Fall camp

[PPKA2019]

Is scoobie ford on the roster anymore?

[appstate24]

Soooooo, who is everyone excited about this year?

I’ll start…

On Defense-
I already mentioned seeing Michael Fletcher at Fan Fest. He’s a monster, I’ve heard great things, and I’m looking forward to watching him.
I also look for a great season from Andrew Parker and Tyreek Funderburk.

On Offense-
I believe Nate is going to have a killer season. Feels like he’s being slept on a little bit. I think he will have a chip on his shoulder. I also look forward to watching Kaedin Robinson at WR, and obviously whoever takes them helm at QB.

Coaches-
Very excited to see what Coach Matt has done with our guys. Also, excited to see Coach Cabral and his boys on the DLine.

Just doing my part to get this bad boy back on track.

GO APPS!!

Defense - Fletcher & Shawn Collins and the improved Markell Clark
Offense - Our 2 new tackles, Ryan Burger, Stroman & Nate Noe
Kicker - hoping for consistency from Hughes

Go APP!

Should have added Stroman. He’s a freak, so excited to see him this year.

GO APPS!!

[AppSt94]

Not really player specific but..

Offensively: I’m looking forward to seeing the QBs grow and develop through the season. Live reps will be beneficial.

OL: I’m interested to see who emerges as that 8th OL player in the rotation. I feel that we are pretty set on the top 7. That 8th guy is likely the backup Center.

Defensively: Are we swarming to the ball.

Are the young guys stepping up ready for the next step. (particularly at LB in guys like Spellman, Farror, Sullivan, Haynes, McKinnis and Gooch)

[Appmountaineers19]

And hopefully, when we win, some people will stop whining

That won't happen. The whiners will just find something else to complain about.

Whiner: "Clark has to go!!!!"
Common sense haver: "Uh, we just beat Carolina by 28 points"
W: "yeah, but it would have been by at least 50 and we really would have made a statement if Clark was any good"

Stop trying to make sense will you Some of these poster talk out both ends about SC.

I don’t think it’s talking out of both ends. Like Saint said, we all want Shawn to succeed. But there have been a few obvious flaws during his tenure so far at App. Some take it personal when those flaws have been discussed, and then make it out like we’re advocating for something much more extreme. Honestly, the division it causes amongst some corners of the fan base is why I wonder if having an alum as head coach is productive

Respectfully I disagree. There are those that most certainly talk out both ends when it come to the FB program and the athletic programs in general. Only my opinion but I feel posters on here don't realize what they have at APP. This is a G5 and there are many limitations at this point. 2nd - Most people don't take it personal. I do see it quite abit if things are not agreed upon then it's escalates from there and things get ugly. (I have done it myself but most posters won't admit it.) There's more behind the scenes that you or I even know. ASN brings a perspective from being a player (I will take that perspective over that of a "fan" on the outside looking in any time ) and still having sources about the program. I will take what he said over 95% of us "armchairs".

Now that being said...SC DOES have to get better no doubt. He needs to grow in certain aspects and some of it was answered this off season. IE..recruiting and coaching staff but there are so many factor that go into the decision making process.

I don't know you from Bill but I respect your statement about the divide. Most times (including myself) we can take a pot shot or two but to hear the cliches including "Winners don't make excuses winners win" just doesn't make sense especially if you have competed in a team sport at a higher level.

I hope you are right that everyone wants SC to succeed because for the last 3 years on the board and 247 us "armchairs" seem to know how to fix the problem better than the football staff and athletic department.

[ASUFan4863]

Is scoobie ford on the roster anymore?

Looks like he has been removed from the roster. Interesting to say the least.

[T-Dog]

One thing I think we can glean from the weekend reports is that Hughes is the starting place kicker.

[Appmountaineers19]

Is scoobie ford on the roster anymore?

Looks like he has been removed from the roster. Interesting to say the least.

Really? Wonder if its a depth chart thing?

[Yosef10]

Stop trying to make sense will you Some of these poster talk out both ends about SC.

I don’t think it’s talking out of both ends. Like Saint said, we all want Shawn to succeed. But there have been a few obvious flaws during his tenure so far at App. Some take it personal when those flaws have been discussed, and then make it out like we’re advocating for something much more extreme. Honestly, the division it causes amongst some corners of the fan base is why I wonder if having an alum as head coach is productive

Thing is nobody is denying those flaw either. No, he hasn't been perfect. Nobody denies that. Likewise, when people come on here and state factually why things are certain ways, it's making excuses. There's a difference between making excuses and explaining reasons when people ask.

Excuse: "We would have won, but the refs called kick catch interference on a punt and that changed the entire outcome of the game!"
Reason: "We are limited depth at LB ad DB right now and with a couple in games injuries, JMU realized it and exploited it by chipping our pass rushers with the RB and putting our CBs in one on one situations and capitalized."

I am not stating you or Saint advocated for more extreme, but there are plenty on here that did (and still do).

Au contraire, the folks I’m talking about do not acknowledge such flaws. *Everything* is someone else’s fault, always.

Piggybacking off your depth example. Shawn had 2020, 2021, and 2022 offseason to build depth for the 2022 season. But the most common refrain I hear is that it’s the 2019 coach’s fault for said lack of depth. Can say it til blue in the face, but repeating something as many times as it can be does not make it the truth.

If you wanna tell me that Clark should be cut some slack in regard to lack of depth in ‘22 due to him being a first time HC, first year being COVID, Transfer Portal, NIL etc., then yeah I’m all ears, but that’s not how it’s ever presented. It’s presented as “oh look at this mess Shawn is having to clean up”. If 2022 showed us anything, it’s that if Shawn was actually stepping into a messy situation, he likely wouldn’t have won 19 games his first two years.

All that said, I’ve been happy to see some of the big picture changes he’s made in this offseason, especially in regards to recruiting timelines. Glad to see him able to adapt.

The lack of depth last season was due to the lack of recruiting in the 2019 season. There's no other way to put it. Could it have been fixed before last season? Yes.

Lmao, yeah, this is exactly what I’m talking about.

[AppStateNews]

I don’t think it’s talking out of both ends. Like Saint said, we all want Shawn to succeed. But there have been a few obvious flaws during his tenure so far at App. Some take it personal when those flaws have been discussed, and then make it out like we’re advocating for something much more extreme. Honestly, the division it causes amongst some corners of the fan base is why I wonder if having an alum as head coach is productive

Thing is nobody is denying those flaw either. No, he hasn't been perfect. Nobody denies that. Likewise, when people come on here and state factually why things are certain ways, it's making excuses. There's a difference between making excuses and explaining reasons when people ask.

Excuse: "We would have won, but the refs called kick catch interference on a punt and that changed the entire outcome of the game!"
Reason: "We are limited depth at LB ad DB right now and with a couple in games injuries, JMU realized it and exploited it by chipping our pass rushers with the RB and putting our CBs in one on one situations and capitalized."

I am not stating you or Saint advocated for more extreme, but there are plenty on here that did (and still do).

Au contraire, the folks I’m talking about do not acknowledge such flaws. *Everything* is someone else’s fault, always.

Piggybacking off your depth example. Shawn had 2020, 2021, and 2022 offseason to build depth for the 2022 season. But the most common refrain I hear is that it’s the 2019 coach’s fault for said lack of depth. Can say it til blue in the face, but repeating something as many times as it can be does not make it the truth.

If you wanna tell me that Clark should be cut some slack in regard to lack of depth in ‘22 due to him being a first time HC, first year being COVID, Transfer Portal, NIL etc., then yeah I’m all ears, but that’s not how it’s ever presented. It’s presented as “oh look at this mess Shawn is having to clean up”. If 2022 showed us anything, it’s that if Shawn was actually stepping into a messy situation, he likely wouldn’t have won 19 games his first two years.

All that said, I’ve been happy to see some of the big picture changes he’s made in this offseason, especially in regards to recruiting timelines. Glad to see him able to adapt.

The lack of depth last season was due to the lack of recruiting in the 2019 season. There's no other way to put it. Could it have been fixed before last season? Yes.

Lmao, yeah, this is exactly what I’m talking about.

Nothing I said was false. The players that should have been on field leaders this past season came from the 2019 class. Of the 18 signed, only 10 were even still on the roster on their upperclassman year. Of those 10, only 4 have produced significant minutes (7 if you count the primarily special teamers). On field leadership and depth were key issues last year. The 2019 recruiting class should been the class providing that. They didn't. It doesn't matter what coach produced it -- the 2019 class put us at a significant disadvantage with on field talent.

For the record, 2018 was also sub par recruiting class and played a role in depth issues but only redshirts/covid years were still here last year so it's the 2019 class that was primed to provide the next group. The difference is the hits in 2018 class were very big impact hits (Cooper, Peoples, Hardy, Hampton, Cobb, Pearson). 2019 had 4 impact players and only Harrington is as impactful as the 2018 hits (and the one impact player from this class that should have been providing the leadership and depth was injured) -- Brendan Harrington, Nick Ross, Dashaun Davis, Christian Wells (arguable).

Also, for the record, 2019 class was primarily recruited by Satt and company so this isn't a dig at Drink. Harrington and DBG were the only signings of that class primarily recruited by Drink. 2020 class was primarily recruited by Drink. And so far, the main impact player still on campus from that class was actually found late in the game by Clark and staff (Noel). This class also included Christan Horn, McLeod, Castle, Daley, and DDP.

I've already said I agree Clark should have jumped in to the transfer portal earlier than he did to fix the disadvantage. There were attempts, but they were futile due to lack of NIL funds. People can agree with your thoughts but at the same time give reasons (not excuses) why that agreed upon strategy did not work.

[AppSt94]

Thing is nobody is denying those flaw either. No, he hasn't been perfect. Nobody denies that. Likewise, when people come on here and state factually why things are certain ways, it's making excuses. There's a difference between making excuses and explaining reasons when people ask.

Excuse: "We would have won, but the refs called kick catch interference on a punt and that changed the entire outcome of the game!"
Reason: "We are limited depth at LB ad DB right now and with a couple in games injuries, JMU realized it and exploited it by chipping our pass rushers with the RB and putting our CBs in one on one situations and capitalized."

I am not stating you or Saint advocated for more extreme, but there are plenty on here that did (and still do).

Au contraire, the folks I’m talking about do not acknowledge such flaws. *Everything* is someone else’s fault, always.

Piggybacking off your depth example. Shawn had 2020, 2021, and 2022 offseason to build depth for the 2022 season. But the most common refrain I hear is that it’s the 2019 coach’s fault for said lack of depth. Can say it til blue in the face, but repeating something as many times as it can be does not make it the truth.

If you wanna tell me that Clark should be cut some slack in regard to lack of depth in ‘22 due to him being a first time HC, first year being COVID, Transfer Portal, NIL etc., then yeah I’m all ears, but that’s not how it’s ever presented. It’s presented as “oh look at this mess Shawn is having to clean up”. If 2022 showed us anything, it’s that if Shawn was actually stepping into a messy situation, he likely wouldn’t have won 19 games his first two years.

All that said, I’ve been happy to see some of the big picture changes he’s made in this offseason, especially in regards to recruiting timelines. Glad to see him able to adapt.

The lack of depth last season was due to the lack of recruiting in the 2019 season. There's no other way to put it. Could it have been fixed before last season? Yes.

Lmao, yeah, this is exactly what I’m talking about.

Nothing I said was false. The players that should have been on field leaders this past season came from the 2019 class. Of the 18 signed, only 10 were even still on the roster on their upperclassman year. Of those 10, only 4 have produced significant minutes (7 if you count the primarily special teamers). On field leadership and depth were key issues last year. The 2019 recruiting class should been the class providing that. They didn't. It doesn't matter what coach produced it -- the 2019 class put us at a significant disadvantage with on field talent.

For the record, 2018 was also sub par recruiting class and played a role in depth issues but only redshirts/covid years were still here last year so it's the 2019 class that was primed to provide the next group. The difference is the hits in 2018 class were very big impact hits (Cooper, Peoples, Hardy, Hampton, Cobb, Pearson). 2019 had 4 impact players and only Harrington is as impactful as the 2018 hits (and the one impact player from this class that should have been providing the leadership and depth was injured) -- Brendan Harrington, Nick Ross, Dashaun Davis, Christian Wells (arguable).

I've already said I agree Clark should have jumped in to the transfer portal earlier than he did to fix the disadvantage. There were attempts, but they were futile due to lack of NIL funds.

And the Admissions issues. But you know, excuses.

[Stonewall]

Most everyone here wants Clark to succeed, he’s one of us and I hope every Mountaineer is successful in whatever craft they choose.

Wanting to succeed and still putting him down when he succeeds is different.

Not saying you will do it, but you know damn well there are others on here that won't be happy even if Clark goes 30-0 with two national championships the next two seasons...

I will be very happy , very happy indeed . As to the admissions issue as I am told ,that is on the AD as waivers could have been granted , but only if they were asked for.

[AppSt94]

Most everyone here wants Clark to succeed, he’s one of us and I hope every Mountaineer is successful in whatever craft they choose.

Wanting to succeed and still putting him down when he succeeds is different.

Not saying you will do it, but you know damn well there are others on here that won't be happy even if Clark goes 30-0 with two national championships the next two seasons...

I will be very happy , very happy indeed . As to the admissions issue as I am told ,that is on the AD as waivers could have been granted , but only if they were asked for.

Would you mind elaborating on the waivers and that being on the AD please?

[311neers]

Soooooo, who is everyone excited about this year?

I’ll start…

On Defense-
I already mentioned seeing Michael Fletcher at Fan Fest. He’s a monster, I’ve heard great things, and I’m looking forward to watching him.
I also look for a great season from Andrew Parker and Tyreek Funderburk.

On Offense-
I believe Nate is going to have a killer season. Feels like he’s being slept on a little bit. I think he will have a chip on his shoulder. I also look forward to watching Kaedin Robinson at WR, and obviously whoever takes them helm at QB.

Coaches-
Very excited to see what Coach Matt has done with our guys. Also, excited to see Coach Cabral and his boys on the DLine.

Just doing my part to get this bad boy back on track.

GO APPS!!

Defense - Fletcher & Shawn Collins and the improved Markell Clark
Offense - Our 2 new tackles, Ryan Burger, Stroman & Nate Noe
Kicker - hoping for consistency from Hughes

Go APP!

Who are those 2 new tackles? Scroggs and Gentry?
Or did you just mean whoever the 2 are replacing Hardy and Hodges

[AppSt94]

Soooooo, who is everyone excited about this year?

I’ll start…

On Defense-
I already mentioned seeing Michael Fletcher at Fan Fest. He’s a monster, I’ve heard great things, and I’m looking forward to watching him.
I also look for a great season from Andrew Parker and Tyreek Funderburk.

On Offense-
I believe Nate is going to have a killer season. Feels like he’s being slept on a little bit. I think he will have a chip on his shoulder. I also look forward to watching Kaedin Robinson at WR, and obviously whoever takes them helm at QB.

Coaches-
Very excited to see what Coach Matt has done with our guys. Also, excited to see Coach Cabral and his boys on the DLine.

Just doing my part to get this bad boy back on track.

GO APPS!!

Defense - Fletcher & Shawn Collins and the improved Markell Clark
Offense - Our 2 new tackles, Ryan Burger, Stroman & Nate Noe
Kicker - hoping for consistency from Hughes

Go APP!

Who are those 2 new tackles? Scroggs and Gentry?
Or did you just mean whoever the 2 are replacing Hardy and Hodges

I believe that the poster meant new as in replacing Hodges and Hardy. At this point, I would guess that the “new” tackles could be Samual and Ramsey. Although Daley, Bucky and Gentry can play out there as well.

At this point I think these are the players that we can expect to see the most on Saturdays.

Center: Helms, ?
Guard: Daley, Bucky, Helms, ?
Tackles: Samual, Ramsey, Daley, Bucky, Gentry, Murphy

That’s 7 guys that can rotate and switch out as needed. I imagine that 8th guy comes from a group of Scroggs, S William and Sweatt as we need someone that can play Center if Helms needs to move out to guard.

[appgrad95&97]

I said in 2019 that Clark was a lazy hire. I got made fun of. I've also said I want him to be successful. I said, right after the Carolina game that the Sun Belt had caught up with us. I got made fun of. This is year four. No more excuses and no more unrealistic expectations. Let's see what he can do. But if he doesn't... I will be pissed off. Call me whatever you want. But that dude got extended for no reason (if in fact he "bleeds Black & Gold), so it better be go time.

[Saint3333]

I think Clark and Co wins 8 games and gets a chance in 2024 to make some noise.

He made two great hires and one good one this off-season.

We’ll find out soon.

[BUTCH1991]

Soooooo, who is everyone excited about this year?

I’ll start…

On Defense-
I already mentioned seeing Michael Fletcher at Fan Fest. He’s a monster, I’ve heard great things, and I’m looking forward to watching him.
I also look for a great season from Andrew Parker and Tyreek Funderburk.

On Offense-
I believe Nate is going to have a killer season. Feels like he’s being slept on a little bit. I think he will have a chip on his shoulder. I also look forward to watching Kaedin Robinson at WR, and obviously whoever takes them helm at QB.

Coaches-
Very excited to see what Coach Matt has done with our guys. Also, excited to see Coach Cabral and his boys on the DLine.

Just doing my part to get this bad boy back on track.

GO APPS!!

Defense - Fletcher & Shawn Collins and the improved Markell Clark
Offense - Our 2 new tackles, Ryan Burger, Stroman & Nate Noe
Kicker - hoping for consistency from Hughes

Go APP!

Who are those 2 new tackles? Scroggs and Gentry?
Or did you just mean whoever the 2 are replacing Hardy and Hodges

Yes, the 2 replacing Hardy and Hodges. I also assume it's Samuel & Ramsey. I just want to see how they hold up.

[ASUFan4863]

I think Clark and Co wins 8 games and gets a chance in 2024 to make some noise.

He made two great hires and one good one this off-season.

We’ll find out soon.

I agree with this. I would say 3 great hires imo. 7 wins will be pushing it. Another 6-6 season or worse and we’ll be searching for a new coach I think.

I sincerely hope we can get 8+ wins and compete for the SBC again. I love Clark as a person and would love for him to be the HC here for much much longer than 4 years. He has mentioned on one podcast how he took a long hard look at the program to determine how he could do better for us to succeed, so I believe the right intent is there.

[AppinVA]

I think Clark and Co wins 8 games and gets a chance in 2024 to make some noise.

He made two great hires and one good one this off-season.

We’ll find out soon.

I agree with this. I would say 3 great hires imo. 7 wins will be pushing it. Another 6-6 season or worse and we’ll be searching for a new coach I think.

I sincerely hope we can get 8+ wins and compete for the SBC again. I love Clark as a person and would love for him to be the HC here for much much longer than 4 years. He has mentioned on one podcast how he took a long hard look at the program to determine how he could do better for us to succeed, so I believe the right intent is there.

I believe he did about as well as one could expect him to do during the offseason. The S&C hire alone should show improvement and translate into greater success (and probably would have been two more wins over the 2022 results — everything else being the same). What it does in win totals this year is anyone’s guess as the schedule and personnel have changed.

He’s a professional. He should take a long, hard look in the mirror after a 12-2 season or a 6-6 campaign. There are folks who would see fault in a 12-2 season just as there are ones who would defend him should he go 1-11.

[Black Saturday]

I'd guess 6 wins would be the official O/U.