Leaderboard

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.

Getting back to the rings. Nothing wrong with critiquing why this program hasn't won anything in nearly 30 years until last season. Nothing wrong with saying the next step has to be winning the tournament. That's obvious. But they should be promoting the shit out of winning the regular season and hats off to PS for doing that on Twitter. Ring the hell out of it. That shouldn't necessarily be his job but somebody has to do it. And I get that we're an athletic department in flux with a new AD, who has to hire two senior associate ADs very shortly. Yet, promoting something that wins is the key. You can only do so much after a 4-7 football season and I like the fact that they have the open practice on Saturday night. And you should put Piggy out front of the promotions due to his years at Maryland, but again, RA hasn't named a starting QB, so there's that. Maybe when he's named starter (probably), they'll start using his name in promotional ads. There's also a few other things I'd be doing on the website and that's a thread for another time. But we all have the same goal. It does get tiresome at times when hearing the negativity (not talking about the cheesy comment by B-Lounge) in basketball. Especially now. We were kicked around for 10 years or so on CAA Zone and deservedly so in some cases because we had one of the shittiest programs in the nation in hoops and football was up-and-down like a rollercoaster, though mostly down. Everyone on here or most know what we went through as fans. That was tough as hell to take from aholes from programs that we used to respect. I would hope that PS keeps it up the Tweeting. It's a positive thing and something we need more from the athletic department. I hate to be the pied piper of Towson positivity, but I'm still trying to create a vibe when things are good in hoops. We had 15 straight seasons of losing and a conference record under 30%. It's been a long ride, but this present staff has knocked down a bunch of doors and has just one to go. It's my own fault that I haven't done enough on social media, especially Twitter to promote this site. I'll try and do a better job this season. Hopefully, football creates some kind of buzz. I don't want a medal. I can't say I love going to 6-8 off-season practices in football and hoops. Getting up early when I could use some extra sleep. I do it because I love this program and want to promote that shit out of it as best I can. I want people to know if the backup point guard is any good or if the freshmen can play or not. Somebody has to. Not going to get that from The Sun or any other publication or radio station. I do appreciate everyone who comes on here and gives their opinions. Sorry that I can be an ahole as well when it comes to dissenting ones. I think we're all passionate about it and that's a good thing. I really hope that this upcoming 2022-23 season will be a special one.

Tough call by Steve and kudos to Rob for a job well done in 13 years (I know the record was .500). Taking us to a place I'd never thought we get and that was Frisco. Unfortunately, the standards were set and we couldn't get close to reaching them after the 2013-14 season. Sure, there were a lot obstacles like Covid, some budgetary issues and a pretty weak donor base. But ultimately, the QB position wins or loses games. Other than Tom Flacco, since 2014 we started or played (off the top of my head), Tyrrell Pigrome, Scott Smith, Chris Ferguson, Nathan Kent, Morgan Mahalak, Connor Frazier, Ryan Stover, Ellis Knudson, Jeff Miller, Heath Dalgren and Vincent Amendola. I'm not going to take shots other than to say I wish him and his family good luck. The decision had to be made quickly either way and it was.

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.

Game Day!!!! 3:31pm tip here on the West Coast.. Old Man Stevens been busting my chops for those reports and I’m like hey Boss I gotta basketball game chat scheduled today with Matt, 2012, 2024, the TU Alum and likely TSU88, Blounge etc that I can’t miss. Going for 10 conference wins up in Long Island. He’s like.. “You still planning to take some days off the week of March 17th???? cause you know that is our busy time” I’m like this is literally like 34 years in the making and may never ever happen again.

We've done so well with me not being able to watch or listen to the game live that I think I'll do it again for the semifinal game too unless it rains here which is not in the forecast. Impressive effort by the freshmen to carry the day, especially Williamson. Big step up by Tarke to sort of jumpstart things in the 2nd half and get us rolling. The 3-pt defense since the 12:00 mark of the 2nd half vs W&M has been very impressive. That'll be ultra necessary against Charleston as they'll whip it around the perimeter like they did against us in the home game. Only way we're gonna beat them is if we keep up this same defensive effort and if we shoot like we did at their place. Charleston's that white whale that for the most part we haven't been able to take down in a big spot. We've proven they're beatable. Just have to play that same game from January. Oh, and that's another 20-win season. Of course, there will be those who will foolishly place asterisks on it and that's their agenda. Would you prefer the consistent 20-loss seasons from 1998-2011?

Matt, while I realize I do have an air of negativity regarding the coach and the program, I would like to thank you for your time, effort and tolerance. It makes a difference.

Gosh that win had to kill ya ! (“Act like you’ve been there before” ; nice quote on the live chat ; Captain Miserable) congrats to rest ; WHAT A WIN !!!

Are you sure about that? The same Charles you called Charmin a few weeks ago? Which is it, Dr. 2-Face Pessimist? If we could fire anyone, it would be you out of this fanbase.

Tualum & TuTigers2012; truly only happy - when they unhappy 🤦‍♂️. Great TEAM win on da road v a video game playa making crazy long ballz. Don’t look now “TeamT&T” (da malcontents) but yur “skerry ball” is 5-2 in da league. Here we F’King Go !!!!!

I just think it's refreshing and fascinating to see someone who has no prior/existing connection to Towson at the helm. Our previous 4 coaches were all Towson "lifers". Felt a bit high schoolish that each coach was someone with direct ties to the program.....felt a little bit like nepotism and a small-minded approach to hiring. Having an outsider, with bona fide success and credentials at other programs with no preconceived notions or bias towards the program is great. He's coming in looking at things with fresh eyes and is not jaded by any historical connection to the program. Will he succeed? Who knows. However, he's not beholden to doing things the "Towson" way, he gets to do things his way. With each passing day and with every little bit more info/content I see or read about him, I like this hire more & more. Can't wait to see the staff he puts together.

Spring Practice Football Update #1 Out there today in the cold weather in the morning at the new lower practice fields. Only issue I had was that my tape recorder on my phone froze up, so I didn't get RA's comments down. However, from what I remember, I asked about pleasant surprises and he pointed out freshman receiver Isaiah Perkins (6-2, 205), who is wearing one of Kobe Young's number (19). The other was S Evan Rutkowski (6-2, 200), Ryan's kid brother who has moved to safety. It's difficult to get a gage on a team with so many players coming in the summer. You look at the list below and many of the transfers are not here. Ralph Pagie Jr., a center from Merrimack, was the only player from that list below who was here. So O-line was a mess with no Jean Germain (injury), Cole Cheripko (off-season surgery) and then LG Alex Desire was hurt in the scrimmage and carted off, though apparently not serious (probably an ankle). So they had Paige at center, Mathias Adjinbrauk (6-3, 325) at left tackle, Roma Warheit at right tackle and big sophomore Ricky Santiago Espinal (6-6, 345) at right guard. I would expect that Josh Roberts, the Lafayette transfer, moves right into left tackle. Will have at least two more offensive line transfers. If Paige does well, they could move Cheripko to guard and at least you have experience with Warheit, Desire, and Germain at the other spots, though I assume they get a right tackle. While that's a very important part as is running back, nothing matters until they find a quarterback. Tyler Johnston (UAB transfer) showed some promise and made one really bad throw over the middle, but his ability to run in the spread makes him very valuable. As I've said many times. with his injury history, I assume they would add another veteran QB. But while last season, Chris Ferguson may or may not have been the best quarterback to do the job, I think if Johnston gets the job, freshmen Scott Smith and Nathan Kent will be much better options. Smith was very impressive in the scrimmage with his touch and at 6-4, 210, he showed surprising ability to run. But I was impressed last summer in very few reps as fourth or fifth quarterback. Today he was in the mix in the top three with Amendola and Kent. I threw some really tight throws including one that was dropped about 40 yards downfield (I believe by a walk-on). But if our O-line was fine and Johnston was injured, I'd be fine with him leading the offense even though I do prefer a dual-threat guy. But Smith was excellent today. Johnston was solid and his throws aren't as tight as Smith, but he usually gets it there and he runs like Enders with a bit of speed and a lot of power. Was hoping to see dual-threat freshman QB Richon Holmes (6-1, 205), but he was not out there. I assume he redshirts unless he has an incredible summer. At running back, Folley impressed but then was nicked up late. It's hard not to like D'Ago Hunter, but he can't last at running back at 5-6, 160 and is so good as a return man. Didn't see a lot of Curtis Murray, the Maine transfers, who was hurt last season. Hoping they can add two more backs. Definitely need a prime back like a Jerry Howard and a speedster. If the season started today, I would say Folley (if healthy) and Devin Matthews are the top two backs. At receiver, Jabari Allen made an incredible catch in the end zone and he looks healthy. It's just a shame he was injured in Flacco's last season and then the QB issues didn''t help last year. Darian Street, Perkins, Daniel Thompson, Matthew Akuchie (FAU transfer) are solid. We could probably use another burner or two. What we really need is a tight end. Malik Jackson (Maryland) and Devin Gill (Ventura College) will arrive in the summer. On defense, I think the line will be ok. RA mentioned that Jesus Gibbs was in great shape after his Achilles' tendon surgery and should be ready for summer camp. He was a huge loss in the middle of the season last year. Mason Cholewa was also playing with all sorts of injuries and it probably didn't help that he played in the spring with JMU. With those guys gone, Vinnie Shaffer was back at nose guard and had an impressive pick-six from about 50 yards. Tramar Reece (6-4, 270) was playing OLB with Oly Okombi, Shaffer and Bryce Lauer, who is a stout 280 now at 6-3. There should be a lot of depth there, but who is going to rush the passer? Another late addition will be Makye Smith (6-1, 240) from Stony Brook. He has five sacks last season and I would expect him to play more on the edge. We are supposed to get a transfer in VMI sophomore-to-be Kandler Martin (6-2, 250), who had 35 tackles, 5 TFLs and one sack as a freshman. Linebacker is a position I expect at least one transfer to replace Christian Dixon, though RA seems to really like Mason Woods (6-0, 235), a freshman who saw very little time last season, but was a 3* coming out of Gar-Field in Virginia. Ryan Kearney and Sam Alsheimer are also in the mix in the middle. I didn't see Daniel Benjamin, the speedy freshman from the fall. Jamal Gay (6-0, 210) moved from safety to the SAM spot to replace Keyvone Bruton, Time will tell if that move works out. But it makes some sense since that position has basically become a bandit where you need guys that can cover in 3 and 4 WR sets. At CB, Makai Self, the Penn State transfer and Charles Peoples along with Jirhe Love were the main guys along with DJ Partt. Again, I see at least one transfer thee. Not sure I want Peoples as my No. 1 corner. Robert Topps impressed at safety. That's another spot where I see a transfer who can play right away will come in. https://towsontigers.com/news/2022/2/2/towson-football-adds-12-on-national-signing-day.aspx Devin Gill – Tight End – 6-4, 240 – Sophomore – Annandale, Va./Ventura College From the Northern Virginia area comes Gill after a year at Ventura College in California as a tight end. Previous to Ventura and Fork Union, Gill was a football and basketball standout at Annandale High, earning 2018 All-Gunston District Second Team at each quarterback and utility. Dumkele Idehen – Linebacker – 6-0, 215 – Freshman – Fort Mill, S.C./Indian Land H.S. The 2021 Lancaster County (S.C.) Player of the Year will suit up for Towson after earning 166 tackles for Indian Land High this past season, averaging 18.4 tackles a contest. He played in the North-South All-Star game at linebacker in Myrtle Beach, earning All-South Carolina recognition. He also was a track standout as one of the best in the 200-meter and 400-meter dash in the area. Malik Jackson – Tight End – 6-3, 230 – Redshirt Sophomore – Laurel, Md./University of Maryland Jackson becomes the second University of Maryland tight end to transfer to Towson in the last two years, following Robert Schwob. Jackson played in seven games from 2019-21 for the Terrapins after a high school career at Meade where he was a three-star recruit and No. 1 tight end in the state of Maryland by 247Sports. Tyler Johnston III – Quarterback – 6-2, 215 – Graduate Student – Spanish Fort, Ala./University of Alabama-Birmingham After leading UAB to a pair of Conference USA championships, Johnson III will play his final collegiate year with the Tigers. A two-year starting quarterback for the Blazers, Johnston III played in 37 collegiate games, earning 4,837 career passing yards, 37 passing touchdowns and 666 rushing yards. A three-star recruit by 247Sports.com out of Spanish Fort High, he led the Toros to a pair of state titles and a perfect 35-0 record, being a top-50-ranked dual-threat QB in the country. Ethan MacNair – Outside Linebacker – 6-0, 200 – Freshman – Somerville, N.J./Somerville H.S. From the Garden State comes MacNair, the Somerville High standout who led the Pioneers to a Group 3 state playoff semifinal and eight victories in 2021. Named one of the top linebackers in the state by NJ.com, MacNair earned 2021 First Team All-Area honors at running back, including having a 300-yard rushing game against St. Joseph. Tommy Nelson – Running Back – 5-7, 175 – Freshman – Eldersburg, Md./Liberty H.S. Central Maryland's own Nelson heads east to Baltimore County to suit up for the Black & Gold. After being a two-time all-county honoree in football and track, Nelson led Liberty High to the Maryland 2A-1A playoffs, including a 71-yard rushing touchdown against Boonsboro. He was selected to compete in the 2021 Baltimore Touchdown Club All-Star Game, being the Metro Team MVP, and joins fellow Liberty grad Nathan Kent. RJ Chapman – Cornerback – Freshman – 6-0, 180 – Clinton, Md. – Rock Creek Christian Academy Roderick "RJ" Chapman comes to Towson as one of the top defensive backs from Prince George's County. Formerly competing with the Pick Six Academy, Chapman helped Rock Creek to a 7-1 record and a No. 6-ranking in the DMV by the Washington Post this past season, including a key pick-six in a victory over McDowell. He is also the cousin of Brandon Coleman, former New Orleans Saints. Rishon Holmes – Quarterback – Freshman – 6-1, 195 – Baltimore, Md. – Milford Mill Academy Charm City's own Rishon Holmes will stay in Baltimore for the Tigers. Holmes is a three-star recruit and the No. 32-ranked prospect from the state of Maryland by 247Sports, serving as a quarterback, cornerback and returner for Milford Mill Academy. He earned All-Baltimore County First Team in the spring of 2021 by Prep RedZone after leading the Millers to a 5-0 record, also being named to the Baltimore Touchdown Club Super 22 in 2020. Joden Nelson – Offensive Line – Freshman – 6-4, 280 – York, Pa. – William Penn-York H.S. Joden Nelson takes the short trek down I-83 from York to suit up for the Tigers. Ranked a three-star recruit and top-50 prospect in the state of Pennsylvania by 247Sports, Nelson earned 2021 GameTime PA YAIAA All-Star and first team all-county status, leading York to a District 3 Class 6A title game as a starting lineman. He is also part of Accountability For Life, the mentorship and community service program at the school. Makye Smith – Defensive Line – Graduate Student – 6-1, 240 – Upper Marlboro, Md. – Stony Brook University Smith will return to his home state as a graduate transfer from Stony Brook University. A defensive lineman with the Seawolves from 2018-21, Smith amassed 90 total tackles, including 7.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss, ranking in the top-10 in the CAA in sacks in 2021 with five. Previous to Stony Brook, Smith was a Washington Post All-Metro player at Frederick Douglass High as a team captain. Elijah Tarlton – Defensive End – Freshman – 6-3, 235 – Chantilly, Va. – Myrtle Beach Collegiate A three-sport standout in high school in football, track and lacrosse Ralph Paige Jr. – Offensive Line – 6-3, 305 – Redshirt Sophomore – Washington, D.C./Merrimack College Paige Jr. returns to the DMV after playing in 10 games at offensive line the past two seasons for Merrimack College. Previous to Merrimack, Paige Jr. earned 2019 Second Team All-WCAC as a standout player at Bishop McNamara. He joins former teammate JaVaughn Faunteroy on the Tigers. Evan Roberts – Offensive Line – 6-2, 285 – Freshman – North East, Md./Myrtle Beach Collegiate Following a year at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Post-Graduate Academy, Cecil County native Roberts comes west to Towson to continue his career in the home state. A football, wrestling and track standout at North East High, he was a Hawaii Tiki Bowl invitee in 2020 plus was a regional champion shot putter in track. Josh Roberts – Offensive Line – 6-7, 325 – Graduate Student – Virginia Beach, Va./Lafayette College After serving as Lafayette's starting left tackle in 2021, Roberts will finish his collegiate career at Towson. He played at Lafayette from 2018-21, playing in 19 games between left and right tackle. The Virginia Beach-native played high school ball at Tallwood, being named 2017 All-Beach District Second Team at offensive line. Jordan Sampson – Defensive Line – 6-4, 230 – Freshman – Severn, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti Sampson joins the Towson ranks along with fellow St. Vincent Pallotti alumni Connor Maloney, Isaiah Perkins and Brockman Wallace. Sampson served on the defensive line for Pallotti, helping the Panthers win five games during the 2021 campaign. Blake White – Outside Linebacker – 6-2, 205 – Freshman – Cumberland, Md./Fort Hill H.S. Following in path of fellow Fort Hill alum Luke Hamilton, White comes to Towson after leading the Sentinels to the Maryland 1A state title. The 2021 Cumberland Times-News Player of the Year finished last year with 103 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 1,353 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns, also being named an all-state and all-area honoree. Riley Williams – Punter – 6-3, 210 – Sophomore – Victoria, Australia/Australian Catholic University Williams is the first-ever Towson football student-athlete from Australia. He has competed with ProKick Australia, which trains punters in the country for American colleges, and spent three years at Australian Catholic University. Dan Volpe – Offensive Line – Freshman – 6-6, 305 – Colts Neck, N.J. – Colts Neck H.S. Named a top-10 offensive lineman in the state of New Jersey by NJ.com, Dan Volpe anchored the line for Colts Neck High, leading the Cougars to the 2021 New Jersey South Group IV quarterfinal and the 2020 Shore Conference regular season title. He is a two-time All-Shore, all-division and all-district selection, including First Team All-Division this past season.

https://caasports.com/news/2022/3/4/mens-basketball-hofstras-aaron-estrada-voted-caa-player-of-the-year-five-programs-recognized-with-major-awards.aspx Timberlake and Holden make first team. CT makes second team. CT and Holden make All-Defensive team.

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."

I’m mostly bummed because TU leadership has been largely reactionary, passive and unimaginative in the modern collegiate sports landscape. Rather than taking the bull by the horns and actively shop our program around for a better opportunity our President, AD, admin, etc. seemingly sit on their hands and wait for things to happen around them. While making a move to SoCon might not be the sexiest play to make, it might be the only play left to make and I happen to think it would be a significantly better group of (football) schools to be associated with than the patchwork remnants of the CAA. Who knows if that’s even an option but if I were Steve I’d be on a plane to wherever their league offices are and be groveling for entry into SoCon.

Tough crowd. I don't think celebrating getting our two best players back means we aren't skeptical of Pat and what looms in the CAAT. I believe we have all made our collective stance on that clear. Just remember that multiple things can be true at once! You can be happy with the squad we have and displeased with the coach. Pumped that we will have a strong regular season, but worried about March, etc. If none of it matters anyway, just check out and we'll see you in 10 months or so to gather the pitchforks. I'll continue to ride the turbulent wave that is Towson basketball and just enjoy the ride for what it is.

Mid Majors were feeders for big programs even before NIL but now it’s just ridiculous. I’m not necessarily anti NIL, but gone are the days of a VCU, George Mason and Butler making tournament runs. I don’t blame the players for cashing in now since most of them will never sniff the NBA but I do miss old school college basketball when players would play all 4 years at the same school.

I think I wrote a similar headline last season and I believe, I'm tired of it. But I try to think about what can we do better instead of the obvious because that's not happening. So, I still I think I recap the season at some point after people calm down, but I might point out some things that may been bought up about what's missing and others that may have not been. 1)Guard play. and passing Those who watched UNCW/Delaware and the other games not with Towoson involved saw this. We see it over and over. We finally got a really good lead guard in Dylan Williamson (6-1, 180), but even he has flaws due to his lack of size. But let's look at some of the top lead guards in the CAA. *Jean Anguren, Hofstra (6-3, 190), *Cruz Davis, Hofstra (6-3, 170) *CJ Fulton, Charleston (6-3, 190) leads league in assists with 6.4/Derrin Boyd (6-3, 215) *Izaiah Pasha, Delaware (6-4, 190), 3.9 apg. Who was fantastic on Tuesday night against UNCW *Donovan Newby, UNVW (6-1, 185) (3.5apg) Newby looks like he's 200. Built like a tank. *Isiaah Mbeng, W&M, (6-2, 170), 3.4apg *Rashad King, NE (6-6, 204) 3.3 apg *Madison Durr, Monmouth (6-5, 190), 3.2 apg You get the point. All these guards were not only bigger than DWill aside from Mbeng, but also dished out more assists. Was that DWill's fault? Not necessarily. Sometimes he threw perfect passes and guys either missed bunnies or wide open shots. The fact that he was a 2nd-team All-Conference player and was used often in the two-man game with a big man who was not a threat to score, is pretty amazing. If he returns next season, how good would DWill be if he had a big lead guard like Izaiah Pasha next to him? He was brilliant against UNCW with 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Nothing against CMay or Tarke, but there's a reason why this team is near the bottom of the CAA every year in assists. Some of that is poor perimeter shooting. This year, we were last with 10.64 per game and it showed in both games when we went iso and one-on-one in way too many situations. 2)I said this on the chat throughout the season and in the rare losses and some close wins. This team was flawed and not just at the 5 spot (I'll get to that later) In a lot of ways, PS did his best coaching job before the tournament. I don't care if they played an easy schedule after the first two games, they still won 16 of 18 games and beat the best team in the league UNCW (beat Delaware twice, talented and underachieving Drexel 2x, etc.). 3)Going16-2 in the regular season was great, but we had to come back in too many games. It didn't feel like your typical top seed. Going on a 30-1 run against W&M was incredible, but we were way down in that one to win by 15. We had to come back to beat Hampton at the end of the season. We played pretty well against Campbell on the road and I thought that was one of the better performances of the year, considering it was in that bandbox after a tough loss at Elon. This was not a dominant team by any means and I think the Timberlake/Cam teams along with the Benimon teams were better. They had dominant rebounders and better defensive squads. But the results were all the same. But this team also didn;t have a JB or a CT in the middle to control the paint. 4)I've been about full-court pressure since the 80s of Georgetown and the 90s of Maryland. Not saying we had the perfect team to press but my favorite game of the season was watching us beat NE 75-65 on Jan. 27 on the road. Got them out of their comfort zone. We forced 17 turnovers and had 10 steals led by five from Tarke, who was used to playing in that manner at Coppin State. Not sure why we stopped doing that especially in the CAAT. Lowery and Tarke are made for pressing, trapping and uptempo basketball. 5)Centers. I said it in preseason. Who is our five? Can Embeya get better? Can MJ's body hold up? Can Samb be serviceable? I can't blame Messiah for trying. Dude was maybe 6-5 and 235, with a bad shoulder, knees, Diabetes, ertc. He's not even a 25-minute player. Embeya got better defensively, but he was afraid to shoot. Samb was well Samb. He didn't really hurt them much late in the season. Going small was the right thing against Delaware but they probably should have started Lowery at the 5. Or Sulaiman. Not wait until late in the game. Act don't react. Delaware was not the same Delaware we played in the regular season. Maybe our guys never realized it. Then again, we loved to get behind in games and come back all year, At some point, it was going to bite us in the ass and it did. I'm not every going to jump off the bandwagon. I never did when Jazz, Hunt and PK ran the show (into the ground) and I won't know. Frustrated as shit, no doubt, but I like talk about resolutions and not just grievances. Believe me, if they won, we'd have more people here, more people donating and half the team would have left and we would still be freakin' happy. Instead of doing a depth chart, I'll just assume that TT will leave and hope that DWill stays. But with Barton, Womack, and Holmes coming in and Ndefo, Coleman and Cole back from redshirts (I assume), here's what we need (assume that Tarke, Hicks, Sulaiman and Jones are all gone). PG DWill, Barton SG Cole SF May/Lowery PF/Wing Womack, Ndefo C Embeya, Coleman, Samb, Holmes (rs) This leaves two players and while I'd love to have another big man, we're desperate for two quality guards, hopefully with some size though Barton (6-3, 210?) is pretty big. Not sure if he'll be ready yet to play in the rotation. He was basically a 4 in high school because they had small guards but was All-WCAC. Womack will be a stud at some point. Might just play the 5 but it's always tough as a freshman. But he'll 100% play right away. Just don't know how long a guy like that will be around so better take advantage and get the cash ready. The center position will still be a question mark unless they can play Womack at 6-7, 230 ready to play, but too many questions. Still desperately need better passers and shooters assuming Tejada is gone. They are the definition of "fine" right now. Need two impact guys at lead guard and wing. Need more than fine, but at least expectations will be mid at best if DWill returns. If not, they'll have 3 spots and they better spend 75% of that NIL/SAR money on transfers. Delaware was a bit of fluke but they showed the formula on offense. Shooters everywhere. Big lead guard. Didn't need 10 players. UNCW a dominant rebounding team with two quality big, neither being great, but you don't need great in this league at the 5. Just good. A threat. Charleston was Charleston but they had the guards, the bigs, etc. Coaching wasn't quite as good and maybe chemistry was off after so many losses. I'd still love to have a down season like Charleston. We know they'll be back because they have Lazar Djokovic. A Xavier transfer who may not be Ante' but he's a force. Jealous of UNCW for winning and Delaware for getting there. I know that having a strong regular season is not enough. Some changes HAVE to be made. Personnel-wise, schematically to fit the talent on both ends of the floor. I'm not saying 40 minutes of hell next season like Arkansas in the 90s is necessary, but Ndefo, Embeya, May, Womack and Lowery are all athletic and their talents should be used in some sort of trap and pressure. It worked against NE and at the end of the Delaware game. Changes are not about helping us go 16-2 in the regular season again and who cares? That probably won't happen next season or ever again. It's about getting a top 4 seed (unless your' Del/Sbrook) and playing your best. Doing whatever it f-ing takes to cut down the nets in March, not February. Take chances.

Annual thank you to Mat for the continued coverage of this team that helps me stay engaged. Same to all of the regular posters, whose words I regularly read and silently praise or argue with. Even when I disagree, I'm glad that people are talking Towson. With that in mind, I am wary of the cancelling of season tickets, not attending games, etc. I understand and have pointed out myself that the time for change is well overdue and that it's hard to support a team when we all know what's waiting in March. However, I do think it's important to try and build off of the fan support and momentum from the end of the regular season, especially for the current students. According to the numbers from the CAA, we were 4th in home attendance. Say what you will about the schools drawing less than us, but getting 2,600 people out to games, on average, is a far cry from the days when I was in school. While we all agree that March and getting to the Dance (maybe just a Conference Final?) are the true bars for success for a mid-major, we can care about more than one thing at a time. Part of success as a program to me is people actually giving a shit about Towson. I care so deeply about students supporting these teams and carrying that into life beyond college. I want my fellow alumni to follow our teams and have some passion. So many of the people I went to school with could not care less about anything Towson related. Didn't when we were students, don't now. Having a team that consistently wins, independent of the staff or the potentially meaningless nature of regular season games or lack of March success or whatever else, can help build a culture. Seeing the arena mostly full and loud for those last few games made me genuinely happy. To have that consistently at Towson would be incredible. Please do not think this is me saying I want things to stay the same or watch more Skerryball - I do not. I am not one of these mysterious, fervent Skerry supports lurking in the shadows that 2012 always brings up. Far from it. But I do want to support the student athletes and to have our home court be a great place to watch a game. More people who care means more voices, more pressure for the AD/school to actually make meaningful decisions. Will it work? Probably not, and I get that. However, abandoning the team, especially when we know Skerry likely isn't going anywhere for two more years, is just going to set the program back to the darkest of days. I completely understand why this might be an unpopular take and the perspective that basketball as it currently exists doesn't demand time, money, or attention. I just wanted to share some thoughts. Appreciate you all, Hail Towson.

Instead of everyone making posts, why don't we cut and paste from last year. Would be a real time saver

We play who they put on our schedule. If we had lost, the board (all 10 or so of us) would implode. After years of frustration with this program, I am generally a glass half empty guy when it comes to TU MBB. But after 12 W’s in a row, I believe we are tied with Akron for the longest current winning streak in ALL of D1 basketball (350+ teams). We are also 1 of only I believe 15 teams in all of D1 who has 1 or fewer conference losses. None of this Does this guarantee success in DC in a couple weeks? Of course not, but let’s enjoy this historic (for us) ride while it lasts, rather then putting qualifiers on it

Introducing Towson Fans 2.0. This update fixes all of our old issues: - New users can signup without getting stuck in limbo. - New chat box coming soon - Embed videos directly in posts - Over 50 new features with this new update - We will possibly update once again in July. -Less spam signups and posts We have an opportunity for growth. A lot of people don’t know about this website. Let’s get them in here!

There's a very fine line between a win and a loss some nights and Dylan Williamson showed that to us tonight. 2nd to last possession, they're slow getting into whatever offense they wanted to run with the shot clock running out, he loses the ball and JMU gets a basket to cut it to 2. Then we play clockball again, which we should, but run a nothing set and Dylan is forced to chuck it and it happens to go in. 9 1/2 times out of 10, that doesn't go our way and we're facepalming after another terrible loss. It went our way tonight. Then Dylan has the icing on the cake -- pun intended -- with the two free throws to close it out. This was a pretty gritty win against a team that looked very similar to us in how they played at both ends of the floor. This game also showed that Hicks is all the way back from his concussion issues from last year and a contribution like that is going to go a long way for the rest of the offense. If we can transition to a situation where Williamson is more of the alpha shooter while Hicks runs the point, I think the offense gets more efficient. But...we really need May and Tejada to find their games and have Sulaiman and Messiah do their best to contribute on the inside. We need to put one of those electric fence collars on Tarke whenever he thinks about shooting from the outside. Drive all you want and distribute and set up others but goodness, no more of the outside stuff. Twice in that game, he hoisted up 3's immediately after coming down the floor and they led to run-out buckets at the other end. You're supposed to be a senior. Think like one. One other thing that struck me was how big this win could and should be for future attendance the rest of the semester. That place looked hyped and a win like that in a good atmosphere is the best advertisement for getting people to come out to the next one and build that atmosphere even more.

My prediction of a 41-24 Towson win drew some skepticism from some of my fellow Tigers here. I wasn’t too far off. Just felt like the Towson squad we saw against UC was not a fluke but a truer indication of what this team is capable of offensively. Granted, that team was led by Davis. However, after what I saw from Brown against Villanova, I’m all in on that dude. I feel like he has better instincts and composure. There are still some challenging games left but none of them are “improbable” wins. I still wouldn’t be shocked if we ran the table the rest of the way.

When most of us think of NDSU, we think of losing 35-7 in Frisco. I’m old enough to remember playing them in Fargo in the 1983 D-II playoffs. We had a phenomenal team that year, went 10-1, including our first ever win over Delaware. But our offense was pass-oriented and the weather in Fargo was bitterly cold (no Fargodome back then). The Bison were run heavy and controlled the time of possession, winning 24-17, then went on to win the first of their many championships. What still irks me is that we were higher ranked at season’s end and should have hosted that game. Temps here that day were in the 50s, which would have greatly benefited our passing offense. I’m convinced we would have won had the game been played at Minnegan Stadium and TSU would have been national champs.

Who or what has been the cause of the beef between us and Loyola? The Hounds released their schedule and they've got Lancaster Bible on there as their 2nd game of the season. I get that there wouldn't be a home-and-home series in season with them but doing a constant home-and-home with them would at least check one home game box for each side every other year. It's also kind of absurd that two schools that close in proximity don't play each other anymore.

So, I’m driving yesterday when I get a phone call. I recognized the prefix (704) as being associated with TU, so I decide to answer. And who’s on the other end of the line but Charles Thompson, calling to thank me for being a season ticket holder, as part of a campaign where players are calling season ticket holders. We had a brief conversation and I must say he was extremely articulate and personable, and I came away thinking what an excellent ambassador he is not just for the team, but the university as well. I have no doubt he will be a success in whatever endeavors he pursues once he leaves TU

C’mon man, that’s weak. We just went on the road, against a ranked team, in front of the largest crowd in their history, spotted them a 17-point lead, and then ripped their hearts out with a stunning 34-0 run, and this snarky response is the best you can do? Would have been better if you just exercised your right to remain silent 🤫

The back and forth of this game reminded me a little of that wild Coastal Carolina OT win years and years ago. Kudos to the kids for never giving up on it even though they kept allowing scores. Bad news though...this just gave UNH the tiebreaker for a playoff bid over us if it comes down to that. IYKYK

I still think it’s too early to proclaim Shinnick a bad hire. Things weren’t always rosy with Gordy and Rob and there were some mind boggling losses with them as well. I’m one of those that pretty much wrote this season off before it began. Need I remind you that Ambrose went 3-19 in his first 2 seasons.

It’s almost that time again for the Tigers of the volleyball variety, who were unanimously picked to win the CAA for a 5th consecutive season. If you are a casual supporter of the team without much volleyball knowledge, I’ll give you a four-word rundown: you should be excited. The Tigers return basically all of their best players from a team that went 29-2 last year, including the two best attackers in the conference, Outside Hitter Victoria Barrett and Opposite Nina Cajic. All of the key players that they did lose have clear replacements: Fay Bakidimou’s graduation will be mitigated by the arrival of Julia Lenik, a highly-touted prospect from Poland, while losing Lydia Wiers in the middle clears the way for Erin Brothers to step in, who had to sit on the bench all of last season despite being good enough to start for any other team in the conference. Sarah Jordan, who made the all-rookie team last season, returns to start at setter again this year, while Middle Hitter Aayinde Smith, Opposite Irbe Lazda, and Libero Rachel Hess all have 2 years of experience in the starting lineup. Of the other new faces, the most interesting one is not a new face at all, but rather an eyebrow-raising transfer: Opposite Zyare Abdul-Rahim, who spent the last 4 seasons battling against Towson for Hofstra, has chosen to utilize her Covid year to transfer home to Baltimore, to play for the team that originally passed on her, and her old team’s biggest rival. It’s just another in a long line of events sure to make Towson and Hofstra hate each other even more than they already did. As for the Tigers’ competition, Delaware was picked to finish second in the CAA, and they do look the part. They too are returning almost their entire starting lineup, including 2022 POTY Lani Mason. Last year’s runners-up will be tough and experienced, but still don’t look to be a significant challenge to the ultra-talented Tigers. Hofstra was picked 3rd, and will also be at least as strong as they were last year. Overall, the CAA will likely take a step forward from 2022, as many key players are returning, and the addition of a solid program in Campbell also strengthens the league. Even so, the Tigers appear head-and-shoulders above the rest.

Dude c’mon. Today’s not the day

I’ve been covering games for decades and Jake is one of the best Towerlight writers in recent memory, maybe going back to the late 90s, early 2000s.

The second half was maybe the most Towson way to lose. Have the lead and momentum, come out flat and choke it away, and then claw back to give us hope just to have our hearts completely broken at the end. Plenty of missed opportunities and head scratching "offense" throughout the second half especially. I never like to complain too much about refs, but they were bad last night. Calls were not consistent on both ends. I'm not going to pretend that's why we lost though. Despite some seeing it as blasphemous to say anything positive about this program or these players, I'll miss the Occasionally Big 3. They were inconsistent and frustrating at times, but when they were on it was a ton of fun to watch. I thought they had something special, and I suppose they did at times, but we just couldn't get over the hump. It's going to be hard to look back and feel anything besides disappointment about the last two years because of how these teams underperformed in March. I'm not going to blame things 100% on Pat (he doesn't miss the FTs, make guys chuck up insanely bad shots, forget how to rebound, etc.), but he's the common denominator here. I'm glad that we aren't a consistent bottom feeder anymore (not asking for a 20 win banner or parade, nor is anyone else - relax) and that we all have ever-growing expectations for this program. That said, it feels like we're stuck in the mud. Good enough to hover around 20 wins and be competitive during the regular season. And then, March. I agree with the sentiment that Dr. Steve has a chance here to make a statement about the future of the program. Is where we are good enough? Or do we want more? Here's hoping we hit the transfer portal lotto and don't have a lost season next year.

I actually think this is all happening at the right time. I am not as down on Ambrose as many on this board, but the writing for me has probably been on the wall since we lost to Elon and missed the playoffs in Flacco's last year in 2019. All the COVID stuff made it hard to do anything in a fair way, and frankly I don't think we would have been prepared enough to get a good outcome out of a search process. I appreciate everything Ambrose has done and while you all want to equate all his success to Terrance West and say Ambrose got lucky, that was a badass offensive line that West was running behind. Ambrose was a big part of putting that line and team together. I was in Baton Rouge when we actually physically hung with LSU for a half and that was a pretty amazing thing to watch. I also think Rob deserves some credit for getting Flacco here, although I don't think we were nearly as successful at that time as we should have been. I love having an alum as a coach, and I always appreciated that Ambrose shows his love and pride for Towson in a landscape dominated by the Ravens and Terps. As for the bad, I always felt like we weren't very good on special teams, had some dumb penalties, bad clock management, have been very hit or miss on QB transfers, didn't capitalize on run to the national title game, and have not developed a system where our players have developed well (although the transfer portal has thrown that out the window). Right now, this program does not have an identity at all (as evidenced with all of the transfers that aren't amount to much colletively) and we need to have one in a league that feels like it is there for the taking if we can just get back on track as a program. There were a lot of highs with Rob, but this program is having more bad moments than good ones recently. I have always been against the trigger happy fire-the-coach crowd mainly because I didn't think think AD we had in place would do a great job finding a replacement. I feel like now that we gone out and hired what I consider a quality AD I have more confidence that we are in the right space to hire new football coach. There is a lot of season left and I will be rooting for Rob to turn this ship around, but I think it is pretty evident a change is needed at this point.

On Monday afternoon, I was able to speak with new AD Steve Eigenbrot for about an hour at the Towson. Eigenbrot had only been on the job for about 3 1/2 months and has had to hire three new coaches (WBB, SWIM, WTrack). He also is about to embark on his first football season after spending 12 years at an SEC school in Columbia, S.C. What he brought from South Carolina "I would say that based on where TU is right now, and my background having worked in the external side of the shop and sport administrator, two of those opportunities I had that I can bring my experiences from SC and change where we look at in terms of handling things. The external part getting some synergies. We have a number of positions that are open and we are going to need a couple of more bodies which will be important to our future. Sponsorships sales, ticket sales and development. How are they working together and making sure they are the best version of TU and collaborating on campus. I had a chance to hire three coaches this spring. My experience at South Carolina and was able to spend time on search committees. The challenge was trying to figure it out. Leaning on people here. Hiring coach Harper..." My fourth day on the job, Temple's AD called me and said she's (Coach Richardson) on the top of his list. Two days later she was hired. Credit it to her, she made the position much more attractive. We used the same search firm that hired me. Leaning on Dan (Crowley) and Tricia (Turley Brandenburg)." On using South Carolina to get more people in the seats "There are a lot of opportunities here. Nick Saban is complaining about students not coming to the Alabama games. There are challenges across the board with live sport in this day and age. It was part of my life at South Carolina for 12 years. Great ideas at South Carolina maybe don't play at Towson. Trying to get all the smart people in the room that have tried things. What worked and what didn't work? The student population changed or...I haven't been to a Towson football game yet. I got hired on a Tuesday. We played at Wilmington. Won by 24 points on the road. Before the game, I was near some Towson donors. They were like, "We have to make SECU Arena like this." Wilmington is a different market, but what kinds of experiences do kids want in terms of sports." On getting students to games (giving gifts) "The Delaware re-start game. We were giving Calzones to get the kids to games. I'm not beyond for sure." On the CAA "I'm bullish on it. Getting used to the way we interacted with the SEC was different the way we interacted with the CAA. A lot of history and ebbs and flows of the football program. Our profile is one of the better ones in that conference. It's still an attractive place to be. We have the opportunity to be very successful moving on." On Flo Sports and the CAA "I think that it's easy to knock on FLO. The landscape has changed and what are the alternatives. To be able to have CBS Sports and be on National TV it's extremely valuable. We're still trying to figure out the TV deal moving forward. If we were in the future where Peacock, Hulu and other streaming services were interested in competing against Flo, that I'd be surprised to find that out. ESPN, as powerful as they are, and easy as it is to log in to ESPN+, there are production standards, you are not going to be on National TV with any regularity. What are the resources provided? Flo is easy to knock, but the money is real. How many players are there: Fox Sports, Peacock? Or is it just two options? We have new members that have experienced the other alternatives. The fact that we have an opportunity to be on CBS is top of theist. How can you repackage to get linear opportunities?" ADs agree that regardless of who the partners will be, that we need to invest more in our broadcasts. Our arena helps with that (production). Baseball does one camera shoots while the rest of the conference does two. The standard moving forward, regardless of who your partner is, this is what you have to do." On FCS and the future "Just had the conversation with someone that had some tenure in our league that move on to a different role. Being with a Group of Five, with the landscape, the teams that left FCS to compete, I'm not saying this sarcastically, hope for their sake that the way that FBS football thing plays out over the next couple of years that they don't get send down to this level. There are probably some sleepless nights. I'm pretty comfortable where we are. FCS football is well-aligned with the values of being in an institution of higher education. I like where we're at. I don't want to speak ill of others seeking the football thing. It's a complicated and expensive formula. That world is shifting really fast." There are a lot of Power Five schools that aren't making a profit on football. You have to find value in the institutional prestige that you are competing at the highest level." On Marketing for football "We have to develop better marketing plans. We have to have more resources that are involved in trying to promote. We're a little bit short on the external side. We've not realized the synergies that are possible. COVID probably had something to do with it. Investing time, energy, effort and money on staff and/or advertising. Whether it's students and faculty, in our community or alums, all we are crafting plans for. Trying to do a better job. We have to try and do a better job of getting former student-athletes that we want them to be here. You're going to have a short conversation about pro sports in South Carolina. This area is complicated, it's crowded, there's traffic and there's lots of competition for the entertainment dollar. If they are not coming, are we inviting them?" "Part of our history, commuter school, teacher's college. They are becoming less true today. You spend four years on campus and intercollegiate athletics is more a part of the average students' experience. It's something we need to work towards. Osler is a challenge. The University's Master Plan has a bridge over Osler, which will certainly help. Us promoting the program to our students that live here will be very important." Merge campus "At Wilmington, they have a good program. Not all just geography. That kid falls out of his dorm room and lands at Trask Coliseum. It's a nice walk. Long term, it would be nice to have an easier path getting here. " Practice facility on promotion "When I came here, I came here for a study abroad meeting, it's changed a ton. You come here and I met with Pat's recruits and talked to the parents. They are blown away with what they see. They come here and they think they'll see a scene from The Wire. They drive up here and green trees. Uptown is beautiful. We can't afford to be in the same place that we are. We've had some success. We all want more success. Our storytelling. We have to get better at storytelling. I'm very bullish on investment there. Facilities are nice. From a weight room to a training room to mental health. We need to invest and figure ou ways to find more for our kids." On Field House, etc. "Our academic center was moved to the Field House. There are some funds that came from the state and fundraising success behind it. Further advancement to the academic center and field house. Master Plan around the Towson Center. A four-phased approach. We have a lot of square footage. Racquetball courts. Trying to figure out the best for moving forward to fulfill the needs to our student-athletes. It will be 30-40 million price tag. We have to figure out how to make it more functional. One of the things I've been impressed with is that there are no shortage of dreams on South campus of how this could become a better version of how this it today. Don't know that those dreams are necessarily rooted in practical methodology for delivering these dreams. How are you getting these things funded? Doing public and private partnerships with the facility work at my old institution. Is there something else that we can do to get heartbeats on South campus so that this becomes more of a part of the local community and a reason for people in the greater Towson area to come to campus and maybe they stay at the basketball game because they want to a local restaurant? What that is and what it looks like. We have more work to do. We know that there will be more work for the Field House. The Towson Center services a lot of our student-athletes. Trying to figure out what it needs to be." Indoor practice facility "It snows in Maryland. Our lacrosse teams are outside in the winter. They know they are not going to get a lot of practice that day. Trying to figure out viable solutions there. We're studying it right now.Having a meeting about it tomorrow." There's no shortage of great dreams about South campus. Put a hotel there. Three hospitals, a restaurant. Putting a dorm would help. Auburn Drive is a sleepy campus road. Trying to get more concerts there. We do a great job with graduations. Just saw Women's World Lacrosse Tournament. We have a great infrastructure. Drive revenue and pay the bill." On weight room in Field House "Our weight room staff gets in a 5am and trains people through 6pm. Our teams can't get into the single weight room that we have and can't always get in. That's high on the list that we need to prioritize. The Towson Center is another possibility for extra space. What are you going to do in the short term\ that our student-athletes have a better experience from a S&C perspective? That can be multiple millions of dollars. Are you raising the money? We have kids that need to have a better experience. There's the short term and then the long term. I went to some lacrosse games over the spring. We'll keep our eyes on things. There's no shortage of quality ideas. At South Carolina, we were in the process of laying the plan on a public/private project that was part of the football stadium. I need some time to get some wear on the tire and figure out the lay of the land around here." Approach to NIL "One of the things that I'm thankful for is that it's a different part of the conversation. Coming from South Carolina, it wasn't really a part of the recruiting conversations. A year later, it was all the rage. I think that what that means in the mid-major space is something that is being fleshed out. It's harder to raise money. There are not as many people that are quite as passionate. In the high major world, there are collectives to raise money. NCAA has changed some of that. There are schools in our conference that have collective. Not sure that that's going to be part of our future. Feel like the volume has been turned down on NIL. But that's going to change in the next couple of months. I don't know if I have the answer after 3.5 months that I have an answer of what the future what NIL will look like in this athletic's dept. Our state law goes into effect next summer (Alston Image Likeness). You are walking this awkward tightrope. We're not too far away from launching an NIL website that will be a better place for somebody that wants to engage one of our student athlete's to go to and find them. We will support them. The world change and you have to adapt. Over the next year, we're going to watch other changes happen in our landscape. Alston lawsuit. Federal Supreme Court ruled that you can award $5,980 per student-athlete. Starting in 2023-24 can award funds in the CAA. Academic benefit. Some schools tie it to academic outcomes. Getting money in their pocket providing they are meeting their academic marks. Not just by scoring 20 points." https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/ncaa-v-alston-the-beginning-of-the-end-9351737/#:~:text=In its unanimous 9-0,related expenses) on antitrust grounds. On Cost of Attendance "Where we are right now, be careful what you say or put it in ink. Our conference is stable of how we are attacking COA. The Alston piece in our conference. Delaware is the only one that does COF, but is not planning on doing the Alston funds. Money going to student-athletes. Most are not going to attack COA for 2022-23 academic year, but never say never. It's complicated. Each institution doing it at as they seek fit it a bit wonky. I get it. There's a fair amount of integrity to it. " UNderfunded Olympic sports Funding sports at a higher level. Making us more competitive in our conference. You have plenty of P5 institutions that don't fund all their sports. Yes, one of the pieces to that puzzle is what do we need to help our sport become more successful. How can you use money in a better way. It would be great to get more scholarships with some of our sports. Ways to be more efficient with your money. And how to fund more scholarships for our student-athletes." More alumni-engagement "Re-examining our marketing. We need to do a better job of welcoming our former student-athletes and offering them tickets. We need to show some more want to. Hired three new coaches. What's been done here and what we need to do better. Those former student-athletes might not want to find the number of the new coach. Marketing perspective. That's my background. Trying to examine what we're doing. Be more engaged with the non-student athletes. Buy tickets. Show up." On Scheduling "In football, we need to play a guaranteed game in football. Unless we can figure out another scenario. In 2026, we have the opportunity to play two guaranteed games, but we're not married to that. The basketball thing is a little bit more challenging. We've worked on trying to put together a tough schedule. Making sure they play a schedule that's appropriate for the team and fans. Really good returning roster. Worked at South Carolina basketball, making some calls to help Pat (Skerry). What does that do for you moving forward. He has to have a schedule where his team has their legs in December. The challenges are real. You have to figure out a schedule that you fell comfortable with. Two spots left in basketball. Can't get people to return phone calls. On seeing a name team come to SECU "Coming this year, will be tough. So many of the teams have their schedules done. There are more games out there to get. Can we be patient? We got Pitt late last year in August." On playing local schools "I haven't talked to Loyola or UMBC. I let Pat steer those conversations. Calling former SEC colleagues. Plenty of that was done. Some calls were more effective than others." Playing Maryland next season in football and in 2025. 2024 is not complete yet. Would like to play Maryland in basketball. A double-header. Get them up to Baltimore. Celebrate Maryland's two largest schools."

I remember the effort we gave back when we were down in Baton Rouge. Oh how we’ve fallen.

While everybody else is stressing out over football, I will go ahead and pour my thoughts out here. I just need to decompress a bit, and this space is as good as any. As you all either know or will soon be finding out, Towson defeated #7 Pitt on the road this evening, 3-1 (25-12, 25-23, 16-25, 25-18). It was, without question, the best volleyball match Towson has ever played. Pitt may not be quite as good as they were last year (when they made the Final Four), but make no mistake: They are unquestionably a top 20 team at minimum, and they are the best team Towson has ever beaten. They already have wins this season over Hawaii, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, and BYU. But not Towson. And we didn't just beat them, either. We smoked them. They didn't even belong on the floor with us. It looked like we were the team that had just been to the Final Four. Yes, they played an awful match. I don't care. We made them play that way. At just about every single position, Pitt is 3-4 inches taller than us. Our tallest player would be one of their shorter starters. Yet, right from the jump we played like we were the bigger team. We had 9 blocks in the first set alone. That is an unfathomable number for a team like Towson. Occasionally, a powerhouse like Nebraska will get like 12 blocks in a set against a bad mid-major team. Towson grabbing 9 in a set against Pitt? Unheard of. Over the course of the whole match, we out-blocked them 16-3, the final one coming on match point. We just looked, felt, and played big. Victoria Barrett is listed at 5'9". She's probably not even that tall. And yet, of all the offensive players on the floor, it was she who left her mark on the match. She attacked the ball 25 times this match. She scored on 16 of those, and only made 3 errors. 64% of the time that Barrett attacked the ball, it ended up on the floor on Pitt's side. For an outside hitter, that is crazy. Outside hitters usually have low hitting percentages (between 15-30%), as they are often put in disadvantages situations where scoring is highly improbable. Not Victoria, not tonight. It was a career-defining performance on a program-defining night, on the back of a win earlier today against American that we would have considered program-defining 5 years ago. Of course, the whole season won't be like this. This Towson team is good, but we're not THAT good. We're not a top 10 team. We will not make the Final Four, we will probably not make the Sweet 16, and just making the tournament again would constitute a successful season for us. For now, this win doesn't mean all that much. The American match was more indicative of how our season will be (3 tight and nervy sets against a strong mid-major). But maybe, just maybe, it'll make a couple more people in the volleyball world say "oh yeah, I hear they're pretty good" when somebody brings up Towson. Maybe it'll make just a few more people show up for home games this year. Maybe it'll makes us get just one more good recruit that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. It feels like the culmination of something. But maybe, just maybe, it's the start of something instead. What a day to be a Tiger.

I thought we had the best team coming into the tournament and then watched us live against Northeastern. We all wanted more shooters. We got them. But we also could have used a Brian Fobbs. I don't know if we'll ever win a conference title or get to a final in my lifetime, but I do like the nucleus of people returning and the two incoming freshmen. I like the approach of getting experienced mid-majors instead of projects from high major schools who rarely played. Keep that same formula by getting another experienced point guard, a wing who can create, and an athletic and skilled big. As far as I know, there are no ships available with Gray and Holland (ugh) gone. Of course, Nolan has to make a decision or can just move on to support his family. Rizzuto has a year left, but it was a rough one for him with a knee injury that I assume he'll take care of in the offseason. He's already played four full seasons. Does he want to play one more? Then you have the players on the bench that never really played: Gill, Coleman, Jones and Biekeu. Jones hasn't played at all in two seasons. The writing is on the wall there. Need more athleticism and a point guard that can push the ball more. I liked the fact that we used the press this season for the first time in certain situations. It basically no effect on Delaware tonight. That's where you need length and athleticism. No knock on our freshmen coming in. But I think it's very tough to enter a rotation where you have experience and likely transfers who will play right away. I do like Christian May as a piece who is a team player who can shoot and has some athleticism. Dylan Williamson is a 6-0 scoring guard. Not sure if he can play the point right away, but he can shoot it. The future is still bright guys. I don't know about the CAA finals and getting there or winning it. I do think we're on the right track to breaking down that wall.

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

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!