Post by krazykev on Sept 16, 2006 5:57:12 GMT -5
By Rob Daniels
Staff Writer
They don't have any choice, you know.
The N.C. A&T Aggies have been assigned to play the Hampton Pirates, the nation's 10th-ranked Division I-AA team and the two-time defending MEAC champion, at 1:30 p.m. today. It's too late to appeal to a governor, whether Mike Easley in the Old North State or Tim Kaine of the Old Dominion.
And so the Aggies, who would be prohibitive underdogs if gambling lines were readily available on this one, venture on, apparently armed with little more than requisite internal optimism.
"I told them, 'There's nobody in this country, this state or this area who would pick you to win the game.' But it can be done," A&T coach Lee Fobbs said.
It will require a very positive turnover margin, freedom from injuries and several other variables. The numbers are not in A&T's favor. And we're not just talking about yards per game and points per game.
The contest, set for Hampton's Armstrong Stadium, looks like the most lopsided MEAC game the Aggies will face in 2006. It's a meeting of stability, depth and experience against novelty and the personnel attrition inherent in it.
l Before the season started, A&T lost nine players who saw action in more than half of last year's games and who still had remaining eligibility past 2005. That's the highest such figure in the conference. Hampton lost only two such players.
l In all, underclassmen who combined for 109 game appearances in 2005 did not return to the fold this fall. Only Morgan State (82 total appearances) came close to suffering that much attrition. Hampton lost 26 games worth of experience, not counting graduating seniors.
l On Feb. 4, 2005, A&T announced it has signed 20 scholarship recipients. Less than 18 months later, only eight of those 20 are on the roster.
l Of 40 Aggies who played against the Pirates in last year's lopsided loss and could have retuned this season, only 16 are expected to make the trip for the rematch. Of the 37 Pirates who competed that night, 23 are still on the roster.
Losing players is an accepted and almost inevitable result of a coaching change, which A&T made when it dismissed George Small after last season and replaced him with Fobbs. Every other coach in the MEAC returned to his job.
Forty of the 72 A&T players who had eligibility left after the 2005 season declined to return. Most were walk-ons who didn't get into a game in 2005. For anybody on the precipice of departure, a shake-up at the top is often enough to finalize a player's decision to leave.
As for those who actually played but didn't return, the reasons for leaving usually vary: Players aren't suited to the new coach's changes on offense or defense; they felt close to the previous staff; or they need time to digest what happened while the new coaches launch into hard-core off-season workouts immediately.
Five football veterans who could have played this year are still enrolled at A&T. Attempts to reach them all by e-mail were unsuccessful.
Attrition at the time of change impacts every program. Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, who has never fired an assistant coach in his nearly 12 years of being the boss, isn't inclined to toss players to the curb. Yet when he took the Ohio University job in late 1994, he discovered that several players had already left the fold following a winless season.
"My first year there, we started 10 true freshmen," Grobe said. "I told a booster club when I got there, 'If anybody has any suggestions on how to improve on 0-11, I'll take 'em. An old lady raised her hand and said, 'Have you considered playing only 10 games?'"
Unlike many coaches, Fobbs has declined to harp on attrition and youth as he builds his program.
"You will never hear me use our youth as an excuse," he said. "I'm looking for time on the field. What better way to get them experience?"
The Aggies can't get back the players who have moved on. Their task from here on out is to keep the ones who are playing today.
Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels@news-record.com
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home delivery Print this article Email this Article H. Scott Hoffmann N.C. A&T AT HAMPTON
When: 1:30 p.m. today
Where: Armstrong Stadium, Hampton, Va.
Records: N.C. A&T 0-0 MEAC, 0-1; Hampton 1-0, 2-0
Radio: WNAA-90.1MISSING IN ACTION
Nearly one third of MEAC football players in 2005 did not return to their teams this season although they had eligibility remaining. N.C. A&T lost 40 players out of 72 for a MEAC-high attrition rate of 55.6 percent. Those 40 lost players played in a combined 109 games last season.
Players Attrition Games
School lost rate lost
N.C. A&T 40 55.6 109
Morgan State 30 41.1 82
S.C. State 21 36.2 63
Delaware State 22 33.8 39
Florida A&M 20 32.3 54
Beth.-Cookman 23 29.9 50
Hampton 16 26.2 26
Howard 14 20.0 20
Norfolk State 15 18.8 17
Source: NCAA Email this Article Print this article Search
Staff Writer
They don't have any choice, you know.
The N.C. A&T Aggies have been assigned to play the Hampton Pirates, the nation's 10th-ranked Division I-AA team and the two-time defending MEAC champion, at 1:30 p.m. today. It's too late to appeal to a governor, whether Mike Easley in the Old North State or Tim Kaine of the Old Dominion.
And so the Aggies, who would be prohibitive underdogs if gambling lines were readily available on this one, venture on, apparently armed with little more than requisite internal optimism.
"I told them, 'There's nobody in this country, this state or this area who would pick you to win the game.' But it can be done," A&T coach Lee Fobbs said.
It will require a very positive turnover margin, freedom from injuries and several other variables. The numbers are not in A&T's favor. And we're not just talking about yards per game and points per game.
The contest, set for Hampton's Armstrong Stadium, looks like the most lopsided MEAC game the Aggies will face in 2006. It's a meeting of stability, depth and experience against novelty and the personnel attrition inherent in it.
l Before the season started, A&T lost nine players who saw action in more than half of last year's games and who still had remaining eligibility past 2005. That's the highest such figure in the conference. Hampton lost only two such players.
l In all, underclassmen who combined for 109 game appearances in 2005 did not return to the fold this fall. Only Morgan State (82 total appearances) came close to suffering that much attrition. Hampton lost 26 games worth of experience, not counting graduating seniors.
l On Feb. 4, 2005, A&T announced it has signed 20 scholarship recipients. Less than 18 months later, only eight of those 20 are on the roster.
l Of 40 Aggies who played against the Pirates in last year's lopsided loss and could have retuned this season, only 16 are expected to make the trip for the rematch. Of the 37 Pirates who competed that night, 23 are still on the roster.
Losing players is an accepted and almost inevitable result of a coaching change, which A&T made when it dismissed George Small after last season and replaced him with Fobbs. Every other coach in the MEAC returned to his job.
Forty of the 72 A&T players who had eligibility left after the 2005 season declined to return. Most were walk-ons who didn't get into a game in 2005. For anybody on the precipice of departure, a shake-up at the top is often enough to finalize a player's decision to leave.
As for those who actually played but didn't return, the reasons for leaving usually vary: Players aren't suited to the new coach's changes on offense or defense; they felt close to the previous staff; or they need time to digest what happened while the new coaches launch into hard-core off-season workouts immediately.
Five football veterans who could have played this year are still enrolled at A&T. Attempts to reach them all by e-mail were unsuccessful.
Attrition at the time of change impacts every program. Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe, who has never fired an assistant coach in his nearly 12 years of being the boss, isn't inclined to toss players to the curb. Yet when he took the Ohio University job in late 1994, he discovered that several players had already left the fold following a winless season.
"My first year there, we started 10 true freshmen," Grobe said. "I told a booster club when I got there, 'If anybody has any suggestions on how to improve on 0-11, I'll take 'em. An old lady raised her hand and said, 'Have you considered playing only 10 games?'"
Unlike many coaches, Fobbs has declined to harp on attrition and youth as he builds his program.
"You will never hear me use our youth as an excuse," he said. "I'm looking for time on the field. What better way to get them experience?"
The Aggies can't get back the players who have moved on. Their task from here on out is to keep the ones who are playing today.
Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels@news-record.com
Subscribe for
home delivery Print this article Email this Article H. Scott Hoffmann N.C. A&T AT HAMPTON
When: 1:30 p.m. today
Where: Armstrong Stadium, Hampton, Va.
Records: N.C. A&T 0-0 MEAC, 0-1; Hampton 1-0, 2-0
Radio: WNAA-90.1MISSING IN ACTION
Nearly one third of MEAC football players in 2005 did not return to their teams this season although they had eligibility remaining. N.C. A&T lost 40 players out of 72 for a MEAC-high attrition rate of 55.6 percent. Those 40 lost players played in a combined 109 games last season.
Players Attrition Games
School lost rate lost
N.C. A&T 40 55.6 109
Morgan State 30 41.1 82
S.C. State 21 36.2 63
Delaware State 22 33.8 39
Florida A&M 20 32.3 54
Beth.-Cookman 23 29.9 50
Hampton 16 26.2 26
Howard 14 20.0 20
Norfolk State 15 18.8 17
Source: NCAA Email this Article Print this article Search
