Concordia football fashion show

I stopped by the office of Concordia football coach Terry Horan today and caught a glimpse of the Cobbers' brand-spanking new helmets.

Brace yourselves Cobber Nation: The sunflower gold is gone! According to the Concordia sports information office, Concordia was one of just two colleges in the country to use sunflower gold helmets (the other is Arizona State).

Here is a look at the old helmets:

The new lids will be "Notre Dame" gold with a maroon Chicago "C" in the middle. The white outline of the "C" has been eliminated. The facemask is dark maroon.

The gold color is similar to Boston College or ... well ... Notre Dame. The maroon also looks similar to BC.

Like this:

I pointed out to Horan that the new Cobber helmets look a little like the MInnesota Gophers from the mid 1990's. He wasn't too happy with that assesment. But this is what they looked like:

The Cobbers will no doubt look very sharp next season. Here is a look at the Cobbers' maroon home uniforms (imagine the gold helmets):

Any thoughts on the change?

Posted by: Heath Hotzler on 4/30/2008 at 4:13 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

From the desk of Damon Tomeo

The following is from Minnesota State University Moorhead football coach Damon Tomeo's recent alumni newsletter:

There were lots of positives taken from the last 4 weeks of work:

- We did not take a serious injury and left spring ball with 2 muscle pulls, this says wonders about our strength program and the teams ability to practice together without having to go full contact every rep

- Craig Kutz took some steps forward developing at the QB position, we feel that he has a great chance to be the man this fall but he is going to get pushed from incoming signee Tyler Wegner (Osh Kosh, WI)

- At offensive line, Ryan Chatterton (Kenosha, WI) emerged as not only the position leader but also a team leader, Nate Ostby (Fargo, ND) will be a solid starter for us, and Zach Tourangeau (Apache Junction, AZ) a redshirt freshmen, appears to be the anchor at left tackle and could be a 4 year starter.

- Jabari Taylor (Hollywood, FL) continues to pace the wide receivers and had an exceptional spring, Tyrone Small (Bellflower, CA) and Nick Scharpf (Horicon, WI), both played as true freshmen last season, showed great development and should make an impact this fall

- Lee Isaacson (Eden Prairie, MN) and Richard Doane (Arlington, MA) split time at tight end. Lee, a former Dragon Basketballer, and Rich, and former OL, had much to learn in their new roles but I think that they will both be able to give us something different and needed in the fall

- Carrying the ball, Enol Gilles (West Palm Beach, FL) and Curtis Bedgood (Bellflower, CA) are a dynamic one two punch and will be great for us this fall. Look to see them line up in the slot and other different alignments to create some mismatches for our wide receivers. Another shiny spot of spring was the development of redshirt freshmen Tommy Gochis (Glenview, IL), he has found himself a home in our full back position and is doing a fine job with his new role. Like tight end, we have found another tool to add to our offensive arsenal.

- The defensive line was thin this spring with only 4 guys healthy for our 3 man front. Redshirt freshmen Ben Condon (Maple Grove, MN) had a great spring and could be the starter at nose in the fall.

- Jon Miller (Goodridge, MN) and Bryce Leggins (West Liberty, IA) are back for one more fall and this spring was a good one for them to prepare. Jon led the conference in tackles last season and Bryce was a vote shy of being all conference, should be fun watching both come fall.

- The return of Josh Jones (Carson, CA) has added a spark to the secondary this spring. Dual, fifth year seniors, Eric Schaumburg (Mahnomen, MN) and Tyler Hagen (Moorhead, MN) had a great spring and will be exciting to watch in the fall.

- Kyle Wilcox (Anoka, MN) returns for his senior season handling the kicking duties. He finished spring well hitting a FG from 42 with a crosswind and is seeing a greater consistency in kicking off.

I had a talk with Isaacson (who is 6-foot-6, 275 pounds) last week in the halls of Nemzek, and he told me he is excited to make a contribution to the Dragon offense next season.

Isaacson says he is starting to get comfortable with passing routes, but he's been slow to get used to blocking.

Tomeo has hinted that the tight end and fullback will play a larger role in MSUM's spread offense next season because of the loss of star quarterback Dustin Long.

This should help ease the burden on likely new starting QB Craig Kutz.

Any questions?   

Posted by: Heath Hotzler on 4/29/2008 at 2:46 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

MSUM football coaches are staying

If you read my story in The Forum today about Minnesota State University Moorhead advertising openings for two football positions, you might be thinking: Here we go again with the Dragons coaching carousel.

Not so fast.

As I wrote in the story, MSUM is simply following state guidelines by posting the positions. Offensive coordinator Joel Beard and offensive line coach Ben Olson were emergency hires last year.

While MSUM officials can't legally say the process is just a formality, I can assure you that it is (this is where I tell you several sources have told me Beard and Olson aren't going anywhere).

Dragons coach Damon Tomeo handpicked these guys, and I know he has been very pleased with what they have done.

And here is the dead giveaway that the coaches are staying: The law states that MSUM is required to open and post ads for the positions to give other qualified applicants a chance for the job.

The university has placed ads in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and The Forum (for one day). They may have even thought of putting an ad in the student newspaper, but thought better of it (this is where I say this is from a "very reliable" source). On a side note: the student newspaper would have been a nice touch and totally keeping with the tongue-in-cheek, semi-offbeat nature of the MSUM football staff.

Anyway, no school advertises a coaching vacancy in the classified section of two newspapers. Schools typically use the NCAA News. MSUM did not post the job in the NCAA News.

So there you have it. There is nothing crazy going with the MSUM football team.

And, by the way, when you see the ads for the MSUM softball position (current coach Kristin Boyes was an emergency hire when Rhonda Denbow returned to Canada) in the coming weeks, don't be alarmed.

Boyes also isn't going anywhere.

Any questions?

Posted by: Heath Hotzler on 4/26/2008 at 12:59 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

To stay or not to stay (that is your question)

Standout Roseau High School junior goaltender Mike Lee has signed a tender to play with the Fargo Force next season.

It happens all the time with underclassmen who want to get a jump on their development.

Some play only a few games in junior hockey during their senior seasons, some go for an entire year and skip their final prep season.

Lee told me Thursday that his future coaches at St. Cloud State haven't factored into his decision. And Force coach Dean Blais has said that he would not try to prevent Lee from playing with the Rams next season.

As it stands right now, Lee will play the entire year with the Force. But Roseau officials are doing what ever it takes behind the scenes to make sure Lee can return and be a major part of another Rams Minnesota Class 2A title run.

What would you do? Would you leave for the USHL to further your development before you head off to Division I hockey? Or would you head back to high school for another chance at a state crown and for the chance to hang out with friends.

Remember, Lee is a top netminder with major talent. He allowed 0.75 goals per game during the Rams' title run in 2007. He was 27-2 with a 1.10 GAA last year.

Discuss. 

Roseau goaltender Mike Lee prepares to stop a shot during a game last season.

Posted by: Heath Hotzler on 4/25/2008 at 12:11 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

MSUM lands another local star

The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team has landed another local name with the signing of Moorhead guard Jordan Driscoll on Tuesday.

Driscoll, the Spuds' all-time leading scorer with 1,651 points, joins last year's locals Jake Driscoll (Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton) and Andrew VanHavermaet (Hawley). Jake and Jordan are cousins.

Jordan's dad, Jim, was a guard for the Dragons, and he is close with Jake  -- so the decision to choose MSUM was likely an easy one. He should be a good 3-point specialist off the bench early on, and then we'll see how things progress from there.

Anyway, with all the recognizable local names added to the Dragons roster recently the Dragons appear to be headed in a good direction.

However, fans should be cautious not to go overboard.

They were all solid prep players, and everybody knows their names. But the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference is a very tough NCAA Division II league with a lot of talent (Winona State has won two of the last three national titles and St. Cloud State, Minnesota State Mankato, Augustana and Minnesota Duluth will enter the league next year).

I'm curious about MSUM fans' expectations. Will these kids be stars? Role players? Somewhere in between? What are the expectations for the team?

Posted by: Heath Hotzler on 4/23/2008 at 12:38 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink