[ZachTheZip]

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/in...knows_ther.html

Plenty of room for incoming transfers and late signees with only 65 scholarship players (equal to an FCS team).

[johnnyzip84]

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/in...knows_ther.html

Plenty of room for incoming transfers and late signees with only 65 scholarship players (equal to an FCS team).

Of particular interest to me is the following quote from Coach Bowden:

"We do feel we'll have three or four more guys by May or June; junior college guys that will be eligible, sixth-year players out of Division I schools, guys like that [who] need a home. We're definitely looking at that. We're looking at the immediate needs of our team. We will be scouring the country."

[Keener'92]

How many of the kind of guys we are looking for become available at this stage of the game? Haven't most of these type of players already been secured by other teams? Also, how many scholarships do we have to give? I realize we are 20 schollys short, but you can only give 25 a year and I think we signed 21. Doesn't that mean only 4 more slots are even available? Am I thinking right?

[InTheZone]

You get 25 "initials" a year... that covers HS and JUCO signees. Transfers from 4 year institutions don't count as "initials", and you can bring in as many of those on scholarship as you can fit under the 85 limit. A few years ago that wouldn't have been a big help, but since the NCAA changed the transfer rules for college graduates, it really changed the game. A lot of players at BCS programs will be graduating in May, ending their 4th year of college, with still a year of eligibility left. UA should be a prime destination for many of those guys looking to end their college careers with some playing time.

[Keener'92]

Thanks for clearing that up, ITZ!

[Dave in Green]

You get 25 "initials" a year... that covers HS and JUCO signees. Transfers from 4 year institutions don't count as "initials", and you can bring in as many of those on scholarship as you can fit under the 85 limit. A few years ago that wouldn't have been a big help, but since the NCAA changed the transfer rules for college graduates, it really changed the game. A lot of players at BCS programs will be graduating in May, ending their 4th year of college, with still a year of eligibility left. UA should be a prime destination for many of those guys looking to end their college careers with some playing time.

Good info. This is another area where Coach Bowden brings an advantage to UA. Most of the big-name coaches are at the top football programs which are loaded with talent and wouldn't have a lot of PT available for transfers. It's the weaker programs which generally have little-known coaches that tend to offer the most opportunity for transfers to earn immediate PT. UA has both a big-name coach to attract transfers and lots of immediate playing opportunities for the right talent. Having Coach Amato as defensive coordinator also adds to the big-name coach attraction, especially for defensive player transfers. This is going to be interesting to track.

[Captain Kangaroo]

The score, with 13 days remaining in the spring:

George Thomas 28
Elton Alexander 1

[NewZipsFan]

Good info. This is another area where Coach Bowden brings an advantage to UA. Most of the big-name coaches are at the top football programs which are loaded with talent and wouldn't have a lot of PT available for transfers. It's the weaker programs which generally have little-known coaches that tend to offer the most opportunity for transfers to earn immediate PT. UA has both a big-name coach to attract transfers and lots of immediate playing opportunities for the right talent. Having Coach Amato as defensive coordinator also adds to the big-name coach attraction, especially for defensive player transfers. This is going to be interesting to track.

You are exactly right. Take a look at what Coach Bowden did at North Alabama for the past three seasons... Whether people liked it or not, he brought in a lot of Division 1A transfers - many of them with degrees and one year of eligibility left. Guys from BCS Schools that for any number of reasons, weren't getting a lot of playing time, and wanted to play more. Reasons may have been a change of coaching staff, injury previous seasons, team's needing to get to that 85 number and wanting to play younger/"their" players, etc...

Coach Bowden had guys like that from FSU, UF, UM, North Carolina, NC State, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Navy, Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Auburn, Alabama, USF...... His connections/friends in the coaching community give him a unique advantage in these types of situations. There is probably a coach on the staff of almost every team in the country that has either played for, played with, coached with, or coached for A Coach Bowden.

[NewZipsFan]

The score, with 13 days remaining in the spring:

George Thomas 28
Elton Alexander 1

Especially since one of the pictures they used has Zach at QB... Not only did he switch to WR over a week ago, but he separated his shoulder. Take some new pics!!!

[LZip]

Whatever happened to that Commack guy from FSU coming here?

[Dr Z]

Whatever happened to that Commack guy from FSU coming here?

Not on the roster.

April 5th Orlando Sentinal article: Avis Commack’s felony theft charge has been reduced to a misdemeanor, but he transferred to Akron after receiving his diploma.


Good question for George.

[Class of 82]

How many of the kind of guys we are looking for become available at this stage of the game? Haven't most of these type of players already been secured by other teams? Also, how many scholarships do we have to give? I realize we are 20 schollys short, but you can only give 25 a year and I think we signed 21. Doesn't that mean only 4 more slots are even available? Am I thinking right?

If I'm not mistaken, the scholarships of players who have voluntarily left the university are available to give, complicated only by the number of years left on those particular slots and any limits on how many new additions you can make each year.

Junior-college players who were NCAA qualifiers out of high school can transfer after only one year at the JC level and play right away... so long as they earned the minimum grades and transferable credit hours during that one year (24 transferable credits with a 2.0). Most of the JC's who signed with D-1 schools in February played two years at the JC level. There will be some good... and probably a few very good... 1-year players who didn't sign with anyone in February who will decide to transfer this summer, especially if a D-1 coach comes a calling. Maybe (more like definitely) a little riskier, but I'm pretty sure those are the kind of guys Bowden is looking at. The key, though, is that they have to have been NCAA qualifiers out of high school, which limits the available number significantly and makes the competition pretty fierce. Being no stranger to the JC system and given his personality, though, I like Bowden's chances in that competition.