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I was obviously wrong with my 9-2 stated prediction. I really thought 8-3 but decided to up the optimism one more notch. Either way, I thought we would make the playoffs and I was very off. I also realize in reading those older posts that I need to proofread my entries better before I submit them. My son is on the team, so I will definitely read the posts and add to them when I can but I will never write anything negative about any players or coaches. I think that would be inappropriate on my part. I know they tried hard and I respect our student athletes and all of the sacrifices they made this past season. Some people my find this weird, but a lot of parents don't talk a whole lot of football with their players during the season. The kids spend so much time with the program that we try to be a buffer and give them a mental break from football when we talk or grab dinner after a home game. Our job is to be positive and supportive. With that said, I respect everyone's opinions on the board and I always look forward to reading everything. The 2022 season starts this Sunday. Hard off-season training will be one of the keys to getting back to the playoffs.

I want to thank the passionate Towson football fans who joined us this season on these boards. The old guys that have been here through thick and thin, the newbies who just joined us and some people who were on CAAZone and decided to pop up. I appreciate it and am only doing this to create a bond among TU fans. This is a place where we can whine, gripe, bitch, applaud, laud, etc. I wish the season didn't end like it did but if not for a 7-4 regular season, I might be talking to just a few loyal people instead of 15-20 or so. We all can disagree about certain things but one thing that we can agree about is that we care about this program. We might be a tiny portion of Towson alums who give a crap, but we are a strong vocal minority. People read this stuff, some coaches, some people in athletics and some do listen to ideas thrown around. On this Thanksgiving weekend, I'm thankful for this small community we've created, even though it's taken nearly 20 years and two different message boards to do so.

I was creeping on the Hofstra blogs to see what they had to say about the game. "Offensively, you cannot win games when you don't move the ball and don't move people, and when you're not shooting lights out and when you don't have guys who can score enough on their own. Towson plays together. They're a pleasure to watch. HU looks like its struggles for everything it gets. Way too much 1-on-1." Can't say I've seen that written about a TU team in a long time.

I have been a Major stockholder for 30+ years. Time to reap some dividends

I dont think that message is for idiots like us who follow every move. It's for the more casual person they're trying to convernt into idiots like us.

back to the AD topic. any idea when they are going to start doing the first set of screening or even just laying out the criteria for the ideal candidate? to 88's point above the new AD needs to focus on that sentiment. It's a pretty tired take IMO. I never viewed Towson as a commuter school growing up in the DC area; I very much doubt all the kids from PA, Jersey and New York do. College park and Mason are suburbs of DC, yet both have athletic success at various levels. the point being there are plenty of schools in major metro areas that still create a connection to campus through athletics. Towson needs to stop trying to be 'Baltimore's this... Baltimore's that..' Realize that Baltimore as a whole isn't going to care and focus on the people who have a connection to the school. Just as a mind shift I'd love for people to start thinking of Towson as Maryland's....(pay a branding agency here - honestly anything but teachers college or affordable... no one likes to be called cheap)

Thank you Bk&Gold, my son is Mark and yes I was hyped and optimistic that this team could make a run in the playoffs, in which I am not apologizing for. Parents should always support their sons and the team, and anybody with any sense should know that. Of course it is disappointing to not make the playoffs but I loved, going to the game, Ed’s gracious tail gaits, met some really neat people supporting and rooting for team. I wish coaches and team the best of luck! Mark is now not only a USD Alumni but also a Towson Alumni 4 life! Hope you all have a safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving.

Nobody should be humiliated on this board, especially parents, for being overly optimistic before a season. It’s almost like you can’t show joy or optimism, or you will get ostracized/bullied to not to post again because you were wrong.

Second scrimmage today. Weather held up. Not as hot as last week. The defensive line really stood out. They got a lot of pressure up front against a pretty good offensive line, especially early in the scrimmage. That's without Elorm Lumor, the Rutgers rush end who may have been nicked up, but they were just holding him out (riding the bike). And that's understandable. You had parents and season ticket holders out today (about 250?) so RA is not going to show everything. But we're fine on D. Really deep. Cholewa is going to be a problem against most Olines. He'll take up two blockers at DE or NG. We haven't had a lot of 6-7, 310-pounders and add him along with Jesus Gibbs (6-4, 290) and Tramar Reece (6-4, 280) and you have size and length that we've never really had. Oly Okombi (6-1, 270) was not there, but I expect him to be a disruptor and Sam Gyeni (6-0, 280) is a solid nose guard. Darrien Reynolds was flying around at inside linebacker. Had one pick off of Ferguson and nearly had another. I think he and Christian Dixon should be a very strong duo. At safety or Bandit Keyvone Bruton is going to a terrific pick up. He can cover inside receivers, can blitz, and hit with authority. He's apparently a lot bigger than his listed 5-11, 195. Guessing at least 215. Corners should be fine with Shuman, Peoples, Collins and Makai Self from Penn State. Have a lot of talent there. I would say Shuman gets the start and maybe Peoples at the other corner. Ferguson is the clear leader at QB. He had some overthrows today and threw that pick on that blitz from Bruton and that was picked off by Reynolds. Also made some nice throws to Street in the corner of the end zone. He can throw on the move so he's not just a statue. I do like Amendola's ability to run, but he's not ready to start. Then there's Jerry Howard. All I can say is watch the first game. I interviewed him briefly. Big and explosive. Doesn't usually go down after the first hit. Love Devin Matthews as well. The freshman who probably would have sat out last season. Runs low and is a compact runner that could see time as a third-down specialist. Also, Curtis Murray (5-10, 190) is finally on the roster. The transfer from Maine, who has four years left. Did not see him out there. At receiver, somebody new to look out for is No. 7 Matthew Akuchie, the FAU transfer. He's long, like Jabari Allen was at 6-3, 205. Ran with the 2s and looked like a starter. Had a really nice catch in the corner of the end zone on a pass from freshmen Scott Smith. He's going to be in the mix somewhere. If he's healthy, you have Allen, Street, Thompson, Caleb Smith, Rutkowski and Akuchie in some rotation. It looks as though they are moving WR/KR D'Ago Hunter to RB, though it may just be an experiment. He's just so small at 5-6ish 160. He's pretty electric in the open field, but don't see him as running back. Maybe I'm wrong. Rob Ambrose comments: On second scrimmage "Needed a long hot one. This was the longest amount of live work we've been able to do. Tons of stuff to evaluate. We're going to be pretty good defensively. We're deep, fast, and big. We're giving our offense a lot of challenges. I don't if there's anybody that we will face that will be that good. We're so deep up front. It's crazy. Injuries "Grim (Grzymkowski) was held out after tweaking his back. We're limiting some guys. There are fights in the trenches and we're getting better." On Cholewa "We have short, quick and athletic. And we have big, long, and strong. That's a great combination. he's happy to be here. On RBs Matthews is what I wanted to see today. I know what Jerry (Howard) can do. I know what Kobe can do. We played a little bit in what D'Ago (Hunter) can do. But you just might have seen the short-yardage back show up today in Matthews. He's not big but he explodes into you. He's powerful. On other freshmen Kenjuan Manuel didn't play today, but is having a great camp. He's really good. He's going to help us. Shafeek (Smith) is going to be really good. Little Rut (Evan Rutkowski) he can help us at four different positions. All those kids look like they are going to play sooner than later. On Cost of Attendance It's a competitive advantage of disadvantage if you have it or you don't. Delaware and JMU have it and we don't. When it comes down to recruits and, all things being equal, they are going to take $5,000 to $2,000 a year that they get from somewhere else and we don't get them. It's a competitive disadvantage in our league. It's the amount that the University declares for extra fees. Room, board, books. There are computer fees. There's travel. They call that the true Cost of Attendance to attend a school. The difference between those numbers can be made up with grant money. If you have it. Delaware and JMU do it. We don't. On NIL It's awesome. It's about time. It's going to be a challenge to handle to some degree. At this level, I don't know how much we're going to have to worry about. I caution the guys that to make sure you are always respectful and take care of the game first. Because without the game, there's no name, image, and likeness. So if you are more worried name, image, and likeness than the game, you are not going to make much money at all. On facilities We're going to have an academic center in the near future. We're having monster conversations about closing that all off (stadium) but you'd have to ask people above me. Jerry Howard on moving from defense back to offense I didn't play that much defense. With COVID, I got a week or two of linebacker play and then I switched back to running back by Game 3. It feels great. I'm supposed to be here as a running back. I want to move to linebacker at Georgia Tech. I didn't p play that much my junior year so to get more reps I wanted to play linebacker. It didn't work out the way I wanted to so I was playing special teams and I moved back to RB. On getting recruited by Rob Ambrose I was telling him it was between Mercer and Towson. And due to the relationship I had with Coach Ambrose was the reason I came here. Strengths I would say I can manipulate the defensive line and to be this big, I have some speed on me. I clocked about a 4.52 at laser at 225. I'm about 218. I'm a lot faster (at the lower weight). On experience It's helpful. We have to make sure we are on the same page. They came from a bigger school, but they may not have the field experience. Towson The goal is to win a National Championship. Starts in two weeks. On running style Feel like I'm electric, but still a bruiser.

Great to be out there at football practice for the first time in nearly two years. One issue I had was with the numbers. Jerry Howard was 31 and he was listed on the roster as 30. I originally thought he was 4, but that was Kobe Young, who is normally 19. Some guys were wearing different numbers than they had on the roster. Let's start with quarterback. There's no doubt, Chris Ferguson is the guy. He has good leadership qualities and has the size (6-3, 235) to run a little when needed. He's certainly not a runner like Tom Flacco was, but I think most knew that. I thought he needed to put more zip on a few balls out there to the sidelines, but overall he was solid. There were also be a lot of play-action, assuming the running game is going to be strong and it should be. I'll get to that later. I do like Jeff Miller. He's has made strides from the last time I saw him. Of course, he's big (6-6, 235) and has a strong arm. He just has to limit the mistakes. If Ferguson wins it, it's because he's experienced (took Maine to the semi-finals in 2018) and takes care of the ball. You don't have to be spectacular with this offense. They will be able to run the football, but you can make plays in the passing game with receivers like Jabari Allen, Caleb Smith, Darian Street, etc. Vincent Amendola (6-3, 220ish) is another big quarterback, who can run. I didn't see enough of him, but I assume he's competing with Miller for the second spot. I like the potential of Nathan Kent from Liberty, who can throw but also is a dual threat. Scott Smith (6-4, 210) is another big gunslinger that can throw it from the pocket. So two seasons ago, Towson averaged just 4.4 yards per carry and allowed 4.2 yards per carry. Part of that was due to the loss of Shane Simpson. But for them to be effective they have to get to close to the 5.0 yards per carry mark and with a 230-pound bruiser like Howard along with Sabias Folley (5-11, 235ish), and a huge, experienced O-line, we should have no problem getting to that mark. To me, the offensive line is everything, but if you have a big back like Howard, who can break tackles, it's going to help. In 2017, we had Kobe Young (328 yds, 4.7ypc) and that was it. Simpson was injured again (3.3ypc) and Ryan Stover was the QB. Rough. In 2016, with Darius Victor injured Simpson stepped up with 784 yards and averaged 5.6ypc. That was another year of injured QB (Morgan Mahalak) and the team averaged 4.3ypc. That was three years after the championship offensive line graduated. With Young back and looking great, Howard, Folley, Devin Matthews (5-9, 210) a pleasant surprise and even D'Ago Hunter lining up in the backfield, we seem to have pretty good depth and should be adding another piece shortly. Not thrilled with Hunter (5-8????, 160) as a back. He's fun to watch, but if he's going to be my main return man, not sure I'd want to risk losing him. He's listed at 5-8, which is a stretch and 160. I know size isn't everything and that doesn't always make great OLines. Morgan State used to roll out some huge lines and some were pretty good and some weren't. It depends on how you carry the weight. DeMarcus Gilmore was in the 360-pound range two seasons ago and he looks like he dropped about 30 pounds, while freshman Jean Germain (6-6, 355) also looked to be in great shape. He was battling a nagging injury and working out on the side. I think we have a line that can rival many FBS line in terms of size. We will average around 6-4.5 and 325 across the line. The defensive line, if he start Cholewa, Reece and Gibbs. You're talking about averaging 6-5 and 290. Not just size, but Gibbs and Reece can both move. So can Oly Olokambi (6-1, 275). Sam Gyeni (6-0, 280) could end up starting at nose guard or they can move Cholewa (6-7, 310) there or Olokombi. I'll talk more about the defense in my report next week. I want to focus more on No. 18 Elorm Lumor (6-3, 245), who should be a huge difference-maker at rush end. Somebody we've been waiting for since #56 was getting double-digit sacks nearly a decade ago. Now, to the safeties. Keyvon Bruton (5-11, 210) is one of those guys you will see all over the field. Check out No. 3. The three-star Temple transfer will play some safety, some linebacker. He's basically a hybrid, which you need. He can hit and he should be able to cover slot receivers. But we will see. Jamal Gay and S.J. Brown are likely the starters and they would have been in 2019 had Gay not torn his ACL before the year starter. I've talked about the depth at cornerback all off-season. That was something we didn't have in 2019. If Brandon Shuman goes down again, we have Charles Peoples, the juco transfer. If he goes down, we have Makai Self, a Penn State transfer or 6-3 DJ Pratt from Virginia. We also have Mark Collins Jr., the South Dakota transfer, who led the nation in batted balls in 2018. All are at least 5-11 except for Self. The best corner eventually could be freshman Shafeek Smith (5-10, 175), who can fly and is a three-star from Philly (no. 2 corner in Pa). Also, the kicking situation is a bit of a question mark. I thought freshman Keegan Vaughn looked very good and may have taken the lead. UConn transfer Clayton Harris really struggled. Now to the interview after the practice. Rob Ambrose Impressions "First live work in the heat since 2019. I'll take it." "We don't look worse for wear. Look pretty sound. I'm pleased. Very pleased." On competitions "Competition makes the world go around. It makes everybody better. 'I'm going to work. I'm a starter. You're not going to take my job away.' We got better. Or the guy behind him works hard and takes his job. Either way, we got better." Steadiest position "Offensive line. Those guys have great chemistry. We have five or six guys that have played tons of games. Great knowledge." On having a year off "It's a year of working out so everybody is bigger, faster, and stronger. We put some feelers from people across the country who played in the spring and they said we got beat up. Well, why wouldn't you be? We're not. We have one injury coming out of the spring and he's practicing now. So we're as healthy as we've ever been. On QBs "We're just throwing them in there and having fun. I thought we did 1000x better than we did today than all of a spring." On young QBs "Young kids with talent. Scott Smith is tremendously accurate and Nathan Kent is more athletic. He's Carroll County Player of the Decade. He's a true athlete." On what the starting QB needs to do "Lead. Run the other 10 guys the right way. Consistently put the ball in the end zone. Don't turn the ball over." On Jerry Howard "He has weight and strength. It usually takes more than one guy to bring him down. We said that last fall. We had to get a bigger back. He fits that bill perfectly." On OL "We haven't had a chance to have them all healthy at the same time. We're figuring out who is our best five and who fits behind them." On DL "We are as a deep as we've ever been in the front 7. This front 7 will rival the front 7 from the national championship (team)." On Olokombi "We recruited him. Wanted him badly. Kent State had...Cost of Attendance gets you." On Reynolds and inside linebackers "Dixon and Kearney are great. We just added so much quality depth. Reynolds was here in the spring. If you don't do your job, somebody else will." "Recruited Reynolds and Howard in high school. Those personal relationships paid dividends down the road." "Guys looking for opportunities. We have guys that appreciate the opportunities." "I loved every team I ever coached. But this group is special. They like each other. They have fun with each other. They work hard for each other. Maybe it was Covid or not playing, but these guys are fun to be with." At corner The depth and the experience is better. Makes them work harder. That's completely open. We would evaluate the depth chart and we'll see. Xavier (Terry) can play safety or corner. The punter is the punter. The fact that Shane McDonough is not first-team all-league is whatever. Lack of respect. You're a two-time all-league player and you don't get notice. You think Aaron Grzymkowski is not pissed off. On practice next couple of weeks "We need to get tougher. Trying to gThe difference between an 11-game season and a 16-game season. The attitude you have to have for your body, if you want to play that long, you have to practice in a way that gets you there and we're not there yet."

This is such a difficult situation for Dan and the department as a whole that it is ahrd to imagine. As Interim, Dan has limited ability to go out on a limb. He is Interim at a time when the CAA has made itself a much weaker league by adding three team that no one really cares about. We will not draw one additional fan to SECU or Unitas Stadium by adding Stony Brook, Hampton and Monmouth. Most fans know that but it is hard to say that out loud. If Towson has any intention of being "Baltimore's College Team", the school needs to be a part of a conference that brings higher profile and more competitive teams here...year after year after year. If JMU from a one horse town of Harrisonburg, VCU from a smaller town and smaller TV Market of Richmond can move to more competitive conferences there is no reason to believe Towson can not do it with the correct leadership.....but that assumes that the goal is to be at a higher athletic level....a question that we can not answer at this point. I do think that this particular hire as AD will be the turning point in Towson Athletics for the foreseeable future. In my opinion, we need someone with Waddell's drive and foresight, but without his lunacy and lack of financial discipline, again, based on the ultimate goal of the university administration. Just a few passing thoughts.

I would think Jared from Subway would have a better chance of getting the gig

Hopefully, I will be able to see practice next Saturday, health-willing and assuming no other rules prop up where I can't go. I would really like to see these guys for the first time since I haven't been at practice since August of 2019: #13 Vincent Amendola (6-3, 215). Big, strong-armed transfer from UNC. Good athlete. #12 Ty'Shaun Granger (6-1, 195). Freshman WR from Virginia. Two-star 247. Big, physical receiver. #32 Tramar Reece, big DL from Indiana (6-4, 280ish). Didn't play a lot for great D, but has a lot of talent. Three star recruit #3 Keyvon Bruton, S from Temple (5-11, 210ish). 3* recruit from most recruiting services. Played mainly special teams and did have five tackles in 2018 against USF. Had TFL against Duke in 2018 Independence Bowl. #11 DL Oly Okombi (6-1, 275) transfer from Kent State. From Silver Spring. Big DL with quick feet. Had a sack in four games in the MAC. #9 CB/S D.J. Pratt (6-3, 185) transfer from UVa. Went to Good Counsel. Track star in HS. 2* 247. #7 ILB Darrien Reynolds (6-0, 225) transfer from Gardner-Webb. All-Big South second team for two straight seasons. Had 128 tackles as a junior in 2019. Was Preseason All-Big South for 2020, but transferred to Towson before the season started. #14 QB Chris Ferguson (6-3, 230) transfer from Maine. Know what he can do. Just want to see him gel with receivers and other offensive skill players. #15 QB Nathan Kent (6-2, 195) freshman from Liberty HS. Lone dual-threat QB on roster. Ran for 870 and threw for 2,300 yards last year. #16 QB Scott Smith (6-4, 210) freshman from St. Paul's. Completed 67% of his passes in 2019. #18 OLB/DE Elorm Lumor (6-3, 245) grad student from Rutgers. Three-star recruit from Rivals and 247. Had 9.5 sacks in his career and 107 tackles in 44 games with 15 tackles for loss. #20 CB Mark Collins Jr. (5-11, 190) grad student. Transfer from South Dakota. Had 25 pass breakups and four picks in 27 games. Two-star from 247 Sports. #21 RB Sabias Folley (5-11, 235) freshman from Fork Union Military Academy. #30 RB Jerry Howard (6-0, 230) grad student from Georgia Tech. Had 564 rushing yards and five TDs in 2018. Was moved to LB in 2019. Three-star ESPN. #25 CB Charles Peoples (6-0, 190) from Reedly College in California. Had 7 picks in 18 games. #31 CB Shafeek Smith (5-10, 175) freshman from Philadelphia, Imhotep Charter HS. Three-star from Rivals, ESPN and 247Sports. Ranked No. 2 CB in the state. #35 RB Devin Matthews (5-9, 200) freshman from Falls Church. Also rank track in HS. #42 RB/FB Dion Crews Harris (6-0, 240) freshman from Dunbar. #35 CB Makai Self (5-9, 175) junior from Penn State. Went to St. John's HS and IMG Academy. Track star in HS #37 LB JeVaughn Faunteroy (6-0, 200) freshman from Bishop McNamara HS. #40 LB Amir Murray (5-11, 225) junior from Sierra College, earning 141 career tackles. #52 LB Michael Robinson (6-1, 220) junior transfer from Ball State. Two-star recruit. #55 LB Mason Woods (6-0, 220) freshman from Gar-Field. Two star recruit. #56 LB Connor Maloney (6-2, 215) freshman from Palotti HS. Former decathalete. #76 OL Darian Bryant (6-6, 330) grad student from Temple. Possible starting right tackle. Missed 2019 season due to knee injury. Three-star from 247Sports. #79 OL Florida Staehler (6-8, 280) from Germany. #80 TE Robert Schwob (6-7, 240) junior transfer from Maryland. Former volleyball player and walk-on at Md. Excellent athlete. #85 TE Marcus Joyner (6-2, 245) grad student from ODU. Three-star recruit from 247Sports. Played 29 games. Had 14 catches in 12 games as a starter in 2019 for 144 yards. #87 TE Griffin Patterson (6-5, 230) freshman from Broadlands, Va. Father Sean played for Towson in the early nineties. #88 WR Dah'Mear Triplett (6-1, 190) sophomore transfer from Lincoln (PA). Played 10 games in 2019 and had 42 catches for 631 yards and seven TDs. #93 DT Kenjuan Manuel (6-1, 295) freshman from Washington D.C. (St. John's HS). Three star ESPN and 247Sports. #94 DT Mason Cholewa (6-7, 305) grad student transfer from JMU. Had 11 tackles and a sack in the spring playing nose guard. Also played for UCF from 2017-19. Three-star recruit from ESPN out of Pittsburgh. WR Matthew Akuchie (6-3, 195) sophomore transfer from Florida Atlantic. Did not appear in a game. Ran 4.6 40 and 35-inch vertical coming out of HS.

Nobody really knows who two years off will affect us. We did practice in the spring, but since I couldn't get out there, I'm not 100% sure what this team is going to look like. Everything starts with Juwon Pass. If he's a 6-4, 230-pound Flacco, we should be ok. Still might need one more playmaker on offense. You look at that last game against Elon in 2019 and we had Shane Leatherbury. He was the only real burner and the Phoenix knew that. Not having Caleb Smith in that game was also devastating, because he was coming on. Both Shanes are gone, but Jabari Allen is back. At 6-3, 215 with speed and hands, he has a chance to be special. But he has to stay healthy. He wasn't in 2019. The entire offensive line is back along with Darian Bryant. Who is Darrian Bryant? He's a 6-6, 330-pound Temple transfer, who missed the entire 2019 season due to an ACL. Because he was out, we had to move DeMarcus Gilmore to right tackle. Gilmore at 6-3, 360 is more of a guard. He did a serviceable job there, but having Gilmore and Bryant on the right side should be fun for us and not for our opponents. The entire offensive line is back with Bryant and guys like Brenand Cassells and Jon Desire. Kobe Young and Adrian Platt are the only experienced running backs. With Kobe's injury history and freshman Sabias Folley being talented but raw, I'd assume that they add another RB over the summer. Tight end is a bit iffy only because there are a few new guys including Marcus Joyner, a transfer from ODU. I don't expect another Chris Clark, but hopefully Joyner can provide some red-zone help. At receiver, we have some young guys that could really blossom if Pass or Jeff Miller are slinging it around. Charles Murphy should be a veritcal threat along with Smith. Ty'Shaun Granger has a lot of size and we have another big freshman coming in Isaiah Perkins (6-2, 200). But we also have veterans in Ryan Rutkowski, Darian Street, Allen, D'Ago Hunter ajd Daniel Thompson returning. Defensively, with Bryce Carter transferring, Ron Johnson not returning along with Quahon Alexander and Tibo Debaille coming off back issues, we desperately need to add help. Help is coming from what I hear in the form of at least two players. We still have Jesus Gibbs, Bryce Lauer, Marcus Bowman, Sam Gyeni and Vinny Shaffer returning, so we have some talent back, but need more depth and for guys to stay healthy. Kenjuan Manuel (6-1, 300+) arrives from St. John's as a three-star nose guard, but will have to beat out veterans in summer camp. At linebacker, the loss of Ricky DeBerry was softened by the addition of senior Darien Reynolds from Garnder-Webb. Thought that was a great pickup for a proven guy. I think Nygil Johnson finally gets his chance this season at OLB. Christian Dixon started in 2019 for DeBerry, so expect him to be better. We also added Michael Robinson Jr. from Ball State. He should have a role somewhere. Ryan Kearney should be involved as well. Obviously considering the tough circumstances with Chizz, that opens up another spot in terms of depth and on special teams. Watch out for Keyvone Bruton. He's a hard-hitting safety from Temple, who could also play in a Rover-type of a role. The secondary is usually the biggest question mark, but it should be a strength. Brandon Shuman is back. He missed the second half of the season in 2019 and you could tell we really struggled in the back end. We added Mark Collins Jr. (South Dakota), 6-3 D.J. Pratt (UVa) Charles Peoples (Juco/Ga St) and Makai Self (Penn State transfer). Shuman and Peoples could be the starters, but Collins, Self and freshman Shaeek Smith, the No. 2 corner in PA, who could also return kicks. At safety, Jamal Gay returns after an ACL injury that cost him 2019. He's back along with S.J. Brown, who had a pretty good 2019. We lose Coby Tippett, but also should get some help from Robert Topps, the Kansas transfer, who came off the bench in 2019. Bruton could also be moved back there if needed. I wonder if they move a big corner back there but they do have some young guys like Ubayd Steed, who sat out last season, who could be in the mix. It's a long way of saying, we could be pretty good or very good if Pass is the real deal. A little worried about the D-line. In other words, a lot rests on Pass to be the guy.

The question I have for the numbskulls who made this decision (cough, Tim Leonard, cough) is what is the cost in dollars to have a moribund basketball program, no hope, no alumni engagement, just a worthless activity run by a failed regime. Whatever money is guaranteed to this guy is already wasted - there is no chance of success. If that is the only cost, then go ahead, let him run this program further into the ditch for 5 more years. But if it is worth anything to the institution to have a basketball team that brings alums together, provides a positive social activity for people based on their connection to the school then its high time to stop throwing away seasons and make a change. I'd love to care about Towson basketball again, but as long as the school doesn't care there is no point in anyone else investing their time or interest either. It won't happen, of course, because the Fordham playbook that dictates decisions these days says athletics are unimportant, a waste of resources, and simply an expense that must be managed to lowest possible number. It not whether you win or lose, but how much you paid to play the games.

We just beat a team by 17 on the road, who had taken JMU to overtime, beat Villanova on the road, and we are nitpicking because we didn't win by more?? Really?? Half our starting secondary is injured, our best linebacker has been out since the first game, and our stud transfer D-lineman played like half a game before getting hurt. Oh, and our 1st team all-American running back/kick returner hasn't played since the first conference game of the year. There are two games left and this team is poised to make the playoffs. For once can the players get some credit for winning?? Who cares how many you win by. Especially on the road.

JFC, the negativity is already starting! I know my kid is busting his ass off, along with the other boys to have a great season. Let's hold off on the "I expect this team to finish near the bottom of the league once again" talk and support these boys! Shit happens at every school in the country, however, it's about uniting as a team, brotherhood, not dividing!

Mark is one hell of a player - you should be very proud of him! I was super pumped he chose to play at Towson and he didnt disappoint. Best of luck to you both!

Matt- 100% correct, I have actually felt bad for some of the parents on this board. Could definitely see why they would not want to continue posting. On another note, many of FBS transfers may have not worked out the way it was anticipated but I for one am real glad we got Mark Collins and SJ Brown (I know SJ wasn’t new this year) but they were fantastic for us on D. Wish we could keep them another year. There were some others that also did pretty well but those two really stood out to me.

Relying on a conference commissioner that introduced us to Flosports does not invoke a lot of confidence in the caa's future.

100% agree with your post. All of the kids that are transferring in to Towson would be/are impact players at their respective schools. The landscape of top tier FCS has changed. The portal will now become an even bigger part of creating the depth needed to compete for a national championship. Easily the most depth that Towson has ever had. I expect this team to challenge for the National Championship.

We missed out on the playoffs thanks to that crooked AD from UNH that kept putting his team in the playoffs (for like 15 years), when they had no business being there because he had a seat on the selection committee (Marty Scarano). We pasted UNH like 66-35 on the final game of the season to end up with the same record as them, yet they got the bid. That LSU game was fantastic. I wouldn't trade it for the playoffs. We had the lead for a chunk of the game. We rushed for more yards than ANYONE did on LSU that entire season. We had 4 sacks vs. 0 for LSU. We played outstanding. Too bad we didn't get in the playoffs though, to your point, as that might have been our best team ever. If we had Enders the next season, I think we would have won it all. We were featured on 60 Minutes b/c of that game, we made some show like hard knocks for LSU, etc. That was so memorable.

This is like being stuck at the airport and watching your flight time and gate change 10 times.