some of their CPU applied progression. Everybody else broke even and kept what the CPU applied. You'll notice the green / red shaded cells to represent who rolled a boom/bust.)

Dr. Schreibman was a placekicker for Niagara for three seasons starting in 1990. He is still the Rhinos all time leading scorer and has been widely recognized across southern Ontario as a Niagara Rhino superfan. His views do not necessarily express those of Niagara University.

SPRING PRACTICE 2016!

The schedule has been announced. The recruits have all been signed. The spring practice sessions have began! I worked hard over the previous few weeks to clear my surgery backlog at the office. The end of winter is big business for high school girls getting their first nose jobs before senior picture day. But I managed to get two weeks off work and have spent them watching every moment of practice. I'm sure the coaching staff doesn't appreciate that I'm sharing all this information with my readers, but they know who's name is at the bottom of those booster donation checks. Coach Nonek just had a Jacuzzi installed at his home, that wasn't paid for with Chemistry 101 lab fees. Anyways, here's the scoop!

What's the new offensive identity?
Incoming offensive coordinator Mike Brewster is known as a read option / spread offense guy. That's what he ran as the head coach at Utah State, that's what he ran as the offensive coordinator at the University of Miami before that. The coaching staff so far has been tight lipped on details, but early indications at practice are showing more Spread influence than the previous Run and Shoot style.

A decent amount of reps have been going towards RPO concepts, with the quarterback making quick reads at the snap and less emphasis on wide receivers running more complicated option routes based on their coverage reads. My insiders tell me that Nonek will likely not embrace a full switch to the spread / read option concept, but is likely on board with allowing Brewster to simplify route responsibilities for a receiving core that will not have much experience beyond Lavette Gibbs.

OUTLOOK - QUARTERBACK
Nothing much to see here. We all know that Conrad Palinski is the man, finishing top 10 in passing yards for all of FBS. In his junior year, he'll be facing perhaps his most challenging season. The offensive line will be largely unproven, he'll be learning at least a partially new offense, he won't have a safety blanket possession receiver and he'll be playing against tougher competition. So the sophomore slump just may have been pushed back a year. Backup Mickey Bogan enters his final season with the team and has proven more than capable as a backup / part time player. The former 2013 starter has seen semi-regular action over the last two seasons and they aren't afraid to let him throw the ball.



OUTLOOK - RUNNING BACK
We all remember what Kandakai Charles did his true freshman season. While he's not the biggest or the fastest, he has proven his ability to produce at this level. We all expect him to get the lion's share of the carries. The question becomes who will be the HB2? So far in practice, the answer appears to be redshirt senior Eric Pruitt. Originally a JUCO transfer a few years ago, Eric had a nasty fumbling habit in practice that has kept him in the doghouse since his arrival. That appears to be changing this year, as Eric has looked very impressive. A great mix of speed and quickness, he could be play the change-of-pace role like Ty Welsh did in 2014. Elsewhere on the depth chart, I expect Clancy O'Shaughnessy to continue his 3rd down / scatback work. Last season's redshirt running back, Lee Petry looks to be next in line to take over Marlon Childs role as The Portly Gentlemen of the running backs, the guy that takes the contact and falls forward for three yards. Everybody I have talked to expects the two incoming running back recruits to receive redshirts.



OUTLOOK - WIDE RECEIVER / TIGHT END
This season will be the true test for Lavette 'The Jet' Gibbs. After racking up very impressive stats during his first two seasons, including 178 catches and a Returner of the Year Award, he'll be facing more talented competition. This is complicated by the fact that he doesn't have Elton Fante on the other side to keep safeties honest. All that said, you can't teach speed and Gibbs is a burner. His supporting cast does remain a large question mark. Not only are the Rhinos lacking a secondary deep threat, they don't even have a reliable possession receiver in the mold of Brant Whitehead or Jarred Spicer. The entire roster coming into this season has 142 receptions that weren't caught by Lavette Gibbs. Junior Zak Rowsdower and true freshman Tommy Kubiak will likely battle for the WR2 spot. Both are well over 6 foot tall and make imposing targets over the middle. Kubiak graduated high school early to enroll at Niagara and has looked impressive, if not as quick out of his breaks as I would have liked to see. While both have shown to be capable route runners, neither has shown the type of reliable hands that both Whitehead and Spicer possessed. Both of these guys need to step up, but my money is on Rowsdower to win the WR2 job.

On the tight end side, sophomore Latimer Iorg was a blocking bulldozer all last season, but also showed highly unreliable hands. Per my conversations with coaches, he has worked tirelessly in the off-season to improve and he has looked much more comfortable catching the ball in practice then he did last year. While he will never be a speed merchant, Iorg knows how to run routes and find seams. If he has indeed improved his hands, this could be a breakout year.



OUTLOOK - OFFENSIVE LINE
This is my biggest area of concern for the 2016 season. As of now, there are only five offensive lineman at practice, the remaining four are still in high school finishing their final semesters. Per conversations with the staff, they expect to recruit heavily across the offensive line this coming year. While they didn't come out and say it, my feeling is that they look at most of the offensive linemen currently on the roster as interim guys. They want more talent and athleticism in the trenches. The only returning starter is redshirt sophomore Dwayne Manning, who looks to be moving from RT over to LT for the upcoming season.



OUTLOOK - DEFENSIVE LINE
My 2nd area of concern as there isn't a single returning starter from last year's team. While Benny Torgo did see a lot of starts, it wasn't at his natural position. He spent most of the year at DT filling in for injured senior Chad Levine. Benny played very well at DT and he should be a force at DE this year, but past him it's nothing but question marks. Depth, talent and experience are all concerns. Incoming freshman Eddie Bamba will need to be a force up the middle or else it could be a long year for this unit.



OUTLOOK - LINEBACKER
It's a crowded group at the linebacker position, including five incoming freshmen. While two or three of those will likely get a redshirt, one who is in camp now as an early enroll is D.J. Daniloff. He spent his high school career bouncing between safety and linebacker but appears to be slotted as a nickel coverage linebacker for the 2016 season. He gets swallowed up at the point of attack, but has great instincts in zone coverage. Last year's breakout was All-American Rezny Warren who has looked very impressive so far, flying to the ball and disrupting plays all over the field. The only other player that has stood out so far in practice has been Krzysztof Wojtowicz. He's a freak athlete who is continually getting better as he learns the game. Last year he lined up mostly on the weak side and was frequently sent to rush the passer. That appears to be his role for 2016 as well. The big question is who will man the starting strong side position. That likely won't be answered until the rest of the freshmen report this summer.



OUTLOOK - DEFENSIVE BACKS
The strength of the team at the perfect time, as they transition into a conference that is going to feature a much higher caliber of quarterback. Last season's starters, senior Christian Ricks and junior Mack Sparks appear to be the favorites so far. That could change once highly touted recruit Demetrius Howze get on the field. The safety position looks to be solid as well, with senior Shan Odoms at FS and junior J.J. Nunnelly sliding over from linebacker to take the strong safety spot. Both players have plus speed, tackling and zone coverage ability.





OUTLOOK - SPECIAL TEAMS

As of now, it appears as if incoming freshman Lance Tolhurst will be pulling double duty as the kicker and the punter. The only punter this team could find was a transfer from Middle Tennessee State who will have to sit out the 2016 season. Tolhurst pulled double duty in high school and was impressive in both areas, so hopefully this isn't an issue. Halfback Clancy O'Shaughnessy has been the unofficial emergency kicker / punter on the team for the last three seasons. In practice, he's looked to be somewhat reliable inside 35 yards for field goals and can occasionally send a punt 40 yards downfield, but he is not considered to be an option for the starting punter role.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Looking forward to seeing how you do in the American this year. I read a article today that Boise State is currently in a lawsuit with the Mountain West over the new proposed TV deal and there is talk about them potentially joining the American as a football only school. Would be very interesting.

With Conrad, Charles, and Gibbs we know what to expect but there are alot of question marks at the #2 WR spot and on the 0-Line.

Looking forward to seeing that Tongo can do rushing off the end this year. You got a solid secondary hopefully they can carry the D for the most part.

[Nunyerbiz]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

The WR core past Gibbs is definitely a bit questionable and the OL will probably be a bit ugly. My preseason recruiting board is loaded with OL prospects, looking for some gems that can start next year.

The next challenge is the playbook. I did some practice sessions using the Utah State playbook, to reflect my new OC. It's a decent playbook, with all the shotgun and pistol formations and option plays you could want... but I'll probably end up making a custom playbook of some sort. Likely some combination of the original SMU playbook plus some Utah State flavor. Either way, I want to lean towards simplification. Maybe have 10-12 total formations and 100-120 total plays.

I will probably mix in a little more option looks than I have before... But Palinski has a sub-80 stamina and he's gassed after any decent rush attempt or even when he gets whacked after an option pitch. I've always considered him more of a QB that can scramble and not so much a true option QB... But I think it makes sense from the roleplaying perspective to put the new OC's spin on the playbook even if it's not the core philosophy. With the OL that isn't going to be great in space / moving laterally, I'll probably be primarily a zone running team between the tackles.

I'll probably spend tonight figuring out the playbook, working out audibles and formation subs. Then try to have the rest of the housekeeping posts (preseason top 25, all-americans, etc.) and first game done tomorrow.

[Deuce2223]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

If you are looking for option and pistol stuff you might take a look at Nevada as well. If you looking at Spread Option, Oregon runs some of that.

I personally like a custom play book. I used Boise State's playbook as a base and added stuff. Boise runs alot of sweeps and wildcat type stuff. With my roster loaded with tons of Athletes who can throw the ball, I think I will try and run more stuff with option pass's and stuff.

[moose141]

Re: Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

Definitely going to be an interesting year for you! You've got some solid top level talent, but the lack of depth in the trenches and then the severe drop off from your top guys at the skill positions to the #2/3 players is going to make things tough if you see any injury to your studs. It will be fun to see some new opponents this year though, so every game will feel like new to you which I'm sure will be fun!