THE IUP Football Thread

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I know many IUP fans will argue it has been good for the program, but I’ve never been a fan of it. If IUP is willing to go out and find a transfer QB anywhere in the country, why not a recruit outside the state? For example, they went all the way to South Dakota (hometown) to find Karst Hunter. At the same time, I’m sure an outstanding high school junior by the name of Bart McAninch out of Mankato West (MN) who just committed to Bemidji State never got a look. The kid was willing to leave the Midwest to play and has family (who I know) reasonably close to Western PA. Pittsburg State was one of his many offers along with a lot of FCS interest. He is essentially the same build as Karst Hunter and plays exactly the same style. On top of that, he’s an outstanding student with a killer work ethic that isn’t the type of kid that will hit the portal at the first opportunity. His junior year he threw for 2,423 yards, 28 TDs and 0 INTS and a 126.1 QB rating while leading his team to the state championship game. Yes, that’s 28 TDs and NO picks. Who doesn’t at least throw a pick or two just due to bad luck?

At the same time I’m typing this I know the answer is budget and time constraints for being able to recruit all over the country. It’s less expensive and risky to allow a kid to prove himself in another program and bring him in for a visit than it is to chase a high school kid too far from home. To be fair, I think the way IUP does it is probably the most effective route given the resources, and Tort and company have landed some big fish over the years despite the lack of budget and facilities. That being said, in a digital world it should be a little easier to see and get feedback on a kid than ever before. I know IUP and most DII schools can’t afford to recruit a lot of out-of-state players, but QB is the one position I’d spend a few bucks on. Since I mentioned Pittsburg State, the majority of their roster comes from states other than Kansas. Ferris State does have a lot of Michigan players on the roster, but they’ve done well in other areas of the country too including Florida. You stand a chance of catching bigger fish in deeper waters. I suppose this is why they look more like an FCS program than DII.

High school QB recruiting at this level is very tricky - for a lot of reasons.

Tort's track record with QB imports is hard to argue.

Getting a quality backup QB is very hard.

[iupgroundhog]

High school QB recruiting at this level is very tricky - for a lot of reasons.

Tort's track record with QB imports is hard to argue.

Getting a quality backup QB is very hard.

The bottom line is that recruiting transfer QB's has worked for IUP. One would think that with the current portal situation the trend will continue past Hunter. However, IUP seems to have an enviable QB situation. It's interesting that they have retained Marchitelli and Romano, both good prospects. Also, of the 3 (Hunter, Marchitelli, and Romano), none are from PA.

We also have 2 highly-touted incoming freshmen recruits, so I think it's possible somebody currently on the roster might break the trend.

Marchitelli is listed as a RS-Freshman after being the holder all of last year. Can eligibility be based on number of plays or time on the field, as opposed to number of games?

[EyeoftheHawk]

The bottom line is that recruiting transfer QB's has worked for IUP. One would think that with the current portal situation the trend will continue past Hunter. However, IUP seems to have an enviable QB situation. It's interesting that they have retained Marchitelli and Romano, both good prospects. Also, of the 3 (Hunter, Marchitelli, and Romano), none are from PA.

We also have 2 highly-touted incoming freshmen recruits, so I think it's possible somebody currently on the roster might break the trend.

Marchitelli is listed as a RS-Freshman after being the holder all of last year. Can eligibility be based on number of plays or time on the field, as opposed to number of games?

I think they were hoping Davis from Steubenville was going to be the guy they’d develop, but he never really got there. He’d probably argue he never had the opportunity to get where he needed to be but I have to believe if he showed them more than he did they wouldn’t have gone out and gotten Harry Football.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think they were hoping Davis from Steubenville was going to be the guy they’d develop, but he never really got there. He’d probably argue he never had the opportunity to get where he needed to be but I have to believe if he showed them more than he did they wouldn’t have gone out and gotten Harry Football.

At best Davis was 5'10". Tort prefers QBs at least 6'2" (or taller) who can see the field better - the middle in particular.

Curt seemed to like the Lenny types better (he recruited Davis).

The running QBs can add an element for sure but it's usually a matter of time until they are hurt.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The bottom line is that recruiting transfer QB's has worked for IUP. One would think that with the current portal situation the trend will continue past Hunter. However, IUP seems to have an enviable QB situation. It's interesting that they have retained Marchitelli and Romano, both good prospects. Also, of the 3 (Hunter, Marchitelli, and Romano), none are from PA.

We also have 2 highly-touted incoming freshmen recruits, so I think it's possible somebody currently on the roster might break the trend.

Marchitelli is listed as a RS-Freshman after being the holder all of last year. Can eligibility be based on number of plays or time on the field, as opposed to number of games?

High School QBs cost money -- especially the coveted ones. That's money that will be sitting on the sidelines for 1-2 years in the vast majority of cases (if you're lucky and they actually stay).

I think that's been at the root of IUP's philosophy. Not to mention this isn't the old days of Johnny Stud QB coming here and sitting for maybe several years - all the while Uncle Jimbo is telling him he should have been at Auburn. Those days are gone.

So, do you want money invested (and tied up) in a high school QB to languish for a couple years (and maybe stay if you're lucky) or would you rather spend it on a play-right-now QB?

Reality is other than the rare Bryan Eyerman types, true freshmen aren't anywhere close to being ready to play.

I'd love to get two years out of these guys but other than that have no issues with Tort's approach. It's actually the only position they've really done this, too. That program is largely home grown.

[goalieman]

Rich Ingold was a transfer from South Carolina...and when he transferred to IUP it was a big deal for a program trying to get out of the mud. That was like 1983 I believe.

Scott Woods on the 93 team was a transfer.

Frank had a few transfer QB's and few he recruited.

IUP and transfer QB's is pretty much a tradition.

QB Ken Ferguson transferred from Pitt to IUP and started at IUP in 1994 and 1995.

Paul Failla was a QB at Notre Dame who left ND with one year of eligibility left to play minor league baseball and after 4-5 years when it was apparent he wasn't going to get to MLB, he came to IUP and started in 1998.

One transfer (JUCO) who started at IUP in 2010 but was a major disappointment was Bo Napolean.

[IUPNation]

QB Ken Ferguson transferred from Pitt to IUP and started at IUP in 1994 and 1995.

Paul Failla was a QB at Notre Dame who left ND with one year of eligibility left to play minor league baseball and after 4-5 years when it was apparent he wasn't going to get to MLB, he came to IUP and started in 1998.

One transfer (JUCO) who started at IUP in 2010 but was a major disappointment was Bo Napolean.

Wasn’t Terry Throm a transfer as well in the mid 90’s?

[goalieman]

Wasn’t Terry Throm a transfer as well in the mid 90’s?

I think you may be right ..... pretty sure Throm transferred to IUP from WVU.

[Wallst]

I know many IUP fans will argue it has been good for the program, but I’ve never been a fan of it. If IUP is willing to go out and find a transfer QB anywhere in the country, why not a recruit outside the state? For example, they went all the way to South Dakota (hometown) to find Karst Hunter. At the same time, I’m sure an outstanding high school junior by the name of Bart McAninch out of Mankato West (MN) who just committed to Bemidji State never got a look. The kid was willing to leave the Midwest to play and has family (who I know) reasonably close to Western PA. Pittsburg State was one of his many offers along with a lot of FCS interest. He is essentially the same build as Karst Hunter and plays exactly the same style. On top of that, he’s an outstanding student with a killer work ethic that isn’t the type of kid that will hit the portal at the first opportunity. His junior year he threw for 2,423 yards, 28 TDs and 0 INTS and a 126.1 QB rating while leading his team to the state championship game. Yes, that’s 28 TDs and NO picks. Who doesn’t at least throw a pick or two just due to bad luck?

At the same time I’m typing this I know the answer is budget and time constraints for being able to recruit all over the country. It’s less expensive and risky to allow a kid to prove himself in another program and bring him in for a visit than it is to chase a high school kid too far from home. To be fair, I think the way IUP does it is probably the most effective route given the resources, and Tort and company have landed some big fish over the years despite the lack of budget and facilities. That being said, in a digital world it should be a little easier to see and get feedback on a kid than ever before. I know IUP and most DII schools can’t afford to recruit a lot of out-of-state players, but QB is the one position I’d spend a few bucks on. Since I mentioned Pittsburg State, the majority of their roster comes from states other than Kansas. Ferris State does have a lot of Michigan players on the roster, but they’ve done well in other areas of the country too including Florida. You stand a chance of catching bigger fish in deeper waters. I suppose this is why they look more like an FCS program than DII.

I was hoping to see McAninch come to Pitt. Kid had some impressive offers makes me wonder what Bemidji States pitch was? It worked.

agree with you 100% that if SR1 wants to fo anything on a national scale they need to recruit outside of their current area and comfort zone. Before our new coach took over we never hit Iowa or MN now we do along with a pipeline from a school on FL. With social media and some good recruiting I think IUP Sheperd and a couple others in SR1 could easily branch out.

[EyeoftheHawk]

If there’s a program in the country that has a more diverse roster in terms of the states kids come from than your team, I’d be shocked.

IUP and Shepherd (the whole PSAC for that matter) have a lot of players in the vicinity to pick from so there’s not as much need to go far and wide. There are also a ton of schools though so if you’re a touted DII kid coming out of HS in this area you’re going to have your pick. That waters down the conference to an extent. It makes for reasonably good parity in the conference but we all see what happens when SR1 teams get into the semi-finals.

[ironmaniup]

I think they were hoping Davis from Steubenville was going to be the guy they’d develop, but he never really got there. He’d probably argue he never had the opportunity to get where he needed to be but I have to believe if he showed them more than he did they wouldn’t have gone out and gotten Harry Football.

yeah, he was probably the closest in a string of failures. Remember Eddie $tocket, ADP, very short lived Hankins, to name a few

[IUPbigINDIANS]

yeah, he was probably the closest in a string of failures. Remember Eddie $tocket, ADP, very short lived Hankins, to name a few

$tockett was so money

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I was hoping to see McAninch come to Pitt. Kid had some impressive offers makes me wonder what Bemidji States pitch was? It worked.

agree with you 100% that if SR1 wants to fo anything on a national scale they need to recruit outside of their current area and comfort zone. Before our new coach took over we never hit Iowa or MN now we do along with a pipeline from a school on FL. With social media and some good recruiting I think IUP Sheperd and a couple others in SR1 could easily branch out.

Remember our state school programs raise their own scholarship money (real money).

Out-of-state kids cost more and take a bigger slice of the coin.


​

[Ship69]

High School QBs cost money -- especially the coveted ones. That's money that will be sitting on the sidelines for 1-2 years in the vast majority of cases (if you're lucky and they actually stay).

I think that's been at the root of IUP's philosophy. Not to mention this isn't the old days of Johnny Stud QB coming here and sitting for maybe several years - all the while Uncle Jimbo is telling him he should have been at Auburn. Those days are gone.

So, do you want money invested (and tied up) in a high school QB to languish for a couple years (and maybe stay if you're lucky) or would you rather spend it on a play-right-now QB?

Reality is other than the rare Bryan Eyerman types, true freshmen aren't anywhere close to being ready to play.

I'd love to get two years out of these guys but other than that have no issues with Tort's approach. It's actually the only position they've really done this, too. That program is largely home grown.

It works out if you're in a good position such as IUP and can target the good transfers. Obviously these players have to spend their first year or two somewhere before they become transfer nuggets. The sad thing about football now (and basketball, too, for that matter) is that amount of time schools lower on the totem pole spend paying for the development of high school players, only to see the top dogs whisk them away.

[IUPNation]

On this day in 1984 (one of the best years ever) …the #1 song in America was…..wait for it…….Ghostbusters. I thought many of you would love to know that since you loved when the band played it

I was 17 and in the middle of completing the Summer Post Session at IUP..essentially wrapping up my 9 week first run as a Summer/January Freshman.