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Post by EastTexasWildcat on Apr 13, 2024 7:21:30 GMT -6
I'm sad that we didn't hear of these additions from our own Sports Information Department. Patterson seems to be so open to answer questions and share information I'm just confused as to why basic football info doesn't get to us from official ACU info sources. Not sure where I read it, but I saw it somewhere. However, it really is sad there is zero information out there, as Simon pointed out in his earlier, now is the time to get us excited. I ponied up for tickets next year, but there was more reluctancy than ever before. I’m really guarded on what the season holds.
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Post by EastTexasWildcat on Apr 13, 2024 7:25:41 GMT -6
I found where I read it, an email. Here it is….from Patterson. Dated 4/5
I have said repeatedly that the 2024 Wildcats will be the best team I have fielded in my tenure here and will have a great chance to win the United Athletic Conference championship. Nothing I’ve seen the first few days of spring training has changed that opinion. I’ve been so impressed with how our returning student-athletes have performed, and our new additions have acclimated very quickly to our style and how we do things. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks of spring football and putting it all on display for our fans at the Spring Game on April 20. After adding quarterback Carson Haggard from Tulane during the transfer period, we have a battle for the starting spot between Carson and Maverick McIvor, who has started for us the last two seasons. Also in the mix are Quayde Hawkins, DeAngelo Ponder and Trevor Baker. When looking for a quarterback to lead a team, you want a player with leadership ability and the guy everyone will rally around. That’s the biggest intangible for any quarterback because if your teammates won’t rally around you, it’s hard to be successful as a quarterback. If they can show that quality, then they just have to get the ball to the playmakers at running back, tight end and wide receiver. And we’ve got plenty of those guys on our roster this season. We have a lot of talent in the quarterback room, and I’m interested to see how this competition shakes out this spring. We need to shore up the interior of our offensive line during camp. After losing Reese Moore, we’ll be looking to add an offensive tackle from the portal in May, particularly one with experience playing left tackle. As I told you in last month’s email, I will be coordinating and calling the defense this season, so these first few days of spring football have put me back in my comfort zone. I consider myself a teacher of the game, and I love that part of my job. In this role, I get to go back to coaching coaches on our scheme, what we want, and how we want to do it, and I love being part of that process. Offense is about timing, execution and playing under control. Defense is organized chaos and trying to disrupt the offense. Our job is to align our players to how the offense deploys and to teach them to react to what they see. I love the challenge of making that happen. We have some tremendous players all over the field on defense – on the line, at linebacker and in the secondary. I like the size and physical nature of our linemen. We have some good depth at linebacker and safety, but we need some players to step up at cornerback to fill the spots left by Patrick Jolly and Anthony Egbo Jr. Just because National Signing Day has passed and we have started spring ball doesn’t mean recruiting season has ended. We are always recruiting, and I would like to add two cornerbacks, one linebacker, one edge pass rusher, and either two offensive linemen or one offensive lineman and one quarterback from the portal in May. New Additions to Coaching Staff I hired two new coaches to coach in the secondary, and they are both tremendous additions to our staff. Jarred Holley spent last season as the cornerbacks coach at James Madison, which was ranked as high as No. 18 in the AP Top 25 on its way to an 11-2 finish and a spot in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force. Jarred played for me (and with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Aaron Donald) at Pitt in 2011 when he was a first-team All-Big East safety and coached for me at Arizona State from 2015-17. He is a tremendous young man and coach. He will coach safeties for us, and our players will benefit greatly from the knowledge he will bring to our team.
Aaron Fletcher joins us from Ole Miss, where he served as a defensive analyst last season, helping the team to an 11-2 season, capped by a 38-25 win over Penn State in the Peach Bowl. Aaron is one of the great cornerback coaches in the country, and we are lucky to have him on our staff coaching that position. He’ll improve our current players and bring in two tremendous players to help our team this fall. Aaron has an extensive background in coaching in Texas high schools: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Dallas Carter and defensive assistant at DeSoto, Lancaster and Austin LBJ. He has also coached at Houston Baptist, Tulsa and Missouri before coaching at Ole Miss. He played at Texas A&M-Commerce and earned his degree from there in 2003.
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Post by mavsman53 on Apr 22, 2024 13:28:27 GMT -6
A couple of guys hit the portal-
CB Jalen O'Neal
DT Syncere Massey
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Post by wildkitten1489 on Apr 26, 2024 8:22:11 GMT -6
I'm hoping trackfan's comment reaches upper admin. Building a positive buzz should be seen as an easy and automatic way of retaining your season-ticket base. We're not just fans. We're funders. You want my money? Show me something. What % of the budget is made up by ticket sales? I would suspect very little
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Post by acumedic on Apr 26, 2024 8:58:23 GMT -6
I'm hoping trackfan's comment reaches upper admin. Building a positive buzz should be seen as an easy and automatic way of retaining your season-ticket base. We're not just fans. We're funders. You want my money? Show me something. What % of the budget is made up by ticket sales? I would suspect very little I’m still waiting on a word from admin about a Southland return before I renew mine.
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Post by archsimon on Apr 26, 2024 14:38:48 GMT -6
I'm hoping trackfan's comment reaches upper admin. Building a positive buzz should be seen as an easy and automatic way of retaining your season-ticket base. We're not just fans. We're funders. You want my money? Show me something. What % of the budget is made up by ticket sales? I would suspect very little Unquestionably. However, further consider the positive economic effect that season ticket holders control. Buy a ticket. Buy a seat. That seat is next to, behind, in front of someone. At first strangers. Maybe then friends. And we have community. See y'all next home game. Let's get a bite at Fuzzy's. Contribute to the Abilene economy. Maybe next year those pals chip in for a skybox. Maybe their spouses find a pet project to invest in on campus: a sorority, an academic department, etc. Every cent helps. Learfield is trying to impress a future stablemate at a home game. Helps if there's butts in the seats. I like this crowd. Here's six figures for advertising. Coaches trying to impress recruits. Faculty and admissions trying to impress prospective students. Atmosphere matters. Hype matters. Information matters. Get butts in the seats at all costs.
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Post by ybp80 on Apr 28, 2024 9:03:33 GMT -6
I’ll probably renew our seats this afternoon although we may only make 3 of the games. Certainly don’t mind tossing a bit of money to the sports department and I understand they can give tickets for games we’ll miss to the military. (If none of our friends can use them.)
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Post by ybp80 on May 1, 2024 13:36:20 GMT -6
Remember years (decades?) ago before free agency in the NFL? Gil Brandt was the director of player personnel for the Cowboys and was famous for being the first to use a computer to evaluate talent and select players during the NFL draft. Those selections were important because, for most purposes, once a player signed with a team there was no changing unless you were cut or retired. Fans were able to count on those top players being there year after year. Then came free agency and “loyalty” to a team went out the window and, I believe, led to a loss of interest for a majority of fans.
College football now has the same thing. Have a good season? Professionals are now able to leave for a better contract. It’s now the same in college ball. Have a good season? Then feel free to leave for better pay at a more prestigious football school. I understand that this is today’s reality, but it has to hurt the fan base not knowing from year to year who’s going to leave and who might stay. There is no way the transfer portal benefits college football.
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Post by wildkitten1489 on May 2, 2024 9:57:42 GMT -6
Remember years (decades?) ago before free agency in the NFL? Gil Brandt was the director of player personnel for the Cowboys and was famous for being the first to use a computer to evaluate talent and select players during the NFL draft. Those selections were important because, for most purposes, once a player signed with a team there was no changing unless you were cut or retired. Fans were able to count on those top players being there year after year. Then came free agency and “loyalty” to a team went out the window and, I believe, led to a loss of interest for a majority of fans. College football now has the same thing. Have a good season? Professionals are now able to leave for a better contract. It’s now the same in college ball. Have a good season? Then feel free to leave for better pay at a more prestigious football school. I understand that this is today’s reality, but it has to hurt the fan base not knowing from year to year who’s going to leave and who might stay. There is no way the transfer portal benefits college football. Ok Ok, I'll get off your lawn
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Post by Cap'n on May 25, 2024 16:35:12 GMT -6
It’s official. SFA just tucked its tail and ran away.
What gets my goat is that we have an October 5 home game that will probably be filled by some NAIA team that needs a $25k payout. If that date can’t be filled by an FCS team, then l think we should leave it open and reimburse us all for that game on our season tickets. But then I’m kind of ticked. (Bad pun?) Sadly, there are 8 other UAC teams in the same boat. Perhaps the SLC schedule changes will open something up.
Other than filling the FB schedule, we are just fine for 2024/25. 2025/26 will require that we make some decisions, however.
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Post by bogeyman on May 25, 2024 17:23:04 GMT -6
And I was hoping we just signed a couple of power 5 OT's.
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Post by bogeyman on May 28, 2024 13:10:10 GMT -6
Are we any closer to filling out our roster? Any info on the 2 DB's who signed a couple of weeks ago? Any big men visiting
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Post by rc on Jun 1, 2024 22:45:10 GMT -6
Any idea of a replacement for the home SFA game in the coming season?
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Post by Outsider on Jun 2, 2024 8:53:45 GMT -6
Any idea of a replacement for the home SFA game in the coming season? AZ Xian is always available...
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Post by bucfan on Jun 2, 2024 12:46:06 GMT -6
Any idea of a replacement for the home SFA game in the coming season? AZ Xian is always available... Or Ave Maria...
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