Can you build a national contender primarily from NYS & the Northeast?

[GoSU96]

Andy Phillips, Phoenix (CBA)

I think the Phillips live in Fairways North, which borders the 3rd and 4th holes of Radisson, it's Oswego Cty in name only.

 

[CUSU]

I think the Phillips live in Fairways North, which borders the 3rd and 4th holes of Radisson, it's Oswego Cty in name only.

Would've went to Phoenix High School. If he didn't go to CBA.

http://www.suathletics.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=8234

 

[GoSU96]

Times change. A lot of those kids from suburban upstate districts aren't playing football anymore, and the urban districts don't have the money for their programs.

Look at all those Section 3 and 4 kids on that roster. This year with Macky and Nick you had two Section 3 kids starting on the OL, which shows you can still get players, but the numbers just aren't there today.

Demographically by default a state this size should have a good number of kids that should be D-1 quality, but either they aren't playing the game or aren't being developed.

That's why Marrone's effort to pull a handful of NYC players, however raw, made sense. You can't build a whole roster like that, but you can have a portion of your roster like that. The athletic ability to compete is there, but you need great teachers on your staff to develop it.

NYS can provide linemen on both sides, this years roster shows that, and you can get 2 or 3 speed guys a year that have measurables as good as anywhere in the country, and there will be a handful of backs, QB's, and WR's that can play every year. But when you look there are 20 to 30 kids signed by D-1 schools, not triple digits like Fla, Texas, and Cali.

What is shocking is the lack of LB's and TE's out of NY.

8 to 10 NYS guys would make sense, but that would mean really taking a large majority of the best kids in the state, but they need to fill out each class with Florida, PA, NJ and midwest guys.

 

[All4SU]

Why doesn't the state build blow up mini domes all over the place to give the youth something to do instead of street crime. 7 on 7 football in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo...everywhere.

Because the street crime would just move inside.

 

[All4SU]

Times change. A lot of those kids from suburban upstate districts aren't playing football anymore, and the urban districts don't have the money for their programs.

Look at all those Section 3 and 4 kids on that roster. This year with Macky and Nick you had two Section 3 kids starting on the OL, which shows you can still get players, but the numbers just aren't there today.

Demographically by default a state this size should have a good number of kids that should be D-1 quality, but either they aren't playing the game or aren't being developed.

That's why Marrone's effort to pull a handful of NYC players, however raw, made sense. You can't build a whole roster like that, but you can have a portion of your roster like that. The athletic ability to compete is there, but you need great teachers on your staff to develop it.

NYS can provide linemen on both sides, this years roster shows that, and you can get 2 or 3 speed guys a year that have measurables as good as anywhere in the country, and there will be a handful of backs, QB's, and WR's that can play every year. But when you look there are 20 to 30 kids signed by D-1 schools, not triple digits like Fla, Texas, and Cali.

What is shocking is the lack of LB's and TE's out of NY.

8 to 10 NYS guys would make sense, but that would mean really taking a large majority of the best kids in the state, but they need to fill out each class with Florida, PA, NJ and midwest guys.

Agree on your point on linemen. Those are the most difficult guys to project and develop anyway. And no one can say there are a shortage of behemoths in NYS. We should be looking at big athletic guys in NYS who just havent had the coaching and weight training, and who will need a year or two (or three) to develop. Then plug them in as juniors. We arent going to get many linemen who can come in and play from day one anyway. If we do, thats a bonus.

 

[OrangeTown]

Demographics have changed way too much, those kids were born in the mid 1960s when life was a lot different there.

Very true. Back then, Upstate and Western New York kids were much better physical specimens from having to walk uphill in the snow to and from school every day. Now, they've all just got big forearms.

 

[Bayside44]

Very true. Back then, Upstate and Western New York kids were much better physical specimens from having to walk uphill in the snow to and from school every day. Now, they've all just got big forearms.

Ha, middle class job loss and migration out, decrease in military (when I was at SU Rome Free was the powerhouse program), etc etc don't help in upstate. NYC has a lot of people but boiling it out to a football playing population the picking are slim fast. Doesn't mean there isn't talent - there clearly is, but cannot build a team like you did almost 30 ago around it.

 

[MikeSU02]

Ha, middle class job loss and migration out, decrease in military (when I was at SU Rome Free was the powerhouse program), etc etc don't help in upstate. NYC has a lot of people but boiling it out to a football playing population the picking are slim fast. Doesn't mean there isn't talent - there clearly is, but cannot build a team like you did almost 30 ago around it.

Bingo. As someone who grew up in upstate and attended SU for undergrad and grad and had family in Florida my whole life, the growing disparity between commitment to football was readily apparent.

Upstate was losing population, not having kids playing a single sport year round and football never really stayed ingrained in the fabric of the community like it did in Florida.

Seeing the speed, skill and size of the kids coming out of Florida made seeing the kids from upstate look like JV players a lot of the time.

With all that said, living in NYC, you can clearly see the raw talent from the athletes but football isn't in the community fabric here.

 

[Scooch]

1987 was a lonnnnnng freakin' time ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_200_number-one_albums_of_1987

 

[Millhouse]

Times change. A lot of those kids from suburban upstate districts aren't playing football anymore, and the urban districts don't have the money for their programs.

Look at all those Section 3 and 4 kids on that roster. This year with Macky and Nick you had two Section 3 kids starting on the OL, which shows you can still get players, but the numbers just aren't there today.

Demographically by default a state this size should have a good number of kids that should be D-1 quality, but either they aren't playing the game or aren't being developed.

That's why Marrone's effort to pull a handful of NYC players, however raw, made sense. You can't build a whole roster like that, but you can have a portion of your roster like that. The athletic ability to compete is there, but you need great teachers on your staff to develop it.

NYS can provide linemen on both sides, this years roster shows that, and you can get 2 or 3 speed guys a year that have measurables as good as anywhere in the country, and there will be a handful of backs, QB's, and WR's that can play every year. But when you look there are 20 to 30 kids signed by D-1 schools, not triple digits like Fla, Texas, and Cali.

What is shocking is the lack of LB's and TE's out of NY.

8 to 10 NYS guys would make sense, but that would mean really taking a large majority of the best kids in the state, but they need to fill out each class with Florida, PA, NJ and midwest guys.

i'm just not buying the idea that so many great football players are out playing lax or whatever. i think it's overblown

i think the south learned how to pass the ball

 

[IthacaBarrel]

i'm just not buying the idea that so many great football players are out playing lax or whatever. i think it's overblown

i think the south learned how to pass the ball

I don't know, have you seen the size of some these lax players these days? What. Talk about a sport where the continue to get bigger, faster, stronger. I have a few buddies that played lax at the Syracuse type level 15-20 years ago. They would be runts these days. Obvioulsy, exceptions to every rule

I agree wit GO for the most part the best athletes in CNY aren't playing football anymore, they just aren't. Its a dying sport here

 

[Crusty]

Just a though I have been harboring for a bit.

With all of the concussion science emerging and a wave of concern for player safety, the historic decline in youth football participation is likely to continue and perhaps, accelerate.

It is starting to appear that the best way to reduce risk is to reduce the number of contact practices - period. The data seems pretty conclusive. If that is truly the case I would not be surprised to see a trend toward fewer contact practices. If that happens nationally (and it will happen if moms take the war path) the the advantage of Spring football would be mitigated a great deal. If the AMA or some medical body comes out with a suggested maximum number of contact practices per year, the gap between NYS and other states could close dramatically.

This won't happen tomorrow but stay tuned.

 

[corpjet]

I don't think you can in this day and age, the talent in the south east, Texas, cal and other recruiting hot beds outweighs the few star athletes in the north east. You would have to get every top kid to be a national champion contender.

Love the idea and the history of the post but as the saying goes, times they are a changing!

 

[dinosaurbbq]

Saw a name I haven't heard of for a long while. I'm from Canandaigua and Billy Scharr was our hero. For him to decide to hang it up shortly before that 1990 season was a shocker but led to Marvin Graves' greatness and Billy was in the wrong system as a drop back passer who couldn't run in a read option system.

 

[Orangeyes]

Just added Keith Friberg who was a starting OLB on that team He was from Staten Island so the number of NYS players increases to 38 and northest players to 79.

There is someone on the Internet who has been on a campaign to besmirch Keith's reputation over a bad smoothie.Oh Lord