Warriors2011

1 hour ago, BCsportsfan said:

Good Luck Warriors!!

Thanks, BCsportsfan!  Good luck to the F5 as well, though I suspect the Tornadoes won't  need a whole lot of luck!!  I do hope the Tornadoes get challenged enough that they don't find 3A boring without having CAK to kick around.

7 hours ago, Govolsknox said:

Thank you Warriors. It sounds like somewhat I was expecting, in that, last year, the offense was basically the Bradley offense with a few wrinkles added in until Smith's injury, given that there was a 2 1/2 year starter at QB. Is it fair to say that this coming year the current coach will be running his own brand of offense as opposed to running primarily the Bradley offense, although with a few wrinkles?

So, what is the remaining 7 on 7 and scrimmage schedule? As I'm sure you recall, my kids are (way) out of high school so I no longer have the direct schedule info that I used to have.

Your thoughts, opinions, and info are greatly appreciated. There are few that love the program any MORE than I do, even though I don't have a player on the team. I've been at the games for a long time and intend to be at the games for a long time in the future.

They're done with 7 on 7's as far as I know.  The Warriors scrimmage Karns next Friday, then host Morristown West for a scrimmage the following Thursday.  The younger guys who aren't 1's or 2's will play in a JV jamboree either the Friday or Saturday after the Mo-West scrimmage.  Then it's time to prep for the season opener at Christ School of Asheville on Aug. 19, where the QB coach is none other than Heath Shuler.

Regarding the offense, I think you're correct that, beginning last year and even more so this year, I anticipate MUCH more variety in the run game.  The passing game will still bear a strong resemblance to the old offense.  But there will be a lot more run mixed in, and a lot more variety in the types of run plays.  So, yes, you are definitely correct that this year the offense will be more of a full reflection of the new coach's philosophy.

On 7/22/2017 at 3:04 PM, Govolsknox said:

Interested on any takes on CAK for 2017.

Hard to say at this point, GVK. 

In the 7 on 7's, I would say the defense is probably a little ahead of where it was this time last year.  The returning players seem to have really benefitted from the playing time they got last year, plus this is the 2nd year learning the defensive system, whereas last year it was brand new to the boys.  Some returning starters will be at the same position as last year; some will be playing a different position. Some first-time starters are going to surprise you with their athleticism and physicality.

The offense, based just on the 7 on 7's, shows good potential but needs to become more consistent.  Of course, last year this time the team had a 3-year starter returning at QB for his senior season, whereas this year two WR's who have in the past played some QB are now competing to see who'll start at QB; my expectation is whichever one doesn't start at QB will be one of the go-to WR.  Both QB candidates are progressing well and that will work itself out and both will be ready to play, and we might even see them split time at least early in the season.

I don't expect CAK to abandon the pass, but you might very well see more of a power run component to the offense this year than ever before.  One of the DL (my estimate is 240-250 lbs. and can move) is spending a lot of time at FB so I would expect to see him doing a lot of lead blocking and carrying the ball some too.  I also expect to see a lot of the zone read run game like we saw late last year in the playoffs after the starting qb's injury.

Expect more overall team speed this year as a few track guys who haven't previously played football, or who are returning to football after some time off, will be on the team this year.  I would expect to see some of them contributing, especially on D initially and then maybe on O as the season progresses and they learn the system even more.  There's a good chance there'll be one or two freshmen starting by the time the season begins.

The OL and DL will see some guys having to play both ways, at least some.  There are some big, strong, athletic guys...not quite as big as some linemen CAK has had in the past...and not as MANY big guys as you might like to have, but some good sized athletic guys who have worked hard in the weight room and will be ready.  Senior LT has multiple college offers; RT played great at DE last year and is making the transition to be a key player on the OL (and probably still DL also) this year.  So the OL will have very good, athletic anchors at each T position.  Inside, some younger guys who got some playing time last year and seem ready to take a big step up in terms of physicality.

That would all depend on whom you ask, which sport they (or they kids) play, and how long they've been at CAK.  Some would say Grace; others would say Webb.

I can see that. In your opinion would CAK consider Grace or Webb more of a rival? Who would they rather beat every year?

I have several good friends at Grace and want to see things go well for them, except, of course, when they are playing against CAK. CRB certainly knows his X's and O's and I expect him to put a good product on the field. How I feel about it is probably not nearly as relevant as how the boys on the CAK team who were coached by CRB feel about it.  My sense is they're excited about the prospect of playing against a team led by their previous coach. 

I wish Alcoa decided to keep playing CAK or Webb instead of Grace. Btw how do you feel about your new division rival Grace having your old football coach?

OK, gotcha.  I do agree with you that, with CAK and CPA, etc. making the move to Div2AA, as well as Grace (from 2A), that that new subdivision will be more competitive and tougher overall than what's left in 3A. Few if any of the teams in it would be competitive against Alcoa on a year-in/year-out basis.

As for the other stuff, perspectives can vary widely.  You saw Webb more than I did...I saw CAK more than you...and probably Elizabethton and Alcoa too, but less of Lausanne and Harding than you did.  Your perspective led you to have differing opinions about the relative hierarchy than mine did.  Both of us came to rational conclusions based on what we saw, just different because we saw different things.

Okay. First let's not pretend high school football teams don't change throughout the season. The Webb team that finished the season would have beat the early Webb team soundly. Trust me Webb was a lot better to finish the year.

Lausanne most certainly could have played with Alcoa. They were much bigger and deeper than Webb. Their lines would have matched up. You cant simply compare scores and assume especially when some games were played early. That undefeated team was very very good.

CAK did get blown out by Alcoa but they also didn't have their top quarterback for that game. They did when they played Webb. So that isn't a comparable score either. Yes Alcoa beat Webb 38-13 week 1. Once again anyone who follows Webb football knows that young team became much much better the second half of the season and even knocked off 5A power Oak Ridge who was the only team to beat 5A state champ Farragut.

I give Alcoa the edge but the thing is Alcoa rarely has anyone they play in 3A during the regular season that is a good football team.

Yes Scott almost beat CAK but Grace almost did too. Webb once they hit stride beat the same Grace team CAK needed a last minute comeback to win 41-0. Trust me Webb and Lausanne would have given Elizabethon a game and would have beat every other team in 3A. I still think Lausanne would give Alcoa all they wanted.

When I said 5-8 teams I was also including this years teams coming over. So CAK and Notre Dame, CPA etc. as far as last year this is what I've got.

1. Alcoa/Lausanne
2. Webb/Elizabethon
5. Harding Academy
6. St. George's
7. Stratford (3A)
8. Milan (3A)
9. BGA
10. CPA (3A)

With CAK, Notre Dame, CPA, David Lipscomb, Grace
And some teams out west there is no doubt that D2AA is now a much tougher classification top to bottom than top heavy 3A.

I usually agree with most of your posts, but this one I just have to respectfully disagree, specifically the 5-8 teams better than anybody in 3A besides Alcoa and "maybe" Elizabethton.  I saw E'ton play twice and Alcoa once; I also saw many of the Div2A schools play last year. 

First, nobody in Div2A would have touched Alcoa OR Elizabethton (Betsy's OL and DL just TOO dominant for the lines that the Div2A schools usually have to put together with some undersized, albeit athletic, guys).

Webb had plenty of chances to beat Lausanne in the title game, so I don't see Lausanne as giving Alcoa or E'ton any serious challenge.  Webb was only 2 points better than CAK which is essentially a push.  CAK was unable to mount a serious challenge to Alcoa or Betsy so no reason to think Webb or Lausanne would have (unless one team had an unusually good or bad game, of course).

I saw film on several of the other Div2A schools last year and Lausanne and Webb are the only two I would say with any reasonable degree of probability were better than CAK (although not by much).  Hard to judge USJ, might be a toss-up on any given night. Most of the other teams I saw film or in person didn't look as good as, for example, Scott County, which had a very good team with some exceptional athletes last year and almost beat CAK.

Who are the 5-8 Div2A teams from 2016 you believe were better than anybody in 3A besides Alcoa and "maybe Elizabethton?"  It's possible I didn't see film on any of those but I'm curious.  Thanks.

I agree to an extent. At one point Webb had won 5 out of 7 which is pretty dominant, but this is a new division now. I will tell you top to bottom this new DIV2AA is much better than 3A. I could name about 5-8 teams that were better than anyone in 3A last year besides Alcoa and maybe Elizabethon (who had a good year). I think the D2A champ from last would give Alcoa all they wanted as well. They were big athletic and deep.

If Grace were still in 2A I'd predict a state title run within the first two years. Being in this division id expect a few years at least before they make any type of playoff push. This is not 2A. That is for sure.

Is Rusty's dad part of the deal to coach OL?

The waiting game is difficult, for sure. I was in a similar situation last year when the CAK coach search seemed to go on and on. I went back and looked up when Coach Mozingo was hired, and it was right at the end of March. If GCA finds the right coach in the next week or two, there will still be time for him to get organized and have a decent spring practice. It seems like several schools are going to slightly abbreviated spring practice nowadays anyway since rules on summer practice have been loosened some, as well as so many boys doing spring sports.

Right now I would even settle for someone to play an April Fools Joke on me and just mention a name just to get something going.

Hmm...maybe I finally got something right. I suppose even a blind squirrel stumbles across an acorn every now and then.

From what I hear, this sounds like a good hire for the Rams. From having gone through the stressful coach search waiting game last year, I'm sure the GCA players and families will be very relieved to finally know who the new head coach will be and start getting ready to move forward and prepare for the season.  Congratulations.

Don't know his name but if my source is right which he normally is the assistant coach from a Florida High School did take the job after all. I'm sure it takes a lot of thought to pick up and move your family to another state for another high school job except he will be the leader here and looking forward. I won't name the school where he is from because the newspaper will fill everyone in on all that in the next few days.

Nothing you've posted to the thread has been accurate. Sometimes it's best to say nothing than to say something you know nothing about.

The powers that be will name the new coach in short time. It's all been settled and I'm sure the newspaper will get a call soon. Looking forward to a very productive spring practice with our new coach.

Back to the topic at hand, I keep hearing talk about somebody from FL being considered.

Is somebody paying you guys to post on here?! I need to get in on some of that action! I've got no pay grade at all on here haha!  

Joking aside, I bet that the search is not nearly as far "back to square one" as one poster lamented a few days ago.  It's possible your decision makers are not yet done talking to one of those leading candidates who's been in the mix for a while now.

I bet you'll have a good football coach in place by the time the Rams bring home the gold basketball.

That super-secret info is WAY ABOVE our paygrade on this thread....all except CAK guy. I'm quite sure he has some very good inside sources. You guys will probably have to tell us! It doesn't matter anyway.....we've got a basketball tourney to win and baseball season on the horizon. Small schools like ours have athletes playing multiple sports.....thank goodness! It is a much needed distraction!

LOL! Good one! On a more serious note, though, coaching searches can be quite a cause for anxiety among players and their families. Having gone through it, I feel for the current GCA players and their families.  Hopefully there will be some closure soon.

Aren't these coaching searches fun. It's like Christmas for adults except you don't know what day Santa is coming and what he's going to leave under the tree.

They have some good assistants right now, including some who would probably make a good HC.

even whitwell got a coach hired last week.....if whitwell can hire a coach, surely GCA can.....was talkin to one of you GCAers out oat the wrestling tourney this weekend and they said they were bout over it......promote one of them assisistants

 

Booger just sayin

This page got really quiet.  Any updates?

I recall last year, when the CAK coaching search seemed to be dragging on longer than expected, I got very anxious about whether the new coach would be hired and get up and running in time to have a meaningful spring practice.  Is the expectation that, once a new coach is hired, at least the core of the existing staff of assistants will stay on?  If that's the plan, at least they could go ahead and be planning a spring practice.

Nope. 

 

 

First, I am curious why you care, unless, maybe it would make you look bad (AD?) or the program look bad at CAK, if your old coach came back and succeeded at our little school. A CAK person could have a lot to lose if that happened. Or, maybe you're friends with someone that has other plans? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to the topic at hand, I keep hearing talk about somebody from FL being considered.

Agreed.  If he's removed himself from contention, it really is a moot subject.  Hopefully that will cause folks to also turn down the heat some on the members of the hiring committee too.  I'm sure they're doing the best they can to find the right man for the job.

I agree with you, this is a very interesting topic. I also know the answers to all 3 of your questions (both pros and cons), as I'm not just a casual observer. This isn't something we need to get into on here. You seem to have issues with CRB and I feel it's best that we leave it at that. I appreciate a good discussion, but I also don't like to run a man down that's no longer considering the position at Grace Christian Academy. I hope you can understand my reluctance to discuss certain things in this forum.

I'm trying to be diplomatic. Many times we see people from afar, whether it be on the news, in the papers, on TV, movies, etc., and develop certain impressions. Up close, those people tend to be more complex and multi-faceted than the impressions we've formed about them.  Like I said, CRB just like any coaching candidate has pros and cons.  All I've seen on here so far are the pros. Before hiring him, GCA should make sure it's fully informed about the potential downside.

The questions I posed in my previous post might cause folks to think about some questions they would want to answer before pulling the trigger on a job offer.

Sounds like you have you may have an issue with Coach Bradley!

I don't fault the GCA decision makers one bit for having a process and sticking to it.  I would imagine that process involves calling not only the references each candidate provides, but also others who might be good sources of feedback about the candidate but who weren't the "references" listed by the candidate himself.  I would imagine it would include calling people who are more familiar with the candidate than the casual observer based upon having worked with the guy for some time, coached with him, or having had some kids play for him. 

When the decision makers do those things, they might get a different picture of the candidate than the casual observer on CoachT might have based upon what they read in the newspapers and on CoachT.  Every coach has pros and cons...the people who have the keenest appreciation for the pros and the cons are the people who've had the most interaction with the coach over a period of time.

For those of you who think CRB would have been a slam-dunk, knock it out of the park hire for GCA, I would be interested in what your perception or understanding is regarding some questions:

1. What is your understanding of why CRB left CAK?  Was it his choice, or the school's, or both?  If it was his decision, why did he leave and do those reasons seem valid?  If it was CAK's, what were the reasons (as you understand them--surely among the GCA fan base that is excited about CRB as a candidate there's some general narrative about this topic).

2. Why do you think he now wants to leave USJ after only one year, when that job was touted as being a great opportunity for him?  If it's mostly about getting back to Knoxville, why did he leave in the first place--see question one above.

3. If he has taken himself out of consideration (which is the inference I'm drawing from a couple of the recent posts on here), why did he do so?  If he's really excited about the job, why not let the school take its time and make sure IT is equally comfortable with him being the best candidate for the job? In other words, what's the hurry?  

This is a very interesting topic, and I strongly suspect there's more to it than just the GCA search committee being idiots and either intentionally or carelessly making the totally wrong decision when the "obvious" choice is right in front of them.

In saying "he turned us down," are you implying he was actually offered a job and declined?  

And what is the "process that [GCA's] administration wouldn't deviate from?"

The fact that Coach Bradley contacted us about this position should've been a home run hire for GCA. The powers that be have an agenda and saw otherwise. It was NEVER a matter of money. Money was discussed and that figure was well within what our school could afford. I don't want this very fine man accused of asking for a huge salary and being turned down. To be honest, he turned us down because of the process that our administration wouldn't deviate from. I don't blame him for his decision and I maintain the upmost respect for Coach Bradley.

No, I'm pretty sure GQ hasn't applied because he has a new job as the OC-in-waiting at his college alma mater.

One thing I learned during the seemingly long and uncertain period when CAK was looking for CRB's replacement is that there are sometimes candidates being seriously considered whose names never make it onto the early rumor/speculation buzz on CoachT.  It didn't become widely known or speculated that someone from GA might be about to get the job until fairly late in the process.

The only people who really KNOW right now who the leading candidates are for the GCA job would be the AD and head of school and whoever else might be on the search committee.  My bet is they are taking their job very seriously and will choose a good candidate regardless of whether that person might be perceived as the "obvious" choice by us CoachT followers. They might very well be considering candidates from other states. 

This brings back memories of the CAK search experience when all the early buzz on CoachT was about Nix, Price, Witten, then it turned out CAK went with someone from GA.  The longer this plays out, I think the more likely it is that something similar will happen at GCA.  Just my best guess at this point.

I respect your opinion, but am left wondering who would be ahead of him on the list? To have experience at a private, and to have put together a state championship program in the same division as Alcoa, along with his impeccable reputation and ties to the community, I have to wonder if George Quarles applied? 

How is the USJ fan base perceiving CRB's efforts to land the Grace job?  It's no secret in the Knoxville area so I assume by now that news of his application for the job has made its way back to Jackson.  By all accounts, his first year at USJ was a success.

Unlikely, in my humble opinion.  Unless GCA can't work out terms with the leading candidate(s) who might be ahead of him on the list.

BTW, good luck to the Rams in basketball this year.  I believe they really do have a legitimate shot to make a run at a title this year.

So... Rusty Bradley?

I don't have a clue whether there's any validity to the Rusty Bradley rumor.  But, if there is, that would be intriguing on multiple levels.

Ouch! Why all the hatin' on the Warriors?!    We've provided scrappy cannon fodder for Alcoa for several years now, not to mention a few incredible games from time to time.

With our lack of depth on OL and DL we might not match up well against the Tornadoes for the next year or so, but I think there's a possibility CAK will still look south to the aluminum city for some non-conference action on occasion.  CAK has already scheduled 6A Bearden for next year.

Yup.....CAK will run from that one like a fat kid does from a dodge ball game!