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Post by hchoops on Nov 15, 2023 20:50:39 GMT -5
I would bet that 10 years out, most every guy who chooses to leave HC next year for another year elsewhere will second guess their decision. I don't see any of them being impact players at top 25 FBS teams. And that's what it takes to get noticed much more than they are now. Stay at HC and continue to make memories at Fitton. Some of our players who are eligible for a 5th year will transfer. Not to improve their NFL chances because they're not that level. But if you're a serious student, the transfer portal gives you the opportunity to get a year of grad school paid for. Why stay and get a second bachelor's degree when you have the chance to go to a good grad school for free? Ask the many who have stayed the past two seasons
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Post by efg72 on Nov 15, 2023 21:06:41 GMT -5
Because Gradschool is nice but over rated
Tell me what you have done, how you will make a difference, and what have you done to grow a business. Five years after your BA the other letters after your name just don't matter as much as one thinks
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Post by hchoops on Nov 15, 2023 22:02:54 GMT -5
Because Gradschool is nice but over rated Tell me what you have done, how you will make a difference, and what have you done to grow a business. Five years after your BA the other letters after your name just don't matter as much as one thinks In professions such as teacher, in many states you need a masters to begin in the public school systems.
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Post by midwestsader05 on Nov 15, 2023 22:23:57 GMT -5
I would bet that 10 years out, most every guy who chooses to leave HC next year for another year elsewhere will second guess their decision. I don't see any of them being impact players at top 25 FBS teams. And that's what it takes to get noticed much more than they are now. Stay at HC and continue to make memories at Fitton. Some of our players who are eligible for a 5th year will transfer. Not to improve their NFL chances because they're not that level. But if you're a serious student, the transfer portal gives you the opportunity to get a year of grad school paid for. Why stay and get a second bachelor's degree when you have the chance to go to a good grad school for free? You might think so but the overwhelming majority since 2021 have opted to return to HC. Only Foley (Duke) and Bowler (Richmond) made grad school focused decisions. Ayir (Wyoming) was a football decision. Couple that with the 6th years that would have returned to HC if they could have - Brekke (Miami OH), Reynolds (Ohio) and Reich (Nova), the score is like HC ~20 VS players picking other colleges for post grad education 2. And if any choose not to return to HC in 2024 it will be a football decision primarily and not a free year of grad school as the incentive. I can’t think of one player that will be invited back next year taking a pass cause of a grad school based decision. I can think of maybe 4 that would be football based decisions.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Nov 16, 2023 6:12:37 GMT -5
This won't happen but it's fun to think about. ND's transfer QB, Sam Hartman, is done after this year. Why not bring in Matt Sluka? With great players all around him he would be fun to watch at that level. ND aspires to be in the CFP each season. They're not bringing in an FCS QB to get them there. It's definitely extremely rare for a Top 25 blue-blood program to bring in an FCS transfer to be their immediate, unchallenged QB1. Last time I remember it happening was about 10 years ago when Oregon brought in the QB from Eastern Washington as a grad transfer to be their starter for 1 year. It's a slightly less prestigious program nonetheless but you also have Shedeur Sanders at Colorado, playing for his dad of course. Also, probably the only player in NCAA history to be named his new team's QB1 when he still had a game left to play at another school.
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Post by alum on Nov 16, 2023 6:17:09 GMT -5
We went to DC last year to visit our kids and attend the football game at Georgetown. (BTW, check out the bigger than life statue of John Thompson in the building next to the stadium if you get a chance.). After the game, we were in our hotel lobby. A player’s mother engaged us in conversation. She told us that her then senior son would be returning for his fifth year. She wanted him to go somewhere else and get a Masters but that he wanted “to stay with his brothers.” She expressed hope the coaches wouldn’t leave for greener pastures.
Query whether the hope that they would play for a national championship this year played a role in some decisions?
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Post by sader1970 on Nov 16, 2023 6:38:11 GMT -5
The band of brothers (my term) on the football team is evident and real as I’ve known a number of what became 5th years.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Nov 16, 2023 9:01:12 GMT -5
I have a couple of questions regarding players staying for a 5th year. First, from an academic standpoint, are they allowed to just take a few random courses for that fall semester, or do they have to opt for a double major? I guess I'm wondering if some advance planning has to take place to pull this off academically.
My second question involves scholarship dollars. If we assume the 5th year player is there for just the fall semester, what happens to the second semester scholarship $$? Can that be transferred to other players that are not on full rides?
Thanks in advance - really have no idea how this works.
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Post by classof83 on Nov 16, 2023 9:10:01 GMT -5
I always thought that Sluka's best chance to get to the NFL is as another Taysom Hill. Hill is 6'2' 220 lbs. and plays for New Orleans - similar to Sluka's 6' 3" and 216 lbs. Hill is listed as a QB but is really a "swiss army-knife" situational type of player. He recently tied Frank Gifford's record for having 25 rushing TD's, 10 passing and 10 receiving TD's.
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Post by Ignutz on Nov 16, 2023 10:07:51 GMT -5
I have a couple of questions regarding players staying for a 5th year. First, from an academic standpoint, are they allowed to just take a few random courses for that fall semester, or do they have to opt for a double major? I guess I'm wondering if some advance planning has to take place to pull this off academically. My second question involves scholarship dollars. If we assume the 5th year player is there for just the fall semester, what happens to the second semester scholarship $$? Can that be transferred to other players that are not on full rides? Thanks in advance - really have no idea how this works. I've always thought that a current senior who opts to come back for a fifth season would not attend school in his senior spring semester, but would take that semester's classes in the fall. Obviously, it would be easier to take a half-load each semester, but, assuming he's living on campus, I'd wonder how they would deal with an extra semester of room & board.
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Post by sader1970 on Nov 16, 2023 10:12:04 GMT -5
While basketball is likely different, the guys that I knew/know on the football team who did a 5th year took/take off a spring semester. Assume most/all do that unless extenuating/special circumstances.
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Post by alum on Nov 16, 2023 10:16:59 GMT -5
While basketball is likely different, the guys that I knew/know on the football team who did a 5th year took/take off a spring semester. Assume most/all do that unless extenuating/special circumstances. If so, can they attend spring practice? Do they just get apartments in Worcester? And to Dave's question, what happens to their scholarship money while they are not in school?
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Post by alum on Nov 16, 2023 10:20:08 GMT -5
Because Gradschool is nice but over rated Tell me what you have done, how you will make a difference, and what have you done to grow a business. Five years after your BA the other letters after your name just don't matter as much as one thinks But they do for certain jobs, including interestingly, college coaching if any of our guys are interested in that.
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Post by hcpride on Nov 16, 2023 10:50:43 GMT -5
I always thought that Sluka's best chance to get to the NFL is as another Taysom Hill. Hill is 6'2' 220 lbs. and plays for New Orleans - similar to Sluka's 6' 3" and 216 lbs. Hill is listed as a QB but is really a "swiss army-knife" situational type of player. He recently tied Frank Gifford's record for having 25 rushing TD's, 10 passing and 10 receiving TD's. Of course he doesn't have nearly the arm of Taysom Hill but if Sluka shows this sort of speed/athleticisim on his pro day he may get a look for some position : Hill showed impressive athletic ability at BYU's pro day. His 40-yard dash of 4.44 seconds and 38.5-inch (0.98m) vertical jump would have finished first among all participating quarterbacks at the 2017 NFL Combine, beating Texas A&M's Trevor Knight's 4.54-second 40-yard dash and 35.5 inches (0.90 m) vertical. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taysom_Hill(Note: Hill threw for about 3,000 yards his best year at BYU.)
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Post by crusader12 on Nov 16, 2023 14:38:15 GMT -5
another soaker of a home game. can't catch a break....Will be there in the rain and hope it is not the last one in 2023!
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Post by Crucis#1 on Nov 16, 2023 15:13:25 GMT -5
Latest weather forecast for Worcester indicates the rain will stop around noon.
Maybe we will catch a break for the afternoon.
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Post by sader1970 on Nov 16, 2023 15:48:55 GMT -5
Almost a certainty it will be the last game at Fitton this year as even if we win and Lafayette loses, in one of the videos, BC acknowledges that we won't be getting a home game if we get into the playoffs. But stranger things have happened, I suppose. Like maybe my Powerball or MegaMillions tickets will hit the numbers.
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Post by efg72 on Nov 16, 2023 15:52:13 GMT -5
'Either way, love every minute of it': Plenty in Patriot League is riding on HC football's Senior Day game Jennifer Toland Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney and his Crusaders have an opportunity to at least tie for their fifth straight Patriot League title with a win over Georgetown on Saturday. The Holy Cross football team’s 2023 campaign comes down to Saturday and its regular-season finale against Georgetown on Senior Day at Fitton Field.
Kicking off at the same time — noon — in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Lehigh hosts Lafayette in another Patriot League clash that could have critical implications for HC.
If the Crusaders (6-4, 4-1) defeat Georgetown and Lehigh beats Lafayette (8-2, 4-1), HC would claim its record fifth consecutive PL title outright and get the postseason automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
If Holy Cross and Lafayette both win, the Crusaders would share a fifth straight PL title, but the Leopards would earn the league’s auto bid based on the head-to-head tiebreaker. No. 22/24 Lafayette beat HC, 38-35, in October.
No. 25 HC would then have to hold out hope for an at-large berth.
The NCAA announces the 24-team FCS championship field at 12:30 Sunday.
“I want our players to understand,” Holy Cross coach Bob Chesney said, “that come Saturday, you get to the end of this thing, and you win this game and find out the other team you needed to lose loses, how will that feel walking into that Selection Show on Sunday? Don’t wait for that moment to believe. Let’s start believing that’s going to happen now and practice as hard as we can and play as hard as we can and cherish these final moments, whether that be this week or a few more weeks. Either way, love every minute of it.”
There are 10 automatic qualifiers for the FCS playoffs and 14 at-large selections. HC, which is 7-2 against FCS opponents and had three-point losses to FBS foes Boston College and Army, is seeking its fifth straight postseason appearance.
“I don’t know,” Chesney said earlier this week when asked what he thought of HC’s at-large chances. “I’m hoping we get a consideration. We’re just going to make the most of each opportunity, but damn, if you knocked off a Boston College or an Army, and you had real opportunities to do both, you’d be in a really good spot. Do they look at those and say it was only by three points each? I don’t know. I’m not sure how that plays out for us. We just have to focus on getting this game. We’re not done playing football yet. None of us want to be done. None of us are ready to be done.”
It was a gratifying performance for an HC defense besieged by injuries and overcoming inexperience most of the season.
“Our motto of the year is ‘next man up,’ ” senior linebacker Dante Bolden said after Tuesday’s practice. “We knew our hands were full going into the Army game, but we knew as long as we played together, played hard, trusted each other, trusted the scheme and trusted our talent, we would be in a good spot. We came up short, but I’m proud of the young guys who stepped up, and of the older guys.”
In the second quarter, HC senior cornerback Terrence Spence raced across the field to save a touchdown, knocking Army’s Casey Reynolds out of bounds at the 1 after a 69-yard reception.
“I saw him running across the field, I looked up and saw the ball in the air, and I saw him wide open,” Spence said. “I was like, ‘OK, I have to run.’ I put my head down, sprinted for 10 or 15 yards, put my head up, and I was almost there. That’s a play you have to make for your team. You can’t let them score. You have to do everything you can to prevent it.”
A holding penalty pushed Army to the 11, but the Black Knights got back the 10 yards on a pair of runs. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, junior linebacker Frankie Monte and Bolden crushed quarterback Bryson Daily short of the end zone.
“That was a huge play for our entire team,” Spence said. “We felt like we were in that game after that. That was the biggest stand we’ve had the entire season.”
During the key sequence, freshmen William Robinson and Carlo Crocetti combined for a tackle for no gain on second down.
HC went to the locker room trailing, 14-0.
“All the credit to Terrence Spence,” Bolden said. “Without his play, they go up, 21-0. When Frankie and I made that stop, I think it gave our whole sideline a lot of life.”
In in the absence of All-America linebacker Jacob Dobbs, who has missed the last two games due to injury, Monte made a career-high 13 tackles.
“They take a lot of pride in the physical, tough brand of football they played,” Chesney said. “A lot of guys stepped up, and they are going to have to continue to do that because this is an extremely high-powered offense walking in here on Saturday.”
Behind graduate quarterback Tyler Knoop, Georgetown (5-5, 3-2) averages 27.3 points and has the PL’s second-ranked passing offense. The Hoyas are coming off a 50-47 win at Bucknell.
“This week will be very different,” Chesney said. “It’s going to be more of the spread out skill sets that have to show up and not as much of a load-up-the-box and see who’s tougher. The pride they took in the Army game will certainly carry over, but it will look a little different.”
Georgetown has the top-ranked total defense in the PL and is tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions.
“Their defense is exotic, and they keep people off schedule,” Chesney said, “which gets them the ball back in their hands.”
Sluka back in lineup Senior quarterback Matthew Sluka returned to the starting lineup at Army after playing just three snaps, and gaining 15 yards on three carries, the previous two games due to an injury.
Against the Black Knights, Sluka carried a season-high 37 times for 171 yards and passed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, including senior Jalen Coker’s single-season program record 14th receiving TD of the year in the fourth quarter. Army sacked Sluka five times, and he threw an interception.
“He came out of it well physically,” Chesney said. “Two weeks off is going to slow you down a little bit, and there were certainly opportunities he would like to have back. There were a couple of open moments when a big play could have been sprung. I thought he did a nice job of managing it. They blitzed a lot, and he extended some plays. He ran it (37) times. I know a lot of those were pass plays that he pulled down, but I thought he did a really good job to be out for two weeks and face a downhill, physical defense like he did.”
Sluka, who surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second straight season (1,086), moved ahead of junior Jordan Fuller (1,046) for the team rushing yards lead, and into eighth on the FCS list. Fuller suffered an injury in the third quarter of last week’s game.
Last year marked the first time in program history HC had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season (Sluka, Peter Oliver).
Senior Day at Fitton Field Some of HC’s seniors will conclude their football careers after this season, some will return for a fifth year, others may finish their eligibility elsewhere or seize professional opportunities.
After Saturday’s game against Georgetown, Holy Cross will celebrate all of its seniors, fourth-years and fifth-years, in a postgame Senior Day ceremony on Fitton Field.
“It will definitely be emotional,” Bolden said. “It’s crazy how fast time has gone by. I remember my first game like it was a couple months ago. We just have to go out there and try to leave Fitton with a win.”
Fifth-year seniors like Dobbs, Devin Haskins and C.J. Hanson were freshmen when Holy Cross beat Georgetown in the final game of the 2019 to capture its first Patriot League title in 10 years.
Four-year seniors such as Sluka, Coker, Bolden and Spence came in as freshmen during COVID season and helped build the program from there.
“You go through the list,” Chesney said, “and it is a special group that will leave a mark on this program forever. They took a leap of faith, and I am proud of all they have accomplished, and how much they committed and sacrificed for the program.”
—Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @jentolandtg.
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Post by efg72 on Nov 16, 2023 17:14:30 GMT -5
x.com/fcsnationradio1/status/1725263487025197209?s=61&t=WfS6kh0SBYsUWgPDrRcEGwMy post And what does the selection committee want the country to see or possibly miss in the playoffs? The best and most exciting FCS QB One of the top three FCS WRs The best FCS mlb By the way they each are legitimate scholar athletes if that is important for a college athlete A difficult process for some but not really
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Post by longsuffering on Nov 16, 2023 19:14:40 GMT -5
Saturday will be mostly dry - latest weather report.
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Post by longsuffering on Nov 16, 2023 19:21:09 GMT -5
Almost a certainty it will be the last game at Fitton this year as even if we win and Lafayette loses, in one of the videos, BC acknowledges that we won't be getting a home game if we get into the playoffs. But stranger things have happened, I suppose. Like maybe my Powerball or MegaMillions tickets will hit the numbers. Has HC submitted a bid to host as a bubble team? Maybe only teams likely to be automatic qualifiers submit bids. Also, what does a far bubble team do for the Selection Show on Sunday? I hope they gather and celebrate the season no matter what happens on the show.
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Post by efg72 on Nov 16, 2023 21:19:48 GMT -5
I changed my mind, and i might be so far off, but if BC beats Pitt and goes 7-4 and we win i think we get an at large bid on Sunday morning
Now BC might lose big tonight and then i am saved for putting this out there as a possibility
Watch the FCS highlight film onSluka
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Post by cruskater31 on Nov 16, 2023 21:30:42 GMT -5
I changed my mind, and i might be so far off, but if BC beats Pitt and goes 7-4 and we win i think we get an at large bid on Sunday morning Now BC might lose big tonight and then i am saved for putting this out there as a possibility Watch the FCS highlight film onSluka Losing 17-13 early in the 4th. Will be a close quarter
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Post by longsuffering on Nov 16, 2023 21:57:57 GMT -5
Pitt reels off a 66 yard run for a TD. 24-16 Panthers. Eagles have four plus minutes to respond.
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Post by efg72 on Nov 16, 2023 22:09:09 GMT -5
Spared from my false sense of hope and enthusiasm
Back to Saturday😱
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