D3football Daily Dose

D3sports.com’s Gordon Mann and I had the pleasure of covering one of the best Division III contests I’ve ever seen, the Division III men’s lacrosse championship game between Cortland State and Mount Union.

Whoops, I mean Salisbury. The Sea Gulls came in with a 69-game winning streak and were working on their fourth consecutive national title. They didn’t quite get there, as Mike Felice scored with 2.2 seconds left in overtime to give Cortland State a 13-12 win.

Turnstile count for the day’s games (the contest was a doubleheader with Division II at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field) was 23,990, the largest in the history of the event.

We’ll have a photo gallery of the game up later, probably sometime Monday afternoon. Also, Gordon was here writing about a pair of Cortland State football players who played key roles on the lacrosse team. We’ll have that story as well.

Birmingham-Southern fans, coaches, student-athletes:

Welcome to Division III.

We don’t harbor any delusions that you want to be here. From the outside, Division III doesn’t compare very favorably to Division I. But let’s be honest: Birimgham-Southern wasn’t a Division I power, and the trip from Division I mid-major to Division III isn’t as far as you might think.

Your school is giving scholarship money to more than 200 people solely based on athletic ability. When that stops, your institution will be able to redirect that money to award need-based or academic-based aid. That will raise the level of the student body and, in fact, will increase the value of your degree.

You may not think much of your likely new fellow conference members, but let’s be honest — it’s not like the Big South is populated by well-known names. High Point? UNC Asheville? Radford? Winthrop? Rhodes, Trinity University, Austin College, Colorado College and others have stellar reputations, and they are not based on being on the 13, 14 or 15 line every March … or by being the brainchild of a televangelist.

Coaches and administrators: I expect you have no desire to be in Division III. If you are at all conflicted about the Division III mission, I would suggest leaving. You can’t be half-hearted about Division III. It’s a challenge. But if you’ve ever faced a halfway-decent Division III program you know one thing: This is not glorified high school ball.

A further discussion of the issues is posted in our Q&A with Birmingham-Southern president David Pollick.

Wabash is doing some interesting things on its team trip to Panama, besides just playing football. Check it out on their blog.

I can’t fathom spending two weeks of my life doing what the Redlands football program did — tearing the guts out of people’s houses, houses that stood in potentially toxic water for weeks in areas flooded from Hurricane Katrina.

Our attention has drifted from the victims of the flooding, those displaced into other cities and states, and instead we’re wondering who’s tracking our phone calls, how we’ll fill our gas tank, who will be voted off American Idol and whether juiced-up home run hitters can keep it up.

You may have given to any of a number of relief efforts in August and September, but the problem is not going away any time soon. To support Hilltop Rescue, visit their donation page. D3football.com made a $100 donation to aid their relief efforts and we urge you to do the same. It was quick and easy using Paypal.

Those interested in organizing a group mission should also visit Hilltop Rescue’s Web site at www.hilltoprescue.org.

Initially this Dose reported on a student named Matt Ward, who I thought was from the Philippines. I could explain why I thought that, but it doesn’t really matter.

Fact is, Matt is from Massachusetts and attended one of the elite boarding schools in the country, Philips Academy in Andover, Mass. It’s a very well known school with alums including Presidents George H. and George W. Bush, John F Kennedy, Jr., and former MLB Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. Ward is headed to Wesleyan University following in the footsteps of another PA grad, Bill Belichick.

I apologize for the mistake and appreciate the corrections. I’ll make an effort not to make similarly stupid errors in the future…

Maryville’s incoming class will have a much more local flavor as Coach Tony Ierulli mines local high school talent. Ierulli told the (Maryville, Tenn.) Daily Times, ““When I first got here we were having to convince the local guys to even look at us…Now we’re one of the first places they are looking and that’s a tremendous change for us.”

One of the Scots’ top recruits is Lenoir City (Tenn.) back Rommel Hightower. Hightower, who gained 4,500 yards in his high school career, “is explosive and has real good size” according to Ierulli.

Here is some other news from the recruiting landscape.

EAST

Aaron Zurn of Sidney (N.Y.) High School will attend Brockport State according to the Oneonta (N.Y.) Daily Star. Zurn chalked up 1,482 yards and 22 touchdowns on 164 carries in 2005 for the New York State Class C champions.

NORTH

Crystal Lake (Ill.) South High will be well represented in this year’s Division III recruiting class according to the Northwest (Ill.) Herald. The Gators will send players to Augustana (OL Matt Brodersen and DT Zach Spoor), Carthage (LB Brad Partynski) and Lakeland (Safety-TE Jim Forner).

Roger Bacon High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) is also spreading the wealth throughout the North region. QB Kurt Rocco and OL David Sunderman are headed to Mount Union, WR Dontae Swain to Wittenberg and DL Marsalis Burgin to Marietta. For several other Ohio recruits, check out the Cincinnati Post which is tracking local seniors’ college destinations.

SOUTH

The Bay City (Texas) Tribune reports Palacios High School product Randy Allums will attend East Texas Baptist after being recruited for a secondary position. Allums was All-District in 2005 as a strong safety and in 2004 as a running back.

Senior Proms are overrated. Or so says McDaniel recruit Michael Weick in this interesting Philadelphia Daily News story.

Charlotte Catholic quarterback Craig Warnement is headed to Hampden-Sydney. Warnement led the Cougars to two state championships.

NRVToday.com reports Pulaski County (Va.) HS teammates Trey Angle and Rob Abbott will be college teammates, too, at Emory & Henry. Abbott played center and defensive line while Angle played in the secondary. It’s a shame he doesn’t play wide receiver so E&H could employ a “Trey-Angle” offense.

Wait for it…wait for it…

WEST

The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun reports that Occidental landed both sides of the local high school’s passing combination. Quarterback Scott Saunders and wide receiver Jeff Bee will both join the Tigers this fall.

UW-Whitewater fans will find interesting recruit information on Warhawkfootball.com, which has a full list of incoming players for the national runners-up. We also have a full list of recruits for UW-Stout.

If you can’t find information on your favorite team here, please check out this previous Dose which has information on lots of schools. If you want to share information on a recruit, you can post it here with the link to the published story (no, being the person’s father or the player himself doesn’t count). Or you can email gordon.mann@d3football.com and I’ll post the news in the next Recruit Recap.

The conference shake-ups triggered by the departures of Susquehanna (Liberty League) and Moravian and Juniata (Centennial) from the MAC continue at the Division III level.

Yesterday the MAC announced that Arcadia and Manhattanville will join for basketball, which has its own consequences. But in reporting on the move, Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle noted that the MAC has been closely considering four schools — Alvernia, Arcadia, Manhattanville and a fourth mystery team.

Conference Commissioner Ken Andrews also said:

“We talked a lot about football…It’s a high priority…We’d like to move into New Jersey, Delaware or the Washington, D.C., area. It’s a challenge, but it’s definitely on the front burner.”

It’s all conjecture, but I wonder if the fourth school under consideration has football. If so, we’ve already heard rumblings about TCNJ and Shenandoah as possible members. But Wesley is the only Delaware school with a Division III program. The Wolverines will join the Capital Athletic Conference for non-football sports in 2007 and they are currently members of the ACFC for football.

This is the time of year prospective student-athletes are paying their deposit, which is as much of a commitment as you get in Division III. Even so, they can still decide to leave their money and go elsewhere.

It’s also the time you read stories in the local media about kids picking schools and why they did so. The ones I like mention location, the campus, a particular course of study, anything that reminds us that the kids are going pro in something other than sports.

But this caught my eye today. It isn’t the first time, but it’s a good one. This is about Port Charlotte (Fla.) defensive end James Tolbert, about why he chose Central.

“It’s a school built on tradition and family,” Tolbert added. “If ever you need any advice, you have a list of alumni to help you out.”

That was one reason why Tolbert picked Central College over Beloit College of Wisconsin, Luther College of Iowa and Northern Ohio (sic) University.

Another? “The food is good,” mother Linda Tolbert joked.

We’ll see how you feel in four years, sir.

The NFL Europe league site is taking online votes for All-League. Let’s show our support for Division III by voting for Coe running back Fred Jackson and Bridgewater linebacker Jermaine Taylor.

Jackson is listed as “Frederick Jackson” on the first page of the ballot. Make sure you hit Continue to get to the defensive side of the ballot

Beyond those guys, I don’t care who you vote for. I’m voting for the guys listed as (FA) — the guys who came over to the league as NFL free agents. Guess I love the underdogs.

Vote! Vote at home, at work, at the cybercafe, wherever!

Division III has lost several NFL alumni in recent years. R.J. Bowers’ brief career (two NFL touchdowns) has come and gone. Michael Coleman is in and out of training camps and practice squads. Ethan Brooks has gone from starting with the Ravens to the Cowboys bench to seemingly unemployed, while R-Kal Truluck and Tony Beckham are unrestricted free agents.

So who will replace these players, especially if nobody has been drafted in three years?

They don’t have to come from the draft, or even this year’s free agent class. There are players still in the pipeline who have yet to be on a regular season NFL roster.

Fred Jackson, Coe: Jackson got a tryout and signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills earlier this year. Now 25, Jackson spent two seasons in the United Indoor Football League and was named its MVP this past season after rushing for 1,770 yards and scoring 53 touchdowns. Jackson follows Carey Bender, a fellow former Coe All-American running back who was also signed by the Bills and played in NFL Europe. Jackson plays for the Rhein Fire, and you can follow his stats on the NFL Europe site, though they are not yet updated after Saturday afternoon’s game.

Jermaine Taylor, Bridgewater (Va.): Taylor is with his second NFL team, having been in the Packers’ training camp his first year out of college. He’s now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Taylor leads the team in tackles as of the last time NFL Europe stats were updated. He could be the next London Fletcher, only bigger. Or he could be the next Brenden Givan, the D3football.com 2000 All-American from Stillman who racked up great tackles numbers in NFL Europe two years ago.

Bryant Shaw, Mississippi College: Never heard of him? He could be the next R-Kal Truluck, working his way up from Arena ball to the NFL. The Detroit Lions signed the Grand Rapids Rampage lineman a week and a half ago during his fifth season in the league. Shaw stands 6-3, 287 now at the age of 27. He was the American Southwest Conference defensive player of the year in 1999, his senior season and the first year of D3football.com.

Eventually we’ll start learning who is going where from the current rookie class. But even if they don’t stick in the league right away, don’t forget about them. They may pop up years later.