Carson-Newman in 2004

[JohnnyStrikeout]

Let's see what everyone thinks of the Eagles this year. Defense will be strong as always. The only question mark I can see is the running backs. I know they will have talent there (they always do), but experience is what worries me.

[ie3]

C-N should be fine as always. Top competition in conference could be Tusculum again. TC's main strength this year should be the D, with a weakness in the O-line. So, both schools should be playing to the other's strength. Possibly a tie again?

[JohnnyStrikeout]

A tie in the SAC is very possible again. Tusculum has had a knack of playing CNC tough the past couple of years. What is Tusculum's QB situation? Didn't one of them graduate?

[noonesfool]

A few weeks ago coach Debusk said that without a doubt they had assembled the finest bunch of players ever at TC.

[ftballmom22]

My son is looking at attending Carson Newman or Tusculum next year to play football. From what I have seen on the boards he has picked two top notch schools. He is a 195 lb fullback maxs at around 1400 total lbs. Any advice which school is the best

[ie3]

ftballmom22,

Some advice hardearned. Do not limit choices, by any measure. Put his stats out to everyone, in every venue. Search the internet for some of the free sites where you can post info. But, most importantly, email, snail mail, or fax, every college at every level you can find. Very, very few players at any level in Tennessee can afford to be picky. That is if their priority is to play at the college level. Do not ignore all levels. Div II and Div III have no real athletic monies, but they have enough grants to put together some impressive packages if the player is good enough, and has good grades, and is active in church and community. All of those things are very important, maybe more so than the athletics.

Some here will tell you that if a player is good enough, coaches will find him. I have one thing to say about that, BULL. Most schools don't have the time, money, or resources to find every viable recruit. Hint: conference websites have links to the individual schools, from there it is a hop and a skip to the coaches. Prepare a tape of FULL GAMES, they want to see the totality of play during a game, not just highlights. Prepare a resume, include all stats, not just lifting ability, speed and agility is just as important or more so for an incoming freshman. Recruit services are generally just going to do what you can do yourself with a little imagination, don't waste the money, use it to produce the film and mail it.

How do I know this? My son had NO interest up to Dec, in a very few weeks I was able to get him the attention he needed and he had offers from schools in Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, as well as Tennessee. All of them respected programs, and none of them had heard of him before my email campaign. He would not have had the opportunity if I had not done that. Plain and simple, start now, let coaches know he's out there, have the tape ready to send immediately upon request, don't eliminate any level. Does it really work? My son signed with Tusculum, (where he really wanted in the first place), and may well play in the fall. He also was able to turn down offers from schools with multiple national championships at their levels. Nothing like that for a confidence booster. Do it, it's not hard, and if you start now, you can really generate interest as you keep them updated on his progress in the fall.

Good luck, and I sincerely hope he finds the school of his dreams.

[JohnnyStrikeout]

I can't speak for Tusculum, but I know that Ken Sparks (CNC) is one of the finest and most well-respected coaches in the nation. He runs a top-notch program that takes no bull. What school is your son from ftbllmom22? I'm sure he will be happy at either of these fine schools. Best of luck to him.

[REBELRON]

I heard that TJ Brock will be a starting DB at CN this season.

[JohnnyStrikeout]

Did Brock double in high school as a RB/DB? Or did CN just move him there?

[REBELRON]

Brock played mostly at running back. But! The coaching staff put him in the secondary torward the end of the 2001 season and he came up big. TJ Brock is a winner.

[bud]

I am ready for Carson Newman to win it all!

[JohnnyStrikeout]

They sure are due a title, especially after the hard luck they had in that string of title games they went through a few years ago.