Coaches Caravan in Ctown

[Falconfreak90]

Anyone heading downtown to catch the Coaches Caravan Thursday at 5:30? I am leaving work an hour early to get there in time...gotta keep the priorities straight.

[Class of 61]

Wish icould Mike.. Went last yr had a great time.... But colostopy day for me makes this one a no go.

[Lord_Byron]

Wish icould Mike.. Went last yr had a great time.... But colostopy day for me makes this one a no go.

Never have seen the words "colonoscopy" and "no go" in the same sentence before.

[Flipper]

They can put a man on the moon but they can't figure out how to easily run a camera up your.....you know what...never mind

[jpfalcon09]

I'll be there Mike, look forward to seeing you.

[BGSU33]

Can any of you guys who went share some info with us on here. It would be much appreciated.

[jpfalcon09]

Can any of you guys who went share some info with us on here. It would be much appreciated.

I'll summarize the best I can.

Women's Golf - Stephanie Young said that the team had their best ever showing at the MAC tournament and had a graduating senior break the record for best shooting average for a career. Excited about the youth coming in as they have two freshman from Texas joining the program.

Football - Coach Jinks didn't provide much information, said they had a good spring with minimal injuries outside of guys who were already on the shelf. Joked about the Lewis/Dieter news and said that they will obviously need to replace production at the outside WR positions. Said they have plenty of young talent to fill in those positions but the guys are really green, summer workouts and fall camp will be key in getting them developed.

On D, he likes the front seven a lot and thinks it's one of the deepest in the conference. In the secondary, he acknowledged that there's some work to be done in learning a new scheme and replacing some lost talent, but thinks they'll get there. Very excited about the Ohio State game to open the season.

Hockey - Berge acknowledged that the way the season ended was disappointing. He said that the goal is for the program to take the next step to become great again, and he believes they're getting good hockey players to come to BG. He also stated that they're trying to recruit guys who will accept the responsibility of being a BG hockey player, and that means being a model student and citizen off the ice and respecting the tradition of the program. Team has done well in class.

Hoops - Huger said it was an up and down year but the guys rallied together at the end of the season to make an exciting run. He likes the recruits they're bringing in this season and the players returning. Very high on Lilliard and Alcegaire. They're going to Italy in August which will allow them some early practice time and chemistry building. Said they need to get more people to the Stroh this year to get a greater home court advantage.

Coach Roos spoke about the past season and the struggle with injuries. Three women suffered career ending injuries while others lost a whole season. They will be young this year but they're bringing in some talented recruits but acknowledged it may take some time to get things back where they need to be. They're going to Cuba this year and she hopes it'll be a great learning experience for the entire team, and they may end up playing the Cuban national team if they don't qualify for the Olympics. team has done great in the classroom.

Soccer - Coach Nichols was pleased with the previous season, they ended up being ranked for a short period and had a player get drafted into the MLS. Said the goal is to catch Akron and he believes they're in their sights finally. Top two players were academic all-Americans and BG was one of only three schools to get that honor (along with Notre Dame and North Carolina). He thinks the program will keep trending upward but there's room for improvement.

Plenty of Falcon greats were there as well. Mike Pikul, Brian McClure, Steve Sanders, Dirk Abernathy, Bob Cummins, Bob Dudley just to name a few. Christian Piazza was there as well and he was able to graduate with his MBA which is quite an achievement.

[Falconfreak90]

33 and all,

It was a killer event. Coaches present were Jinks, Bergeron, Roos, Nichols, Huger and Young. All touched on the family atmosphere and great people at BGSU. Most reported how well the students were doing in class. Very impressive numbers. They all had a ton of passion and energy despite being on the road all week and numerous stops. The coaches talked about the state of the programs, the upcoming seasons, trips abroad (Women's hoops are going to Cuba, Men's hoops Italy and Coach Bergeron joked the hockey team's trip abroad was Alaska). Kit Hughes did a great job filling in for Chris Kingston and there were plenty of former Falcons there...Brian McClure and his wife, Bob Cummins, Dirk Abernathy, Christian Piazza, Steve "the Sandman" Sanders, Mike Pikul, Bob Dudley, Cal "the man" Bowers, and a few others I cannot remember. One man played on the 1959 National title team, which was very cool. Biggest turnout of all the tour stops was Cleveland.

I got there about 15 min before it started and rode up the elevator with Coaches Bergeron and Nichols. JP and I sat at the same table as Coach Roos and had a great time. It is awesome to get a chance to talk to every coach at length about recruiting, practices, game day prep and the camaraderie of the teams. Coach Bergeron talked at length about how the current players have a responsibility to play their asses off (My words) for those that set the standard. When I told him how the season ended in a disappointing manner, he said "Good. Everyone who follows BG Hockey should feel disappointed. But we are gonna change that this season". The man means business and talked about how much he has grown to love the BGSU community.

Coach Huger was a firecracker and is way excited for his 2nd year. He is jonesin to end our NCAA drought. Coach Nichols vowed to get over the hump and finally beat Akron to win the MAC. Coach Young is excited about her young golfers coming into the program and had a dynamite Freshman last year. I told her I was tired of Kent State always winning the MAC title in golf and she vowed to change that.

I saved Coach Jinks for last because football is my fave team. This guy is something else. He is totally jacked to get going and served notice we are not going to Cbus to put on a good show...we are going to win and you know what? I believe him 110% and I truly believe the stars are lining up for us on that day. We are going to beat osu...and I don't give a s**t who laughs it off. He said every player is very confident and has no fear of the bucks. He looks you straight in the eye, undivided attention, when talking with you. That tells me a lot about the man. Babers always seemed to see who else was around. To his credit, he manned up about the two suspended coaches even though he didn't have to. He said "You probably heard what happened so as soon as we get back to BG, I will be acting swiftly to address the situation. We expect our players to be good reps of this great school and our coaches are no different. ALL in the program, including myself, are accountable and have a great responsibility to carry ourselves in a proper manner". That was so refreshing to hear. I am sold on the man despite the supposed coaching inexperience at the collegiate level. He is ready to rumble.

Finally, Kit said we can probably expect an announcement in the next week or two about CK's replacement. He said there is a TON of interest in the job and the applicants were plenty.

It was a great night to be a FALCON...just like every night. Great hanging with JP with a great view of downtown Cleveland in the background. Roll along!!

[BGSU33]

Thanks very much for the info guys. Much appreciated! Did Jinks mention anything about the stadium renovation project, the new turf project (supposed to be this summer) or anything facility related like that?

Freak, I read you comment about "the stars lining up" for BG vs OSU. I'm certainly not laughing at the notion, but I feel the stars actually "were" lined up prior to this offseason and then became very jumbled now after all the defections and changes we've been dealt after the MACC until now. On paper I would have agreed that the stars may have been lined up - IF - Johnson had applied and gotten the Med-RS, Lewis had not left for the NFL, Dieter had not transferred to Alabama, and Babers had not left for Syracuse. If that had happened, then I think they'd have looked as lined up as we could ever have asked. But unfortunately, none of that happened.

I was informed that Johnson, despite not hearing promising news about getting the 2014 season back from the NCAA as a medical hardship when he and his family had first looked into it, had a compelling case and that it looked 50-50 had he applied for one. I was told he didn't apply (not sure if that is true or not) and that after the MACC he already had his head in the clouds about the NFL heading into the bowl and returning to BG was out of the picture. I did find the timing of him announcing he was leaving interesting, as he said it the day before the bowl game if I remember correctly (might have been two days before it, but it was right around then). I know the weather was awful that game, but that might explain partly why Johnson looked, well, un-Johnson like in the bowl. The second half of that bowl was his worst outing in a BG uniform as a starter easily. Lewis and Dieter coming back to BG in 2016 would arguably have formed the best WR duo in the NCAA. Not in just the MAC, the entire country. But they both left which was a massive hit. Had just one of them stayed, it would have been huge. But both leaving was a back breaker. Babers had a great deal of success with us in Power 5 games. Unlike Clawson, he seemed to thrive in the settings and certainly played for the win. One more note, we also won't have Greene who used up his eligibility. In short, had Johnson, Lewis and Dieter returned to BG, then yeah, I would agree that the stars were lining up for us. But that trio is long gone, and if the game is actually close, we're gonna hear a lot of woulda/coulda/shoulda won had we had those guys. But we won't. And even though OSU lost a lot in the NFL Draft, they'll simply reload. I can't see us stopping a mobile guy like JT Barrett as dual-threat QB's just shred us. I think that QB from Georgia Southern is still running on us...

[jpfalcon09]

Did Jinks mention anything about the stadium renovation project, the new turf project (supposed to be this summer) or anything facility related like that?

No facilities issues were brought up. I don't know if that had anything to do with having no AD present or if it simply wasn't meant to be a topic of conversation.

[Tech2000]

33, I spoke with Tyler's dad about Matt applying for his 6th year at the Toledo game. He said matts dad had been in contact with the NCAA about this several times during 2015 season and he was told that it more than likely would not happen.

[BGSU33]

33, I spoke with Tyler's dad about Matt applying for his 6th year at the Toledo game. He said matts dad had been in contact with the NCAA about this several times during 2015 season and he was told that it more than likely would not happen.

It very certainly may not have been awarded, but from what I was informed, his situation was much more promising than it first appeared. I was told he was closer to 50-50 based on a number of similar cases where players in identical or very similar situations were awarded an additional year. The question I always had was did he ever actually apply for the additional year in the first place? It's water under the bridge now, but even if Johnson was awarded another year, losing Lewis and Dieter early were just massive blows. You could argue BG would be in better shape next year with Knapke at QB with Lewis and Dieter coming back to BG, than it would be with Johnson back and Lewis and Dieter both gone.

[Tech2000]

Agree with all you wrote. And no didn't try based on what the NCAA told them.

[Tech2000]

33, had to check on a previous post some time ago. According to the info, NCAA told matts dad that because his freshman year redshirt was voluntary he would not be able to have this one. So, if a school comes and gives you a choice between playing or redshirt means voluntary? School tells you you will be redshirted non voluntary?

[Falconfreak90]

Freak, I read you comment about "the stars lining up" for BG vs OSU. I'm certainly not laughing at the notion, but I feel the stars actually "were" lined up prior to this offseason and then became very jumbled now after all the defections and changes we've been dealt after the MACC until now. On paper I would have agreed that the stars may have been lined up - IF - Johnson had applied and gotten the Med-RS, Lewis had not left for the NFL, Dieter had not transferred to Alabama, and Babers had not left for Syracuse. If that had happened, then I think they'd have looked as lined up as we could ever have asked. But unfortunately, none of that happened.

I get what you're saying, 33. On the flip side, Urban would have known what to expect had all these guys been back. And with Coach Jinks now in charge, it is even more of an unknown for osu. I can't explain it but the way Coach Jinks talks about this game? The dude is more than ready to take a shot. The buck$ have to replace almost all their starters...we still have a chance and I firmly believe any game can be won or lost. Guess we will find out in about 110 days. Nobody is gonna give us much of a chance and we have nothing to lose. Everyone around here always says someday a MAC team will beat osu...why not us, why not this year?