2021 Spring Season

[FUBeAR]

Furman ranked #8 by HeroSports..

https://herosports.com/fcs-football-20 ... p-25-bzbz/

Preseason Top 25
1. North Dakota State
2. South Dakota State
3. Weber State
4. James Madison
5. Villanova
6. Northern Iowa
7. Kennesaw State
8. Furman
9. Illinois State
10. North Carolina A&T
11. Austin Peay
12. Albany
13. Delaware
14. Eastern Washington
15. Nicholls
16. Southern Illinois
17. New Hampshire
18. Jacksonville State
19. The Citadel
20. Sam Houston
21. Elon
22. Monmouth
23. Wofford
24. Chattanooga
25. Southeastern Louisiana

Received votes: Alcorn State, UT Martin, SEMO, William & Mary

0 SoCon Players on their All-American Team (1st Team only selected) - https://herosports.com/fcs-football-20 ... ican-bzbz/

[AstroDin]

a #8 ranking is a big sign that people are noticing what CCH is building and what Furman brings back for 2021.
If you read all the released previews so far - it's obvious CCH really likes this team and expects this incoming freshman class to make an impact. No doubt B-Mac and Herder took into account - what production Furman brought back and #2 recruiting class.

I still think the most interesting review is yet to come >>>> offensive linemen. I'll go out on a limb and say this group of linemen excites him.

If Furman takes care of business you can go ahead and circle a date against KSU early in the playoffs.

[FurmAlum]

Has Hero Sports done their "2021 FCS Recruiting Rankings"? I haven't been able to find it yet.

[FUBeAR]

MEAC’s Norfolk State Tweets out announcement of Spring (outdoor) Football Season Opt-out “due to concerns about the health and well-being of its student-athletes” between Tweets providing an update on their (indoor) Women’s Volleyball score and hyping the tip-off time for their (indoor) Men’s Basketball game in 1 hour.

Why does NSU hate their Women’s Volleyball & Men’s Basketball Players so much?

UPDATE: Oh wait. I just read their full release. Both their AD & President noted that “Football is a high-impact sport.”

I guess we now have ‘science’ that shows if the ‘rona is transmitted at a higher velocity, due to “high-impact” (at a higher velocity than, say, by hoops Players heavily panting as they lean on one another for 2 hours indoors), then the risk of transmission rate is greatly increased, despite the instances of “high-impact” being far less prolonged (and easily shielded) than the person-to-person (unshielded) contact in other non-“high-impact” sports.

Got it. Clearly a science-driven decision and, as stated, made solely out of concerns about the health and well-being of their (“high-impact sports”) student-athletes.

[apaladin]

Exactly and there has been zero transmissions linked to playing a football game. Just another cop out. I guess they ignore how cases, hospitilizations are dropping dramatically across the country and the fact there is zero health risks to 20 year olds.

[Paul C]

Translated “we didn’t want to pay for the testing”

[FUBeAR]

Translated “we didn’t want to pay for the testing”

“...and, more honestly, we don’t really give a rat’s rear end about our Football Players, who want to the compete in games and actually play the sport they love. Nope, Instead, we’re going to make them practice (only) this Spring, kick the can down the road until the Fall, when we hope our costs won’t be so high and we’ll be able to generate some revenue, and then make another financial-based decision if we want to participate in Football or not...or keep kicking that beat up can further down the road...while we ALWAYS find a way to justify our decisions based solely upon the health, safety, and well-being of our student-athletes.”

NOTE: Not picking on NSU. This same sentiment applies to every FCS Team that has opted out of Football this Spring, but continues to field Winter Sports & will field other Spring Sports....AND claims their reason for opting out is the well-being of their Football Players.

[The Jackal]

Translated “we didn’t want to pay for the testing”

“...and, more honestly, we don’t really give a rat’s rear end about our Football Players, who want to the compete in games and actually play the sport they love. Nope, Instead, we’re going to make them practice (only) this Spring, kick the can down the road until the Fall, when we hope our costs won’t be so high and we’ll be able to generate some revenue, and then make another financial-based decision if we want to participate in Football or not...or keep kicking that beat up can further down the road...while we ALWAYS find a way to justify our decisions based solely upon the health, safety, and well-being of our student-athletes.”

NOTE: Not picking on NSU. This same sentiment applies to every FCS Team that has opted out of Football this Spring, but continues to field Winter Sports & will field other Spring Sports....AND claims their reason for opting out is the well-being of their Football Players.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but bottom line finances seem to be at the core of nearly every decision made by a college football program.

Also, the MEAC already has a bunch of teams sitting out the spring. I think NSU had only 4 games scheduled. It wouldn't be surprising to see the whole conference shut it down this spring.

[AstroDin]

If you're like me you somehow missed the offensive line preview. Big thanks to a certain person who laid some knowledge on me. I had heard that Clay was really excited about this bunch, it's obvious why after you read and digest this article.

Furman has talent and depth at runningback and many of us included myself see those positions as the gem of this Furman team. They could still be but I'll make the case for the diamonds of this team being the offensive line.

The Furman O Line is composed of 15 players, 10 have seen playing time, and have combined for 83 starts. By my take, only one of those 15 came to Furman as a PWO. If you count a full scholarship at $66,627 a year, and that Wyatt Hughes has earned a scholarship. We have a million-dollar line to be exact $999,405 a year investment. I have no idea the makeup of Mercer, Nooga, Wofford, or even NDSU but I doubt other FCS schools are as vested in offensive linemen as Furman. I did a quick count of Wofford, Citadel, and Mercer linemen numbers vary from 13 to Mercer's high of 19. Bear might know but my guess is several are walkons based on size not sure the Bears will play a 5-11 220 pound lineman many snaps.

My take on this review - CCH's goal is to build depth at every position, from a group of athletic, physical linemen who can play multiple positions. Seniors Neely and Harris will play a role in multiple positions center, guard, and tackle.

Furman now has the ability to play a group of at least four players at guard all capable of starting and two more could see action at guard.

Tackle isn't far behind, McKinney and Tomlin are likely starters, but my guess is we will see a platoon also at tackle.
Harris is expected to be 100% at the start of the season and has moved over from guard. Toomey should be cleared to go by the first game - recovering from a labrum injury. Dylan Davis and Ross Detamore will also see snaps. By my count tackle will have a platoon of four with two more getting potential snaps.

Edit: I neglected to mention center. Evan Jumper looks to be the #1 center, Neeley will back Jumper, but look for Neely to see a lot of action at guard. Newcomer and highly lauded freshman Blake Hundley will backup.

I may be too bullish on these horses, but my gut tells me this group of players are going to play a big role in the success of the 2021 Paladins.

https://furmanpaladins.com/news/2021/1/ ... -line.aspx

[The Jackal]

Hendrix certainly seems inclined to rotate offensive linemen. It's a strategy that, I think, can keep guys fresh during the game and also helps build depth and experience across the line.

Certainly going to be nice to have our backfield running behind this group.

Just watching the preseason videos and the development of this offense under Hendrix, I think what we will see will be a far cry from the wing-t look Furman debuted in 2017. This is going to be a powerful offensive football team that is going to throw a lot at a defense.

[Fred Garvin]

MEAC’s Norfolk State Tweets out announcement of Spring (outdoor) Football Season Opt-out “due to concerns about the health and well-being of its student-athletes” between Tweets providing an update on their (indoor) Women’s Volleyball score and hyping the tip-off time for their (indoor) Men’s Basketball game in 1 hour.

Why does NSU hate their Women’s Volleyball & Men’s Basketball Players so much?

UPDATE: Oh wait. I just read their full release. Both their AD & President noted that “Football is a high-impact sport.”

I guess we now have ‘science’ that shows if the ‘rona is transmitted at a higher velocity, due to “high-impact” (at a higher velocity than, say, by hoops Players heavily panting as they lean on one another for 2 hours indoors), then the risk of transmission rate is greatly increased, despite the instances of “high-impact” being far less prolonged (and easily shielded) than the person-to-person (unshielded) contact in other non-“high-impact” sports.

Got it. Clearly a science-driven decision and, as stated, made solely out of concerns about the health and well-being of their (“high-impact sports”) student-athletes.

WE DON'T SMOKE!
WE DON'T CHEW!
NORFOLK! NORFOLK!

[tim]

BREAK AN ARM!! BREAK A LEG!! BENEDICT, BENEDICT!!

[gofurman]

If you're like me you somehow missed the offensive line preview. Big thanks to a certain person who laid some knowledge on me. I had heard that Clay was really excited about this bunch, it's obvious why after you read and digest this article.

Furman has talent and depth at runningback and many of us included myself see those positions as the gem of this Furman team. They could still be but I'll make the case for the diamonds of this team being the offensive line.

The Furman O Line is composed of 15 players, 10 have seen playing time, and have combined for 83 starts. By my take, only one of those 15 came to Furman as a PWO. If you count a full scholarship at $66,627 a year, and that Wyatt Hughes has earned a scholarship. We have a million-dollar line to be exact $999,405 a year investment. I have no idea the makeup of Mercer, Nooga, Wofford, or even NDSU but I doubt other FCS schools are as vested in offensive linemen as Furman. I did a quick count of Wofford, Citadel, and Mercer linemen numbers vary from 13 to Mercer's high of 19. Bear might know but my guess is several are walkons based on size not sure the Bears will play a 5-11 220 pound lineman many snaps.

My take on this review - CCH's goal is to build depth at every position, from a group of athletic, physical linemen who can play multiple positions. Seniors Neely and Harris will play a role in multiple positions center, guard, and tackle.

Furman now has the ability to play a group of at least four players at guard all capable of starting and two more could see action at guard.

Tackle isn't far behind, McKinney and Tomlin are likely starters, but my guess is we will see a platoon also at tackle.
Harris is expected to be 100% at the start of the season and has moved over from guard. Toomey should be cleared to go by the first game - recovering from a labrum injury. Dylan Davis and Ross Detamore will also see snaps. By my count tackle will have a platoon of four with two more getting potential snaps.

Edit: I neglected to mention center. Evan Jumper looks to be the #1 center, Neeley will back Jumper, but look for Neely to see a lot of action at guard. Newcomer and highly lauded freshman Blake Hundley will backup.

I may be too bullish on these horses, but my gut tells me this group of players are going to play a big role in the success of the 2021 Paladins.

https://furmanpaladins.com/news/2021/1/ ... -line.aspx

Going to have to dig through these articles to update my 'starters' guess thread.

thanks Astro

[FUBeAR]

Athlon / Craig Haley doesn’t like the Spring ‘Dins as much as the guys from Hero Sports - ranks FU #15

https://athlonsports.com/college-footb ... 021-spring

15. Furman
(8-5, 6-2 Southern)
Previous Ranking: 18
Running backs Devin Wynn (1,182 yards, 14 TDs) and Devin Abrams eat up big gains for a living. Junior defensive end Adrian Hope (21.5 career sacks) hopes to devour more quarterbacks.

He has the SparkleCity SmallMutts @ #20. No other SoCon Teams ranked...or in his “on the cusp” Teams - total of 31 Teams. I’ve noticed Mr. Haley has not seemed to be a fan of the SoCon for a while now. With recent OOC & Playoff performance, it’s getting harder to argue with his thinking.

7 CAA Teams in Top 31
6 MVFC Teams in Top 31
4 Big Sky
4 Southland
3 OVC
2 Big South
2 MEAC
2 SoCon
1 Pioneer

Oh...BTW...for our resident semi-closeted PunyPups Fan(s), I just learned your favorite team has a new message board (actually been up since Sept ‘20) - https://woffordfans.com/ - if you haven’t already, be sure to bookmark.

[AstroDin]

The new Wofford site is hard to read - kinda surprised I feel that way - I think it's the font choice.