|
Post by hchoops on Aug 27, 2024 7:01:59 GMT -5
New roster pics are out. Guys in coat and ties this year. I noticed height and weight only revised on a couple so doesn’t look like accuracy is still a priority there. Maybe the 2 deep will have them updated. Looks like all shared the same jacket & tie after post practice shower One size fit all ?
|
|
|
Post by cruskater31 on Aug 27, 2024 11:05:42 GMT -5
Looks like all shared the same jacket & tie after post practice shower One size fit all ? If I remember correctly, I think Merrimack had blue blazers and gold ties. Probably a coach move. I don't think Declan and Joe Mac would fit in Cason and Gregory's jackets!!!
|
|
|
Post by cruskater31 on Aug 27, 2024 11:06:27 GMT -5
This might deserve another thread. How many of our Saders have a crooked neck tie and how many are on straight?
|
|
|
Post by hcnj on Aug 27, 2024 11:43:15 GMT -5
This might deserve another thread. How many of our Saders have a crooked neck tie and how many are on straight? even some of the Ivy pics have had a bit of the more informal jacket and tie looks. But not too bad. I applaud Coach for pushing the envelope a little.
|
|
|
Post by midwestsader05 on Aug 27, 2024 18:39:58 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by midwestsader05 on Aug 28, 2024 13:45:37 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by purplehaze on Aug 28, 2024 14:17:01 GMT -5
Behind a paywall- and why isn’t there a video available?
|
|
|
Post by lou on Aug 28, 2024 14:25:54 GMT -5
A press conference on Holy Cross football which noone has access to? Where is our SID?
|
|
|
Post by drjack on Aug 28, 2024 14:45:55 GMT -5
It's for media folks only, it was like that the whole Chesney era anyways.
And the paywalled link was posted for me to post. I'll drop it here in a few minutes
|
|
|
Post by purplehaze on Aug 28, 2024 14:56:04 GMT -5
Jack, I don’t care how we did it in the past - are we a serious D.1 program or not ? Every school has a weekly presser ‘for media only’, and a high majority of schools provide video access.
|
|
|
Post by Sons of Vaval on Aug 28, 2024 15:02:47 GMT -5
The Holy Cross Football Show hosted by Bob F was great.
How difficult would it be to bring that back? Attach a sponsor to it. Seems like basic stuff.
|
|
|
Post by drjack on Aug 28, 2024 15:52:01 GMT -5
Each Tuesday, Holy Cross head coach Dan Curran will be meeting the media via Zoom.
This week, the head man of the Crusaders and his program has a very difficult challenge opening the season on the road Saturday night against a very good Rhode Island team. Here’s everything Coach Curran had to say about his team and the Rams ahead of the opener:
Opening statement
“I’m sure (we) feel similar to how URI feels our guys are chomping at the bit. I think they’re excited to hit someone else that’s not in the same color jersey. I know it should be a great environment Week 1 down at their place with it being a night game. We’re expecting a really good environment. Our guys are really excited about the opportunity. They’ve had a really, really good camp and just kind of picked up where they left off from the summer program and spring ball. We’ve built a lot of momentum. It’s a young group, but I’ve been saying it all season, it’s a motivated group that’s got a chip on its shoulder and I think they’re excited about the opportunity and the challenge they have in front of them this Saturday night.”
On what challenges URI presents
“I think first off, hats off to Coach (Jim) Fleming and his staff. They’ve gone in there – and I know the CAA pretty well having competed in it as a player – they’ve done a greta job of stabilizing that program. They’ve really turned them into an upper echelon CAA team that’s fighting for a conference championship and a playoff opportunity every single year. So, really consistent program that’s well coached. I think the thing that jumps out at you when you talk about Rhode Island is the team speed At the wideout position in particular, they brought in a couple transfers we’re familiar with that I think are guys that can take the top off. They obviously have a local player in Buchanan who’s a really good player, a really good matchup guy. Those three guys present a lot of problems. I think Coach Murphy does a really good job of utilizing his athletes and getting them in space. He does some different things in the run game that are unique that you don’t get from a lot of other opponents, so you’ve got to work hard to prepare for that. I think defensively, schematically they do a really good job of mixing up the looks on the back end, changing the fronts. And, I think personnel wise everything starts with their guys up front. Their nose guard and AJ Pena, those are two kids who I think ar top-tier CAA players and All-American type candidates. We certainly have to do a good job neutralizing them and hopefully staying balanced throughout the game and utilize our entire playbook.”
On what might be different for the program with Curran now running things
“I think like anything else, when you’re taking over something that’s not a broken product, you’ve got to be careful not to tear it down to the roots or to the base. We certainly didn’t want to do that. Being a fan and following this program since I was a young kid, I had an understanding about the history and tradition of this place. Even the guys that are currently on the roster, I had a chance to compete against them the last three years. So, I did have some good familiarity with this place and some of the things that have allowed it to be successful. I’ve tried to keep a number of those things in place. I think from a schematic standpoint it’ll probably be more multiple than what the casual fan is used to seeing. A little bit more motion shifts, a little bit more formations than they’re used to traditionally seeing. Our goal is to be balanced. It may look different every week depending on who we’re playing. Our biggest goal is to build around what our best players do well and throughout the course of a season that can change. But, certainly being balanced against a really good defensive front like URI is going to be important. I think that piece will be different. Defensively, it’ll be a little bit of a chance schematically as well, but the emphasis is always going to be ‘let’s simplify it for these guys. Let’s get them playing confident, playing fast, running to the football.’ Everybody at the beginning of the season talks about those things and being physical, then you turn the film on and it doesn’t match as far as what the goals of the program are, or the identity of the program. I think for us, we talk about it every day. We better make sure if we say this is our culture, this is our identity, that what we put on film or show on film matches that. I think this group has done a great job of doing that, not just in a week, not just over the course of the preseason. but every single day. That’s where you start to create standards and this group has done a really good job of that. There will be some differences in schemes and personnel groupings, but overall the physicality we’re hoping to play with and the shear effort and the relentless brand of football we’ve done in my last place, we’re hoping to bring here. The kids have really bought into that and embraced it and so far it’s looked really good in practice.”
On what makes Jordan Fuller special
“It starts with who he is as a person. He’s clearly a talented football player. If you look at him, he looks like he was built…he’s one of those guys that’s the prototype. The height, weight, the speed, the athleticism, his intelligence as a football player. But, really the quality of who he is as a teammate and who he’s become as a leader is what I think really separates him. I see the influence he has on the younger kids in the running backs room and really, the younger kids in the program. We talk a lot of times about what the standard looks like and for our program, he’s one of those guys that we look to with how he conducts himself on and off the field, on campus and in the community. He does it the right way and if you had a million Jordan Fullers as a coach, you’d probably coach for 100 years. He makes our life easy. He’s a low-maintenance guy and I believe he elevates the people around him in addition to making a bunch of plays on the field.”
On his journey getting to this point as the HC head coach
“Well, for me, I’ve always tried to be where my feet are. I’ve never really worried about the next job. We passed up on some opportunities during my time at Merrimack that maybe were probably better for my wallet and probably better for my ego, but we believed in what we were doing there. We built something we’re really proud of and I thought it was important for the program and my family to have some stability. So, for me to leave something like that it had to be a really special opportunity. I mentioned earlier in the call that Holy Cross…for a good portion of my life was a place I’ve always looked up to and had an immense amount of respect for. Not just for the football program, but the college and the entire Holy Cross community. This place…I’ve always had a special connection to it. The opportunity to come here was one that I was not going to pass on. We understand there’s a big responsibility here with the standard of excellence that’s been created, not just the last five years but the long history and tradition of this program and what this school stands for and what it’s built on. We know with that responsibility it’s going to be something we take a great deal of pride in and protect. These kids have done a great job of buying into that. I’m super excited about the chance to continue the legacy that Holy Cross has built here and hopefully, create our own niche and live our own mark in what has been a really good history for an unbelievable program.”
On getting to know the CAA pretty well over the first few weeks of the season
“Yeah, we’ve talked a lot about that as a program with both the players and the staff and even the administration, that there’s no rest for the weary with what we have coming out of the gate. We’ve got three CAA teams right out of the gate that are really good programs. We’ve also got the two top Ivy League programs and an ACC team and what is now becoming a really upward-trending Patriot League. So, we know we’re going to have to earn it every single week, but none of that really matters unless we take care of business Week 1 against what’s going to be a really talented and deep URI team. It’s going to feel like we’re a CAA conference team for the first couple weeks for sure. But, with our kids, the one thing that’s a common denominator in our locker room is our kids are a bunch of great competitors. I think if you deem yourself a great competitor, you want to go up against the best and compete on a week in and week out basis. It’s something we’re all looking for and we’re certainly going to get a good dose of that going against a bunch of really good CAA teams.”
On players that have exceeded expectations in camp
“Well, it’s hard to pick just one…we lost 35 senior last year. There’s a lot of young guys being thrusted into bigger roles. I certainly wouldn’t want to diminish any of these guys because there’s been a lot of guys that have mad huge strides and big improvements, not only in preseason but the entire offseason. I think one guy on offense that stands out at least is Jayden Clearveaux. He’s a guy that’s going to have an opportunity to mix in with Jordan Fuller and maybe we’ll have the opportunity to put those guys in there together. He’s a guy that had a very, very successful career both at Everett High School and Williston Northampton as a PG. He’s a really talented running back, another kid who is an awesome teammate and I think will end up being a good leader here. He’s a guy that stands out that I think can make an impact. On defense, it’s hard to pick just one guy because there’s been so many, but one guy that wasn’t really in the mix last year because of so much experience we had at the cornerback position…I think Cam Jones is a guy that’s stood out. I think he can factor in both as a defensive back and in the return game. He’s really bought in to what we’ve talked about as far as being relentless on the defensive side of the ball, running the football, being physically and mentally tough, playing with that competitive edge. He’s embraced that and the results have been good for him. We’re excited for the opportunity he’ll have against some really talented wide receivers for Rhode Island on Saturday.”
On Bradford Blattner
“Brad has made a ton of growth over the course of the last six or seven months since I’ve been here. He’s a kid you could tell out of high school had an unbelievable ceiling as far as what he could become as a football player. Credit to him, he’s really bought in to the weight room here with what Coach Grautski’s doing with those guys. He’s made huge gains physically, but even his game…I believe he only played two years of high school football. So, for him, the jumps he’s making have been exponential. He’s leaps and bounds ahead of where he was even six months ago. We’re continuing to see that growth throughout the course of preseason and the sky’s the limit for him. He’s gotten a chance to be behind a couple older guys right now who have also paid their dues (Declan McCauley and Cam McNair) and I think that’s going to benefit him. He’s a student of the game, he’s got unbelievable questions. He’s not afraid to be coached which is an important trait to have…we’re excited about Brad. We think he’ll make an impact this year and I think his future is really, really bright.”
On the kickers
“Daniel, Luis and Ethan…not to try and play coy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if all three of them factor in on Saturday night in different roles and different situations. All those guys bring some different things to the table. I think Daniel has probably…he’s done a really good job of solidifying himself as having an impact this year. But, those other two guys are going to factor in as well and I believe both of them will continue to develop too. That room as a whole has made significant ground from where they were last fall. I think it’s going to end up being a strength of the program this year, which is an important piece. We talk about special teams being 1/3 of the game, those guys are a huge part of what we’re doing and they’ve had really good offseason.”
|
|
|
Post by hchoops on Aug 28, 2024 17:11:44 GMT -5
Very thorough. Thanks, Coach and the good doctor for posting
|
|
|
Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Aug 28, 2024 17:17:52 GMT -5
Here is the YouTube link. I expect this will be the standard practice every game week.
|
|
|
Post by Sons of Vaval on Aug 28, 2024 19:02:52 GMT -5
What happened to hc2020?
He always had a lot of insights into camp. Almost like he had eyes at practice and inside the locker room.
|
|
|
Post by dharry13 on Aug 29, 2024 6:13:42 GMT -5
Hahaha. Usually had good things to say about Rivers.
|
|
|
Post by 78purple on Aug 29, 2024 7:42:23 GMT -5
Very thorough. Thanks, Coach and the good doctor for posting I think most of us would agree......we can play for this guy
|
|
|
Post by timholycross on Aug 29, 2024 8:14:14 GMT -5
Hope he's right about the kickers- no fgs last year longer than 28 yards...and I seem to recall some pretty bad misses.
|
|