S137 Pre-Season Preview
It's another year in Rockne and as of this writing, we currently have 63 human coaches. Recapping last season, it was a great tournament which ended with Northern Michigan recapturing their Reign 34-30 over Texas A&M-Commerce. This season, we have some new faces at power programs and new coaches taking the challenge to rebuild their new programs.
Recruit signings started today and there are some new names moving up the rankings this year. We will get into the signings more this weekend.
To all the new coaches who joined us, thank you and we look forward to watching your programs grow in the future.
Let's kick off the season and talk about the favorites this year!
Quarterbacks can win championships and whether you are an all pass team or a run team, interceptions are game changers in the playoffs. Let's take a look at the top 10 teams and rank them based on their quarterback and what weapons they will have at their disposal.
60 core rating is a stud, 65 is elite. The following the quarterbacks should grow to stud level by the playoffs.
#1 Northern Mich (Spthibodeau) Matthew Hudson Sr.*QB Core: 64.88 FIQ 82
Hudson will be leading the #1 rated team and returning defending champions. He is going to have 2 redshirt seniors available this season,
RB Daniel Murphy 76.41 and WR William Smith 72.48. Murphy has been production with an overall decent career playing as a back-up to premier talent running backs.
WR Smith is returning after catching 92 receptions for 1041 yards 14 TD's. He will be in prime position for a possible all-american performance.
Easily the best QB in the league this season and his RB is elite and a stud WR has NMU as the favorite to repeat this season.
#2 Winona St (Gabby123) Alvin Hayes Sr.*QB Core: 63.22 FIQ 69
QB Hayes has a very solid offensive line filled with junior and seniors. His available weapons may not be be elite so this team is going to lean on creating opportunities for Hayes from their solid defense.
Sr. WR Jose Higgins will likely be the main target with a 68.24 core but has been somewhat untested going into this season. Out of the top ten QB's, he is on the lower end of Formation IQ with only 69 but Winona St. tends to lean on the rush more.
Their RB will help to keep defenses honest with the return of JR RB Thomas Johnson 67.25 who rushed 580 attempts for 3175 yards and 43 TD's.
#3 Presbyterian (rposborne) Christopher Glenn Sr.*QB Core: 63.02 FIQ 80
Ranked #7 this season for the team, QB Glenn looks to have a solid season and possibly get Presbyterian to the final four. His formation IQ is solid and he's ranked near elite status.
His weapons will be at RB Aaron Kern 68.24, Sr. WR James Rose 67.92 and a pair of tight ends rated 60+. WR Rose returns after 2 seasons where he caught 169 receptions for 2033 yards and 21 TD's.
This will be Kern's first season to really prove what he is capable of.
#4 TAMC (akua29) Christopher Jones Sr.*QB 62.72 FIQ 86
Coming in ranked #2 this season, it's QB Jones opportunity to carry the load. TAMC is on a down year with available playmaker's versus previous seasons.
Sr. RB Hector Jackson 69.93 will likely be the go to back after last seasons 92 receptions for 1141 yards 10 TD's.
The other is Jr. Allen Chuch 69.38 who will be one to watch over the next 2 seasons. As a sophomore he caught 90 receptions for 1239 yards 15 TD's.
60 core rating is a stud, 65 is elite. Only some of the following quarterbacks will grow into the stud level by the playoffs.
#5 Virginia St (catfish_jack)
James Dalton Sr.*QB 58.06 FIQ 87
VSU is currently ranked #8 in total talent but QB James Dalton is a stud in the making. Yes his core of 58.06 is on the lower side but 87 formation IQ is going to be a real difference maker. His redshirt sophomore season he threw for 5780 yards, 53 TD's and 10 interceptions. Last season he improved to 7364 yards, 71 TD's and only 5 interceptions cutting his turnovers in half.
Sr. WR Michael Dix returns after catching 214 receptions for 3419 yards and 29 TD. He caught 65% of the balls thrown his direction and only had 4 drops.
RB Carl Cox also returns after rushing over 1300 yards and catching 234 receptions for 2594 yards and a combined 39 touchdowns.
#6 West Chester (2000champou)
Gerald Serrano Sr.*QB
54.74 FIQ 83
I think West Chester featuring a high formation IQ and a senior at the helm should give the best performance. The teams talent is ranked #6 and their defense is going hopefully give them shorter field position to work with.
QB Serrano will have limited options as his weapons are very young and not fully developed. Sr. WR Timothy Miller 67.52 will be a focus and returns after 78 receptions on only 113 throws. That's 69% of the balls thrown to him that he caught and he put up 882 yards and 21 TD's. Amazing stats, for every 3-4 throws he caught a touchdown.
#7 Ferris St (coachoatie)
Stephen Green Jr.*QB
55.62 FIQ 74
#7 ranked QB and team talent, they return this season with 14 seniors. Fortunately, most of the seniors are on defense which should bold well to keep them in the game.
Last season QB Green Jr. threw for 3006 yards, 15 TD's and 4 interceptions. He will be tested this year but will have Sr. WR Shane Norris 68.62 who caught 118 receptions, 1778 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
RB Samuel Houston 69.48 is in the hunt to have a great year but most of his work appears to come on the ground. Last season he rushed for over 2000 yards, 6.2 average per carry and 29 touchdowns.
#8 Humboldt St (jaylien1) Dale McFarland Sr.QB
55.94 FIQ 64
It's good that QB McFarland is a senior, I believe that not only their FIQ but also their class could make a performance difference. Even if it doesn't, you just feel better seeing "Sr." next to his name. Pretty good cast of receivers to go to and 16 seniors across all positions.
Notable Performers: WR Alvin Williams 67.4, RB Frederick James 64.91, TE Paul Grubbs 62.06.
#9 Saint Joseph's (fla_dave)
Tony Henderson Jr.*QB
55.74 FIQ 67
SJ returns under new management, with long time successful coach Fla_dave who joined with renewed energy. His old team is still good shape and comes in as the #9 best team talent this season. QB Henderson is an absolute stud TE to work with this season who enters this year at 65.23 core. He is lacking in speed but should provide some consistent production to keep the chains moving.
Notable Performers: TE Darrell Davis 65.23, RB Ronald Williams 62.41, WR David Lewis 62.14
#10 Cheyney (waregl72)
Joseph Melton So.*QB
53.42 FIQ 63
The #3 ranked team overall and typically a lock for the final four each season. This season could be a real challenge to make it back with sophomore QB Joseph Melton leading the charge. Anyone who has had to play with a redshirt sophomore knows that interceptions are just part of his game.
With a solid defense, offensive line and ground game the team will still be a force this season. Jr. RB Jay Vigil will be very important establishing the ground attack and returns after a 1000 yard season and 16 touchdowns.
The Sr. WR duo between Gary Anderson 72.9 and Mark Connolly 71.5 could be the best D2 has to offer this year. Both wide receivers caught over 90 receptions and 1000 yards and should improve on those numbers this season.
Notable Performers: WR Gary Anderson 72.9, WR Mark Connolly 71.5, RB Jay Vigil 68.03