Post by Aggie One on Nov 18, 2023 11:37:37 GMT -5
A Lot of Work Ahead
by Craig R. Turner
Bluedeathvalley.com
It's the final weekend of the regular season in the CAA and there are four teams tied at the top of the conference standings with 6-1 marks - Albany, Villanova, Delaware, and Richmond. It may all be settled today and then again it may not. Richmond will travel to William and Mary, Villanova will be going head-to-head with Delaware in what should be the best game of the day while Albany will have to deal with a very dangerous Monmouth team with a stellar offense. At a minimum, either Delaware or Villanova will be eliminated from the picture but are easily headed to the FCS playoffs beginning next week. The Richmond/W&M winner is probably in as well as is Albany if they can avoid the upset. Everyone else is playing for pride.
*******************************************************
CAA TV Football Schedule - Season Finale - 11/18/23
Campbell at North Carolina A&T 1:00pm FloFootballof
Hampton at Elon 1:00pm FloFootball/WMYV
Maine at New Hampshire 1:00pm FloFootball
Monmouth at UAlbany 1:00pm FloFootball
Rhode Island at Towson 1:00pm FloFootball
Richmond at William & Mary 1:00pm FloFootball
Villanova at Delaware 1:00pm FloFootball/DSN
****************************************************************************
N.C. A&T vs Campbell - Preview and Game Notes
Campbell University:
gocamels.com/news/2023/11/17/football-camels-close-out-season-at-nc-a-t.aspx
****************************************************************************
No question about. It has been a most difficult year for N.C. A&T football. The A&T faithful really has had to dig really deep to set aside their naturally visceral reaction to a 1-9 season going into this today's finale against Campbell. Aggie fans are not accustomed to losing football games in any large measure and only a few of the more knowledgeable fans truly understood the challenge that A&T faced all year long.
It has been hard for most fans, impossible to some, to absorb the full impact of several off-season losses in key personnel, an incredibly young roster, the bringing in of a new head coach with a largely new staff that is being tasked to retool and remake a program so it can compete and win on a yearly basis long term in one of the most balanced and competitive top to bottom FCS conferences in the country.
When Covid-19 hit back in 2020, it became a boom for some football programs and for missed opportunity for others. Some programs decided to stand pact and wait it out while others sought to aggressively utilize the portal as much as possible to off set their inability to recruit in person. This year we saw the result of choosing wisely as those teams that amassed transfer filled rosters two years ago are now reaping the benefits of having outstanding seasons and are most likely headed to the playoffs. Those that didn't are still feeling the after affects to this day and probably still a few even into next year.
When fans and alums get to comparing notes and debating the win-loss record the conversation always seems to gravitate back to " when we were in the MEAC." I guess that is to be expected since it was the sole point of reference for 50 seasons until a short time ago. Add in the fact that a lot of A&T fans quickly got infatuated with the big end of the year party/second homecoming atmosphere of the Celebration Bowl which Aggies dominated during the first 5 years of its existence.
We had pretty much expected to be there every year knowing that only a couple of games within the conference schedule actually posed any real threat to not making the familiar December trek down to Atlanta. Let's be honest. We pretty much put everything on auto pilot after the undefeated 2017 season and we were content. We all were. We began to believe we were actually a plug and play program and yes, we became spoiled. Rotten to the core.
We forgot that excellence is never achieved overnight or by short cut and sustained excellence is a forever demanding task master requiring more and more every single year. Folks will always look back as those Broadway-Washington days in that 7-year run as the golden time with an almost mystical admiration.
The part that is too often forgotten is where we were as a program when the first building blocks were first laid with a new coach who undertook a program that had serious APR issues, a ridiculously bad won-loss record for nearly a decade, outdated equipment, a barely minimum operating budget, and not even 30 players on scholarship back in 2011.
We have forgotten about the many struggles and seemingly endless obstacles that Rod Broadway faced from the outset with an under funded and under manned program even by MEAC standards back then. Broadway often joked more than once about when he first took over as head coach he would toss out scholarship offers out the car window going down Benbow Road and folks would throw them back at him.
What he did do to overcome it was to be wise enough to recognize and evaluate the talent in underrated kids, many from low profile high school programs, challenge them in everyday in the classroom, develop them as players and young men, and instilled a no nonsense disciplined work ethic that was always about team first. A tempered but steady increase in resources by an administration who understood the importance of athletics didn't hurt.
Now there are clearly some differences in the circumstances that Vincent Brown is now dealing with as he nears the end of his first season as head coach but in a lot of other ways he is dealing with some of those very same issues - commitment to the classroom, having to re-instill a tireless work effort, having to find a lot of new talent while evaluating and developing the "baby brigade" to become the backbone of his team next year.
Well, it will be said that the times are different, and they are with conference realignments and transfer portals, but essentially the same general formula that brought A&T from the forgotten pits of football hell in the mid to late 2000's to today as one of the more recognizable brand names in FCS football circles can be and should be dusted off again for CAA. It will need to be tweaked for sure, especially when it comes to facility improvements and infrastructure growth but we've seen from this first year of play in the CAA that A&T despite its record is not that far away and can have a winning season next year in 2024.
What it all really comes down are two factors if there is to be vast improvement in 2024 is recruiting. When the curtain falls in a few hours on this season it is imperative that the A&T coaching staff immediately hit the road and find the athletes necessary to address most of the physical deficiencies. There's more than a decent nucleus of young players to build around but clearly more bodies and bigger bodies need to be added upfront on both sides of the ball. The defensive skill positions as well as linebacker will need additional depth beyond next year's starters. Major upgrades at wide receiver have got to be a top priority considering the young quarterback room appears now to be in very solid hands for the next few years.
The other intangible will be the off season work that has to be put in. Last summer was the break-in period, getting guys to understand what will be required of them to be successful in an A&T program that is being overhauled in almost every way. Most have made the transition into Brown's way of how he wants his players to work, practice, study, and conduct themselves off the field to a higher standard than they may have been accustomed to. Some have not and there will be decisions and determinations that will have to be made by all concerned about their future.
I won't get into staff evaluations because that is the sole domain of the head football coach and Brown has stated that he is examining every aspect of this past year but frankly I would be surprised if there were any changes internally in that regard although the leash might get a bit shorter and considerably tighter going forward. It always does when teams have a difficult year.
It's senior day and A&T will be saying good-bye to a number of players who are the last of the Celebration Bowl era players. There are also a good number of athletes who have already finished their undergrad academic work but still have eligibility left.
We'll have to wait and see which of those players return in 2024 and who will decide move on. In any event we wish them all the best whichever road they take. Its their day so let's send them out with a bang and cherish the memories.
****************************************************************************
PREDICTION
N.C. A&T - 33
Campbell - 31
by Craig R. Turner
Bluedeathvalley.com
It's the final weekend of the regular season in the CAA and there are four teams tied at the top of the conference standings with 6-1 marks - Albany, Villanova, Delaware, and Richmond. It may all be settled today and then again it may not. Richmond will travel to William and Mary, Villanova will be going head-to-head with Delaware in what should be the best game of the day while Albany will have to deal with a very dangerous Monmouth team with a stellar offense. At a minimum, either Delaware or Villanova will be eliminated from the picture but are easily headed to the FCS playoffs beginning next week. The Richmond/W&M winner is probably in as well as is Albany if they can avoid the upset. Everyone else is playing for pride.
*******************************************************
CAA TV Football Schedule - Season Finale - 11/18/23
Campbell at North Carolina A&T 1:00pm FloFootballof
Hampton at Elon 1:00pm FloFootball/WMYV
Maine at New Hampshire 1:00pm FloFootball
Monmouth at UAlbany 1:00pm FloFootball
Rhode Island at Towson 1:00pm FloFootball
Richmond at William & Mary 1:00pm FloFootball
Villanova at Delaware 1:00pm FloFootball/DSN
****************************************************************************
N.C. A&T vs Campbell - Preview and Game Notes
Campbell University:
gocamels.com/news/2023/11/17/football-camels-close-out-season-at-nc-a-t.aspx
****************************************************************************
No question about. It has been a most difficult year for N.C. A&T football. The A&T faithful really has had to dig really deep to set aside their naturally visceral reaction to a 1-9 season going into this today's finale against Campbell. Aggie fans are not accustomed to losing football games in any large measure and only a few of the more knowledgeable fans truly understood the challenge that A&T faced all year long.
It has been hard for most fans, impossible to some, to absorb the full impact of several off-season losses in key personnel, an incredibly young roster, the bringing in of a new head coach with a largely new staff that is being tasked to retool and remake a program so it can compete and win on a yearly basis long term in one of the most balanced and competitive top to bottom FCS conferences in the country.
When Covid-19 hit back in 2020, it became a boom for some football programs and for missed opportunity for others. Some programs decided to stand pact and wait it out while others sought to aggressively utilize the portal as much as possible to off set their inability to recruit in person. This year we saw the result of choosing wisely as those teams that amassed transfer filled rosters two years ago are now reaping the benefits of having outstanding seasons and are most likely headed to the playoffs. Those that didn't are still feeling the after affects to this day and probably still a few even into next year.
When fans and alums get to comparing notes and debating the win-loss record the conversation always seems to gravitate back to " when we were in the MEAC." I guess that is to be expected since it was the sole point of reference for 50 seasons until a short time ago. Add in the fact that a lot of A&T fans quickly got infatuated with the big end of the year party/second homecoming atmosphere of the Celebration Bowl which Aggies dominated during the first 5 years of its existence.
We had pretty much expected to be there every year knowing that only a couple of games within the conference schedule actually posed any real threat to not making the familiar December trek down to Atlanta. Let's be honest. We pretty much put everything on auto pilot after the undefeated 2017 season and we were content. We all were. We began to believe we were actually a plug and play program and yes, we became spoiled. Rotten to the core.
We forgot that excellence is never achieved overnight or by short cut and sustained excellence is a forever demanding task master requiring more and more every single year. Folks will always look back as those Broadway-Washington days in that 7-year run as the golden time with an almost mystical admiration.
The part that is too often forgotten is where we were as a program when the first building blocks were first laid with a new coach who undertook a program that had serious APR issues, a ridiculously bad won-loss record for nearly a decade, outdated equipment, a barely minimum operating budget, and not even 30 players on scholarship back in 2011.
We have forgotten about the many struggles and seemingly endless obstacles that Rod Broadway faced from the outset with an under funded and under manned program even by MEAC standards back then. Broadway often joked more than once about when he first took over as head coach he would toss out scholarship offers out the car window going down Benbow Road and folks would throw them back at him.
What he did do to overcome it was to be wise enough to recognize and evaluate the talent in underrated kids, many from low profile high school programs, challenge them in everyday in the classroom, develop them as players and young men, and instilled a no nonsense disciplined work ethic that was always about team first. A tempered but steady increase in resources by an administration who understood the importance of athletics didn't hurt.
Now there are clearly some differences in the circumstances that Vincent Brown is now dealing with as he nears the end of his first season as head coach but in a lot of other ways he is dealing with some of those very same issues - commitment to the classroom, having to re-instill a tireless work effort, having to find a lot of new talent while evaluating and developing the "baby brigade" to become the backbone of his team next year.
Well, it will be said that the times are different, and they are with conference realignments and transfer portals, but essentially the same general formula that brought A&T from the forgotten pits of football hell in the mid to late 2000's to today as one of the more recognizable brand names in FCS football circles can be and should be dusted off again for CAA. It will need to be tweaked for sure, especially when it comes to facility improvements and infrastructure growth but we've seen from this first year of play in the CAA that A&T despite its record is not that far away and can have a winning season next year in 2024.
What it all really comes down are two factors if there is to be vast improvement in 2024 is recruiting. When the curtain falls in a few hours on this season it is imperative that the A&T coaching staff immediately hit the road and find the athletes necessary to address most of the physical deficiencies. There's more than a decent nucleus of young players to build around but clearly more bodies and bigger bodies need to be added upfront on both sides of the ball. The defensive skill positions as well as linebacker will need additional depth beyond next year's starters. Major upgrades at wide receiver have got to be a top priority considering the young quarterback room appears now to be in very solid hands for the next few years.
The other intangible will be the off season work that has to be put in. Last summer was the break-in period, getting guys to understand what will be required of them to be successful in an A&T program that is being overhauled in almost every way. Most have made the transition into Brown's way of how he wants his players to work, practice, study, and conduct themselves off the field to a higher standard than they may have been accustomed to. Some have not and there will be decisions and determinations that will have to be made by all concerned about their future.
I won't get into staff evaluations because that is the sole domain of the head football coach and Brown has stated that he is examining every aspect of this past year but frankly I would be surprised if there were any changes internally in that regard although the leash might get a bit shorter and considerably tighter going forward. It always does when teams have a difficult year.
It's senior day and A&T will be saying good-bye to a number of players who are the last of the Celebration Bowl era players. There are also a good number of athletes who have already finished their undergrad academic work but still have eligibility left.
We'll have to wait and see which of those players return in 2024 and who will decide move on. In any event we wish them all the best whichever road they take. Its their day so let's send them out with a bang and cherish the memories.
****************************************************************************
PREDICTION
N.C. A&T - 33
Campbell - 31
