Can we fix this

[John-N-Houston]

We are consistently ranked at, or near the top of SBC recruiting by 247 Sports. (arguments accepted and welcomed.) We recruit good quality, G5 talent. What has changed under under Coach Clark is it seems that we no longer develop the talent the way we did starting with Jerry Moore and continuing through Satterfield and Drinkwitz. Those coached seemed to be able to take 2-star players and make them play like 3-stars and take 3-stars and make them play like 4-stars. (Armanti Edwards was a 2-star recruit!)

It’s been 41 years since the last head football coach (Mike Working) had to be fired at Appalachian State. And DO NOT say Jerry Moore! That’s a sour point with long time App St. fans such as myself! Make of this what you will.

[appfanjj]

Of our 4 losses this season, not only have they all been by 1 score or less, but our opponents have all scored with 2 minutes or less left in the game to beat us. The failure to execute at the end of the game is a glaring issue. It doesn’t appear to be a conditioning issue, but I guess it could be. It seems more that we just can’t make the plays in crunch time when we have to.

No timeouts left when we need them either.
Really shouldn’t need them anyway.

[t4pizza]

To answer the original question, of course this can be fixed. Honestly, we just really are not that far offthis year. It isn't like we are getting blown out, or our players are quitting and mailing it in, and we are in every single game until the final second. We play hard in every game and don't quit. We just are not yet good enough to overcome our own mistakes that we continue to make in every game. Look, as head coach, it ultimately all falls on Clark and will likely cost him his job but there are one or two glaring mistakes in crunch time in every game that contribute to the loss. Clean this up and it is a different season. So yes, this can all be fixed and likely will be fixed next year as our players experience this year leads to greatness next year. Our recruiting classes are far more balanced than the past, we are getting the right amount of kids in the right positions to add depth and class balance so we don't have future seasons when there is next to no senior leadership. The sky is not falling, the program is not dying, it is just a bad stretch and every other successful G5 teams goes through this stuff also. We will be back, hopefully we win out this year, but most likely next year. App State Football is a program and it will take way more than a couple of down years to bring this program to its knees.

[proasu89]

Of our 4 losses this season, not only have they all been by 1 score or less, but our opponents have all scored with 2 minutes or less left in the game to beat us. The failure to execute at the end of the game is a glaring issue. It doesn’t appear to be a conditioning issue, but I guess it could be. It seems more that we just can’t make the plays in crunch time when we have to.

We don’t and the other team does.

[MrCraig]

DG played a hunch and it hasn’t worked. He knows it and I’m sure he has a plan to make a change which will result in a brutal pportal exodus.

But that works both ways. Again, look at GA Southern. Helton came in and hit the portal hard and got Stink turned around in a hurry. Y’all really gonna sit here and say it will be harder to bring talent to Boone than Statesboro?

[appgrad95&97]

DG played a hunch and it hasn’t worked. He knows it and I’m sure he has a plan to make a change which will result in a brutal pportal exodus.

What was the hunch? Was it based on the long history of O line coaches transitioning into good head coaches? To the frustration many I am not going to stop saying this: Shawn Clark was not qualified to take over the program in 2020. Loving the university, bleeding Black & Gold, understanding our culture and being the players' choice are all great, but they are not qualifications.

It was a lazy hire made by an AD who never expected to be in Boone in 2021. Even if you want to give him a pass on that, there's the issue of the extension. Clark is 9-11 or 9-10 since the extension. And a third of those wins are BAD FCS teams.

[Black Saturday]

Of our 4 losses this season, not only have they all been by 1 score or less, but our opponents have all scored with 2 minutes or less left in the game to beat us. The failure to execute at the end of the game is a glaring issue. It doesn’t appear to be a conditioning issue, but I guess it could be. It seems more that we just can’t make the plays in crunch time when we have to.

Along with the middle 8 minutes being a priority, the last 8 need to be examined. While they are at it how about the other 34 minutes?

By my calculations, we're still missing 10 minutes.

We are playing 10 minutes of good football?....lol

[t4pizza]

DG played a hunch and it hasn’t worked. He knows it and I’m sure he has a plan to make a change which will result in a brutal pportal exodus.

What was the hunch? Was it based on the long history of O line coaches transitioning into good head coaches? To the frustration many I am not going to stop saying this: Shawn Clark was not qualified to take over the program in 2020. Loving the university, bleeding Black & Gold, understanding our culture and being the players' choice are all great, but they are not qualifications.

It was a lazy hire made by an AD who never expected to be in Boone in 2021. Even if you want to give him a pass on that, there's the issue of the extension. Clark is 9-11 or 9-10 since the extension. And a third of those wins are BAD FCS teams.

I do agree with you that DG is getting a pass on this. At other schools, when an Ad hires a football coach and the coach fails the AD pays the price as well as the coach. Nobody seems to want to hold DG responsible. Clark is his hire and his extension and if Clark is gone, perhaps the guy that brought him in should be as well. Why would anyone have faith that DG will bring a good one in if his last football coach hire was so bad that we needed to fire him? I'm not calling for anyone to get fired, but I do think that DG deserves far more criticism than he is getting.

[Yosef1986]

In my opinion - I think all of this can be fixed. Exactly how it will look - I am not sure. Should heads roll? Not sure. It just seems there is something wrong - and we keep creating new ways to come up short on the field. I do believe in App State and it will be fixed. I still believe we are close to turning the corner - however, it would be nice to at least see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I have no opinion on how this should happen - I just want to see movement in a positive direction. The head coach is always in the cross hairs - just like I am a manager of a large scope for my employer - I am always being judged for any and all issues. Sometimes there is not easy or quick solution.

However, there is always a solution.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

DG played a hunch and it hasn’t worked. He knows it and I’m sure he has a plan to make a change which will result in a brutal pportal exodus.

What was the hunch? Was it based on the long history of O line coaches transitioning into good head coaches? To the frustration many I am not going to stop saying this: Shawn Clark was not qualified to take over the program in 2020. Loving the university, bleeding Black & Gold, understanding our culture and being the players' choice are all great, but they are not qualifications.

It was a lazy hire made by an AD who never expected to be in Boone in 2021. Even if you want to give him a pass on that, there's the issue of the extension. Clark is 9-11 or 9-10 since the extension. And a third of those wins are BAD FCS teams.

I do agree with you that DG is getting a pass on this. At other schools, when an Ad hires a football coach and the coach fails the AD pays the price as well as the coach. Nobody seems to want to hold DG responsible. Clark is his hire and his extension and if Clark is gone, perhaps the guy that brought him in should be as well. Why would anyone have faith that DG will bring a good one in if his last football coach hire was so bad that we needed to fire him? I'm not calling for anyone to get fired, but I do think that DG deserves far more criticism than he is getting.

DG held on to Fox for too long. Sure times were different then and coaches couldn't take advantage of instant success with a transfer portal, but enough recruiting classes and lackluster performances came and went before Fox finally got let go.

He did bring in Drink, so credit is owed there, even if it was only for one year. Maybe he took it personally, had people in his ear saying one and done coaches aren't what we want, so he looked for an App guy who probably spent most of the time in his interview expressing his love for App State than he did his vision for the future of the program. Maybe he thought Satterfield was an App State guy that made it work, so Clark can bring similar success, talent, and tradition to the mountain.

We can talk all day about coaches can't catch passes, coaches don't execute the plays, etc. but we all know whether fair or not it always comes back on the coaching on college sports. It was a questionable hire at first, and maybe things would be different if the didn't have to compete with a stronger Sun Belt, or COVID never opened the transfer portal the way it has and coaches had to stick to the more traditional methods.

It's not Clark's fault some of these variables came into play, but it's clear he's not made any changes to adjust/adapt to what he's been given and does not appear to be the answer at this point. It sucks for him because you could see the emotion and passion at his presser the day he was hired that he was happy to land in Boone, but eventually reality catches up and you realize being a head coach is an extremely tough task, that's not meant for everyone.

[MAD Doctor]

Yes, we can and will fix it, and sooner is better than later. Right now we are having our best attendance and worst performance in years. That formula won’t last for long.

[Stonewall]

Yes , we can fix it .Can SC fix it ? I see no indication that he can . I hope that I am wrong .

[app_gorilla]

Aren't you cute ... would like to provide proof otherwise? Or just use sarcasm instead of provide any logical argument.
Maybe you can prove your point to me by you expressing to Coach Clark how you feel about his job? Maybe?

Only you can provide proof you'll walk up to Isiah Helms and call him a beta male.

I eagerly await such proof and will gladly donate the specified sum when it is provided.

1st, You assumed an insult.
2nd, You named players.
Seem like proof is on you.

So tell me, why did you name the players that you did, and what is it about them that make them the "alpha males" that I "insulted"? I'd love to hear since you seem to be knowledgeable on the subject. I'm sure you can enlighten us all. Please share.

Hey, maybe they're not. But they'd kick your ass.

So for the folks at home:

Alpha males > our senior players >>> you.

Have a good evening.

Wow, a twist on the "my-dad-can-beat-up-your-dad" argument as proof of the presence of alpha males on current roster for the checkmate! Brilliant!

Now, if you can only find a way to incorporate "I-know-you-are-but-am-I" into proof of an effective blitz package and polish it off with a "your-momma" defense of DG's performance, you will score the trifecta! Bravo!

I don't feel like shitting on players who have given a lot for the program and not gotten to win a lot.

I also feel it's pathetic for folks to come on a message board and declare guys that would wreck them "betas."

And no, I wasn't drinking last night. I think it's pathetic because it is.

[app_gorilla]

This is dumb. It’s a fan forum, he can say anything he wants. Just like none of us walk up to Clark and tell him he’s fired.

I have fired more managers in my career than I would have liked to but every single one deserved it. I would gladly volunteer to go fire him personally and face to face. It isn't anything personal. It's just business. A failure to sustain and succeed

My point was it’s none of our jobs to tell the players or coaches they are bad to their face. Doesn’t mean we can’t say it here

I think a fan bad mouthing a player in college is wrong even on a message board. Most are still kids technically. Coaches are grown men and the one on particular needs some constructive criticism face to face from several folks. Or be handled a pink slip

If you look back, the argument started when someone said we don’t have top tier talent. That is not bad mouthing a player. No players were named until Gorilla decided to name players.

The quote was that we don't have any alpha males among the upperclassmen. I pulled the first three names out of my head I could think of that to me that does not fit.

If the OP did not mean it to come across in the way that I interpreted it, fine. Let's move on.

[app_gorilla]

I know players are getting a (generally small) amount of money in some cases now, but I still generally disagree with attacking them for anything save clear lack of effort.

They're kids who work hard and want to win. IMO, they've been screwed over by a coaching staff that never should have been here.

[Parks&RecAPP]

Here's an idea, SC always refers to winning the middle 8, all of our losses have come in the last 4. What if they focused on winning the first and last 4?

[The Rock]

DG played a hunch and it hasn’t worked. He knows it and I’m sure he has a plan to make a change which will result in a brutal pportal exodus.

What was the hunch? Was it based on the long history of O line coaches transitioning into good head coaches? To the frustration many I am not going to stop saying this: Shawn Clark was not qualified to take over the program in 2020. Loving the university, bleeding Black & Gold, understanding our culture and being the players' choice are all great, but they are not qualifications.

It was a lazy hire made by an AD who never expected to be in Boone in 2021. Even if you want to give him a pass on that, there's the issue of the extension. Clark is 9-11 or 9-10 since the extension. And a third of those wins are BAD FCS teams.

I do agree with you that DG is getting a pass on this. At other schools, when an Ad hires a football coach and the coach fails the AD pays the price as well as the coach. Nobody seems to want to hold DG responsible. Clark is his hire and his extension and if Clark is gone, perhaps the guy that brought him in should be as well. Why would anyone have faith that DG will bring a good one in if his last football coach hire was so bad that we needed to fire him? I'm not calling for anyone to get fired, but I do think that DG deserves far more criticism than he is getting.

DG held on to Fox for too long. Sure times were different then and coaches couldn't take advantage of instant success with a transfer portal, but enough recruiting classes and lackluster performances came and went before Fox finally got let go.

He did bring in Drink, so credit is owed there, even if it was only for one year. Maybe he took it personally, had people in his ear saying one and done coaches aren't what we want, so he looked for an App guy who probably spent most of the time in his interview expressing his love for App State than he did his vision for the future of the program. Maybe he thought Satterfield was an App State guy that made it work, so Clark can bring similar success, talent, and tradition to the mountain.

We can talk all day about coaches can't catch passes, coaches don't execute the plays, etc. but we all know whether fair or not it always comes back on the coaching on college sports. It was a questionable hire at first, and maybe things would be different if the didn't have to compete with a stronger Sun Belt, or COVID never opened the transfer portal the way it has and coaches had to stick to the more traditional methods.

It's not Clark's fault some of these variables came into play, but it's clear he's not made any changes to adjust/adapt to what he's been given and does not appear to be the answer at this point. It sucks for him because you could see the emotion and passion at his presser the day he was hired that he was happy to land in Boone, but eventually reality catches up and you realize being a head coach is an extremely tough task, that's not meant for everyone.

He fired the defensive coordinator and pretty much the entire defensive staff, brought in portal guys much bigger than we normally have. It can be arguable if that was a good move or if we are living up to the potential of those hires/players, but he has made some pretty big adjustments.

[NattyBumppo'sRevenge]

Here's an idea, SC always refers to winning the middle 8, all of our losses have come in the last 4. What if they focused on winning the first and last 4?

Man, he needs to lose this middle 8 philosophy quickly as he’s currently proving it to be wrong. It’s like he puts so much focus and time into gameplanning the middle 8 that he loses focus on the rest of the game. How about this, beat that ass in the first 12 and the middle 8 will usually follow.

[Rekdiver]

The problem is purely defense.............Fix that and we win games. perspective for all. EVERY trem in the country hits a rough patch.......this is ours. DG will get it fixed and it may take a couple of years. it happens.

[t4pizza]

The problem is purely defense.............Fix that and we win games. perspective for all. EVERY trem in the country hits a rough patch.......this is ours. DG will get it fixed and it may take a couple of years. it happens.

I know a lot of people have this same belief and did last year as well but I disagree. Sure our defense NEEDS improvement, BUT, we have lost 3 games where we allowed less than 30 points. In today's college football, we should win those games. If our offense just scored over 30 in those games we would be 6-1 regardless of what might be happening to our Defense. So while I agree our defense needs help, I really think our offense needs more help. If we can just put up over 30, we should win our games.