(12-02-2021 06:57 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 07:26 AM)steve4840 Wrote:  

Well guys, we are 2 weeks away from early siging period. 247Sports coverage of MAC recruiting is average at best and mails it in like Athlon Sports for pre-Season MAC coverage, 'just throw a 6-6 record and tell us how hard it is at Ypsi'.

I am really interested in knowing how many we sign and most importantly how do we attack the portal.

Questions for the board...
1. If I was a H.S. athlete today I would absolutely commit to Creighton early not knowing how many guys might come in via Portal. Only so many spots. Do portal guys come in during the early signing period?

2 Do you guys think we can finish in the top 4 of the MAC for recruiting finally?

We are NEVER going to be in top 4 of MAC recruiting. I am not going to bore any of you with a lengthy explanation of why, I just accept that fact.

I disagree a bit with your answer to #2. Difficult? Yes, absolutely. Impossible? No.

A guy like PJ Fleck could easily sell EMU to anyone. There aren’t many elite recruiters out there, but they exist.

(12-03-2021 12:02 AM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 06:57 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 07:26 AM)steve4840 Wrote:  

Well guys, we are 2 weeks away from early siging period. 247Sports coverage of MAC recruiting is average at best and mails it in like Athlon Sports for pre-Season MAC coverage, 'just throw a 6-6 record and tell us how hard it is at Ypsi'.

I am really interested in knowing how many we sign and most importantly how do we attack the portal.

Questions for the board...
1. If I was a H.S. athlete today I would absolutely commit to Creighton early not knowing how many guys might come in via Portal. Only so many spots. Do portal guys come in during the early signing period?

2 Do you guys think we can finish in the top 4 of the MAC for recruiting finally?

We are NEVER going to be in top 4 of MAC recruiting. I am not going to bore any of you with a lengthy explanation of why, I just accept that fact.

I disagree a bit with your answer to #2. Difficult? Yes, absolutely. Impossible? No.

A guy like PJ Fleck could easily sell EMU to anyone. There aren’t many elite recruiters out there, but they exist.

Even rarer in my opinion are those coaches were are elite recruiters and elite player developers.

Joshua Anderson and Max Reese has visits from Coach Creighton and EMU position coaches yesterday.

Joshua Anderson and Max Reese has visits from Coach Creighton and EMU position coaches yesterday.

https://247sports.com/Season/2022-Footba...erence=MAC

EMU is currently ranked 8th but look a little closer. EMU's average per player rating is #1 in the MAC! These 24/7 rankings are based more on quantity than quality. If the staff can address a few immediate needs (LB) with transfers and sprinkle in a few more high quality HS kids then this should be a very good class.

Like someone else commented, the plan B HS kids will be getting the short end this year. There just aren't enough roster spots available. Of course, some kids will be going into the portal only to never find a new home so that will open up a few spots. For the marginal kids the portal is the great abyss.

Do you guys want this thread pinned?

(12-03-2021 07:14 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 12:02 AM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 06:57 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 07:26 AM)steve4840 Wrote:  

Well guys, we are 2 weeks away from early siging period. 247Sports coverage of MAC recruiting is average at best and mails it in like Athlon Sports for pre-Season MAC coverage, 'just throw a 6-6 record and tell us how hard it is at Ypsi'.

I am really interested in knowing how many we sign and most importantly how do we attack the portal.

Questions for the board...
1. If I was a H.S. athlete today I would absolutely commit to Creighton early not knowing how many guys might come in via Portal. Only so many spots. Do portal guys come in during the early signing period?

2 Do you guys think we can finish in the top 4 of the MAC for recruiting finally?

We are NEVER going to be in top 4 of MAC recruiting. I am not going to bore any of you with a lengthy explanation of why, I just accept that fact.

I disagree a bit with your answer to #2. Difficult? Yes, absolutely. Impossible? No.

A guy like PJ Fleck could easily sell EMU to anyone. There aren’t many elite recruiters out there, but they exist.

Even rarer in my opinion are those coaches were are elite recruiters and elite player developers.

Cow and '79 your posts are indeed 100% correct! Cow, Fleck could have sold EMU, perhaps not as well as he did WMU, but he could have done better than we do now. '79, Jason Candle is the poster child for your post, he gets the best players consistently then does very little with them.

My point is this, does Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy EVER recruit in the top tier of their conferences? No, they do not. Secondly how many "hot" young coaches consider EMU, Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy? Not many as they choose to wait and climb less steep mountains elsewhere instead of risking their careers in Ypsilanti, Piscataway, Lawrence or Nashville. I note James Franklin as being the ONLY exception.

I'm not dissing Coach Creighton, he has plainly gotten better athletes to EMU. He now has the program in the "Northwestern" stage, the perennial doormat of the B1G was transformed by Gary Barnett into a true league competitor and more importantly stayed there. Once you "pop that bubble" of winning a league championship, then recruits take you seriously. To date, Rutgers, Kansas, Vandy and most importantly EMU have not done that.

New PWO Joey Zelinsky 6'4 260 DT from New Hudson Valley JUCO

(12-04-2021 06:31 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 07:14 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 12:02 AM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 06:57 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 07:26 AM)steve4840 Wrote:  

Well guys, we are 2 weeks away from early siging period. 247Sports coverage of MAC recruiting is average at best and mails it in like Athlon Sports for pre-Season MAC coverage, 'just throw a 6-6 record and tell us how hard it is at Ypsi'.

I am really interested in knowing how many we sign and most importantly how do we attack the portal.

Questions for the board...
1. If I was a H.S. athlete today I would absolutely commit to Creighton early not knowing how many guys might come in via Portal. Only so many spots. Do portal guys come in during the early signing period?

2 Do you guys think we can finish in the top 4 of the MAC for recruiting finally?

We are NEVER going to be in top 4 of MAC recruiting. I am not going to bore any of you with a lengthy explanation of why, I just accept that fact.

I disagree a bit with your answer to #2. Difficult? Yes, absolutely. Impossible? No.

A guy like PJ Fleck could easily sell EMU to anyone. There aren’t many elite recruiters out there, but they exist.

Even rarer in my opinion are those coaches were are elite recruiters and elite player developers.

Cow and '79 your posts are indeed 100% correct! Cow, Fleck could have sold EMU, perhaps not as well as he did WMU, but he could have done better than we do now. '79, Jason Candle is the poster child for your post, he gets the best players consistently then does very little with them.

My point is this, does Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy EVER recruit in the top tier of their conferences? No, they do not. Secondly how many "hot" young coaches consider EMU, Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy? Not many as they choose to wait and climb less steep mountains elsewhere instead of risking their careers in Ypsilanti, Piscataway, Lawrence or Nashville. I note James Franklin as being the ONLY exception.

I'm not dissing Coach Creighton, he has plainly gotten better athletes to EMU. He now has the program in the "Northwestern" stage, the perennial doormat of the B1G was transformed by Gary Barnett into a true league competitor and more importantly stayed there. Once you "pop that bubble" of winning a league championship, then recruits take you seriously. To date, Rutgers, Kansas, Vandy and most importantly EMU have not done that.

Agreed Jerry. Creighton has done an excellent job of taking our program from the gutter to mediocrity. I think it will be up to the next coach to take us to the “next level”. Creighton’s ceiling is limited by a few factors, one of which is that he is very specific in the kinds of players he recruits. He doesn’t take calculated risks like McElwain (and others).

(12-04-2021 06:31 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 07:14 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 12:02 AM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 06:57 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 07:26 AM)steve4840 Wrote:  

Well guys, we are 2 weeks away from early siging period. 247Sports coverage of MAC recruiting is average at best and mails it in like Athlon Sports for pre-Season MAC coverage, 'just throw a 6-6 record and tell us how hard it is at Ypsi'.

I am really interested in knowing how many we sign and most importantly how do we attack the portal.

Questions for the board...
1. If I was a H.S. athlete today I would absolutely commit to Creighton early not knowing how many guys might come in via Portal. Only so many spots. Do portal guys come in during the early signing period?

2 Do you guys think we can finish in the top 4 of the MAC for recruiting finally?

We are NEVER going to be in top 4 of MAC recruiting. I am not going to bore any of you with a lengthy explanation of why, I just accept that fact.

I disagree a bit with your answer to #2. Difficult? Yes, absolutely. Impossible? No.

A guy like PJ Fleck could easily sell EMU to anyone. There aren’t many elite recruiters out there, but they exist.

Even rarer in my opinion are those coaches were are elite recruiters and elite player developers.

Cow and '79 your posts are indeed 100% correct! Cow, Fleck could have sold EMU, perhaps not as well as he did WMU, but he could have done better than we do now. '79, Jason Candle is the poster child for your post, he gets the best players consistently then does very little with them.

My point is this, does Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy EVER recruit in the top tier of their conferences? No, they do not. Secondly how many "hot" young coaches consider EMU, Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy? Not many as they choose to wait and climb less steep mountains elsewhere instead of risking their careers in Ypsilanti, Piscataway, Lawrence or Nashville. I note James Franklin as being the ONLY exception.

I'm not dissing Coach Creighton, he has plainly gotten better athletes to EMU. He now has the program in the "Northwestern" stage, the perennial doormat of the B1G was transformed by Gary Barnett into a true league competitor and more importantly stayed there. Once you "pop that bubble" of winning a league championship, then recruits take you seriously. To date, Rutgers, Kansas, Vandy and most importantly EMU have not done that.

Yup

(12-04-2021 10:42 PM)masttg Wrote:  

(12-04-2021 06:31 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 07:14 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 12:02 AM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 06:57 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  We are NEVER going to be in top 4 of MAC recruiting. I am not going to bore any of you with a lengthy explanation of why, I just accept that fact.

I disagree a bit with your answer to #2. Difficult? Yes, absolutely. Impossible? No.

A guy like PJ Fleck could easily sell EMU to anyone. There aren’t many elite recruiters out there, but they exist.

Even rarer in my opinion are those coaches were are elite recruiters and elite player developers.

Cow and '79 your posts are indeed 100% correct! Cow, Fleck could have sold EMU, perhaps not as well as he did WMU, but he could have done better than we do now. '79, Jason Candle is the poster child for your post, he gets the best players consistently then does very little with them.

My point is this, does Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy EVER recruit in the top tier of their conferences? No, they do not. Secondly how many "hot" young coaches consider EMU, Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy? Not many as they choose to wait and climb less steep mountains elsewhere instead of risking their careers in Ypsilanti, Piscataway, Lawrence or Nashville. I note James Franklin as being the ONLY exception.

I'm not dissing Coach Creighton, he has plainly gotten better athletes to EMU. He now has the program in the "Northwestern" stage, the perennial doormat of the B1G was transformed by Gary Barnett into a true league competitor and more importantly stayed there. Once you "pop that bubble" of winning a league championship, then recruits take you seriously. To date, Rutgers, Kansas, Vandy and most importantly EMU have not done that.

Yup

I always think of CC the same way i think of Bill Snyder at K State

(12-04-2021 07:22 PM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-04-2021 06:31 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 07:14 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 12:02 AM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 06:57 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  We are NEVER going to be in top 4 of MAC recruiting. I am not going to bore any of you with a lengthy explanation of why, I just accept that fact.

I disagree a bit with your answer to #2. Difficult? Yes, absolutely. Impossible? No.

A guy like PJ Fleck could easily sell EMU to anyone. There aren’t many elite recruiters out there, but they exist.

Even rarer in my opinion are those coaches were are elite recruiters and elite player developers.

Cow and '79 your posts are indeed 100% correct! Cow, Fleck could have sold EMU, perhaps not as well as he did WMU, but he could have done better than we do now. '79, Jason Candle is the poster child for your post, he gets the best players consistently then does very little with them.

My point is this, does Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy EVER recruit in the top tier of their conferences? No, they do not. Secondly how many "hot" young coaches consider EMU, Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy? Not many as they choose to wait and climb less steep mountains elsewhere instead of risking their careers in Ypsilanti, Piscataway, Lawrence or Nashville. I note James Franklin as being the ONLY exception.

I'm not dissing Coach Creighton, he has plainly gotten better athletes to EMU. He now has the program in the "Northwestern" stage, the perennial doormat of the B1G was transformed by Gary Barnett into a true league competitor and more importantly stayed there. Once you "pop that bubble" of winning a league championship, then recruits take you seriously. To date, Rutgers, Kansas, Vandy and most importantly EMU have not done that.

Agreed Jerry. Creighton has done an excellent job of taking our program from the gutter to mediocrity. I think it will be up to the next coach to take us to the “next level”. Creighton’s ceiling is limited by a few factors, one of which is that he is very specific in the kinds of players he recruits. He doesn’t take calculated risks like McElwain (and others).

Valid point Cow. If Creighton were the MBB coach, I doubt Ray Lee or JT4 gets an EMU offer.

(12-05-2021 05:25 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-04-2021 07:22 PM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-04-2021 06:31 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 07:14 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 12:02 AM)holybovine Wrote:  I disagree a bit with your answer to #2. Difficult? Yes, absolutely. Impossible? No.

A guy like PJ Fleck could easily sell EMU to anyone. There aren’t many elite recruiters out there, but they exist.

Even rarer in my opinion are those coaches were are elite recruiters and elite player developers.

Cow and '79 your posts are indeed 100% correct! Cow, Fleck could have sold EMU, perhaps not as well as he did WMU, but he could have done better than we do now. '79, Jason Candle is the poster child for your post, he gets the best players consistently then does very little with them.

My point is this, does Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy EVER recruit in the top tier of their conferences? No, they do not. Secondly how many "hot" young coaches consider EMU, Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy? Not many as they choose to wait and climb less steep mountains elsewhere instead of risking their careers in Ypsilanti, Piscataway, Lawrence or Nashville. I note James Franklin as being the ONLY exception.

I'm not dissing Coach Creighton, he has plainly gotten better athletes to EMU. He now has the program in the "Northwestern" stage, the perennial doormat of the B1G was transformed by Gary Barnett into a true league competitor and more importantly stayed there. Once you "pop that bubble" of winning a league championship, then recruits take you seriously. To date, Rutgers, Kansas, Vandy and most importantly EMU have not done that.

Agreed Jerry. Creighton has done an excellent job of taking our program from the gutter to mediocrity. I think it will be up to the next coach to take us to the “next level”. Creighton’s ceiling is limited by a few factors, one of which is that he is very specific in the kinds of players he recruits. He doesn’t take calculated risks like McElwain (and others).

Valid point Cow. If Creighton were the MBB coach, I doubt Ray Lee or JT4 gets an EMU offer.

Correct Jerry.

(12-06-2021 04:56 AM)emu79 Wrote:  

(12-05-2021 05:25 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-04-2021 07:22 PM)holybovine Wrote:  

(12-04-2021 06:31 PM)Jerry Weaver Wrote:  

(12-03-2021 07:14 AM)emu79 Wrote:  Even rarer in my opinion are those coaches were are elite recruiters and elite player developers.

Cow and '79 your posts are indeed 100% correct! Cow, Fleck could have sold EMU, perhaps not as well as he did WMU, but he could have done better than we do now. '79, Jason Candle is the poster child for your post, he gets the best players consistently then does very little with them.

My point is this, does Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy EVER recruit in the top tier of their conferences? No, they do not. Secondly how many "hot" young coaches consider EMU, Rutgers, Kansas or Vandy? Not many as they choose to wait and climb less steep mountains elsewhere instead of risking their careers in Ypsilanti, Piscataway, Lawrence or Nashville. I note James Franklin as being the ONLY exception.

I'm not dissing Coach Creighton, he has plainly gotten better athletes to EMU. He now has the program in the "Northwestern" stage, the perennial doormat of the B1G was transformed by Gary Barnett into a true league competitor and more importantly stayed there. Once you "pop that bubble" of winning a league championship, then recruits take you seriously. To date, Rutgers, Kansas, Vandy and most importantly EMU have not done that.

Agreed Jerry. Creighton has done an excellent job of taking our program from the gutter to mediocrity. I think it will be up to the next coach to take us to the “next level”. Creighton’s ceiling is limited by a few factors, one of which is that he is very specific in the kinds of players he recruits. He doesn’t take calculated risks like McElwain (and others).

Valid point Cow. If Creighton were the MBB coach, I doubt Ray Lee or JT4 gets an EMU offer.

Correct Jerry.

Finally after dozens and scores and maybe more posts on why we don't have a good chance to get to say 9 or 10 wins that because of selective (character wise) recruiting puts a ceiling on the program.

It's going to be interesting to see how EMU manages the 12/15 early signing day considering the team and all the coaches will be in Alabama doing Bowl prep and running practices. Does the signing day, at least for the coaches, become a distraction to bowl prep? It looks like the team will be touring the Airbus factory during the day on the 15th. Perhaps the players go on the tour and the coaches stay behind and do the signing day stuff from a conference room in their hotel. The logistics will be interesting.

(12-06-2021 08:38 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  It's going to be interesting to see how EMU manages the 12/15 early signing day considering the team and all the coaches will be in Alabama doing Bowl prep and running practices. Does the signing day, at least for the coaches, become a distraction to bowl prep? It looks like the team will be touring the Airbus factory during the day on the 15th. Perhaps the players go on the tour and the coaches stay behind and do the signing day stuff from a conference room in their hotel. The logistics will be interesting.

Lest I be wrong, doesn't EMU have signing day, finals, and the bowl game ALL in the same week?

That is not an ideal calendar. Common Sense tells me that. I have the EMU Steve 3-bag theory as such:

Ask a person to carry a bag of groceries and a healthy person can successfully do it say >99.5% of the time.

Ask the same person to carry 2 bags of groceries (one in each arm) and the success rate drops.

Ask the same person to carry 3 bags of groceries (at one time) and the success rate drops significantly.

Or try not to bite off more than you can chew.

In this case, the calendar conspires against EMU. Will C.C. and the player personnel staff and recruiting coaches stay in Ypsi until the evening of Dec 15 while the coordinators are down in AL handling the last minute practices, walk thrus.

(12-06-2021 08:44 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:38 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  It's going to be interesting to see how EMU manages the 12/15 early signing day considering the team and all the coaches will be in Alabama doing Bowl prep and running practices. Does the signing day, at least for the coaches, become a distraction to bowl prep? It looks like the team will be touring the Airbus factory during the day on the 15th. Perhaps the players go on the tour and the coaches stay behind and do the signing day stuff from a conference room in their hotel. The logistics will be interesting.

Lest I be wrong, doesn't EMU have signing day, finals, and the bowl game ALL in the same week?

That is not an ideal calendar. Common Sense tells me that. I have the EMU Steve 3-bag theory as such:

Ask a person to carry a bag of groceries and a healthy person can successfully do it say >99.5% of the time.

Ask the same person to carry 2 bags of groceries (one in each arm) and the success rate drops.

Ask the same person to carry 3 bags of groceries (at one time) and the success rate drops significantly.

Or try not to bite off more than you can chew.

In this case, the calendar conspires against EMU. Will C.C. and the player personnel staff and recruiting coaches stay in Ypsi until the evening of Dec 15 while the coordinators are down in AL handling the last minute practices, walk thrus.

Add one more item to that bag for the Seniors...that Sunday after the game (12/19) is EMU's commencement. Will the team do a special "on the road" commencement for the Seniors as they have in the past?

(12-06-2021 08:47 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:44 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:38 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  It's going to be interesting to see how EMU manages the 12/15 early signing day considering the team and all the coaches will be in Alabama doing Bowl prep and running practices. Does the signing day, at least for the coaches, become a distraction to bowl prep? It looks like the team will be touring the Airbus factory during the day on the 15th. Perhaps the players go on the tour and the coaches stay behind and do the signing day stuff from a conference room in their hotel. The logistics will be interesting.

Lest I be wrong, doesn't EMU have signing day, finals, and the bowl game ALL in the same week?

That is not an ideal calendar. Common Sense tells me that. I have the EMU Steve 3-bag theory as such:

Ask a person to carry a bag of groceries and a healthy person can successfully do it say >99.5% of the time.

Ask the same person to carry 2 bags of groceries (one in each arm) and the success rate drops.

Ask the same person to carry 3 bags of groceries (at one time) and the success rate drops significantly.

Or try not to bite off more than you can chew.

In this case, the calendar conspires against EMU. Will C.C. and the player personnel staff and recruiting coaches stay in Ypsi until the evening of Dec 15 while the coordinators are down in AL handling the last minute practices, walk thrus.

Add one more item to that bag for the Seniors...that Sunday after the game (12/19) is EMU's commencement. Will the team do a special "on the road" commencement for the Seniors as they have in the past?

Thanks.

I really wish that EMU could have gotten a better bowl date. Not all schools have finals and graduation next week.

I wish bowl organizers and ADs would try to factor that in. It isn't the Nth out of a list of N factors. It should be near the top.

Wishing we had drawn the QL bowl to ameliorate the problems I just mentioned (and yes, most of our students out for semester break would be closer to Detroit than Ypsilanti).

(12-06-2021 09:20 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:47 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:44 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:38 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  It's going to be interesting to see how EMU manages the 12/15 early signing day considering the team and all the coaches will be in Alabama doing Bowl prep and running practices. Does the signing day, at least for the coaches, become a distraction to bowl prep? It looks like the team will be touring the Airbus factory during the day on the 15th. Perhaps the players go on the tour and the coaches stay behind and do the signing day stuff from a conference room in their hotel. The logistics will be interesting.

Lest I be wrong, doesn't EMU have signing day, finals, and the bowl game ALL in the same week?

That is not an ideal calendar. Common Sense tells me that. I have the EMU Steve 3-bag theory as such:

Ask a person to carry a bag of groceries and a healthy person can successfully do it say >99.5% of the time.

Ask the same person to carry 2 bags of groceries (one in each arm) and the success rate drops.

Ask the same person to carry 3 bags of groceries (at one time) and the success rate drops significantly.

Or try not to bite off more than you can chew.

In this case, the calendar conspires against EMU. Will C.C. and the player personnel staff and recruiting coaches stay in Ypsi until the evening of Dec 15 while the coordinators are down in AL handling the last minute practices, walk thrus.

Add one more item to that bag for the Seniors...that Sunday after the game (12/19) is EMU's commencement. Will the team do a special "on the road" commencement for the Seniors as they have in the past?

Thanks.

I really wish that EMU could have gotten a better bowl date. Not all schools have finals and graduation next week.

I wish bowl organizers and ADs would try to factor that in. It isn't the Nth out of a list of N factors. It should be near the top.

Wishing we had drawn the QL bowl to ameliorate the problems I just mentioned (and yes, most of our students out for semester break would be closer to Detroit than Ypsilanti).

A couple years ago we were in a bar Downtown getting prepped for EMU's appearance in the QL bowl. The owner was behind the bar pouring beers and they were getting slammed. I asked him why he hadn't scheduled more staff that night with the bowl game going on, and he said that because it was Eastern they didn't anticipate the crowd they had (it was SRO in that bar and all the others in the area).

There are a load more EMU alums in the Metro-Detroit region than I think most people realize. It will be interesting to see if WMU draws like that. I think because EMU has such a strong commuter base, they have a significantly larger base of alumni immediately in the Metro area than a Western or Central does.

(12-06-2021 09:51 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 09:20 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:47 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:44 AM)emu steve Wrote:  

(12-06-2021 08:38 AM)cidbearit Wrote:  It's going to be interesting to see how EMU manages the 12/15 early signing day considering the team and all the coaches will be in Alabama doing Bowl prep and running practices. Does the signing day, at least for the coaches, become a distraction to bowl prep? It looks like the team will be touring the Airbus factory during the day on the 15th. Perhaps the players go on the tour and the coaches stay behind and do the signing day stuff from a conference room in their hotel. The logistics will be interesting.

Lest I be wrong, doesn't EMU have signing day, finals, and the bowl game ALL in the same week?

That is not an ideal calendar. Common Sense tells me that. I have the EMU Steve 3-bag theory as such:

Ask a person to carry a bag of groceries and a healthy person can successfully do it say >99.5% of the time.

Ask the same person to carry 2 bags of groceries (one in each arm) and the success rate drops.

Ask the same person to carry 3 bags of groceries (at one time) and the success rate drops significantly.

Or try not to bite off more than you can chew.

In this case, the calendar conspires against EMU. Will C.C. and the player personnel staff and recruiting coaches stay in Ypsi until the evening of Dec 15 while the coordinators are down in AL handling the last minute practices, walk thrus.

Add one more item to that bag for the Seniors...that Sunday after the game (12/19) is EMU's commencement. Will the team do a special "on the road" commencement for the Seniors as they have in the past?

Thanks.

I really wish that EMU could have gotten a better bowl date. Not all schools have finals and graduation next week.

I wish bowl organizers and ADs would try to factor that in. It isn't the Nth out of a list of N factors. It should be near the top.

Wishing we had drawn the QL bowl to ameliorate the problems I just mentioned (and yes, most of our students out for semester break would be closer to Detroit than Ypsilanti).

A couple years ago we were in a bar Downtown getting prepped for EMU's appearance in the QL bowl. The owner was behind the bar pouring beers and they were getting slammed. I asked him why he hadn't scheduled more staff that night with the bowl game going on, and he said that because it was Eastern they didn't anticipate the crowd they had (it was SRO in that bar and all the others in the area).

There are a load more EMU alums in the Metro-Detroit region than I think most people realize. It will be interesting to see if WMU draws like that. I think because EMU has such a strong commuter base, they have a significantly larger base of alumni immediately in the Metro area than a Western or Central does.

My parents are trenton residents and proud WMU grads - theyve already bought tickets