mat1992

https://goheels.com/sports/football/roster/vincent-amendola/16338

We've had probably dozens of parents over the years who have blogged on the board and many more that just watch the boards. Some anonymously, some not. I'm talking about going back to the CAAZone years, when Lawrence Hamm's father (R.I.P.), used to post as well as others, that we'll probably never see again on the TowsonFans. And many others that I knew who they were (or didn't at the time), but kept their identities quiet. There's nothing wrong with praising your son, hoping he can start and become a star. If you're related, who cares? Though I can see a bit of a critique of RA that you might not want out there if you are parent. Most of us just want the program to do well and we really don't care who starts. If it's AP, great. If Kobe is the guy, more power to him. Personally, I think it could possibly be somebody from outside the program. Whatever it takes to win. Find the best QB, best RB, etc.

If this was a normal year, we would have five to six freshman commits by now. And we may have because as RP said, some have not committed on social media yet. But this is not a normal year and with 19 seniors (they probably know who is coming back and who is not), if there is no spring, we don't need that many recruits. Posting the commitment does nothing to hurt the kid or school. I think we just explained in several previous posts that the MAC schools and other programs have poached these kids in the past once they committed to Towson. I really don't think it matters either way, but they've been burned in the past. Personally, I would like to see us have 7-8 commits by now and a few transfers on social media, but I'm at the point where I'd rather play football first. Then think about recruiting later. The shame of this whole damn mess is that if the CAA decided to play football this season (and we probably could have done it without most students on campus), we would have had a chance to have our best team since 2012. Experienced quarterback, a lot of quality transfers on defense from Power Five schools that were healthy, a talented Temple transfer at FS, an All-American RB, a loaded WR corps and a monster OL with a 330-pound RT who missed last season due to a torn ACL. Unfortunately, even if we play in the spring, that QB and RB are gone. Who knows how anybody will play after not seriously playing in a year-and-a-half. And with a brand new QB.

JMU can pull in an entire class of 3* and some 4* guys. Delaware used to be able to recruit almost as well as JMU and they still get really good classes, based on their history. We're lucky if we get two or three 3* guys as freshmen. But all those schools also grab numerous transfers every year. JMU does it at quarterback ever two years. They did it with Vad Lee from Georgia Tech and DiNucci from Pitt. They get guys, usually athletic spread type of quarterbacks, that fit their system. I have an issue that some of the transfer quarterbacks were all over the place in terms of style. We should be adding similar-type of quarterbacks like Flacco or even Grant Enders, every season or every two seasons. I think it's tough to win at this level without a quarterback that can run some. Amendola is not Flacco in terms of speed and athleticism, but does appear to have some Enders in him. I really don't care how we get there, but Towson needs to make the playoffs in 2020 or 2021. If you play in the spring, you have 19 seniors (most are redshirts or have graduated) that will use up their eligibility. I believe all are on scholarship, though one or two might be partials. If you don't play, a lot of those guys won't be coming back, because they probably have jobs lined up. But some might. Then it puts more emphasis on making the playoffs with an eight-game schedule. If we play, we will have nearly a brand new team next season, especially on the offensive line, where we have four senior starters. The only returning guy would be center Cole Cheripko and in fact, we'd likely have to go with some talented by inexperienced replacements at every other position. That's a case where you have to bring in 2-3 juco/FBS transfers at a minimum just to add bodies. You can't just recruit five freshmen OL and have them as your depth.

It's a shame for undrafted free agents that they won't get a chance to show their skills in a preseason game or scrimmage with another team. In a normal year, you would see more undrafted guys make the regular roster. Hopefully Shane gets a chance to make the practice squad. Same with Darius Victor. He should have at least received a camp invite.

Just watched his highlights. I think you can compare him to Knudson or going back, Jay Amer, in terms of size and arm strength. But I think he puts a better touch on the ball than both of those guys. Puts more air on those deep balls. Some of the shorter passes, seems like he has to throw it a bit lower. Might sail them a bit. But the touch, the size, and his ability to move in the pocket are impressive. He looks a little faster on film than 4.9, but maybe that's the competition, but he runs better than I expected. It looks he had some designed runs from the spread. I can see a little bit of Grant Enders, in terms of his ability to make people miss with his shiftiness and or just stiff-arm them away. I doubt that he can run past a lot of guys at the FCS level. At least not many DBs or LBs in our league. But I do like him a lot. I've said now that without Shane Simpson, our receivers might be our strength. Jabari Allen has a chance to be special if he can stay healthy. Darian Street, Charles Murphy, Ty Granger, Daniel Thompson, Ryan Rutkowski and Caleb Smith all are 6-1 or taller with size and strength. Murphy, if he gains some weight, could be a vertical threat. It's nice to see a QB to add some competition in the spring. He's here and he'll be for whatever type of Spring Football we have, be it practice or some games.

He's 6-2, 240, 315 bench in HS, 400+ pound squat. Probably stronger now. Can run some, though not Flacco at 4.9 40. Did run for 479 yards as a senior in HS. Dude has a cannon. https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/Article/Former-UNC-Walk-On-QB-Vincent-Amendola-Enters-Transfer-Portal-150247426/amp/ https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3795628/5c09b1dc041dff0564969dc1

I love Shane L., but his lack of size was always going to be an issue. I hope he and Flacco (if released) can get an opportunity in the XFL in the spring. I heard they might be doing a bubble-type of deal if there is no vax by them.

I hope one of those guys excel, but I don't see elite potential from either. I think the best offensive player we have right now is WR Jabari Allen. Our receivers look strong, but not sure about the QB. If the QB was a sure thing, you wouldn't need an elite RB. But both could be solid backs. If we do have a season, Ambrose will be on the hunt for another RB in the spring

https://bustingbrackets.com/2020/08/26/towson-basketball-zane-martin-reunion-makes-tigers-2020-21-caa-frontrunner/

Love this

Guessing you are related to AP or are a friend or friend of the family. That's fine and I respect that. I'm not here to play favorites. Just call it as I see it and want the best players on the field. I don't think any of the backs on the roster, not including freshmen, have shown "elite" potential. But let's hope there is a camp and somebody comes out as the top guy. Maybe they just split the carries. Who knows. Even if they have no games and just a spring practice, it will be important to find a running back for fall 2021 and a qb. As for quarterback, I assume it will be Jeff Miller. Not sure if they bring in another quarterback or if Ryan Stover will be in the mix, since he has the most experience. Jeff is a big quarterback who can make all the throws, but will need time to throw. We haven't had a pure dropback passer in a long time.

We lost Fobbs, Betrand, Tunstall, Sanders and we have seven new players on the floor counting Zane. And Solly played just a couple of games last season. We basically have eight new guys playing with Thompson, Gibson, Dottin and Gray. Chemistry was going to be an issue whether Zane was coming or not. Now if you are talking about off-the-court chemistry. We had great off-the-court chemistry last season save for one player. We lost in the second round of the CAA's. Had a nice year overall. Not sure that mattered because our frontcourt gave us very little offensive production, our two guard went M.I.A. the last seven games and our freshman point guard was good, but struggled defensively when it mattered. I'd like to think you get 13 choir boys who are all on the Dean's List and they can sing Kumbaya on bus trips. But talent wins with decent chemistry. If Zane can be a leader, get others involved and put up 15ppg instead of 19.7 and dish out four assists in 30mpgg (instead of 3.1 in 24mpg), with 1.5 spg, we'll be ok. Maybe as a 21-year old, he's a different person than he was as a 19-year old. I'm sure most of us were not super mature at that age and we made mistakes. His mistake might cost him a pro career somewhere, or he can rebound, put up gaudy numbers and help this team win. As I said before, what did he have other than Morsell in 2017-18 on offense (sorry EK)? Gibson, Allen, Holland can all stroke it. Maybe Mims as well. Mims, Jones and Timberlake are outstanding-to-phenomenal athletes. He also didn't have that in 2017-18. He also has a 7-foot center to correct some defensive mistakes made not just by him, but others. I'll use the cliche' again, that beggars can't be choosers. It's not like there are a bunch of former 20ppg scorers out there looking to head to TU. Again, there are also circumstances that basically made it a no-brainer not to take him.

A good point, but I assume the Pac-12 is going to attempt to play in the spring and we're still up in the air. He's also a West Coast guy, so I assume he stays out there.

And to be fair, he did not get the waiver yet, so I didn’t put him in the projected lineups.

Fobbs committed in mid-March or early March of 2018. Zane left officially in mid-April. The fact that we were going after Fobbs probably had nothing to do with Zane leaving and I assume we were recruiting him way before that. He was a 3 and was supposed to replace Morsell.

None of the players here were playing when Zane last played in 2017-18. Look at that talent. Jordan McNeill, Dennis Tunstall, EK, Brian Starr, Alex Thomas. Other than Mike Morsell, that was not a loaded offensive team and he had a bit of a disappointing senior season. Gorham appeared to be miserable most of the season, got to start late and put up some big numbers. Brian Starr, now playing overseas, actually averaged more minutes. But Zane had more assists because he had the ball in his hands a lot. We can talk about the negatives, the lack of defense and clutch play or the fact that he let this program down by transferring. He thought he could go pro and wound up in New Mexico. But you know what? We missed his 19.8 points per game in 2018-19, when all we had was Fobbs to put the ball in the basket. Maybe we don't get Nick Timberlake if Zane doesn't leave. Nick still has three years left and has some raw talent. https://static.towsontigers.com/custompages/MBB/17-18/teamcume.htm Zane asked to come back. There wasn't a thought in my mind that this would happen when he decided to leave New Mexico, but circumstances change. Things evolve. Maybe coaches change their thinking from two years ago. As I said, this was a timing thing and there are other issues that I can't get too specific that don't involve Zane. In 31 years covering the program, I don't believe I've ever seen this in the revenue sports I've covered. A player transfers, not to be seen again and then comes back. And Zane, unlike others who have left the program in the last decade, was not shall we say, nudged off. It's a damn shame because this kid could have been one of the all-time leading scorers, if not the all-time scorer at Towson had he stayed. If you had the chance to get a potential first-team All-CAA player (a second-team All-CAA sophomore), when you already lost another second-team All-CAA player, would you do it? Of course. It's not as if this was a definite No. 1 team in the CAA without him? They had potential, no doubt. What was the missing ingredient? A proven scorer at both wing positions. Maybe Holland was that guy, but he averaged around 13ppg in just nine games. He was injured most of the season. Timberlake, Dottin, Gibson and Allen are not big scorers on paper. Chris, I know you've been around almost as long as I have and you probably felt some shame that a Philly kid would leave for greener pastures. I think that was something that had to be done. It's a risk, no doubt. This could blow up and not end well. Or ZM could just decide to try and go out on top. Shoot better from 3, get to the cup and the line. Play better defense and play with better shooters in Gibson, Allen, Holland, and hopefully Mims or Gray. Teams won't be able to slack off of him quite as much with better perimeter shooting. He'll able to drive left as he normally does or drive and dish. That would take pressure off of Gibson as the primary ballhandler. With Fobbs, he was going to the basket and looking to score. At least Zane has shown he can also get people involved. Looking at his New Mexico stats, he only played 24.5 minutes per game, compared to 30 at Towson. Averaged 3.1 assists per game, but just 2.9 rebounds. He actually led the team with 41 steals and had just 25 with Towson as a sophomore, so maybe he was actually attempting to play more D or they were pressing more. Not sure of what the Lobos were playing.

Again, he doesn’t really have the physical tools. He has experience and works hard. They got a long look at him last season. He was fine, but Thaenrat was better.

I don’t know about the professional part, but any coach that loses a 20-point scorer to another mid-major is not happy about that said player. I think Zane was humbled a bit at New Mexico and the timing was right.