The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Off and running for the playoffs! Good win to start things out for Ohio State - I'm sure any time you're playing against Boise, you try not to run things up against them! How does McCracken compare to Tavon Logan?

As for the Dees dilemma, I like the ECU idea and letting FIU try to maintain its level of success on its own. At this point, he certainly has earned his own head coaching job, and I think it'd be a cool story for him to try and take over at a school who was an early rival of the Panthers in this report.

Logan was a beast.. By far the best RB I have ever played with besides Ashton Jeanty at Boise State. Logan was a Power Back who had everything you wanted from a RB.. Power/Speed/the ability to run over and through defenders and actually was a pretty good receiver too. McCracken is a great RB but he is a 5'11 186lb Elusive back who actually doesn't even have elite speed (90 ovr).. He is actually a great receiver though (99 catch) and I think next year I need to utilize him more in that role and actually let Tam have a crack at being RB1.. Tam actually is closer to Logan in terms of overall talent and despite being 6'3 228 he is actually faster then McCracken.

I like the ECU roster alot but honestly the more I looked at it, I sorta felt like Dees basically could come in and win the ACC title in his first season with what he was getting. I am messing around with the Jax State roster a little now to see if it's where I want to go.. They are pretty good too, but I feel like going to the Sun Belt and winning a couple Conference Titles in more realistic for a 1st time HC who has only 4 years as a OC then taking over a team in a Power 4 conference.. But then again it's a video game world, so anything is possible..

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

FIU STAYS PERFECT!!!

**Going with a old school writeup pre-generators..

GAME RECAP

FIU extends their winning streak to 46 games defeating Penn State in a blowout win (51-16) to advance to the Semi-Finals for 7th time in the past 10 seasons..

After scoring 40 points in their opening round win over K-State, the Lions came out of the gate hot scoring on the opening drive of the game, but FIU tied it up 7-7 and then after holding the Nittany Lions to a FG, FIU scored another touchdown to take a (14-10) lead and never looked back.

FIU held PSU to another FG to open up the 2nd Quarter scoring making it (14-13) before scoring 2 more touchdowns to close out the 1st half with a (28-13) lead going into the locker rooms.

SR QB Kevin Pounds would finish the 1st half 8/8 for 190 yds with 4 TD's.

FIU would create 2 turnovers in the 3rd Quarter picking off SR QB Ben Neuzil (90) twice but failed to capitalize on the turnovers scoring just 3 points to make it (31-13) going into the 4th Quarter. Neuzil would leave early in the 4th as Penn State turned to backup JR QB Joey Priest (82) to close out the game but Priest throws another INT leading to a short Jet Sweep rushing TD from WR Justin Sills as FIU extends their lead to (38-13).. FIU then extended it again as Tim Trinidad scores the first of 2 4th Quarter touchdowns as FIU looks to close out the game with the run game. PSU did manage a late FG.

KEY PANTHERS

QB K. Pounds-15/23 (65%) 321 yds 4 TD, 12 carries 39 yds
RB T. Trinidad-16 carries 76 yds 2 TD, 1 rec 12 yds
RB E. Allotey-6 carries 37 yds, 2 rec 16 yds
WR E. Marshall-3 rec 114 yds 1 TD
WR E. Longo-4 rec 100 yds 1 TD
WR J. Sills- 1 carry 2 yds 1 TD, 3 rec 60 yds 2 TD
TE T. Bail-2 rec 19 yds

OTHER 2ND ROUND RESULTS

#4 Tulane defeated #12 Georgia Tech (27-24) in OT to advance to the Semi Finals and a matchup with #1 Ohio State.


#3 Alabama took care of business against #11 Oregon defeating the Ducks (27-15) to advance and setup a matchup with FIU in a rematch of last year's National Championship.. A game that FIU won (28-10)..

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

BUCKEYES DOMINATE WAVE TO ADVANCE TO THE NATTY FOR THEIR 2ND TIME IN 4 YEARS!!!

Tulane Green Wave at Ohio State Buckeyes
Jan 1, 2035	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#4 Tulane Green Wave (14-0)	0	0	3	7	10
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes (14-0)	7	21	3	14	45

Team Stats Comparison
	TULN	OSU
Total Offense	358	527
Rushing Yards	26	188
Passing Yards	318	331
First Downs	15	26
Punt Return Yards	0	33
Kick Return Yards	147	18
Total Yards	505	578
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	3/11	5/11
4th Down Conversion	1/3	3/3
2-Point Conversion
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
Penalties	1/10	3/30
Possession Time	16:12	23:48

Tulane Green Wave PASSING C/A YDS TD INT G. Creer 28/38 318 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD A. Urrutia 12 68 5.6 G. Creer 5 -30 -6.0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD L. Bonitto 8 109 13.6 1 D. Biggs 6 80 13.3 M. Wilbur 5 71 14.2 A. Urrutia 4 14 3.5 A. Herndon 4 37 9.2 M. Yoon 1 7 7.0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD A, Saleh 7 1 J. Ecker 3 1

Ohio State Buckeyes PASSING C/A YDS TD INT A. Diabate 20/28 331 4 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD C. McCracken 17 162 9.5 F. Tam 8 28 3.5 1 V. Te'o 3 21 7.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD D. Lowe 8 129 16.1 2 E. Tandy 7 125 17.8 1 N. Tull 5 77 15.4 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD C. Small 4 2.5 J. Perez 5 2.0 M. Vakapuna 3 1.5 S. Booker 5 1

1ST HALF
After coming in and playing well in the Buckeyes win over Boise State, Coach Miller made a statement rewards JR QB Abdul Diabate with the start..

Coach Miller

"We have been blessed to have 2 very talented QB's this season.. Nick De La Rosa I believe will challenge for a Heisman before his college career is done, but he is still young and he sometimes still tries to make throws that sometimes are not good reads.... For now it's our plan to play the QB wit the hot hand.. Both QB's have played a big part in getting us to the point we are at and I want to reward that"

For Diabate the 1st half came with mixed results.. The Junior finished the half completing 9/13 for 187 yds with 2 touchdowns including a 75 yd bomb to JR WR Ezekiel Tandy but he also had 2 INT's including 1 in the final 18 seconds of the half as he looked to create enough big play well leading (28-7)

For Tulane the Green Wave Defense is going to need to figure out how to stop the #1 Offense in the nation if they have any chance at a comeback.. JR RB Cameron McCracken continues to showcase why he was the Heisman/Maxwell/D.W. winner as he rushes the ball 6 times for 84 yds (14.0) well fellow JR RB Frederick Tam added 21 yds on 6 carries including a short 3 yd touchdown with 2:38 to play.. The Buckeyes showed though that the running game isn't just McCracken and Tam as RS FR Viliami Te'o breaks a 20 yd run for his 5th touchdown of the season.


2ND HALF

After exploding for 4 touchdowns in the 1st half, the Ohio State Buckeyes managed just 3 points in the 3rd Quarter but the Defense did their part holding Tulane to just 3 points as well as the Buckeyes go into the 4th Quarter leading (31-3).

The Green Wave would finally find the endzone opening up the 4th Quarter scoring as QB Gio Creer hits Louis Bonitto on a 42 yd pass to make it (31-10) but the Buckeyes answer back as Diabate and D'Angelo Low hook up for a 27 yd touchdown pass to make it (38-10).

Tulane's offensive struggles continued as they finish the game just 3/11 on 3rd down and turn the ball over twice late in the 4th Quarter on 4th down.

Despite leading by 4 scores, Ohio State didn't just continue to grind out the clock but instead stayed aggressive as Diabate throws his 4th TD of the day hitting JR Nick Tull on a 5 yd score with 30 seconds to play to close this one out.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

PANTHER RUN OVER TIDE TO EXTEND THE STREAK TO 47!!

Alabama Crimson Tide at Florida International Golden Panthers
Jan 1, 2035	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#3 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-3)	7	14	0	7	28
#2 Florida International Golden Panthers (15-0)	14	10	9	7	40

Team Stats Comparison
	ALA	FIU
Total Offense	308	496
Rushing Yards	34	201
Passing Yards	256	295
First Downs	15	17
Punt Return Yards	2	32
Kick Return Yards	92	23
Total Yards	402	551
Turnovers
3rd Down Conversion	7/15	3/7
4th Down Conversion	0/1
2-Point Conversion
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
Penalties	6-40	9-93
Possession Time	18:34	21;26

Alabama Crimson Tide PASSING C/A YDS TD INT K. Friend 22/37 256 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD K. Friend 11 31 2.8 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Le Counte 8 90 11.3 G. Cummins 4 59 14.8 2 A. Bravo 4 55 13.8 2 Q. Moe 3 37 12.3

Florida International Golden Panthers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT K. Pounds 21/24 295 4 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD T. Trinidad 12 144 12.0 1 K. Pounds 14 60 4.3 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Sills 4 93 23.2 2 E. Marshall 5 88 17.6 1 T. Bail 6 57 9.5 E. Longo 4 37 9.3 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD T. Leo 4 2.0

GAME RECAP
.
The Stage is set.. FIU and Ohio State will rematch against one another as Coach Miller takes on his former team for a 2nd time in search for his 2nd National Title run since leaving FIU..

FIU dominated both the air and the ground as QB Kevin Pounds threw 4 TD's and the Panthers rushing attack goes for over 200 yds led by SR Tim Trinidad who carved the Tide Defense for 144 yds on just 12 carries.

For Offensive Coordinator Clayton Dees he is writing his final chapter at FIU, as Dees is set to make NCAA history becoming the youngest HC in FBS history at the age of 27. Dees who has just 5 years of coaching experience (1 year as QB Coach at FIU and 4 years as OC) is set to take over Jacksonville State at the end of the season.. The Gamecock's are coming off their 4th straight Bowl win and another Top-25 finish but are looking to make the final jump and make the playoffs for the first time.

Coach Dees

"Jax State has been a powerhouse in the Sun Belt with 5 seasons of 9 wins or more, now it's my job to get these guy's ready to make that next step. I had a great mentor in Coach Miller who showed me with hard work and building the program the right away you can take any school no matter the NIL budget, no matter the size of the stadium, you can turn a team into a powerhouse.. I am excited to do that here at Jax State.. I believe in 5 years this team will be competing in the SEC"

Now the question remains. Does Dee's career at FIU end with 3 straight National Championships and 3 straight 16-0 undefeated seasons and a 48 game win steak or does Miller and the Buckeyes strike again ending the Panthers reign

[xboxxerx]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

The match up we are wanting.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Operation Sports mobile app

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

BUCKEYES VS PANTHERS PART II

**I took xboxxerx's advice and slow simmed the game. It was enjoyable to watch. There was a few times I was disappointed with the playing calling of the CPU and a couple times Pounds had wide open running lanes and threw the ball out of bounds but overall pretty happy with outcome**

1ST HALF RECAP

FIU opened up the 1st Quarter scoring with a nice 28 yd TD pass from Kevin Pounds to RS FR James Sills to take the (7-0) lead but Ohio State ties the game with a 3 yd run by Cameron McCracken making it (7-7).. Then after forcing the Panthers to punt Ohio State takes the lead as Nick De La Rosa in at QB throws a 50 yd bomb to JR WR Nick Tull to give the Buckeyes the (14-7) lead.

Another big stop by the Buckeye Defense gives Ohio State the ball early in the 2nd Quarter and again De La Rosa comes through as he hits Ezekiel Tandy on a 39 yd score to extend the lead to (21-7)..

FIU answers back though as Pounds facing a 3rd and 8 fires strike to Sills and the Freshman does the rest taking it 52 yds to the house to cut the lead to (21-14).. Despite leading the nation in rushing all year, Ohio State goes back to the air as De La Rosa connects with D'Angelo Lowe on a 7 yd TD strike to make it (28-14) with 1:09 to play.

FIU however wasn't going to go into the locker room without giving it another shot as they were still armed with 3 timeouts and Pounds delivers leading the Panthers down the field and inside the 5 yd line before SR RB Tim Trinidad takes it in for the score to make it (28-21).

*FIU finished the first half with 18 carries for 76 yds well OSU had 12 carries for 54 yds.

2ND HALF


FIU opened the 2nd half with the ball but Pounds is picked off by SR CB Frank Pounds (no relation) ..Ohio State would look to try and extend their lead but the facing a 4th and 1, Coach Miller tries to go for it and the Panthers D comes up big forcing the turnover on downs.. Armed with a 2nd chance FIU ties the game up (28-28) as Pounds hits E. Marshall on a 32 yd score.

Still tied (28-28) we head to the 4th. The FIU D comes up big forcing a 3rd and 10 but on the 3rd down play the Panther D is called for Pass Interference giving the Buckeyes offense new life. Again facing a 3rd and 6, De La Rosa comes up big with a 1st down pass to Tandy.. On 1st and 10, De La Rosa drops back and try and to go deep into the endzone but the pass is picked off but again the FIU Defense is called for P.I. as the turnover is overturned.

Again with new life the Buckeye Offense stalls out again though as they are forced to punt with just over 6 minutes to play.

FIU would try and run the ball on 1st and 2nd down setting up a 3rd and 6, Pounds eludes the rush and fires a bomb 50 yds into the endzone about SS Paul Barnhardt comes down with the ball as Pounds throws his 2nd INT of the game...

Ohio State takes over with just under 5 minutes to play and after a couple nice runs by McCracken, De La Rosa fires a bomb down field as JR Nick Tull hauls in 45 yd score to make it (35-28) with 4:28 to play.

FIU trailing by a touchdown needed to find some magic and with 1:02 to play facing a 4th and 3, Pounds finds Sills for the 1st Down to keep the drive alive but Pounds next pass is picked off for a 3rd time as Ohio State's Frank Pounds comes up with his 2nd INT of the game to seal the victory for the Buckeyes as they snap FIU's 47 game winning streak, winning their 2nd National Title under Coach Miller..FINAL SCORE OHIO STATE-35 FIU-28



KEY PLAYERS
QB N. De La Rosa 34/44 (77%) 425 yds 4 TD
RB C. McCracken-19 carries 101 yds 1 TD
WR D. Lowe-9 rec 88 yds 1 TD
WR E. Tandy-8 rec 124 yds 1 TD
WR N Tull-6 rec 130 yds 2 TD
TE J. Trejo-5 rec 51 yds
SS-P. Barnhardt-1 INT
CB-F. Pounds-2 INT

QB K. Pounds 24/33 (72%) 336 yds 3 TD 3 INT, 8 carries 46 yds
RB T. Trinidad-15 carries 31 yds 1 TD, 3 rec 22 yds
RB K. Byler-7 carries 25 yds
WR E. Marshall-7 rec 53 yds 1 TD
WR J. Sills-6 rec 114 yds 2 TD
WR E. Longo-3 rec 117 yds
TE T. Bail-3 rec 22 yds



After both teams went to their locker rooms and Miller celebrated with his team the HC walked back to the 50 yd line. Waiting for him was Clayton Dees.. The 2 hugged, Dees congratulated his former coach, as both coaches pondered what would become of the program they both helped build.. Miller knew deep down in his heart a new Panther Legend would emerge.. But he was excited for his young protege. Dees was ready... It was his time to become Legendary..........

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

The match up we are wanting.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Operation Sports mobile app

I took your advice and I just happened to finish watching the game.. It lived up to the billing.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

END OF THE YEAR SEASON RECAPS

OHIO STATE

The Buckeyes end the year with their 2nd National Title in the past 4 seasons (FIU won the others).. Coach Miller is now 56-5 since arriving in Columbus..

The Buckeyes however will say goodbye to several key players on Defense and reports are JR WR Ezekiel Tandy has decided to declare early for the NFL Draft.

The Buckeyes finished the season with the #1 Offense in the nation gaining 8633 yds of Total Offense including the Nation's Best Passing (4971 yds) and Best Rushing (3608 yds) with 45 PTD and 53 RTD well leading the nation in 1st Downs with 433 well averaging 46.1 PPG.

OSU will have both their QB's returning next season. SO Nick De La Rosa finished the year with 3589 yds completing 62% well throwing 31 TD's and 13 INT's. Backup JR Abdual Diabate finished with 1341 yds completing 68% of his pass's well throwing 14 TD and 5 INT.

OSU will return it's entire backfield... Heisman/Maxwell/Walker award winner JR Cameron McCracken finished the year with 2283 yds with 20 TD's well fellow JR Fredrick Tam had 707 yds with 24 TD's. RS FR Viliami Te'o finished with 63 carries for 356 yds (5.7 avg) well scoring 5 TD and Fullback Louis DuBois had 32 carries for 159 yds (5.0 avg) adding 2 scores.

Tandy finished 37 yds shy of giving the Buckeyes (3) 1000 yd receivers on the year finishing with 62 rec for 963 yds with 10 TD's.. For his career Tandy had 105 rec for 1720 yds with 20 TD receiving, he also had over 1000 yds on Kick/Punt returns including a 96 yd TD as a True Freshman.

Well Tandy didn't hit 1000 yd's this season, SO D'Angelo Lowe did as he led the team with 77 rec for 1294 yds and 12 TD. JR Nick Tull also hit 1000 with 74 rec for 1138 yds and 12 TD.. #4 WR G. Cobb (32 rec 633 yds 4 TD) and #5 WR K. Ahlers (16 rec 368 yds 4 TD) will look to replace Tandy as the team's #3.

On Defense Coach Miller will need replace leading tackler SR MLB Jose Giguere (112 tackles 8 TFL) as well as the Buckeyes Top-3 CB's F. Pounds (61 tackles 2 INT), J. Bulgara (56 tackles 4 INT) and N. Costanzo (53 tackles 1 INT)

OSU also loses 2 of it's 3 starting Safety's as S. Booker (46 tackles 2 INT) and Ronnie Dariek (44 tackles 2 INT) are both set to graduate.

However the biggest loss on Defense will be OLB John Perez.. Perez posted a new career high 14 Sacks this season (51 tackles 8 TFL) leaving Ohio State with 48.5 Career Sacks with 196 Tackles and 37 TFL.. His 48.5 sacks finished just 2.5 sacks shy of matching Auburn's Amaris Williams NCAA Career record, but is good enough to go into both the Big Ten and Ohio State Record books as the career sack leader..

FIU

The Panthers 3-peat is cut short by the Buckeyes, but like Miller Coach Valdez has been unstoppable since arriving in Miami posting a 62 and 3 record leading FIU to 4 straight Natty's well winning 2.. Can he keep things going?? FIU finished the season with the #2 Offense with 7593 Total yards (4889 Passing/2615 Rushing) as they scored 54 PTD and 32 RTD averaging 40.9 PPG

**I have decided not to create a DC for the upcoming season but instead will let FIU play out at least the next 2-3 years on their own and then probably create a player or should Valdez retire try and bring Dees home maybe as the HC.

FIU says's goodbye to a Senior Class who boasts the best winning % in NCAA history surpassing the Kellen Moore's record at Boise State..

SR QB Kevin Pounds made NCAA history during his time at Miami, winning a Heisman, winning 2 National Championships and becoming the NCAA All-time Passsing leader.. Pounds leaves have thrown for 20,397 yds completing 1386/2078 attempts (66%) with 212 TD and 74 INT.. He also leaves FIU with 552 carries for 2704 yds and 34 TD's rushing.

SR RB Tim Trinidad didn't become a starter until his final 2 seasons but still managed to leave FIU with over 2000 yds rushign and 50 TD's. including 1340 yds and 20 TD's this season.

Fellow SR RB Emari Allotey graduates (102 carries 488 yds 2 TD, 32 rec 370 yds 2 TD) leaving RS JR Keary Beary as the team's leading returning rusher (14 carries 30 yds 2.1 avg 1 TD).

SR WR/TE Eric Longo made the most of his return to WR this season as he post 78 rec for 1454 yds with 15 TD's. However the real star of the WR room this season was RS FR James Sills who had 83 rec for 1288 yds with 21 TD's.

With Longo set to graduate, JR Edward Marshall (64 rec 792 yds 10 TD) will join Sills giving the Panthers a solid 1-2 on the outside well Valdez and the new OC will have to find the next man up in a very young room.

RS FR TE Tyler Bail could see a big improvement on his #'s. The former #1 Overall player and 5* Recruit finished with 43 rec for 460 yds but had just 1 TD this season..

FIU will look to replace some key players on Defense as well.. SR OLB Dillion Brown led the team in tackles (88) finishing with 5 TFL and 4.0 sacks.

SR DE Malachi Clifton (39 Tackles 6 TFL 9 Sacks) finished 2nd in sacks behind OLB T. Swope (10)

JAX STATE

Coach Dee's take's over a Gamecock's Offense that produced 4078 yds (2783 passing and 1095 rushing) scoring 25 PTD and 8 RTP well averaging 23.9 PPG. But JSU still managed to finish 10-3 Overall after a 7-3 finish in the Sun Belt and they won their 4th straight Bowl game (Beat Ball State 21-20) in the 68 Ventures Bowl.

RS SO Quincy Genus played the entire season throwing for the 2783 yds well completing 61% of his pass's throwing 25 TD's and 12 INT.. Genus also showed his ability to run with 345 yds rushing with 1 TD.

RS JR Landon Wahl was the team's leading rusher (184 carries 784 yds) but managed just 5 TD's. Fellow RS JR Eric Miranda had 44 carries for 138 yds with 2 TD.

Dees will have to replace the Top-4 receiving targets on last year's team.

Seniors W. Hardy (49 rec 645 yds 2 TD), N. Honeycutt (43 rec 606 yds 9 TD) S. Lemieux (41 rec 587 yds 5 TD) and TE E. Armstrong (32 rec 327 yds 4 TD).

That leaves RS FR Rashuad Hendricks (20 rec 321 yds 2 TD) as the team's leading returning WR along with RB L. Wahl who had 21 rec for 111 yds.

JR Kevin Boger (5 rec 80 yds 2 TD) has the inside crack at becoming the team's #2.

Dee's will also have his hands full looking to replace most of his starters in his secondary.

CB T. Azumah (72 Tackles, 2 INT), SS B. Rawlings (59 Tackles) and CB G. Obomanu (47 Tackles 7 INT).

He also will have to replace SR DE PJ Clacaterra who led the team with 9.5 sacks.

Another huge part of the Offense gone is actually PK Larry Tye.. Tye finished this past season connecting on 24/26 FG's (92%) including a 52 yd long and was a perfect 31/31 on XPT.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

DRAFT RESULTS

OHIO STATE
JR WR E. Tandy (92)-1st Round
OLB J. Perez (91)-2nd Round
C M. Pena (89)-3rd Round
LG E. Whitehurst (91)- 3rd Round
CB J. Bulaga (88) 4th Round
CB N. Costanzo (88) 5th Round
FS S. Booker (87) 7th Round.

JAX STATE
TE E. Armstrong (89)-4th Round

FIU
RG F. Manuwai (93)-1st Round
LG S. Avril (92) 2nd Round
OLB D. Brown (91)-2nd Round
QB K. Pounds (88)-4th Round
HB T. Trinidad (88)-5th Round
HB E. Allotey (88)-6th Round

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

RECRUITING PREVIEW

OHIO STATE

Ohio State went into the off-season/transfer portal with 17 early season commitments (4-5*,13-4*,3-3*) ranked #4 in the Nation and #2 in the Big Ten (Wisconsin is #1) and just 1 player left (4* WR Britton Pilgrim) on their original Top-35 Board.

With on 17 graduating Seniors and Tandy's scholarship now open, Coach Miller 's work was pretty much done but that didn't stop Miller from scouting and recruiting potential additions from the Portal.

Miller

"We lost our 2 of our 3 starting safeties and I am a firm believer in that you can never have enough O-Lineman.. We also lost our top pass rusher so it is my hope that we can maybe find someone who will help fill that void.. If it means cutting a few players this spring then we are going to do it"

Miller went to work scouting 11 players from this year's portal (All 4* and all ranked in the Top-30) including 4 0-Lineman, 3-D-Lineman, 2 Linebackers and 2 FS including the #1 Recruit from the Portal 4* LG Jason Baggs (Kentucky) and #3 Overall 4* RG Cam Baumann (North Carolina).

FIU

*I am no longer recruiting for FIU but they went into the off-season with 13 players signed (7-4*, 6-3*) with a class ranked #22 Overall and #5 in the ACC..

JAX STATE

Coach Dees inherited a Recruiting Class with 13 players already committed (1-4*, 12-3*) with a class ranked #53 in the nation and #4 in the Sun Belt.. With 18 Seniors graduating, Dees still had 5 open scholarships plus the ability to add 5 more players above the 85 man limit to take into the Spring game (Encourage transfer time).

With several players still on the Gamecock's original Top-35 Board still in play, Coach Dees narrowed the board down to 7 players that the new staff would continue to target including 3* Athelte Issac Camper (#594 Overall/#21 AL/#52 RB) from Prattville AL.

Dees

"We have solid depth at RB coming back but we are thin at WR and Camper is the type of kid who can play both positions.. He reminds me alot of Emari Allotey who just finished with almost 1000 All-purpose yards last year for us at FIU and that is a role I believe he could fill"

Dees went to work then adding 17 players to his Big Board from the portal offering up several scholarships including a pair of 3* WR's in Derek Waiters (#88 overall) from Kentucky and Ben Schillinger (#94 Overall) from Fresno State

Both WR's are Big and Physical (6'5 and 6'2) but it will be a uphill battle with Jax State starting #7 on both players Top-10 list.

Well landing Waiters and Schillinger might be a stretch, Dees also focused on several players who were excited to make Jax State their next home (Interest #1).

3* LT Jamerson Kaesviharn (Wyoming, Ranked #67)
3* DE Tyrese DeCarvalo (N. Illinois, Ranked #96)
3* DT Justice Wayne (W. Michigan, Ranked #142)

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

RECRUITING RECAP

OHIO STATE

Coach Matt Miller once again takes charge of the Portal landing 8 players to finish the season with the #1 Recruiting Class in the nation..

4* WR Britton Pilgram signed in Week 1 and after that Miller and the staff poured all their resources in convincing 8 of their Top Transfer Portal targets to sign as well..

4* LG (#1) J. Bagg (Kentucky)
4* RG (#3) C. Baumann (North Carolina)
4* DE (#6) A La Porta (Cincinnati)
4* DE (#10) S. Hartage (N. Illniois)
4* RT (#17) D. Gore (Kentucky)
4* FS (#26) T. DiNapoia (Iowa State)
4* MLB (#27) S. Patel (W. Michigan)
4* RG (#30) C. Waddle (Boston College)

Miller

"I have already sat down and talked to several players on the team who have expressed interest in finding programs where they can receive more Playing time next season.. With 5 QB's already on the roster and 4* C. Pears coming in we new that JR Dillion Killings was looking to find a new school and 9 RB's and 11 WR's on the roster again we knew we would have some scholarships available come this spring. We are very excited for the players we have added as we feel this will help balance our depth at all positions hopefully moving forward.. We also have 20 Juniors on the roster that have now won 2 National Championships and several of those guy's are now looking for a place that they can help showcase their skills to NFL scouts but at the same time we need key backups ready to step in like Abdul Diabate did this season at QB"

JACKSONVILLE STATE

Well most talk shows and national podcasts will be talking about Coach Matt Miller/Ohio State and the rest of the Top-10 class's this season.. Down South in Jacksonville, Coach Clayton Dees did a solid job taking over and adding 9 key additions to roster this season including 4 players from the transfer portal.

3* FS (#39) Nick Chunn (Auburn)
3* FS (#51) Deshaun Urbik (Kentucky)
3* LE (#96) Tyrese DeCarvalo (N. Illinois)
3* DT (#142) Justice Wayne (W. Michigan)

As well as

3* C (#929) Eric Newcomb
3* RT (#1126) Al Hakim
3* RT (#1226) Jalen Shipman
3* OLB (#1247) Matt Radley
3* RB (#1306) Gregory Dobbins

With 22 signings (1-4*, 21-3*) Jacksonville State's class rose to #40 Overall Nationally and Ranked #2 in the Sun Belt (Louisiana was #1 at #35 Overall).



Coach Dees

"Overall I am very happy with the class. Well we missed out on a few WR's that would have helped (Waiters signed with Fresno replacing Schillinger and Schillinger signed with Oregon, and Athlete Issac Camper signed with Alabama), We believe we have guy's on the roster who can move positions and help us in other areas including WR"

OTHER TOP-25 RESULTS

#2 Alabama-27 players (5-5*, 13-4*, 9-3*)
#3 Wisconsin-34 players (2-5*,20-4*, 12-3*)
#4 Miami-35 players (1-5*, 21-4*,13-3*)
#5 Virginia Tech-34 players (1-5*, 19-4*, 14-3*)
#6 Texas A&M-34 players (2-5*, 21-4*, 11-3*)
#7 Tennessee-33 players (1-5*, 17-4*, 15-3*)
#8 Texas-26 players (2-5*, 10-4*, 14-3*)
#9 Notre Dame-(1-5*, 19-4*, 6-3*)
#10 Florida-35 players (16-4*, 19-3*)
#11 UCLA-35 players (1-5*, 9-4*, 23-3*, 2-2*)
#12 Ole Miss-32 players (1-5*, 10-4*, 21-3*)
#13 Michigan-30 players (11-4*, 19-3*)
#14 Oklahoma-24 players (11-4*, 13-*)
#15 TUC-26 players (10-4*, 16-3*)
#16 Auburn-31 players (2-5*, 6-4*, 21-3*, 2-2*)
#17 Penn State-24 players (2-5*, 11-4*, 4-3*)
#18 LSU-23 players (10-4*, 13-3*)
#19 Maryland-35 players (1-5*, 9-4*, 10-3*, 15-2*)
#20 K State-26 players (2-5*, 4-4*, 20-3*)
#21 Oregon-30 players (16-4*, 14-3*)
#22 Clemson-29 players (17-4*,12-3*)
#23 Cincinnati-20 players (9-4*,10-3*, 1-2*)
#24 NC State- 33 players (8-4*, 9-3*, 16-2*)
#25 Arkansas- 23 players (1-5*, 5-4*, 16-3*,1-2*)

#27 FIU- 25 players (8-4*,15-3*, 2-2*)


TOP PROSPECTS

This year's class had (3) 5* QB's #8 Overall Andres ****s (Alabama) and #20 Overall Deonte Stoudemire (Alabama) as well as #28 Overall Tevin Sandy (Penn State)

It had just (2) 5* RB's #9 Overall George Uwaezuoke (Ole Miss) and #31 Overall Desean Pryor (Ohio State)

It also had just (2) 5* WR's #7 Overal Joe Wilbur (Ohio State) and #30 Overall Emanuel Mallory (K-State)

Other 5* guy's

#1 Overall DT Shaun Square (TAMU)
#2 Overall CB Carlos Angel (TAMU)
#3 Overall DT Max Schlegel (Penn State)
#4 Overall CB Andrew Thrash (Alabama)
#5 Overall FS Mario Cardoza (Alabama)
#6 Overall DE Levi Popek (Ohio State)
#10 Overall FS Quay Holiday (Alabama)
#11 Overall DE Donald Baskerville (Miami)
#12 Overall DT Marcus Wilbur (Wisconsin)
#13 Overall DT Jimmie McClullum (ECU)
#14 Overall DE Immanuel Ismail (Auburn)
#15 Overall MLB Steve Fernandez (Texas)
#16 Overall CB Tyler Whiteheart (Tennessee)
#17 Overall MLB Patrick Queen (Wisconsin)
#18 Overall MLB Eric Bacon (UCLA)
#19 Overall OLB Afa Cummings (Ohio State)
#21 Overall DE Malau Rea (Maryland)
#22 Overall DT Dave Samuel (Purdue)
#23 Overall CB Lemelo Gaskin (Auburn)
#24 Overall DE Mike Carnahan (Colorado)
#25 Overall DT Jeremy Trahan (Virginia Tech)
#26 Overall DE Sergio Jacques (Texas)
#27 Overall LT Azeveus Hamrick (Arkansas)
#29 Overall CB Josh Ogbonna (K-State)
#32 Overall OLB Natha Garvin (Notre Dame)

[Careless Whisper]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Absolute classic between Ohio State and FIU - couldn't have scripted it much better, so props to the CPU for playing it out that way, and to you for fighting temptation to jump on the sticks! Really fascinated to see how the Panthers fare with Dees out of the picture now, and if they remain an elite program without your help.

Jacksonville State is a good starting point for Dees' head coaching career - will be interesting to see if he can make them a CFP group of five threat and eventually take them to a power conference!

[xboxxerx]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Great game. Really.enjoyed the added ending you wrote up between Miller, and Dees.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Operation Sports mobile app

[redsox907]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

What a heartbreaking end to Pounds career, throwing a pick on his last collegiate throw. Sucks he slipped to the 4th round too.

Also, it was a few pages ago but when I gave my .02 on the coaching I said Pounds taking over FIU...I meant Dees lol

Excited to see what DEES can do for the Gamecocks. Are we going to see an Alabama rivalry develop in the non-conference slate??

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Absolute classic between Ohio State and FIU - couldn't have scripted it much better, so props to the CPU for playing it out that way, and to you for fighting temptation to jump on the sticks! Really fascinated to see how the Panthers fare with Dees out of the picture now, and if they remain an elite program without your help.

Jacksonville State is a good starting point for Dees' head coaching career - will be interesting to see if he can make them a CFP group of five threat and eventually take them to a power conference!

I think of that situation ever came up again I would probably need to figure out how to post it on Youtube.. I really enjoy watching Moose's Pitt Panther games. First half was good, 2nd half the Defense for both sides took over but in the end it was probably fitting for Miller and the Buckeyes to be the team to end the 47 game win streak and keep the Panthers from the 3-Peat allowing Dees to exit and start his career..

Right now we have the plan is for FIU, Miami and GT to move from the ACC to the SEC and for Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina are going to vacate with Kentucky, Louisville and South Carolina going to the ACC well Missouri gets dumped into the American with Rutgers going as well to keep the Conference Balance.

The SEC, Pac-12, ACC, and American and Big Ten now all have 14 teams well the Big 12 actually has 16 (Colorado State and Tulsa could move back to the MWC giving them 14 and making the Big 12 at 14 as well) but I am also keeping the door open for teams to add 2 teams each and have several mega 16 team conferences.. When that happens, Jax State and Tulane would be front runners to join the SEC..