Recruiting: One Month until National Signing Day 2012

PHOTO BY CHUCK LIDDY - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

With National Signing Day exactly four weeks away, February 1, 2012 and the new year upon us, I wanted to post a small bit on the college recruiting front that will hopefully be of some help to those out there that have recently completed their senior season or are an underclassmen thinking about what's next in the process.

During this past season I had a number of informal conversations with student-athletes and parents of student-athletes regarding the college recruiting process and unfortunately it seems that in may ways the knowledge gap still exists - something that quite frankly isn't positive for the student-athletes or their high school programs.  I've always thought that the more the high school student-athlete knows about the system and the more their family understands about how it all works, the higher the probability that the student-athlete will end up in a situation that matches not only their athletic pursuits but also the academic side of things.

Rather than go into anything too in-depth, I'll throw just a few things out there:

Current Seniors:

For the seniors that are out there that are 'in-the-process' at the moment and haven't made a decision.  A few things to keep in mind.  Most D-IA or FBS schools at this point in time have the guys they've offered for this class and in many cases they have verbal commits.  Point is that in many cases unless you have been actively recruited by one of these schools, it is not the most realistic position to assume that an offer is still going to materialize.  I would add that as with most things, this isn't a 100% statement.  I can recall a tight end from the RDU area being offered by a major program in the ACC about a week prior to signing day.  As in he didn't have an offer from the school and then he did and it appeared that just weeks prior that the school had little interest in him.  So as I said, it's not impossible, but unlikely.  If you think a school is recruiting you at this level and you are 'waiting to hear from them'...point being that you are uncertain of their intentions, then do the following.  Pick up the phone, or have your high school coach pick up the phone and find out.  You'll get an answer and depending on the answer you can  have some peace of mind however the conversation goes.

Feels Like Old Times in the PAC-6

PHOTO BY ROBERT WILLETT - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

It's tough to tell if the Northern Durham Knights are finally back based on what we've seen over the past two seasons, but I think it's safe to say that at the very least they aren't afraid to knock on the door.  

After tonight, we might find out if they are ready to start knocking down some doors and calling the Bull City their playground once again.  Last year, under Coach Anthony Sullivan the Knights rebounded after struggling for the bulk of the previous decade.  Heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, the Knights were exactly where they are this evening, with four wins in conference to no defeats.  But as with last year, they had their toughest competition ahead, in the Southern Durham Spartans, followed up by a regular season finale against Hillside.  A year ago the Knights were unable to capitalize on the early conference momentum and fell to both the Spartans and Hornets, but still managed to claim a third place finish and automatic bid to the playoffs.  For the Spartans, they enter tonight's game with just one conference loss, against the Hornets, as they did a year ago, but the vibe is that this Spartan squad is perhaps further along than the one from a year ago.  Much of their team has an extra year of varsity experience and they managed their non-conference schedule, tough as it is and typically always has been under Coach Jones, with a respectable 2-2 mark including a thrilling overtime loss to visiting Dunbar from the Washington, D.C. area.

Tonight's game is just as big as a year ago for both squads.  A win keeps conference championship hopes alive, while a loss will mean that a second or third place finish is in the cards.  There are a number of top-notch games throughout the area, but if you happen to be in North Durham, then Durham County Memorial Stadium is where you need to be this evening!

Articles on the playoffs:

Playoff Update - 84 Remain   [Link to Article]
the Work Week Quarterback (WWQB) - Thoughts and Notes   [Link to Article]

Talking Playoffs and Conference Winning Percentages   [Link to Article]
When Does 4 Wins Not Equal 4 Wins?   [Link to Article]
Multiple Endowments, Oh My!   [Link to Article]


PAC-6 Match-up, Friday, 10/21/2011

S. Durham (6-3 overall, 4-1 conference) at N. Durham (4-3-1 overall, 4-0 conference)

Reality is that win or lose this evening, the most probable outcome for the conference is to see both of these squads end-up either first through third in conference and thus receive automatic bids to the playoffs. The wildcard in this equation are the Wildcats of East Chapel Hill that are taking on Hillside this evening.  If the Hornets do what they do best - run the ball with Francis and that huge offensive line - and their defense plays the type of attacking and physical defense we've become accustomed to, it is tough to imagine the Wildcats pulling the upset.  In that scenario, the Hornets, Knights and Spartans will end up as the top three finishers, no matter the outcome of tonight's game at County Stadium.

Playoff Update - 84 Remain

PHOTO BY DEAN STRICKLAND - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

This is one of those things about the football season at every level, but especially in college and high school where it seems to fly by before it even started, that makes you sometimes wish you had a 'bloated' major league baseball type season - or...perhaps not.  

Another week is gone and we sit with just two remaining regular season weeks to go and teams are working hard to position for not only playoff qualification, but also for top seeding as we close out the 2011 regular season.

As we did a week ago, we'll run through some brief playoff elements, specifically with regard to the classification AAAA teams in the state.  As always, we'd like to point out the assistance we received from one of the top resource sites in North Carolina when it comes to overall team statistics.  If you haven't checked them out, then please take a moment and do that before the season is out.  References, citations, footnotes - whatever your modus operandi is with regards to giving credit - are a good thing, so I wanted to give a shout out to the Asheville Reynolds contingent that have for so many years done an awesome job with their website [www.gobiggreen.net].  Almost all of the information that I used to put together this post was compiled based on their site.

Playoffs Out of Reach?

Heading into last weeks' games, Garinger HS and Southwest Guilford (due to a post-season ban) were the only two teams that looked certain to not be in a position to make the playoffs.  A total of four additional teams; Sanderson, Smithfield Selma, Ben L. Smith and East Mecklenburg were in positions where we reported it looked as though they would need to win out to have the opportunity to at the very least qualify for the playoffs.  All four ended up losing last week and with that, it appears that all four are officially eliminated from post-season consideration as they each have two games remaining on their schedules and are not in position to reach the four win plateau or compete for a top three finish in their respective conferences.  Joining these six squads as we enter this week of play are an additional 10 teams that currently have one overall win on the season, with either one conference win or less and only two games or less remaining on their schedules.  It appears, that even if they were to win out, they would certainly be below the four win qualifying plateau and will be unable to reach a top three finish in their respective conferences.  They include: Person, North Mecklenburg, Enloe, McDowell, Providence, Apex, Riverside, Pine Forest, Terry Sanford and Southern Alamance.  Even though the playoffs may be out of reach for each of these teams, with two weeks to go, many of them will be playing squads jockeying for playoff position and a few wins here or there by these squads could make things interesting for the remaining AAAA teams.

Yes As a Matter of Fact, Ties Do Exist for the Record

PHOTO BY CHRIS ADAMCZYK - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

Northern Durham was the lone PAC-6 squad in action last evening in non-conference play as they took on the Apex Cougars from the Tri-9.  The game went back and forth with the Knights taking an early lead, only to fall behind and have to mount a comeback late.  After both teams missed PATs on their final scores of the game, the scoreboard read 20-20 at the newly refurbished Durham County Memorial Stadium and it looked like the fans were in for a treat on a brisk October evening, with overtime and more football.  But that wasn't to be the case as this was truly a trick-or-treat night and no treats were to be found, instead of deciding the game on the field in overtime, the game was declared final at 20-20.

So what happened you ask?  According to the rules of the NCHSAA, prior to any non-conference game, both head coaches are asked whether they would like to play overtime if the game is tied at the end of regulation.  If one of the two coaches decides not to play overtime, then the game officially ends as a tie.  The key is that both coaches have to agree to play the overtime session.

Tie Equivalent to Loss in Playoff Speak

Fast forward or perhaps rewind to last evening and with the game tied at the end of regulation, the decision was made to not proceed to overtime.  According to an article in the Durham Herald Sun by Joe Johnson [Blocked PAT leaves Northern with a tie], the decision not to play overtime appears to have been made by the Apex coaching staff.  A quote from the article stated the following: "The game ended in a tie because both coaches have to agree to play overtime before the start of the game and Apex coach Bob Wolfe declined."  From this information it appears that at the very least Apex decided not to play overtime.  The inference is that if that had not been the case, overtime would have been played, which would indicate that the Northern staff had agreed to play overtime.  From the story, it's unclear with 100% certainty that this was the case, but suffice it to say that at the very least one of the two staffs definitely elected not to play overtime.