Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Back-to-back PL champs 2016 and 2017.... but need to get back to relevance in the national FCS scene.
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jimk72
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Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by jimk72 » Wed Mar 01, 2023 2:31 pm

A question from this Lehigh fan/alum, directed to "in the know" Lehigh football aficionados....

Are there any structural differences between Lehigh and Holy Cross (academically, athletically, financially, or otherwise) that preclude us from ever having the kind of season the Crusaders had last year?

Even if Coach Cahill is the next Knute Rockne, it will take time. But what, if any handicaps do we have relative to the rest of the Patriot League?


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RichH
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Re: Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by RichH » Thu Mar 02, 2023 12:24 pm

Not really anything structurally. The difference now are coaching and recruiting. Hopefully Cahill and staff can close that gap.
.The major issue for Athletic Dept is annual budget tussle with LU..
If anything Lehigh has major advantages over Cross which will increase substantially with the new athletic construction. LU Admissions has always worked well with football.
The key is how well coaches sell the program to get talent and how well they teach them.
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RichH
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Re: Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by RichH » Thu Mar 02, 2023 12:42 pm

Some tidbits. Cahill teased a commit a few days ago. Also, he's gotten a tremendous response from prospects invited to Junior days.
As usual, lots of offers are going out for '24s.
ngineer
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Re: Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by ngineer » Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:21 pm

RichH wrote: Thu Mar 02, 2023 12:42 pm Some tidbits. Cahill teased a commit a few days ago. Also, he's gotten a tremendous response from prospects invited to Junior days.
As usual, lots of offers are going out for '24s.
Sounds promising. I am not aware of a 'structural' issue that has made HC dominant the last few years. Sort of like Lehigh's run back in 1998-2004. Winning gets contagious. You get a charismatic coach who the players love to play for, that goes a long way. Don't know if I would call Cahill, "charismatic", but he comes across a leader who the players will know is there for them. He's into "character and culture" and if things click, alot can happen.
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Re: Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by Lehigh74 » Fri Mar 03, 2023 10:22 am

The way he carried himself and what he said in his introductory press conference was pretty impressive. The unknown is that he has never been a head coach before. There is a big difference between being a coordinator and a head coach. Some people are able to make the adjustment and others are not. I’m very hopeful that he has what it takes to get Lehigh back to the top of the Patriot League.
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Re: Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by Go Lehigh TU Owl » Sat Mar 04, 2023 10:35 am

It's time for reality, not some time for unfounded optimism simply "because"...

- Interested to see Hunt's development in terms of consistency and acumen as an OC. When he served as Colgate's OC in 2019 it was a complete disaster. Which QB on the roster can stand up the physicality that Hunt's offenses (similar philosophy as Holy Cross) are rooted in? Sluka can, Breneman couldn't.
- Nagy's ability to devise schemes that are capable of slowing down modern offenses. How much time did he spend in the offseason fine tuning his craft given his struggles to adapt/assemble a competent defensive staff in recent years?
- How will the administrative aspects of the program be handled/delegated with 2 former head coaches serving as coordinators while the head coach has zero experience as the program linchpin? Will this unique dynamic create any unintended consequences?

Holy Cross will be preseason Top 5 and legit national title contenders which is awesome. Generally speaking, watching Chesney and Langel (Brett Reed wouldn't be qualified to be his water boy) coach circles around the league is pretty cool. Really shows the value in what a transcended hire can do in terms of successfully navigating institutional and league implemented hurdles

What will Lehigh football be when the Crusaders visit Goodman come early November?
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Re: Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by ngineer » Tue Mar 07, 2023 10:40 pm

Good questions, and if we are still healthy (a concern if we might be somewhat thin this year in terms of numbers), how well we fight Holy Cross should be a benchmark. However, regarding the "need" for our QB to be a runner, I don't see that. Many of our great QB's were not very good runners. Some had mobility in the pocket, but that isn't 'running'. What they did have was was a very good ground game to supplement the pass, and if Garcia and company prove to be a force as we hope, then the passing game, with a young QB has a chance to flourish. Though the "Spring Game" on April 22 is no longer the 'game' we had years ago, it will still be interesting to see our strengths and weaknesses.
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RichH
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Re: Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by RichH » Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:01 pm

Roster at 65. We will lose some WOs in the Spring. 14 signed,3 verbals so far in 24 class.Cahill has till the end of March to sign more prospects. We'll see.

A QB who can run virtually a necessity today. If we run a version of the RPO offense,it is essential that the QB be a legit run threat. Perri can run. At this point we don't know what O scheme will be..Hope Cahill and Hunt go with the best QB.
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Re: Welcome to March, and hope springs eternal...

Post by Lehigh74 » Wed Mar 08, 2023 10:15 am

Silbor played a little bit in the Princeton game. From what I remember, he showed that he can both pass and run, and has a stronger arm than Perri. Hopefully, as Rich says, the quarterback who gives us the best chance to win, will be the starter.
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