Football Recruits

It is never too early to start think about football recruiting--well, actually, it COULD be too early, but there is nothing else going on, so we're going to do it anyway.

CSTV is reporting that Brandon Klueuer of Cincinnati Colerain has verballed to BG. He is a 6.4, 280 O-lineman. Hard to tell much more about him. There are reports that he is the first player in Falcon history to have the vowels "ue" repeated in his name, but than cannot be confirmed.

Also, Neal Dahlman of Illinois, a LB has also reportedly verballed.

Who knows how reliable these reports are, but there you go.

Say Hello to the Patriot Bowl

This idea has been percolating for a long time, and has finally come to fruition. Much as BG played Wisconsin over Labor Day weekend, now the Patriot Bowl will be played at Browns Stadium every Labor Day Weekend. It will feature a service academy against an Ohio MAC team, on a rotating basis.

I think this is an awesome thing. A trip to Cleveland every six years is probably about right for our fan base, (making it rare enough to be still special), and the service academies are great opponents for the MAC. They are "big name" enough to draw fans, but also teams that a good MAC team can beat...or, some years, a bad MAC team. They travel well and have a following all over the place.

Good job to the MAC office. It all starts this year with Akron playing Army.

Ask the AD on bgsufalcons.com

New feature on the Falcon website...Ask the AD!

Here's the chance for the Falcon Nation to go right to the source....

Come on kids...put up or shut up.

Hoops News. First recruit, Hackenberg weighs in

The Sentinel is reporting in today's edition that the first recruit in the Orr Era has signed at BG. He is 6'9" forward Cameron Madlock, of Whitefish Bay, WI. His father, Eddie Percy, played at Kansas State.

I think the Nation will be happy with his size and apparent athletic ability--but less happy that he is not a point guard. (Don't give up hope--there is still time!)

Some notes:

• He averaged 14 points, 8 boards and 2 blocks for a 21-4 team in Wisconsin. (good numbers, not awesome. Not sure about all-conference or team honors).
  
• He wasn't heavily recruited because he didn't play hoops as a junior. WMU did offer, he reports.
• Coach Orr says he is a mobile 4. Which, given the style coach apparently wants to play (more later) that should come in handy.
• He will enroll in classes this June.

That gives us some pretty viable big guys--Polk, Marschall, Larson and Madlock. I hope help is on the way at guard. We have 2-3 scholarships to give, depending on if Guerin gets a scholarship from the coach, which I suspect he will, since it had been promised.

Also, Dave Hackenberg did a nice piece in The Blade on Coach Orr in the paper on Sunday. Note the reference from Charlie Coles of Orr being the "Tony Dungy of college basketball."

For the fans who are wondering what it will look like on the floor, here is a clue from the man himself.

"Hubie is a defensive-oriented coach who demands a certain toughness factor," Orr said. "He believes in defense, rebounding, toughness and attention to detail when it comes to the game plan, and so do I.

"I believe a team feeds off defense, that you up the tempo of a game to create opportunities. You pressure, you contest shots, you rebound at the defensive end, and you push the ball. I believe in team; that's non-negotiable.

Meanwhile, the nation is getting jazzed for hoops--for the first time in a long while.

Say Goodbye to the Grass

And there you have it. After 41 years, the grass is coming off the field at the Doyt. Here's the Sentinel's story on it.

The Falcon Nation seems to have divided opinions on this move. The U is spending almost a million dollars to get this done. A lot of people--me included--will hold out nostalgia for the grass field at our Stadium. At one time, we were known for having one of the best turf fields in the country. The playing surface was impeccable. Recently, the advent of play late into November along with deterioration of the aging draining system caused the field to be a sub-par surface a couple of times--once when we beat Toledo for the MAC West title in Brandon I, and again last year when Miami played BG in that awful muck.

So, would I prefer grass? Yes.

But, I get it. Times do change. The quality of FieldTurf is so much higher than the old astroturf, and since it is so grass-like, yet does not have to be maintained, etc, and will always provide a quality surface. It can also be used for many more activities. Five teams in the MAC already had this surface. (Hell, our local HS has field turf).

It is time to change.

The turf will provide a better visual appearance to the Stadium, and the end zones can be bright orange, etc. I think we will adjust to the change pretty quickly. It might help recruiting a little, too.

Falcons Try outs

Based on some chatter on AZZ which I believe to be accurate, Devon Parks has a try-out this weekend with the Browns and Derrick Markray with the Redskins. I can't find any evidence that either of them is a UDFA--rather, they have to play their way into being a UDFA.

Best of luck to both, who were great Falcons.

DD Reports on John Reimold

Had the chance to hear DD in studio on The Ticket today. In the middle of a biblical hailstorm, Coach revealed that John Reimold has opened a mortgage business in Las Vegas after tiring of playing hoops overseas. Apparently, Germaine Fitch and Patrick Phillips are living with him. As DD says, "I don't know what's going on, but I can tell you there isn't much work going on."

Nice to check in on a Falcon grad doing well. He was my son's Jr. Falcon coach and a good guy.