Our off-season workouts have been productive.  The team has been working hard in the weight room, on conditioning, and in the meeting room. We changed our program to a three-day-per-week strength training routine with two days of agilities, plyometrics, and conditioning. We have been able to do full body workouts all three days in the weight room. The schedule has allowed for greater recovery between lifting and conditioning as we are not do both activities on the same day. In addition, we have allowed more meeting and video work in our schedule. I believe this will prepare us better for spring practice.

Recruiting is going very well. We have 33 committed recruits. Our class is strong and deep. I am looking forward to getting them here in August. We will be adding a few more to the class in the weeks to come. A full announcement will be made as soon as all deposits are paid and financial aid award letters are signed and returned.

Over the spring break our coaches will be finishing the planning for spring practice, visiting with other schools to share football ideas, and working to complete our 2013 recruiting class. We have begun working with the recruiting class of 2014 as well. Letters and emails are being sent to prospects asking them to complete our questionnaire and provide video and transcripts for us. The staff is pouring through the video we already have and starting the evaluation process for 2014.

IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BE A CRUSADER!

GO VALPO!

What’s

Important

Now

We are significantly ahead of last year at this time for committed recruits. Our class has quality and depth on both sides of the ball. In addition, the academic credentials are outstanding. I am looking forward to assimilating this year’s class into our team.

Our returning players have been lifting three times a week under the watchful eye of Strength Coach Bob Brooks and our football coaching staff. We have the team in plyometrics, agilities, and conditioning 2 nights per week. We have been posting a daily grade for our player’s effort and technique in the weight room and the conditioning activities. After each activity the coaches involved meet and discuss the individual performances and assign their grade. This provides immediate feedback for the individual on his effort that day.

The coaching staff has been meeting to watch our video cut-ups from 2012 and make an adjustments needed as we move forward to spring practice. We will begin meeting with the players the next three weeks before spring break to teach our offense, defense, and special teams in preparation for spring practice. We start spring practice the week the University returns from Spring break.

Please consider a gift to Valpo Football. Your gift will help us in completing our 2013 class as well as aid the coaching staff in travels in May and June as we begin the evaluations and camp contacts for the 2014 class.  Click here to make your donation.

Click on the box at the top that says “Make a Gift Now.” A new page will appear that will ask for your name, address, and gift amount. Click on “Athletic and other giving Options.” A box will appear. Click on “Athletics Crusader Fund” then click on “continue” at the bottom.  You will see “Athletics Crusader Fund” with a check mark next to it. Click on the check mark to direct your giving to football. You can also give a general donation to the Crusader Fund as well. All dollars embarked to football go directly to the program. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Everyone involved in the program is working hard to prepare for 2013 season. The coaches are wrapping up the 2013 class and working on the 2014 recruiting class as well.  It’s A Great Day to Be a Crusader!

GO VALPO!

What’s

Important

Now

On Monday January 14^th we began the lifting portion of the off-season conditioning program. Agilities, plyometrics, and conditioning will begin next week. We will continue on that track until spring break the first week in March.

Our team did an excellent job in the classroom this past semester. Our Academic Top Ten has become much more competitive. The lowest GPA that qualified for the top ten was 3.43. That represents a significant increase from the lowest GPA of the top ten when I started. In addition, five of the top ten had GPA’s were greater than 3.75. Six of the top ten students are in the College of Engineering. The other four are in the College of Business.

The top ten (in alphabetical order) are:

Stuart Barkley – OL

Austin Etzler – WR

Alex Green – LB

Alex Grask – DB (team co-captain)

Hayden Hast – RB

Jordan Lewis – LB

Sam Manternach – OL

Colton Sanchez – LB

Scott Staal – QB

Kent Warren – WR

Recruiting is going very well. We have a number of commits from some outstanding football players. It will be a while before we can publish a list due to NCAA rules regarding non-scholarship programs. Be assured we have some outstanding new players ready to join our program and we expect to add to that list over the next few weeks.

Our theme for the Spring Semester is WIN The Day. Seems the same as the fall, right?  However WIN is an acronym that stands for:

What’s Important Now

Our first order of business is to take care of what we can control at this time. Our players need to focus on being the best students they can be and to develop themselves in the weight room and in the conditioning program. In order to W.I.N. in the fall we must take care of the important things now!

Our team is working hard. Our coaches are doing an excellent job on the recruiting trail. 2013 will be an excellent year.

GO VALPO!

What’s

Important

Now

Post-season awards have been given out. Links to the articles listing the team awards as well as all-conference are here:

http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2012-13/12256/three-crusaders-earn-academic-all-pfl-accolades/

http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2012-13/12254/six-crusaders-earn-all-pfl-honors/

http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2012-13/12252/hutson-named-pfl-offensive-freshman-of-the-year/

http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2012-13/12235/crusader-football-announces-program-award-winners/

http://www.valpoathletics.com/football/news/2012-13/12220/four-crusaders-honored-by-college-sports-madness/

Congratulations to all of those who won individual awards. Football is the ultimate team game. However, it is good for the program and for those honored to be recognized by our peers and the media.

The coaching staff hit the road immediately after Thanksgiving for the three week contact period. We traveled throughout the Midwest, Southwest, and the East Coast seeing our top prospects for 2013.

We held our first recruiting weekend on Dec 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th. We secured our first commitment for the class from 2013 and are close to securing others from that weekend. Our coaches, faculty members, and players did a wonderful job interacting with the recruits and their families.

The next few weeks are a “dead period” in recruiting. That means we cannot see prospects off-campus or have prospects visit us at Valparaiso. The coaching staff is allowed one phone call per week during this time period to our recruits. The staff will be working the phones throughout the Christmas-New Year’s holiday period.

I received our fall grade report this week and our players are performing at a high level in the classroom.

I am excited for the future of our program. We will return a great number of players with experience who will have two to three years left to play. This off-season will be very critical in our development. It is time for all of us – coaches-players-support staff – to step up and move forward. Improvement is on the horizon as long as we work to WIN THE DAY, everyday!

WIN THE DAY!

GO CRUSADERS!

Our defense played very well. They forced three turnovers, added a defensive score, and gave up 14 points to the Davidson offense.  Unfortunately our offense only scored off one of the turnovers.

Going into the game we knew Davidson would stack the box to stop the run. We needed to make a few plays over the top with play action or just deep throws off our dropback series. We did not connect on any of those opportunities. The plays we needed were there. We just did not make them.

We played the first overtime game since I’ve been at Valpo.  In overtime you want to play defense first. Davidson won the toss and elected to play defense.

We were able to score in three plays. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the touchdown and a missed extra point put us in a very difficult position. Davidson got the ball on the 12 yard line and scored. They kicked the point for the win.

We did not play a complete game but still had a chance to win. We let our emotions overtake us at the end instead of playing with enthusiasm and discipline. We learned a tough lesson in a very hard way on Saturday.

I told the team on Sunday that we played with great effort. Last year, or even earlier this season, we would not have stayed in the game and forced the overtime. Our team is beginning to understand that your focus must be on playing the next play. You cannot worry how good or bad the previous play went. You can’t worry about the scoreboard. You only have control of the effort you give and the execution of your assignment on the next play. We played like that last week at Campbell and we did it again this past Saturday. Now, we were not as consistent in our execution, especially on offense and special teams, but we kept playing with effort and kept moving to the next play.  Playing hard and focusing on the next play was one of the key stepping stones in launching the success of the two football programs I started from scratch.

We honored the following players for their performance versus Campbell:

Defensive POW:                                Alex Grask & Pat Derbak

Special Teams POW:                         Greg Wood

O Prep POW:                                     Austin Etzler

D Prep POW:                                     Tevin Johnson

Big Play:                                            Devan Gadson & Ryan Lehr

Congratulations to P Greg Wood for being named PFL Co-Special Teams Player of the Week.

The Crusaders are on the road at Morehead State in Kentucky this Saturday.  One more week t0 work on our skills and techniques.  One more week to get better.  One more week to “focus”  on the task at hand and take the next step to building a championship program. We will continue to build our program with character.  Our resolve is strong!

WIN THE DAY!

GO CRUSADERS!

Participating in the pre-game ceremony will be:
RB Jabril Baker
WR Tim Bennett
OL Bill Bodzianowski
DL Bruce Collins
TE Mike Gerton
RB Chris Giehon
LB Cody Gokan
LB Chris Howard
TE/FB Ryan Lehr
QB Quinn Schafer
OL Matt Schroll
WR Eric Slenk
RB Sterling Summerville
P Greg Wood

These young men have worked very hard to get our program on the right track. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them and look forward to seeing the success they will have as they begin their adult lives.

Davidson is led on offense by QB Jonathon Carkhuff. He has 1048 passing yards the past three weeks. Senior WR Lanny Funsten is Davidson’s all-time leading in receptions and receiving yards. He had 17 receptions versus Jacksonville early this season. We have to keep tabs on Funsten. However, TE Reese Williams and WR Danny Martinez can beat you catching passes as well. RB Spencer Perry excels both running and receiving.

ILB’s Ben Prater and Patrick Moynahan lead the Davidson defense. Moynahan had 22 tackles against Marist. DE Weston Hawkins and NT Lewis McAlister bring pressure up front.

Success this week will be a direct result of our team executing their responsibilities one play at a time for four quarters. Our intensity level, our discipline, and our focus must be better than it was at Campbell last week. This week’s game will come down to execution of basic techniques and assignments.

Let’s ‘pack the house’ and honor our seniors one last time at Brown Field!

WIN THE DAY!

GO VALPO!

We left campus early Friday morning for the bus ride to Midway and our flight to Raleigh, NC. We practiced at North Carolina State University on Friday afternoon, then headed back to the hotel for meetings, dinner, and our pre-game chapel.

Saturday was a beautiful day for football and the Crusaders arrived at Campbell ready to play after the 45 minute bus ride from Raleigh.

Our defense gave up 14 points as the other seven were the result of an offensive fumble that Campbell returned for a touchdown.  We held Campbell to 287 yards total offense.  Most impressive was not allowing Campbell into the end zone after the 8 minute mark of the second quarter.  The key to defensive success was getting off the field on 3^rd down.  The defense held Campbell to only three 3^rd down conversions.  The other key was tackling and pursuit. We had the fewest missed tackles of the season and when we did, the pursuit was there to make the play.

Our offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage paving the way for 304 total rushing yards, 248 from Jake Hutson, and three rushing touchdowns. Our receivers did an excellent job blocking downfield as we had a 62 yard run, a 30 yard run, and a 23 yard run. QB Eric Hoffman was 21 of 23 with three passing TD’s.

Greg Wood did an excellent job punting and pinning Campbell deep. Our coverage was excellent and forced a turnover that led to our final touchdown of the day.

More important, our team responded from a 14-0 deficit and a 21-7 deficit.  Our effort was outstanding and it was pleasing to see the team play with such confidence, determination, and character.

We honored the following players for their performance versus Campbell:

Defensive POW:                                Chris Howard

Offensive POW:                                 Jake Hutson and Sterling Summerville

Special Teams POW:                       Greg Wood

OL POW:                                             Stuart Barkley

O Prep & Special Teams POW:     Austin Etzler

D Prep POW:                                     Carlos Hunter

Big Hit:                                                Cody Gokan

Big Play:   Sterling Summerville, Dale Cook, Eric Slenk, Bruce Collins. Alex Green, Ryan Lehr

Congratulations to RB Jake Hutson for being named PFL Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts vs. Campbell.

The Crusaders are back home for the last time in 2012 to take on Davidson College for Senior Day.  We need a packed house to honor our seniors and get two in a row!  Kick-off is at 1 PM.

WIN THE DAY!

GO CRUSADERS!

Osteen started his message by saying no matter how bad you are hurting; no matter the circumstances you are facing, you cannot give up. You must “Get Back In The Game.”

This struck a chord as I reflected on the past few weeks. It has been a very painful few weeks for Valpo football for sure. All of us, players and coaches, felt we began to turn a corner after the Drake game only to suffer two painful defeats.

Joel Osteen made one thing very clear regarding your circumstances in life.  If you are going through a painful time you might have “reason to feel sorry for yourself, but you do not have the right to do so.”

That is a powerful idea. As I relayed this to the team on Sunday I told them that our experience has been painful.  But, growing pains are inevitable. You sometimes feel pain in order to get better. Think of the feeling you have after a surgical procedure. You will be in pain, but eventually that pain gives way to healing and recovery.  For our team we can’t let the pain we are feeling keep us on the sideline. We must “Get Back In The Game.”  It is our responsibility as team members to keep fighting to “Get Back In The Game.”

Now, understand our team has practiced and prepared well the last few weeks. We have done a commendable job coming to practice, working hard in the weight room, and getting quality meeting time.  I told the team that on Sunday. You have been working hard to turn the corner. We just cannot take a step back in preparation and “go to the sidelines.”  We absolutely cannot succumb to “our pain” with three weeks left in the season and a chance to move our program in a positive direction.

I challenged everyone in our program to focus on what we need to do to defeat Campbell University. To focus and be disciplined on every practice rep and every game rep.  To see the positive strides we have made and not dwell on the “pain” we are feeling as we build Valpo Football.

Our resolve remains strong.  Our commitment to build a team capable of winning PFL Championships is strong. We will “Get Back In The Game.”

WIN THE DAY!

I am looking for our team to build on our performance from last Saturday. We played with improved effort. Our staff has challenged our team to play with more discipline and focus so we can make the plays necessary to be successful.

Dayton is led by QB Will Bardo. Bardo is a dual threat QB who does a nice job running Dayton’s spread offense. Gary Hunter is a speedy receiver who will be back to full strength in our game. Dayton is three deep at running back. Our defense will have to do a good job of tackling in space as Dayton will challenge us with their spread option attack.

Dayton always plays tough, physical defense. That has been a trademark of their program forever. We did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage versus Drake. We will have a bigger challenge on our hands this week. Phil Deboer is an excellent interior lineman. Antony Sadler and Pat Dowd create pressure of the edge. LB Colin Monnier is the leading tackler and Ben Walsh is a presence at DB.

Our character quality of the week is consistency. Consistency is defined as, “the achievement of a level of performance that does not vary in quality; being at your best everyday. Steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, or form.”

Consistency implies being focused on your task at hand and executing your assignments with discipline. These qualities are the key to our success on Saturday. The team that wins will be the one that executes on a consistent basis with focus and discipline.

Our goal is to play focused football for four quarters and execute our assignments with discipline and consistency.

WIN THE DAY!

IT’S A GREAT DAY TO BE A CRUSADER!

I told the team that there are no moral victories.  Someone wins and someone loses.  However, we will find the winners circle if we play hard for four quarters.  We responded well after the kick return and just played football.  It wasn’t perfect.  It is a performance we can build on by applying those character qualities we have been using to build our foundation.

We honored the following players for their performance versus Drake:

Defensive POW:                     Cody Gokan

Offensive POW:                      Jake Hutson

Special Teams POW:           Greg Wood

OL POW:                                 Bill Bodzianowski

O Prep POW:                          Branden Slattery

D Prep POW:                          Tevin Johnson

We go back on the road traveling to Dayton, OH for a 1 PM-EDT kick-off against the Flyers. Our goal is to play with better effort and intensity than we did versus Drake. We must be focused and highly disciplined as we prepare for Dayton.  Our resolve is strong.  We are determined to reach our goals and see our Crusader Vision become a reality.

WIN THE DAY!

GO CRUSADERS!