DESPITE BIG LOSS, ACU MAY BE STRONGER IN 2011
By mark rogers
July 15, 2011
Anytime a Division II team loses a wide receiver to the Miami Dolphins (or any NFL team), the reasonable consensus is that the team may not be as good as they were the previous year.
The ACU Wildcats won 11 games last year before falling to Central Missouri in the playoffs. It marked the third time in four years the Wildcats have posted double digits in the win column...an impressive feat for ANY college team.
But if you think that Edmond Gates (the aforementioned Dolphins draft pick) will take a handful of wins with him to the NFL, you're probably way off.
Here's why...
ACU lost 23 seniors in 2010. A big number and a group which won an ACU record 41 games. No other group of players has ever won more games in a four year span in ACU history. Impressive.
But the 2011 senior class (made up of about 15 guys) has a chance to break that record by the end of this season.
The 2011 class, which by the way is Coach Chris Thomen's first recruiting class, has compiled 31 wins in three years. With 10 wins, they'll tie the record...11, and they'll surpass it.
So the big name guy is gone and ACU is left with no big name guys right?
Wrong.
Aston Whiteside, senior from Vernon, has a great chance of following in Johnny Knox, Bernard Scott, Danieal Manning, and Edmond Gates' footsteps leading to the National Football League. Whiteside is a three-time LSC defensive lineman of the year, and a first-team All-American.
Another name to remember, and this is a shocker, Mithcell Gale. The junior from Alva, Oklahoma wasn't ever supposed to start at ACU.
He wasn't even the for sure starter at the end of the 2010 spring practice, through the summer, or even the start of fall camp.
But when fellow QB Clark Harrell was injured mid-way through fall preparation, Gale started getting more reps...and something clicked.
Something clicked that doesn't click with very many quarterbacks ever in their careers.
That "something" led Gale to throw only three interceptions all of last year in 12 games. An impressive number no matter how many touchdowns you throw.
But Gale threw 38 touchdown passes, more touchdown passes in a single season than ANY OTHER QB IN ACU HISTORY.
That's including Clint Longley, Billy Malone, Colby Freeman, John Frank, Jim Reese and Rex Lamberti.
And he did all that "quietly" without getting a ton of hype. How could he have generated hype? He wasn't named the starter until a few days before the first game!
Another name to watch out for is Jonathan Parker. An incoming freshman tight end who had offers from UNLV and Nevada. He's from Carson City, Nevada and chose ACU over those DI schools in his own backyard. A testament to the recruiting skills of Thomsen and his staff.
Parker should contribute immediately.
So the defense is anchored by Whiteside, a freak of nature who changes opponents' entire offensive game plans. The offense has Gale and a host of other well above average players.
The running back? Bernard Scott's brother. Daryl Richardson.
And by the way, Scott, Whiteside, and Gates are all cousins. Guess football greatness just runs in the family. And it's good to have a head coach from the hometown of that great football family roaming your sidelines. They all have the Vernon connection. And ACU offensive coordinator Ken Collums is from there, too...he's also Coach Thomsen's brother-in-law. It's a small world after all.
ACU is going to be just fine in 2011...and this group of seniors could leave ACU as the all-time winningest group...EVER at ACU.
The start of the season is just weeks away...
Previous Entry:
« 66 DAYS
Next Entry:
132 DAYS LATER...FOOTBALL IS BACK »
Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below.