The Paladin Walk Blog

Sunday's Ramble: The day after.

I also take a day off after a disappointing loss before I post to clear my head and put things in perspective. Actually I just now at 10:34 Pm took my first look at the uffp.com. I could have guessed what I read, the posters I expect to be  cool-headed were, the ones I expect to be ready to take a dive off a cliff are jumping, and a bunch of new posters ready to jump off the ship or demand a change. Any loss is disappointing, I wasn’t expecting this one but that was my fault. Hofstra proved to be a very good veteran team and a tough game should have been expected. And if your one of the many upset and frustrated by the loss I understand, and my intention is to not call you out. My point is don’t give up. Show up at Death Valley and back in Paladin Stadium for Wofford.

As a fan I feel that the best thing I can do, is support my team, the players and the coaches win or lose. It’s hard and as a Furman fan most of the time I’m on the winning side, feeling good. What brings me off the cliff quickly is remembering being a player in high school and how I felt to lose. So no matter how disappointed I feel about a loss, I know the players and the coaches are the ones having to live with it, working out solutions in the film room and on the field.

Next Stop Death Valley
Even if Furman would have beaten Hofstra I would still be very realistic about this week’s game. Clemson is one of the most athletic teams in the nation. Furman will have its hands full but I also believe that Furman can give Clemson fits.

I’ve been to every Furman/Clemson match up since the 1988 game. My mother was born in Central and as a youngster I went to many Clemson games. I’ve seen Furman beat GaTech, UNC, USC, and NC ST(twice). I know its wrong but deep down inside if I had control of wins this game or the APP game. I honesty couldn’t tell you which one I would choose.

Well guys this week brings us another football game, it also brings new hope and a chance for me to see my Paladins play. I’ll be at Death Valley hope you’ll be there too.

Sunday Ramble; Sept 2 Game One “Let Us Out”

 Click on photo to see flickr gallery of the Furman/Presbyterian game

Well, we have one game in the books, and it goes in the win column. I expected a tough match up, Bobby Bentley was a highly successful coach at Byrnes and plucking Julius Dixon from the Paladins as the PC defensive coordinator made me a little uneasy.

The Pre-Game
It was great to see the UFFP gang at the tailgate. I cut my tailgate time early to hit the field to start taking photos and get a feel for the game. Watching warm-ups is a ritual for me, and watching it from the field is a real treat.

Furman was it’s methodical self during warm-ups all business, this Furman team seems ready. Now I’m not saying there was no emotion. Coach Pinella is not a quiet guy, he was firing the defensive guys up. My favorite part of the pre-game is the team coming out of the helmet. The guys are a hoot. JJ mars, Juilian Hicks, William Middleton were leading the “let us out” chant. It’s a totally different angle to see the stadium from the helmet. It can’t help but get your heart pumping.

The Game
Recent first games for the Paladins 06; 17-13 win against JSU, 05 37-35 win against JSU, 04 52-7 win against PC,  03 24-7 win over Elon, 02 18-49 loss against Vandy, 01 14-20 loss to Wyoming. In the last six games three have been decided by less than a touchdown, and the largest win by 45 points happened in 2004, arguably one of Furman’s better teams.

The game started like a game of cat and mouse. Furman being the cat trying to guess what hole the mouse would pop out. Being an experienced team on offense and defense Furman settled in and played the game. PC betted that keeping the Paladins off balance with disrupting what Furman likes to do run the ball, play discipline defense, and I think also knowing that Furman would not open the entire playbook. Give credit to Presbyterian the coaches and the players they put up a great fight.

Renaldo Gray looked like the quarterback we hoped for, a polished passer, an ability to avoid the rush with his feet, and maybe more importantly a leader. It also has to help the confidence of the entire offense to Jordan Sorrells ready to step in at a moments notice. The tailbacks had to earn every yard, PC filled the gaps and running was tough. Probably the biggest flash was the receiving of RJ Webb. I got to see RJ do his job up close as he caught both sideline passes right in front of me. Webb has made the adjustment from high school quarterback to college wide receiver. Webb is a natural, I’ve got a feeling the next three years of watching Webb catch balls will be special.

I’m sure plenty of eyes were on the defensive line, wondering will they be able to increase pressure on the quarterback?. Facing a unique spread offense and a very mobile qb Furman proved to be up to the task. Pinella has the line in pursuit gear and he has the depth to keep the boys fresh. Redshirt freshman Channing Welch looked solid at end, stay tuned for more Welch, Mars, and White battles. Outside of the one big throw and catch in the second half the defensive backfield played solid and showed a lot of speed. Twitty and Thacker looked very active and made some solid tackles, but the two young stars are looming. Max Lerner and Julian Hicks played very well.

Of course the best news is a win. Next up for the Paladins a plane ride to New York to face The Pride of Hofstra.

Other Stuff
69.8% of the voters on this weeks poll "Which Furman player will score the most points in this week’s game against Presbyterian" voted for Jerome Felton. Final numbers look like this;
Renaldo Gray (4 touchdown passes) 24 points
Scott Beckler (2 field goals and 4 pts) 10 points
Jerome Felton (1 touchdown) 6 points
RJ Webb (1 touchdown) 6 points
Chris Truss (1 touchdown) 6 points
Patrick Sprague (1 touchdown) 6 points
Brantley Kendall (1 touchdown) 6 points

Sunday Ramble: August 26th

Today’s a special Sunday, the last Sunday before the start of the college football season. Furman kickoffs the 2007 Saturday at 7 pm against the blue Hose of Presbyterian. My plan this week is post news and a review of each weeks game.

This week’s poll question was “which true freshman will make the 2007 roster?” The voters agreed with me 62.9% chose Seth Skogan, 28.6 % Kadarron Anderson, 11.4 % Brandon Boykin, 8.6% Tank Baker, and no one showed any love for Adim Obata. To all who voted thanks and if you have an idea for a poll question, send it.

This week’s question is “ which Furman player will score the most points in this week’s game against Presbyterian?”

Sunday’s Ramble: August 19th

Photo credit: Patrck Collard/Greenviile News

Kickoff is now less than two weeks away. It just seems like yesterday that the 2007 football pre-season started. Fan Day always signals the time to get the Furman flag ready for the house and the car flag out of storage. And of course if you haven’t gotten your season tickets you need to give Dwight Covington a call.

Fan Day
I always look forward to fan day, a chance to meet the team and of course there’s the scrimmage. This season I gave my daughter a break and took my eight-year-old nephew. He secretly told me he likes Furman better than the Gamecocks, bad news for my Gamecock brother-in-law. I can’t say it enough how respectful and personal the Furman players treat their fans. Steven my nephew couldn’t stop talking about the players.

Steven and I watched the scrimmage from the field, it’s hard work taking pictures, watching the action and making sure an eight-year-old doesn’t decide to run out on the field and try to make a tackle. Thanks to Masharn Austin for giving him that idea☺

Highlights of the scrimmage? The ball boomed off Scott Beckler’s foot, he nailed a 45, and 50 yard field-goal, and kicked two kickoffs to the 5 yard line, very good considering the new kickoff rule. Beckler’s kicking could be the difference maker in 07.  Other special teams play was also good, excellent coverage on kickoffs and punt coverage. Kudos to the new coaching combination of Kitchens and Evangelista.

On offense, solid aggressive play by the offensive line, lots of hard running by the deep stable of Paladin offensive backs. Gipson appears to be having the best camp of his career. He looks fast and is running with a lot of confidence. Felton looked solid as expected but his play was limited to allowing Kendall, Sanders, and Coleman plenty of snaps. LaFrance ran very hard and his size makes him a match-up problem when he gets into the defensive backfield. Mike Brown also played well he should see plenty of action this year as the number 2 or 3 tailback. Tank Baker had a fumble on his first carry but he shook it off and had several hard runs for solid gains. The QB’s also played well Gray and Sorrells both look comfortable and can lead the offense. The big surprise was walk-on freshman QB Brian Hayes. Hayes is a nimble little QB, and is very accurate, he drove the 3rd team offensive down the field and hit Skogen in the back of the endzone for a touchdown. I thought the receivers showed up big. Sprague made a one-hand circus catch. Adam Mims flashed his speed and ability to catch the ball in traffic and run it up the field. Webb played solid but he drew a lot of attention from the defense. The other surprise is Kerion Williams, We knew that Williams was fast , but he impressed me with his toughness and the space he created. Williams also has nasty acceleration, his catch and run late in the scrimmage was impressive.

The Defense played aggressive and physical the entire scrimmage. In season’s past the offense would have scored on some of the breakaway plays during the scrimmage but the overall speed of the defense caught up with the offensive every time. I thought the line played well and the depth showed, I thought both the A and B squads played very well. All of the defensive veterans looked solid, Middleton played exceptional. Your guess is as good as mine as to who will win the other DE position.  White, Mars, Welch, and vanRensberg all looked good. Scrimmages usually showcase the youngsters and this scrimmage was no different. Kadarron Anderson and Brandon Boykin played well and showed their speed and some solid tackling. Luke Rorech looks like a nice pickup as a corner. Safety was fun to watch, Hicks and Lerner seemed to have a lot of fun, laying hits.

That’s it for the scrimmage. This week’s poll was a big hit 101 voters. And the winner in a big way: Tyler Haynes. This week’s farthest away vote came from Guadalupe, Mexico. The vote was for Adam Mims.

This week's new poll is just for some fun speculating. Which freshman if any will make the roster? My bets on Seth Skogan.

Sunday’s Ramble: August 12th

The first Paladin Walk poll was a great success. 36 viewers voted. Thomas Twitty jumped out to an early lead and held the top spot. Max Lerner got the longest distance vote, he received a vote from Kansas. Below are the final numbers:

Thomas Twitty 25.7%
Corey Ray 22.9%
Max Lerner 20.0%
Channing Welch 20.0%
JJ Mars 8.6%

This weeks poll ask the deep question “Who will be this year’s surprise offensive player?” I’ll start this off, I think this is a tough question. Both lineman Haynes and Cockburn will start and have the potential to earn post season honors as sophomores. Brown and  Mims are the flashy picks, and I expect both of these guys to make big noise in 2007 but Kerion Williams could be the surprise of this group. So my initial pick is K Williams but I might chance my pick as the week goes forward.

This week I plan on taking in a couple of the two-a-day practices, so I hope to do a couple of reports. Let’s hope the weather cools down a bit.

Sunday’s Ramble: August 5th

Tomorrow the 2007 Furman Football campaign officially begins. Players report and testing begins tomorrow. To be honest I always feel optimistic this time of the year. As a Paladin fan I admit to being spoiled by our success, but 2007 has the potential to be a very good year.

If my work schedule permits I plan to take in some practices scattered through the pre-season. Don’t expect any conversations about formations and detailed particulars, I mainly want to collect some interviews and let the Paladin walk readers get know the players.

The Paladin Walk
Has just eclipsed over 5000 hits in 4 months, much better than I expected but comments have been slow. I would like to offer a reader a chance to write a blog post about Furman football. If you have an opinion, thoughts, anything positive to say about Furman Football, email me your post idea. And of course if anyone has any suggestions for the blog now that we are fast approaching football kickoff let me know.

I've also started a polling series. They will run Sunday to Saturday, I will post a new poll every Sunday for the entire season.

That’s all for this Sunday, see you guys on the practice field.