AtlantaTiger

Time will tell, but on initial review of credentials and experience, I think I really like this hire. As I stated in earlier posts on this topic, I thought it would be a wise idea to get someone from a southern/SEC school where there is a greater appreciation and urgency around the football programs. Plus, this guy is a "local" of sorts with his ties to PA & UMD. Hopefully he's a great salesman and an innovative marketing mind. Color me impressed. Go Tigers!

Thought some of you might find this funny. Last week Atlanta sports talk station, 680 The Fan, had on Jeff Schultz who covers UGA football for The Athletic. In discussing the transfer portal and how the Georgia Bulldogs might be impacted by it he somehow decided to make a random, and not so flattering, reference to "Towson State". Needless to say, I almost drove off the road. Of all the small, FCS, mid-major programs that exist between Atlanta and Baltimore that he could have mocked, "Towson State" was the one that popped into his head at that very moment?? Not to mention, he and the on-air folks had a good chuckle about it. No respect. Let's get UGA on our schedule!! 😉 m_40830_1880679117_1641998088367_1641998137821__c184071d-9a7a-45bb-ac58-ce9a2a61e540.mp3

Love my Towson Tigers and am extremely proud of their recent performances. However, as a well-documented skeptic (critic) of Coach Skerry, the conference tourney is all that matters. He needs to win the conference tourney this year. No excuses, no almosts, no maybes and no buts.....WIN. THE. TOURNAMENT. He's had too many years and too many chances. GO TIGERS!!

I think we need to look further south for the next AD. Pluck an assistant AD from an SEC or Sunbelt school who is ready to take the next step in the career as the top AD. We need someone who comes from a culture in which football is truly treated as the lifeblood of the athletic department, with men's hoops being a close second.

My first opportunity to watch this year's squad. Clearly there's an improved level of talent, athleticism and team chemistry up and down the roster. Unfortunately, it's still a Pat Skerry led team. A good number of games we win this season will be because we'll have the superior talent on the floor, not because we have superior coaching. In how many games will we have the coaching advantage? Winning IN SPITE of your coaching and not BECAUSE of your coaching is a problem. (This applies to Towson football too.) This was a game we should have won. Pitt was ripe for the picking. I'm actually NOT laying this loss at the feet of Pat. If our team hits a handful more free throws, if they hit a couple more of their insane number of 3's, we win the game. However, it does beg the question, how come Pat Skerry teams are historically woeful at the free throw line? How come launching ill-advised 3s is a Pat Skerry-approved strategy? In what's a pretty underwhelming non-conference schedule this would have been the marquee win and we couldn't close the deal. I think this team will provide a lot of fun moments over the course of the season but Pat Skerry has more than proved himself to be a subpar HC at this level. I have no faith in him.

....and lethargic.....did I say lethargic?

Can't wait to see more of Skerry's slow, plodding, methodical, disjointed offense this season!!!

I believe the success of a program boils down to its culture. North Dakota State is a machine like no other. They are a machine because of the unbelievable culture they have established. There is a NDSU "way" of doing things. It is instilled in each coach and player year after year after year. The players are completely bought into the program. They are extremely disciplined on the field, everyone knowing exactly what their job/role is and a fierce commitment and pride in doing their job well. I'm guessing NDSU is one of the least penalized teams in FCS over the last decade. They have DISCIPLINE & PRIDE and it is the fabric of their culture. Towson football (and athletics in general) is completely devoid of culture. What is our hallmark or calling-card style of play? How would anyone define Towson football's culture or identity? We don't have one. The players seem to be more concerned with which uniform combination they'll be wearing since it's all about looking the part of a big program.....not actually performing like one. Which leads me to my next rant. How can we expect our players to know how to win when the coaches themselves haven't won anything? We don't exactly have a who's-who of coaches in this program. Who is the most accomplished coach on this staff? Who's won anything of significance in their previous coaching gigs? Coaching pedigree is critical for establishing credibility with recruits and current players. Should we expect that the coaching staff can teach/coach our players to win when they haven't experienced winning/success themselves? Go Tigers.

Our football team suffers from the same problem as our basketball team....the head coaches are NOT head coaching material. Probably exceptional as assistants but in over their heads as head coaches at this level. Both are DIII level caliber head coaches......their recruiting, team prep, player development and in-game coaching decisions substantiate my claim.

What’s sad is that in his mind he thinks he’s doing an amazing job.

I'm truly shocked at how non-explosive Towson's offense looked. Looked like they were moving in slow motion. I don't know why I assumed there was much more speed on this team than there apparently is. No urgency or creativity in the play-calling. Soft defense. Also, just curious about Elorm Lumor's status on the team? As someone who also keeps a close eye on Rutgers football I know that he was a very solid player for the Scarlet Knights' defense. Has he been getting any time for Towson? Time for new leadership for Towson football. Go Tigers!

I haven't been in the loop the last few weeks, what happened to Jawon Pass? Did I miss him on your depth chart? Is he no longer joining the program?

I love seeing a fellow Bergen County, small-school kid heading to Towson! Lukkas Londono looks like a sneaky-good player.

Mark Collins, DB from South Dakota.

QB Jawon Pass transferring from Louisville to Towson!!(?)

How much more Pat Skerry must we endure??? Picking up where I left off at the end of last season.....the sample size is plenty big to know that he's reached his ceiling with this program. Time. For. A. Change.

I was pulling for him to select Texas. Would have been fun to see what he could do in the Big 12 at a truly elite school. Best of luck to him regardless!

That hasn't seemed to be an issue for programs like Marshall, Western Kentucky and Southern Miss that play in similarly sized, rural, markets as JMU. Conference USA could very well be a landing spot.

I would argue that JMU brings value despite its very limited media worth. The future of college athletics will be as much of a "land grab" as it will be an "arms race". As there will almost be a seismic shift in conference alignments and memberships, commissioners and ADs will want to add the best/most competitive schools that they possibly can. Does JMU bring a ton of eyeballs? No. Does JMU field high-caliber football on a fairly regular basis? Yes. North Dakota State could more than hold its own in FBS. I would wager they'll be making the FBS jump in the not too distant future as well. Is Fargo a top media market? Not at all. Would conferences love to have NDST's pedigree in among their schools? Absolutely.

Of course they wouldn't be considered for a Power 5 conference.....I don't think they have that expectation at all. Conference USA could be a very reasonable destination for a program like JMU. I doubt Middle Tenn or ODU are outdrawing JMU's crowds by very much.

If that number is true (7 TOTAL freshmen who have stayed through their senior year in Skerry's 9 years) that might be the most damning indictment against Skerry. I'm stunned by that statistic, absolutely stunned. That's shameful. This program has a revolving door and if we had a competent or interested Athletic Director it would be addressed.

Ah yes, that's what's been missing these past 9 years, grad transfers and jucos. That's why Pat Skerry hasn't been able to crack the code on how to win the CAA, he hasn't had grad transfers or jucos. What is it about Pat Skerry that makes you believe that all he needs to win the conference tournament are grad transfers and jucos? Because that's got to what it's all about going into year TEN of this coaching regime. No coach in the CAA will ever have a perfect roster, it's about doing more with less.....it's about getting your team to overachieve, it's about COACHING UP your players. Pat does NOT do any of that. But hey, let's let him have an indefinite amount of time to figure this thing out.....he'll get it eventually.

You're familiar with the old saying about the blind squirrel aren't you?

This is a very astute and important perspective, TSU88, that needs to be focused on. You are spot-on with your comment. Transfers happen at ALL schools, however, it is very telling about the Towson program specifically. Whereas other programs and other coaches seem to navigate and overcome the constant state of change, Pat Skerry seems to be in this endless cycle of trying to plug holes. In his desperation to get enough guys to fill out the roster, he seems to take anyone with pulse. This is why is seems silly to me to even try to forecast or project how Towson teams are going to fair from one year to the next since they change so dramatically in terms of who's on the roster. ZERO CONSISTENCY. Highly unlikely that this is the last defection from the team. Someone else will almost certainly transfer, dropout or quit. I almost get the sense that when a decent player comes to Towson and experiences some degree of success they start to look around and wonder why they are even at Towson to begin with......they begin to believe that they belong at more competitive/elite ("buttoned-up") programs. This program needs NEW LEADERSHIP!!!