Interesting conversation
I had today with a member of the Sacred Heart athletic administration. He said SHU gave out five new scholarships of the 30 available to NEC schools this year (MU offered less than 10) and Stony Brook claims to have given 27 among 38 players (they are leaving the NEC after this year).
Coach Callahan said MU does plan to eventually offer the max of 30 scholarships at any one time. But this person said SHU will never go to 30, voted against it, and that he thinks Stony Brook (which we know is leaving the NEC) and that at least Monmouth and Albany will also eventually go more than the 30 currently allowed by the NEC.
He feels the NEC may cease to exist in football in five years as MU and other members out grow it and leave and that some of the NEC schools (SHU, SFPA, etc.) may opt to join the MAAC (Marist, LaSalle, St. Peter's, etc.) which does not emphasize football nearly as much as the NEC.
Just his opinion, but food for thought none the less.
Coach Callahan said MU does plan to eventually offer the max of 30 scholarships at any one time. But this person said SHU will never go to 30, voted against it, and that he thinks Stony Brook (which we know is leaving the NEC) and that at least Monmouth and Albany will also eventually go more than the 30 currently allowed by the NEC.
He feels the NEC may cease to exist in football in five years as MU and other members out grow it and leave and that some of the NEC schools (SHU, SFPA, etc.) may opt to join the MAAC (Marist, LaSalle, St. Peter's, etc.) which does not emphasize football nearly as much as the NEC.
Just his opinion, but food for thought none the less.
posted by Tony Graham at 12:45 AM
8 Comments:
Tony, Where do you think Monmouth will go once the NEC splits? Will it jump to Patriot or attempt A-10 (or Colonial or whatever it is going to be!?)
Considering the youth of the football program, I believe the Hawks have achieved a rapid progression and always put on a competitive brand. Also with the success of their basketball squad I can only see upwards as their direction. Your thoughts?
I know the president (Gaffney) would love to get in the Patriot League. However, academic requirements for students are stiffer than MU and there are no football "scholarships" though they give out aid anyway in various forms. BUT...MU not going anywhere until the MAAC is built and for football they would need to expand Kessler Field, perhap drawing more opposition from the town of WLB
Tony-
Do you know why MU offered less than 10 scholarships? I thought Gaffney was a big football supporter, why wouldn't Coach Cal get more (say in the 15-20 range?) Not that he would give them all out to one class but still, less than 10 is something i would expect out of Sacred Heart or St Francis PA
I don't think "less than 10" for this season was anything to be alarmed about. I believe they were spread to about 16 or so players. Remember.....MU had all these seniors this year and probably wasn't about to inundate the roster with a tidal wave of new players, especially when you consider most weren't going to play this season anyway. I look for that scholarship number to rise somewhat next season. As I understand it, an NEC school can have no more than 30 football scholarship equivalents at any one time so you have to be judicious in handing them out. You never want to reach a season when you have none to offer.
Tony,
I agree, you do not give all your scholarships to one or two classes.
Who were the app. 16 players who received football scholarships?
Did MU sign the TE that was one of the top ranked h.s. players in the state?
Is it possible the NEC could phase in the number each year until they reach the 62?
Callahan would not specify what players got scholarship money....but, if you go back to the first players they signed last spring I would guess many of them received some scholarship aid. This is sort of guess work on my part but I would think..the Jackson players, Nick Bibbo from Colts Neck, definitely Brian Callahan from Don Bosco (he is the TE you referred to), he is practicing as a wide out, probably won't play this year, WO Nick Romeo from Wayne Hills, QB Ryan Folsom from Triton, RB Ryan Skorupka from Sparta (is playing some and on special teams), OL Derek Rosinski from NY state. I am almost certain LB Jeff Brady from upstate New York, and OL Shawn Wright who is playing, just to speculate on some. Again.. this is all semi educated speculation on my part.
If the NEC wants to go "big time" at some point, I guess it (going 63 scholarships) could happen. Depends on the individual schools. Again...educated guess on my part...MU and Albany, RMU, maybe Wagner...I think no for SHU and SFPA..might have to be a combination of teams, maybe Dayton or someone like that from the Pioneer League, Duquesne of the MAAC? There's a lot of ways this can go. Teams leave the NEC, the NEC grants more scholarships, etc. etc. Going to take some time and, again, everything with MU is tied into the building of the MAAC.
Remember.. MU is a basketball school first. I don't think that's ever going to change.
I don't want to get to far ahead here as we are not yet at the mid point of this season; but....
With all of the seniors on this years aquad playing key roles; what does next year and beyond look like? Do the scholarship players mentioned represent an upgrade or will the next few years be re-building years?
Tough to imagine pulling top players in with high school facilities.
Your thoughts?
You said - With all of the seniors on this years squad playing key roles; what does next year and beyond look like?
Well...as we know..there will be many new faces in key positions in 2007. As I have mentioned previously I am looking forward to spring ball to see who emerges as this year's freshman receive a bulk of the playing time.
Callahan has called this his "most talented freshman class" but then again, he is the coach. All I can say is Chris Melvin of EliteRecuits.com, who evaluates NJ high school players, was very high on this years' class, at least from the standpoint of Jersey talent.. The most heralded of all the recruits was TE/WR Brian Callahan from Don Bosco. We'll just have to wait and see how things work out. I wish I could tell you - and myself for that matter - something more definite.
You said - Do the scholarship players mentioned represent an upgrade or will the next few years be re-building years?
I sort of answered this above though one would think next year would be a rebuilding year. But maybe it'll be more of a "reloading year." QB Brett Burke I thought looked good the other day in that he threw the ball accurately and on target. He has looked good to OK in preseason stuff I have seen.
Adam San Miguel and a few others listed as seniors will, or may be returning for fifth years . This potential list includes OL Bob Skellenger and Jonathon Dunn. Also returning will be freshman OL Shawn Wright who has played this year.
I like a potential 2007 backfield led by Dave Sinisi and Ryan Skorupka. Brian Giles is a speed burner from South Jersey who is a non-playing freshman this year. I can't mention every kid here. It would take forever.
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The defense..with a bunch of fifth year seniors, will be hit hard by graduation, no question. If you look at the depth chart freshman like Joe Cella and Jeff Brady are listed as back ups though of those two just Cella has played a little.
You said - Tough to imagine pulling top players in with high school facilities.
I can't speak with any great knowledge of faciltities. At least in recent years they (MU) seem to have done Ok so far in bringing in players who have become successful. Granted, now they are going after an alleged higher caliber athlete...but so many factors go into recruits making decisions it can be mind boggling. I really can't comment on how their weight room, etc., compares with others because I don't really know. I'm sure it's not Penn State-ish but does it match up with Lehigh, Delaware, etc? or at least most other NEC schools? I'm not going to kid anyone. I'm not an expert on this subject. MU did beat Colgate which supposedly goes after a higher (than MU) caliber athlete and I imagine has first class facilities.
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MU pitches it's campus, location, fan support, winning tradition, and non-conference schedule (Delaware, Lafayette next year) as part of its football recruiting process and now it can say it can send a player to the NFL. Also now it can offer it's most prized recruits scholarships as can other NEC schools. It's going to be interesting. My gut feeling is MU football is a program that will continue on the rise. By that I mean winning records and remaining in the running for championships, at least on the NEC level, while continuing to overall upgrade as a D-1 AA program.
At least that's how I see it. But I imagine we'll all know more about the immediate future after another round of recruiting and then spring ball.
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