Post by vu72 on Nov 22, 2010 14:17:07 GMT -5
A couple of recent articles describing what the coaching staff is doing to turn the program around. Note the reference to our buddy jj (I'm pretty sure he looks at our fan site and is referencing him) from John Mutka:
VU football down, far from out
Comments
November 22, 2010
BY JOHN MUTKA, Senior correspondent JANDGMUTKA@MSN.COM
So, your Valparaiso University football team goes 0-11 and will take a 20-game losing streak into 2011. You haven't won a home game since Oct. 11, 2008.
Thanksgiving's coming up, but the concussed Crusaders' primary reason to celebrate is no longer getting their brains beaten out week after week.
Transition years inevitably are painful when a coach is installing a new system with someone else's recruits. Inheriting holdovers from a 1-10 season, Dale Carlson struggled to repair fragile egos. His first team was outscored by nearly a 6-1 ratio and most of its 100 points were collected in garbage time.
Recruiting won't be easy for a program that needs help in nearly every area to climb out of the Dumpster. When the season highlight is the punting of sophomore Greg Wood, who averaged 43.6 yards, you have problems. One encouraging sign: 39 of the 44 players listed in VU's two-deeps for its home finale were underclassmen.
Being patient is part of the process, something the cheap-shot artists who anonymously ridicule the Crusaders never will understand. To run, Valparaiso must first take baby steps with freshmen like quarterback Eric Lemon and tight end Kevin Becker.
Lemon, the grandson of former Michigan City football coach Ron Lemon, passed for 814 yards and four touchdowns in six games. His passing efficiency rating was a commendable 100.34. Becker piled up 353 yards on 34 receptions.
"Eric took some shots, but showed tremendous toughness and courage," Carlson said. "He reminds me of Nick Wellman, who played for me at Tri-State."
The former Portage standout helped jump-start that Angola-based NAIA program, which Carlson guided to 11 victories and a No. 3 national ranking in 1998, and a conference championship in 2001.
Valparaiso has bottomed out, but Carlson knows what it takes to reverse the trend, having pioneered football at Ohio Dominican. In 2007, he produced a 12-1 team only three years after the Panthers went winless in their football debut. Neither Tri-State nor Ohio Dominican offered the advantages of this Lutheran university.
"We had limited resources at Tri-State and very little presidential support at Ohio Dominican," Carlson said. "We have more bullets here."
His ammunition starts with the ability to recruit nationally, targeting places like Georgia, Florida, Denver, the Twin Cities, D.C. metro area, southern California and St. Louis.
"We're no longer limited to a four-or five-state area," Carlson said. "We've identified places with strong Lutheran populations and student-athletes who would be good academic fits."
Valparaiso is going head-to-head against Ivy and Patriot leagues stocked with Puritans who don't offer athletic scholarships. Financial burdens are major considerations at Valparaiso, which costs a staggering $38,000 a year. Believe it or not, Carlson considers that an advantage.
"That's $10-to-20,000 less than places like Dartmouth, Columbia, Bucknell and Holy Cross -- nonscholarship schools we're competing against," Carlson said.
Being a late hire, Carlson was at a disadvantage coming into this school year. Now, he's evened the playing field, having worked potential recruits since May 1.
"We've developed some relationships," he said, exuding quiet confidence. "We're going to turn this around."
To reverse the trend, he needs depth on both sides of the trenches. Improving team speed is also a priority. Outside of Eric Slenk, who led the Crusaders in all-purpose yardage, they were painfully slow.
"We need to find ways to get the ball in his hands more," Carlson admitted.
Advantages he can cite in wooing recruits is VU's membership in the Pioneer Football League. Going from San Diego to New York (Marist) and Jacksonville (Florida) defines the PFL as the only coast-to-coast conference in the country.
Valparaiso also is upgrading its nonconference schedule. In the next two years, opponents will include Youngstown State, Duquesne, North Dakota and Western Illinois. Next season, Franklin will be VU's only non-Division I opponent. Arch-rival St. Joseph's, a Division II rival, will skip 2011, but returns in 2012.
While Carlson's staff recruits, the holdovers will continue build bulging biceps under the watchful eye of Bobby Brooks, who became full-time strength coach as part of the football upgrade. It's already paying off.
"More than half our players improved their strength during the season," Carlson noted.
Slowly, he's nudging VU in the right direction. Given time, I believe Saturday afternoons again will be fun at Brown Field.
Early signs are encouraging. Examples: On Oct. 30, more than 40 prospects watched the VU-Butler game, more than attended any game in 2009. Carlson's summer camp in June attracted nearly 110 youngsters, more than double the previous year.
And this one from The Times:
AL HAMNIK: VU's road to football respect needs a GPS
StoryDiscussionAL HAMNIK: VU's road to football respect needs a GPS
By Al Hamnik Times Columnist nwi.com | Posted: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 10:00 pm | 1 Comment
Valparaiso University first-year football coach Dale Carlson suffered through an 0-11 record that saw his Crusaders outscored 514-100 .
..If Valparaiso University's football misery had just completed its third or fourth season under Dale Carlson, he'd be thrown out like yesterday's newspaper.
They'd empty his office, hold the door wide open for him and breathe a sigh of relief.
When your team goes 0-11, is outscored 514-100 and has a 20-game losing streak, no amount of pleading should save your job.
But Carlson is only in his first year and has a reputation for rebuilding floundering college programs, which Valparaiso has with its last win 20-17 at Concordia College, Sept. 12, 2009.
He had grabbed the steering wheel at Tri-State, then Ohio Dominican, got both back on the road, and headed in the right direction. But it took time.
Carlson's smart enough to know the shortcomings of VU's program, smart enough to know Pioneer League teams love kicking the stuffing out of his kids. Like they say in the movies: Watcha gonna do 'bout it?
The key is recruiting. VU doesn't give athletic scholarships in football but desperately needs quick, athletic, players in the fold to be taken seriously again. Welcome to Challenge No. 1.
"When I took the position at Valparaiso, I knew we weren't going to turn it around instantly," Carlson said. "Nobody expected not to win a game, but we saw, from an athletic perspective, we're not where we need to be."
The "closest" VU came to any team this season was Drake (21-19) and San Diego (30-10), its worst loss, 86-7 against Jacksonville. Out on the street, they'd arrest you for that. It's called assault and battery.
"You've just got to keep working, keep fighting and believing in your teammates," Carlson told players after each thumping.
He started the program at Tri-State, which made the national semifinals his fourth year. And then Ohio Dominican, where he lost 15 of his first 16 games, then regrouped to go 35-12. Why not VU, he tells his players.
"Quite honestly, that's what we're doing here. We're kinda starting over," Carlson said.
Region fans associate Valparaiso University with Homer Drew and its men's basketball. Carlson hopes to share top billing one day and believes he can.
"Absolutely, or I wouldn't be here," he said.
It helps when school administrators feel the same way and Carlson claims they do, all in agreement there's no future in being a punching bag.
They certainly were this season, allowing 507 total yards per game.
Many coaches whose schools don't offer football scholarships are quick to use that as an excuse, but not Carlson. It wouldn't fly.
"Dayton, Butler, Jacksonville, San Diego ... everybody in our conference is a non-scholarship program," he said. "Then you take the very good academic schools we're trying to compete against for players like the Ivy League, the Patriot League. They're also non-scholarship.
"There's definitely that type of kid who wants to be in a very academic setting and play Division I football that'll come without an athletic scholarship. They're out there and we can recruit those kids to come to Valparaiso University."
Well put. Now he's got to beat the bushes and sign them.
This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at al.hamnik@nwi.com.
VU football down, far from out
Comments
November 22, 2010
BY JOHN MUTKA, Senior correspondent JANDGMUTKA@MSN.COM
So, your Valparaiso University football team goes 0-11 and will take a 20-game losing streak into 2011. You haven't won a home game since Oct. 11, 2008.
Thanksgiving's coming up, but the concussed Crusaders' primary reason to celebrate is no longer getting their brains beaten out week after week.
Transition years inevitably are painful when a coach is installing a new system with someone else's recruits. Inheriting holdovers from a 1-10 season, Dale Carlson struggled to repair fragile egos. His first team was outscored by nearly a 6-1 ratio and most of its 100 points were collected in garbage time.
Recruiting won't be easy for a program that needs help in nearly every area to climb out of the Dumpster. When the season highlight is the punting of sophomore Greg Wood, who averaged 43.6 yards, you have problems. One encouraging sign: 39 of the 44 players listed in VU's two-deeps for its home finale were underclassmen.
Being patient is part of the process, something the cheap-shot artists who anonymously ridicule the Crusaders never will understand. To run, Valparaiso must first take baby steps with freshmen like quarterback Eric Lemon and tight end Kevin Becker.
Lemon, the grandson of former Michigan City football coach Ron Lemon, passed for 814 yards and four touchdowns in six games. His passing efficiency rating was a commendable 100.34. Becker piled up 353 yards on 34 receptions.
"Eric took some shots, but showed tremendous toughness and courage," Carlson said. "He reminds me of Nick Wellman, who played for me at Tri-State."
The former Portage standout helped jump-start that Angola-based NAIA program, which Carlson guided to 11 victories and a No. 3 national ranking in 1998, and a conference championship in 2001.
Valparaiso has bottomed out, but Carlson knows what it takes to reverse the trend, having pioneered football at Ohio Dominican. In 2007, he produced a 12-1 team only three years after the Panthers went winless in their football debut. Neither Tri-State nor Ohio Dominican offered the advantages of this Lutheran university.
"We had limited resources at Tri-State and very little presidential support at Ohio Dominican," Carlson said. "We have more bullets here."
His ammunition starts with the ability to recruit nationally, targeting places like Georgia, Florida, Denver, the Twin Cities, D.C. metro area, southern California and St. Louis.
"We're no longer limited to a four-or five-state area," Carlson said. "We've identified places with strong Lutheran populations and student-athletes who would be good academic fits."
Valparaiso is going head-to-head against Ivy and Patriot leagues stocked with Puritans who don't offer athletic scholarships. Financial burdens are major considerations at Valparaiso, which costs a staggering $38,000 a year. Believe it or not, Carlson considers that an advantage.
"That's $10-to-20,000 less than places like Dartmouth, Columbia, Bucknell and Holy Cross -- nonscholarship schools we're competing against," Carlson said.
Being a late hire, Carlson was at a disadvantage coming into this school year. Now, he's evened the playing field, having worked potential recruits since May 1.
"We've developed some relationships," he said, exuding quiet confidence. "We're going to turn this around."
To reverse the trend, he needs depth on both sides of the trenches. Improving team speed is also a priority. Outside of Eric Slenk, who led the Crusaders in all-purpose yardage, they were painfully slow.
"We need to find ways to get the ball in his hands more," Carlson admitted.
Advantages he can cite in wooing recruits is VU's membership in the Pioneer Football League. Going from San Diego to New York (Marist) and Jacksonville (Florida) defines the PFL as the only coast-to-coast conference in the country.
Valparaiso also is upgrading its nonconference schedule. In the next two years, opponents will include Youngstown State, Duquesne, North Dakota and Western Illinois. Next season, Franklin will be VU's only non-Division I opponent. Arch-rival St. Joseph's, a Division II rival, will skip 2011, but returns in 2012.
While Carlson's staff recruits, the holdovers will continue build bulging biceps under the watchful eye of Bobby Brooks, who became full-time strength coach as part of the football upgrade. It's already paying off.
"More than half our players improved their strength during the season," Carlson noted.
Slowly, he's nudging VU in the right direction. Given time, I believe Saturday afternoons again will be fun at Brown Field.
Early signs are encouraging. Examples: On Oct. 30, more than 40 prospects watched the VU-Butler game, more than attended any game in 2009. Carlson's summer camp in June attracted nearly 110 youngsters, more than double the previous year.
And this one from The Times:
AL HAMNIK: VU's road to football respect needs a GPS
StoryDiscussionAL HAMNIK: VU's road to football respect needs a GPS
By Al Hamnik Times Columnist nwi.com | Posted: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 10:00 pm | 1 Comment
Valparaiso University first-year football coach Dale Carlson suffered through an 0-11 record that saw his Crusaders outscored 514-100 .
..If Valparaiso University's football misery had just completed its third or fourth season under Dale Carlson, he'd be thrown out like yesterday's newspaper.
They'd empty his office, hold the door wide open for him and breathe a sigh of relief.
When your team goes 0-11, is outscored 514-100 and has a 20-game losing streak, no amount of pleading should save your job.
But Carlson is only in his first year and has a reputation for rebuilding floundering college programs, which Valparaiso has with its last win 20-17 at Concordia College, Sept. 12, 2009.
He had grabbed the steering wheel at Tri-State, then Ohio Dominican, got both back on the road, and headed in the right direction. But it took time.
Carlson's smart enough to know the shortcomings of VU's program, smart enough to know Pioneer League teams love kicking the stuffing out of his kids. Like they say in the movies: Watcha gonna do 'bout it?
The key is recruiting. VU doesn't give athletic scholarships in football but desperately needs quick, athletic, players in the fold to be taken seriously again. Welcome to Challenge No. 1.
"When I took the position at Valparaiso, I knew we weren't going to turn it around instantly," Carlson said. "Nobody expected not to win a game, but we saw, from an athletic perspective, we're not where we need to be."
The "closest" VU came to any team this season was Drake (21-19) and San Diego (30-10), its worst loss, 86-7 against Jacksonville. Out on the street, they'd arrest you for that. It's called assault and battery.
"You've just got to keep working, keep fighting and believing in your teammates," Carlson told players after each thumping.
He started the program at Tri-State, which made the national semifinals his fourth year. And then Ohio Dominican, where he lost 15 of his first 16 games, then regrouped to go 35-12. Why not VU, he tells his players.
"Quite honestly, that's what we're doing here. We're kinda starting over," Carlson said.
Region fans associate Valparaiso University with Homer Drew and its men's basketball. Carlson hopes to share top billing one day and believes he can.
"Absolutely, or I wouldn't be here," he said.
It helps when school administrators feel the same way and Carlson claims they do, all in agreement there's no future in being a punching bag.
They certainly were this season, allowing 507 total yards per game.
Many coaches whose schools don't offer football scholarships are quick to use that as an excuse, but not Carlson. It wouldn't fly.
"Dayton, Butler, Jacksonville, San Diego ... everybody in our conference is a non-scholarship program," he said. "Then you take the very good academic schools we're trying to compete against for players like the Ivy League, the Patriot League. They're also non-scholarship.
"There's definitely that type of kid who wants to be in a very academic setting and play Division I football that'll come without an athletic scholarship. They're out there and we can recruit those kids to come to Valparaiso University."
Well put. Now he's got to beat the bushes and sign them.
This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at al.hamnik@nwi.com.
