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How did we get both Rojas and Ellis?

What do you think the allure was?

For Ellis, Suisham is in the NFL-somewhat- and so was the kicker before him. Suisham has the most PATS ever in NCAA history. Not a hard sell. But didnt he have OSU's and Michigans after him?

What about Rojas?

There's probably 20-25 kickers a year that get scholarship offers from D1 schools, so that's part of it. It's definitely a "buyers' market.

So far as the Floridians go, you might want to PM the Ellis clan re Sean's decision. There's more than one of them registered here.

So far as Rojas goes, he went to Urban Meyer's kicking camp, so the speculation is that Mr Meyer may have given the old school a bit of an assist.

according to coach Brandon (at the recruiting reception) the coaching staff has good realtionships with both Urban Meyer at Florida and Bobby Bowden at Florida State. That may explain our developing Florida pipeline...as would the success that Sharon and jacobs enjoyed here.

Good to hear about the relationship with Fla and state.

Would be nice to get one in Doyt!

Agreed. Everything that I have heard from Coach Brandon and his son is that he Gregg has a really good relationship with some of the coaches such as Urban Meyer, Poppa Bowden, and Joe Tiller which lead to recruiting ties. I know that when Scott Mruczkowski tried to get a scholy at Purdue like his brother Gene did, PU wasnt that high on him and Brandon was and Tiller recommend BG if he wanted a garunteed scholy and more playing time. I also wouldnt doubt the Meyer helped bring Rojas to BG. One of the big lures of BG for both Ellis and Rojas had to be the chance to start and play all 4 years without being redshirted. Any way you slice it up it was an incredible job for Bowling Green to recruit the #2 PK and #1 P in the nation in the same year. That probably hardly ever happens to any team, let alone a tiny MAC school, with a bit of a reputation of swirling winds and poor ST's play. Kudos to our head coach!

I hope both of these guys come in and kick lights out starting from game #1, but I think we still need to remember that they're just freshman. I hope that we haven't hyped both of them up to the point that we're disappointed when they aren't perfect right out of the gate. I expect them to be an improvement over last year's debacle, but I don't expect them to be All-MAC right away. I just hope that everyone can remember that they're just freshmen if/when they miss an extra point or shank a punt.

I really thinkt hat after the kicking game last year if they can make xps we will all be happy.

The recruiting process for kickers and punters is a very different game than the one experienced by players at other positions.

The first thing to keep in mind is that, unlike most every other position, a team does not NEED a kicker/punter every year. This narrows down the options for a potential kicking recruit quite a bit right off the bat.

The importance on the kicking game varies from team to team, and the attitude of many teams is to hope for talented walk on's and scholarship them later, effectively saving a few years of scholarships for other positions. So of the 119 D1A programs, many don't even actively recruit kickers and punters.

Some teams place great importance on the positions, having two kickers AND punters on scholarship at a time. These players are usually staggered by a few years so that the junior/senior kicker/punter has a freshmen/sophomore backup. Usually these are teams that have had a bad experience, losing a BIG game with a less than capable walk on kicker as their only option.

Of course, some of it is who you know too. Many teams rely on recommendations from coaches and others in the kicking community. One coach may be coaching and marketing many kickers and punters. So THEY decide which school gets to hear about Kicker 1, and which one hears about kicker 2... and so on. And those guys will try to get THEIR guys in the door first, effectively promoting THEIR program. I am SURE are some kickers that got scholarships to big schools that are not as good as kids who didn't get a single offer and are walking on somewhere or worse, not playing at all.

The NCAA now forbids coaches from attending the combines that have become prevalent. So it will become even harder for coaches to easily research and recruit kickers. So that word of mouth will become more important, along with the privately run combines that do a good job of identifying and marketing the talented players, not just taking the players money.

Bottom line is that I know Sean is quite happy with his decision to spend the next four years in Bowling Green. I know that it would have been very difficult to find a better overall fit for him at any college that plays D1A football. Considering the school size, the emphasis on education and graduation at BG, the level of play, the facilities AND the opportunity to play right away all make it perfect for Sean. And that is even after summer school and a week and a half of camp!

I personally think that the Falcons got STEALS with both Sean and Alonzo, and I only hope that the next four years bears that out big time!!

I hope to meet some of you in Cleveland or at the home opener. We will of course be at the game here in Florida against FIU too so maybe we'll see you there!

Thanks for that awesome insider post MIBGSU. I'll keep an eye out for you at the Wisky game, and we all look forward to the contribution to the kicking game!

I was in town today helping my brother get moved in, so I took some time to walk around the stadium and take a look at the Sebo Center (I have some cell phone pics that I could E-mail to someone that knows how to post them if anyone is interested, but they aren't that spectacular). They are really starting to move on the building again, and the wall that they tore down is back up again. That wasn't the coolest part, though.

As I was driving around the stadium to leave the team was on their way out for practice. Right next to the road the kickers were warming up and I'll be damned if Big Bird isn't the biggest friggin' kicker I have ever seen in my life! I mean, he has got what looks like an entire FOOT on all of the other kickers standing around him. He is HUGE! I didn't get to see him kick much, but his sheer size absolutely floored me.

I can't wait for the season to get started!

We got the proofs on the team and group pictures the other day. It was rather comical to see "The Bird" way above the rest of the guys in the photo on the special teams group shot. Why do you all think he got that nickname!?

I saw the article in the Blade about Sean and Alonso. Hopefully those two can help make BG Special Teams a big plus for the next several years.

One thing I do know is that, like offense and defense, it takes ALL of the players on the field doing their job to be successfull. A big part of the ST success depends on the linemen, snapper and holder all doing their jobs too. All I have heard is that Kyle, Corey and the rest of the ST unit are doing a great job too!!!

Two days and Two weeks to Kickoff!!

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... /-1/SPORTS

Very cool they both started out playing soccer and enjoy talking about their "second" favorite sport- soccer. Can't wait to see the footballistas in action at The Doyt on 9/9.

I have been considering going to the FIU game since I am already in the South. . . wonder how far of a drive that would be. . .

Where would you be starting from Dayons_Den?

MIBGSUFan wrote:Where would you be starting from Dayons_Den?

Charleston, SC

Well, you would be looking at about 600 miles. Figure 9 hours of drive time? Game time is 6:00pm in Miami. Early start on Sat. should get you there easy.

Great article, DD. Ya know, with all the hype surrounding Mahone, Brown, Glaud, Sheehan, Fells, Jackson, Young and others, what I'm most excited about is Ellis and Rojas kicking. I simply cannot wait to see these guys do their thing. From everything I've read, heard and seen, they both have the chance to be All MAC within a year or 2.

16 days....I thought it would never get here....and we're only about 387 hours away now.

GO FALCONS!!!!!