Mercer

[Sir William]

Hearing from a pretty reliable source this morning that Mercer is hiring Mike Jacobs as HC. Jacobs is HC at Lenoir-Rhyne, which makes the second time the Bears have poached Hickory NC.

FUBeAR can likely confirm.

[FUBeAR]

Mercer goes back to the same ‘well’…hiring Lenoir-Rhyne’s Head Coach for the 2nd time in a row.

No Furman ties this time though. (Astro can unlock the front gates now)

Looks like an outstanding hire!

https://mercerbears.com/news/2024/1/18/ ... head-coach

Mercer Announces Mike Jacobs As Football Head Coach

MACON – Athletics department officials at Mercer University announced Thursday morning that 21-year collegiate coaching veteran Mike Jacobs has been named as the football program's 21st head coach.

Jacobs, who has compiled a 74-17 (.813) record across head coaching stops at both Notre Dame (Ohio) and Lenoir-Rhyne, boasts the nation's sixth-best winning percentage among active coaches at the NCAA Divisions I and II levels. He is fresh off of a 2023 campaign that saw him lead Lenoir-Rhyne to a 13-2 clip that was accentuated with an appearance in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

(FUBeAR actually offered him the job 9 days ago…but that’s another story)

[Roundball]

Somebody move this topic to FCS football.

[cavedweller2]

Move it? Actually this whole message board should be one long continuous thread with out topic headings.

[FUBeAR]

Move it? Actually this whole message board should be one long continuous thread with out topic headings.

From your keyboard to the screens of the gods of the interwebs!

[Davemeister]

In the Future all posts will be generated by AI.

Artificial Intelligence is better than no intelligence.

[FUBeAR]

In the Future all posts will be generated by AI.

Artificial Intelligence is better than no intelligence.

FUBeAR posting for a, um, friend…call him Chad G.

It’s interesting to see how AI is being used in various fields, including sports. However, I believe that human intelligence and creativity are still irreplaceable. The Furman Athletics Message Board is a great example of how people can come together and share their thoughts and opinions on various topics related to sports. It’s a platform where people can connect and engage with each other, which is something that AI cannot replicate.

That being said, I agree with cavedweller2 that having one long continuous thread without topic headings could be an interesting experiment. It would be a unique way of organizing the discussions and could lead to some interesting conversations.

As for Mercer, it’s always exciting to see new coaches and players joining the team. I hope that they have a successful season ahead. Go Bears!

[FUBeAR]

[FurmanFan23]

Big Lenior Rhyne fan here. Grew up in Hickory and went to games growing up and have even been to multiple games this season. Mercer unfortunately got a really good coach. Sad to see him leave LR as he has been one of the better coaches we have had. Mike Houston, Drew Cronic and Mike Jacobs were all great coaches at LR. Hopefully Mike will NOT be successful against Furman now that he is playing against my team!!!

[The Jackal]

LR has become a popular jumping off spot for coaches trying to take a head job at the next level.

It also appears a number of Mercer's 2023 coaches are already scrubbed from the Bears website, including their more veteran guys and both coordinators. I suspect Jacobs will bring a number of coaches with him from LR and it wouldn't shock me to see a couple of players jump in the portal and head that way too.

[FUBeAR]

LR has become a popular jumping off spot for coaches trying to take a head job at the next level.

It also appears a number of Mercer's 2023 coaches are already scrubbed from the Bears website, including their more veteran guys and both coordinators. I suspect Jacobs will bring a number of coaches with him from LR and it wouldn't shock me to see a couple of players jump in the portal and head that way too.

Correct on Coaches departing - mostly logical move-ups…

HC -> Navy OC
OC/OL1 -> Released
DC -> HC West Georgia
DB/Safeties -> DC West Georgia
ST Coord/DB/CB’s -> TE Navy
OL2 (from ETSU) -> OL Navy

Not sure about Players hitting portal. Have already had a couple of weeks to do that and none (no new ones) have … maybe, we’ll see.

Ahhhh…you meant L-R Players heading to Mercer. Yeah - don’t think we’ll see a Tre Lamb / G-W -> ETSU sorta thing…but maybe a few. Drake Starks, (a very good) TE was, IFBRC, the only one who came with Coach Cronic in the prior transition.

These 11 All-SAC Players might be interesting…

* RB – Dwayne McGee - 1 year of eligibility
* WR/RS – DeAree Rogers - 3 years of eligibility
* TE – John Godwin - 1 year of eligibility
* OL – Xavier Jennings - 1 year of eligibility

* DL – Andre Jefferson - 1 year of eligibility
* LB – Jon Ross Maye - 1 year of eligibility / GA native
* LB – Percy King - 1 year of eligibility (maybe…unclear)
* DB – C'Darius Kelley - 1 year of eligibility
* DB - James Ussery - 2 years of eligibility

* PK - Jake Brown - 3 years of eligibility
* LS – Carson Keaton - 2 years of eligibility

[FurmanFan23]

McGee will be an issue if he goes to Mercer. Watched him in some playoff games this season and he was a menace.

[apaladin]

MU just added a game with Auburn for ‘25. Alabama and Auburn sure do love them some MU.

[cavedweller2]

Mercer should be top 10 Minimum this week. 5-0. 3-0 SoCon.

[FUBeAR]

Mercer should be top 10 Minimum this week. 5-0. 3-0 SoCon.

Nah … Craig Haley will prolly move #20 Rhode Island ahead of (idle) Mercer because his CAA Rams demonstrated so much character in their 2 point OT road win @ 3-3 Hampton.