Knight_Light

Tough call...in Football, almost 80-90 plus Div I-A Teams have good-to-great facilities. I think kids want first to go to the biggest school/program they can get to (most have a track record with NFL), get on TV as much as possible, have a school with good facilities, oh...yeah...and academics. In the future...as the ACC Schools become stronger, joining the SEC Schools...and we know that EVERYONE recruits FLA hard...it might even be harder to keep some very good players INSTATE in the future. Great selling point for USF and UCF is that they both have brand new facilities, plus, probably around 1/3 of the kids "prefer" to play instate and closer to home. As you mentioned earlier...Leavitt should of had a better QB pipeline over the past 4 years to move right in for MB we he left. Last year especially, with a great RB like Hall, imagine how much better he would of been if USF had a strong passing threat? Give Jim credit...did a good job focusing on QB's this past Feb...but as most know...the QB position if the #1 most likely position for a player to transfer and/or change position. A good program can NEVER have enough QB's. KL

Boca deserves what is coming. Some of the most stuck-up people in FLA live in Boca. Thankfully, I "drive-thru" Boca on most trips...1 night tops. They can have it. KL

One would think that a $2 Million Salary can help pay for Private Schools for his kids. Guess not...UF is paying him $100,000 per year for Educational Expenses! Yikes! KL

-------------------------------- Without the MAC Championship Game....Marshall probably wouldn't be a member of CUSA starting July1, and Marshall wouldn't be almost a house-hold name (most know that Randy Moss, Pennington, Leftwhich all won Titles at Marshall). The MAC Championship Game is one of a only a few games that the MAC gets top billing in a 3 hour slot. Same for the Big 12...Since the Big 12 was formed...partly with some help from their Champ Game format, Texas & OU are now Top 5 teams almost year-in-year-out. Do you think the SEC & Atlanta was to STOP their Champ Game??? No. Heck, you had cities falling all over themselves to host the new ACC Champ Game (Jacksonville won it). Championship Games are GOOD for the overall conf. KL

FYI...Spurrier called ALL the plays while Head Coach at UF...but would still name an Offensive Coordinator to help someone on the staff (Offensive Coach) earn more $$$$ from that "title" position. It's very common among Head Coaches who call Offensive Plays...or is in charge of a Defense. KL

Oh know....we know what "someone" will be playing later this fall......... Actually looks pretty cool (if you are into that stuff). Link also has snapshot of game mode http://www.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=412834 Here's the description about the recruiting aspect of this new game: The new recruiting aspects of Dynasty Mode are among the highlighted new features that will make for a better playing experience with NCAA Football 2006. The biggest change to recruiting in the latest version of the game will be the addition of in-season recruiting. Users will now recruit high school prospects during the season, which will include official visits on the weekends of home games or bye weeks. Users will begin to target players during the summer and then develop a recruiting strategy, determining the number of points they'd be willing to devote to each prospect. Bonus points will be awarded for having official visitors in for big home victories, with added points being awarded for a win against a major rival, helping users in their efforts to secure commitments from the top prospects. Each prospect will start with interest in eight schools before limiting his list to five schools and then ultimately three. Prospects also can make "soft verbals" to schools, but then they still have the option to change their mind should they not continue to be actively recruited by that school. As prospects begin limiting their choices, headlines reflecting those decisions will be generated, just as can be seen daily on Rivals.com throughout the year "The in-season recruiting experience, although familiar, is a totally new game-within-a-game for our dedicated fans," Vuong said. "All of this is packaged neatly in our Rivals.com Recruiting feature." Added Eddie Dorsey, NCAA Football 06 assistant producer, "It's very Rivalsesque. It allows those types of users who want to get in depth with it to do that. It's what you make of it." Changes also have been made to offseason recruiting, where a school's academic reputation will play a factor in recruiting. Certain prospects will place a higher value on academics, making it difficult for some institutions to make the cut for those players' services. Schools also run the risk of seeing their academic reputation slip if they only recruit the most talented players available, and there will be prospects who ultimately won't qualify academically. These are added features that make recruiting strategy a bigger part of the game. Additionally, the ability to create recruiting pipelines has been established, enabling a school to increase its likelihood of recruiting success in areas where it has fared well in the past. EA Sports The new recruiting pipeline feature will allow users to target areas in which they've enjoyed past recruiting success. "We wanted to make it as in depth as possible for the guys like Eddie and I who read Rivals.com every day," Vuong said. The process isn't the only aspect of recruiting that has changed for NCAA Football 06. In past years, there were tremendous numbers of highly rated prospects available to be recruited, but that too will be changing. "We tried to base it on the Rivals100 (the organization's ranking of the nation's top 100 players) and limit the number of five-star and four-star players, like you would see on Rivals.com," Dorsey said. "We want it to feel like if you get a five-star player, it's really special." As mentioned earlier, the recruiting features for NCAA Football 06 aren't the only changes that have been made. The "Race for the Heisman" mode is among the biggest changes. The game begins with a user picking a position for a potential college standout and then navigating that player through a series of drills to determine their ranking as a college prospect. The player then gets recruited by various schools. But do not fear, if the player's favorite school does not recruit him, he always has the option to walk on at that school. From there, that player will head off to school as a freshman, complete with a dorm room assignment. His career path will take off from there, guided by the user with the hope of that player becoming one of the top players in college football before the end of his career. A major change in gameplay is the Impact Player system, a new feature that allows each team to have a couple of players who will have the ability to make big plays in crucial situations. Those players, at certain times in the game where they would be expected to excel, will get a ratings boost that will allow them to deliver in the clutch. "It identifies who the best players on the field are and allows them to impact the game the way they would in real life," said Dan Baker, EA Sports' line producer for NCAA Football 06. EA Sports EA Sports placed an emphasis on improved presentation. Also improved this year are the game's presentation, which includes an ESPN-like studio, complete with hosts Brad Nessler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit. Additionally, gang tackling was added, on-field mismatches will be easier to identify and the ball physics of the game have been dramatically improved to a more realistic look. "Is the game going to play that much better than the previous version? That's what the diehard fans want to know," Baker said. "Gameplay was my number one focus this year, and I think people will love the improvements when we hit the store shelves in July. We concentrated on run blocking, improving the option play, receiver catching, ball physics, user control and more. "Throw in right analog controls for the jukes, and the addition of the back juke and you have a running game that looks and feels awesome. We made a conscience effort to address many of the concerns that our hard core fans are looking for. And to top it all off, the game just looks phenomenal this year, as well as being incredibly fun to play."

FYI....Texas is playing at Ohio State this year. Other teams do it...UF just wants to make $25 Million in Football Profit instead of $21 Million in Profit. That's why you will never see UF leave the State for a non-conf game again. KL

Football Coaches don't "pay" for Women's Volleyball, Golf, Track & Field scholarships, etc... The Presidents' and the ADs' need to bring in additional revenue to help continue funding minor sports. It's all about the $$$$$. KL

Beaver Stadium is HUGE...but its also very, very, quiet. The "noise" from Arkansas' lil stadium in Little Rock was probably louder on the field then what your players will hear at PSU. It's HUGE but the fans aren't "on top of the action/field" that you find at other schools. Plus, PSU fans are more "reserved" and more "seasoned", especially when their games usually start around Noon/1pm. Remember, if you go....get your photo taken by the HUGE Statue of Joe Pa which is just outside the North Side (I think) of the Stadium. KL

Schaeffer going back "home" to play Football in FLA? Featured Article from Tennessee rivals site: http://www.tennessee.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=410816

That's the point '96....Nebraska fans come from all over the USA (and the WORLD) to see their team play...including a practice game! They are probably the greatest college football fans in the country, bar none (thanks former FSU FB who came up with that saying). Plus...they are probably the "nicest" fans overall as well. They LOVE Nebraska football! KL PS. As I've said many times...if you EVER get a chance to go to a game in Lincoln (ANY game, and especially if its against team) GOOOOOOOOOOO!!! You will have a BLAST!

Think UCONN played in the Motor City Bowl last year (or year before). They opened up their new Stadium (believed owned by State and/or City) in Hartford last year or year before as well. KL

Actually, Metro Jax is between 1.1 Million and 1.2 Million (current). Metro Jax is a Top 50 US Metro Area. Omaha isn't. Here's the list of Top 50 US Metro Area in 2000: http://www.demographia.com/db- 2000metrocoreshare.htm http://www.demographia.com/db-2000metrocoreshare.htm KL PS. My point from my first comment is basically that G'ville is surrounded by 3 of the largest Metro Areas in the US. (Millions and Millions of People). Lincoln, NE (and Omaha) don't even come close. Nebraska is still 95% Cornfields. (Delicious Corn though).

Couldn't be more wrong: 2000 US Census: Omaha  390,007 Jacksonville  735,617 Again...Metro Area of St Pete/Clearwater/Tampa is almost twice as large as the entire population of the State of Nebraska. KL PS. Having been to both Omaha & Lincoln....Omaha & Lincoln both remind me of a Lakeland on steroids.

Metro Area of Tampa/St Pete has more people ALONE then the entire STATE of Nebraska!! (Only 1.7 Million people live in Nebraska, over 17 Million live in FLA). Yes...Lincoln, NE is in the middle of nowhere...and Omaha makes Jacksonville look like NYC! KL PS. Believe they had fans travel from over 20 different states and a few different COUNTRIES just to attend Nebraska's Spring Game! Those fans are amazing!

Guess Urban is headed to Nebraska next. Because Nebraska (located in the middle of NO WHERE) had a Spring Game record crowd of 63,416. http://www.huskers.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPSID=1&SPID=22&PALBID=1389&DB_OEM_ID=100&PAGE_ID=0&ZID=72395 Ubran's been drinking the Orange/Blue Kool-Aid alittle early. Since this might be Chris Leaks last year at UF...Urban better win SOMETHING this year...especially with all that talent. If not...he can end up like Zook...and learn its not the greatest job in the World...when you don't win. KL

The purpose of lining up quickly stops the other team implement situational substitutions. Yes...a real no huddle will already have a play called (1-some teams call 2-3 plays in a row...2-QB's can call the plays undercenter or in the gun and 3-others have their first 10-15 plays of the game already scripted), but even if you take 15-20 secs to have the entire team stand up look over to the sideline for the play, the other team still has to keep their D on the field and normally can't substitute players. KL

FYI...I think either Ferrer or Sandlin will become DE/LB's for UCF. Don't think both will stay at TE. I think both had Defensive Experience in HS. KL

Believe 49% of those Dorm Rooms by the Athletic Complex will be for Athletes. NCAA rule I believe states that schools can't have athletic dorms anymore (they were the rage in the 80's), so the max the athletes can take up is 49% of the rooms. KL

What indication? Tickets haven't even gone on sell yet. (Not sure what you are looking for). KL

3,800 would be a lot (for many schools). St Pete Times USF Beat Writer said this about the crowd: "The attendance at Raymond James Stadium was announced as 3,800, but never looked to be more than 1,500 or so on a chilly Saturday night." Still sounds like it was better then last year. (I think UCF only had 2 crowds in that 1,500-2,000 range--when Culpepper was here. KL

FAU Hoops has received more pub over the past 3-4 days over this....maybe more so then when they went to the NCAA's (they were just one of 65 teams). Smart/GREAT move on FAU's part...even if he is there for only 1-2 years...great way to JUMP start that program. KL

Wish it would of made the print version as well. Maybe if Alan wrote this article DURING the season (when stats were known), it might of made the print version. This is the #1 reason why UCF didn't receive a BCS Bid. Most BCS Conferences and teams MAKE $$$$$ off Hoops. UCF...we can barely pay our electric bill on our Arena. KL

Our Athletic Complex is located on the North edge of our campus. Local neighborhoods are located just North of the Complex...seperated by some Woods and a 4-lane road. Some residents have spoken about "concerns" of traffic thru their neighborhoods (which is divided by another 4 lane road with a 35 mile speed limit). UCF is trying to be "good neighbors" and didn't have to include these residents in any talks. Sometimes being "nice" takes a little longer. KL

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-locucfstadium14041405apr14,1,5606354.story?coll=orl-news-headlines (See link for full article) http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-locucfstadium14041405apr14,1,5606354.story?coll=orl-news-headlines Hitt slows UCF stadium plan The university president says he still has questions about the proposal. By Alan Schmadtke Sentinel Staff Writer April 14, 2005 Concerned about any perception that the University of Central Florida is bullying its neighbors, President John Hitt may not ask school trustees today for a green light to build a 45,000-seat on-campus football stadium. Hitt said Wednesday that he still has a few questions about details of a recently completed feasibility study and wanted to prepare a stadium-use policy he can show to neighborhood groups worried about traffic, noise and light from the facility. "I might ask for something short of final approval," Hitt said of today's meeting of the board of trustees. "I'm not sure I want to go there just yet. It's a big project. I want to have everything nailed down." The president's comments came after a meeting of UCF Athletics Association directors, who unanimously supported asking trustees to approve the project. The Athletics Association would own and operate the $43 million stadium. Hitt said he first wants to assuage concerns of stadium opponents. He envisions holding more meetings with neighbors and not asking for final approval from trustees for three or four more weeks. (See link for full article)