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Post by easmus on Nov 1, 2018 18:56:17 GMT -6
Glenn often said “we just need some birthdays,” but the problem became about the time they were done having birthdays he retired so we halfway started all over.
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Post by Yotes on Nov 1, 2018 21:38:13 GMT -6
Glenn often said “we just need some birthdays,” but the problem became about the time they were done having birthdays he retired so we halfway started all over. But what happened to the everyone following those that had those birthdays? How do we always have a young team? |
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Post by sportschic on Nov 1, 2018 22:23:46 GMT -6
This is a really good podcast and helped me put things back into perspective a little. I think Jay misses that Whitcomb & Peguero are (I’m assuming) Glenn recruits in addition to Greenfield and Simmons in the junior class. But still pretty thin on any juniors who took a redshirt their first season. What a fantastic insight by Jay. Jay is awesome with great perspective. He made one comment I totally agree with. We have 3 games remaining. We could go 0-3, 1-2, 2-1, or 3-0. Nothing would surprise me. If you haven’t listened to the interview, do it, because it makes you step back and think. Let’s just go get a win. All the positives start with that. Jay is a class act and is really objective. I respect his perspective and knowledge! I totally agree and believe in this coaching staff since day1. Coach Nielson is a proven team builder! |
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Post by goyotes84 on Nov 2, 2018 9:02:26 GMT -6
Good interview. Jay is right in everything he says, problem is we've been "young" since Glenn's first year. When will we not be young anymore and can start reaping some of these benefits? According to Jay we'll be young again next year. So another year we wait? Another year we lose to NDSU and SDSU? I don't know if I can take losing to State one more time. As for the next 3 games,we may win some of them, all if them, or lose all if them, but it sounds like we'll be auditioning some young players to see what they can do. Meanwhile our opponents are making playoff pushes and are in must win at all costs mode. I already have an idea of how the end of this year will play out. I share the frustration of always being young. A lot of the current underclassman are getting a lot of playing time so we shouldn't have to wait for them to be juniors and senior before we can expect much from them though. The OL starters have more experience than most of the other position groups but we haven't seen them play like it. We have four returning starters, two seniors and two sophomores, so i hoped we would see a marked improvement from last year. Baring transfers in, next year we could have two juniors and three freshman or sophomores starting. Do we have to wait a couple more years for those underclassman to mature? Should we expect our OL to take another step back next year since they will be younger than this years group? I love the Yotes but will expect the worst and hope for the best for the remainder of this season. |
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Post by easmus on Nov 3, 2018 21:25:08 GMT -6
Whole season is about what if. So bummed.
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lavistacoyote
Freshman Member
USD School of Business Class on 1993.
Posts: 15 
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Post by lavistacoyote on Nov 4, 2018 8:39:51 GMT -6
Although i expected more wins going into the final 2 weeks of our season the year has had had several games decided by one or two plays. Going back to the punt return at K-State and the red zone fumble yesterday.
A consistent issue is the lack of fire and determination on the side-lines...either team leaders will emerge amongst the younger players or, this issue doesn't go away any time soon. If the behind-the-scenes problem players are evident I hope they are kicked to the curb at the end of the season/semester.
During the broadcast yesterday it was indicated that all 11 turn-over's the Coyotes given up this season lead to points for the opposition. This streak came to an end yesterday but, that's a tough problem to over-come.
My personal expectations of Simmons' were way too high coming into the season. Although Simmons and Streveler were fairly close coming out of camp in 2016 the ascension of Streveler came at a meteoric pace...Simmons is improving at a more normal pace for a first year. season-long starter plus, the team around him is extraordinarily young. Jays' interview did a great job of pointing that out.
I feel absolutely terrible for this Senior Class. They made a commitment to us at a very questionable time. They endured some challenging seasons, a major coaching change, a taste of success followed by further disappointment. And, they are just missing out on the renovations that will help us out on the recruiting front for decades to come. There are some great kids graduating this year...we've watched while they've lived these past 5 years.
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Post by yanktonyote on Nov 15, 2018 11:55:45 GMT -6
Coyote Football Alumni,
It has been a challenging last five-week period that ended with a 17-12 win over Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon. Inconsistencies and mistakes at critical times had hurt us during our four-week losing stretch but our players have continued to work hard.
Saturday we overcame everything the game threw at us and played a much more complete game to beat the nationally ranked Leathernecks on Senior Day. I felt really good for our 13 seniors as many of them had their best games of the year including LB Alex Coker and DB Michael Fredrick.
Defensively, we put together a solid performance holding Western to 21 yards rushing and allowing no offensive touchdowns. Offensively, we were led by junior quarterback Austin Simmons who threw for 250 yards and rushed for another 50. Sophomore running back Kai Henry added another 75 yards rushing and a key fourth quarter touchdown that gave us a 17-6 lead. Sophomore punter Brady Schutt earned Missouri Valley Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his punting efforts on the day.
This week we head to Brookings for the last regular season game of the year. It will be a great opportunity for us to build on the momentum of Saturday’s win and put together a great football game against the in-state rival.
Keys will be our defense’s continued ability to stop the running game and we must create some turnovers and field position. Offensively, we need to be highly productive and take advantage of all scoring opportunities.
The weather conditions should be interesting as projected temperatures are showing to be in the low 20’s at kickoff.
While the year has had its disappointments, I couldn’t be more excited about the future of Coyote football. Our new outdoor practice complex is almost complete and will be fully available for use this spring.
The Dakota Dome renovation is scheduled to start right after the first of the year and the combination of those two projects will give us high quality facilities to recruit to and develop in. Recruiting for 2019 is going well and our staff will be heading out on the road immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support and belief.
Fight South Dakota and Beat State,
Bob Nielson
Head Football Coach
University of South Dakota
(605) 658-5558
Bob Signature
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Post by easmus on Nov 18, 2018 7:55:45 GMT -6
Whole season is about what if. So bummed. What if we don’t allow the punt return TD at KSU? We also had some foreshadowing by not being able to pick up a 4th & 1 inside KSU territory. What if we could pick up a blitz at Weber? Probably don’t give up a strip sack fumble scoop score. What if we take the touchback at the end of the first half against UNI? At worst we go into half down 1 and maybe even drive down for a lead. What if we don’t no show the first half at YSU? What if Coker doesn’t let the INT go through his hands at Indy St? Or Allen drop a wide open TD? Or Greenhaw fumble in the red zone? There’s no perfect game, but these are just a few key plays we didn’t make. This doesn’t even account for far too many FG attempts in red zone, or turnovers like in western game. For me, the problems all start on the OL. They were thin, and losing starting C week of KSU wasn’t a great way to start, and from Bob’s own words they were banged up and never able to gel as a unit in fall camp. But that also doesn’t explain a lot of standing and catching and not being low man far too often. We were dominated in trenches against SDSU, and it was never more evident than 1st & goal at the 2 and ended up turning it over on downs. Same thing almost happened at Indy st. OL gets better in 2019 we score more points and there is a trickle down effect to all other aspects of the team. Need some serious shopwreckers on the defensive side of the ball. Losing a ton of LB to graduation, and need Schultz back and about 3 more guys like him. Most of all we need some leaders to step up and take charge of a very undisciplined team. |
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Post by Yotes on Nov 18, 2018 8:44:37 GMT -6
Reverse the "what-ifs" and this team could sneak into the playoffs, primarily due to the MVFC being so uncharacteristically weak this year. This team finished where it deserved to finish.
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obc
Senior Member
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Post by obc on Nov 18, 2018 9:09:05 GMT -6
Whole season is about what if. So bummed. What if we don’t allow the punt return TD at KSU? We also had some foreshadowing by not being able to pick up a 4th & 1 inside KSU territory. What if we could pick up a blitz at Weber? Probably don’t give up a strip sack fumble scoop score. What if we take the touchback at the end of the first half against UNI? At worst we go into half down 1 and maybe even drive down for a lead. What if we don’t no show the first half at YSU? What if Coker doesn’t let the INT go through his hands at Indy St? Or Allen drop a wide open TD? Or Greenhaw fumble in the red zone? There’s no perfect game, but these are just a few key plays we didn’t make. This doesn’t even account for far too many FG attempts in red zone, or turnovers like in western game. For me, the problems all start on the OL. They were thin, and losing starting C week of KSU wasn’t a great way to start, and from Bob’s own words they were banged up and never able to gel as a unit in fall camp. But that also doesn’t explain a lot of standing and catching and not being low man far too often. We were dominated in trenches against SDSU, and it was never more evident than 1st & goal at the 2 and ended up turning it over on downs. Same thing almost happened at Indy st. OL gets better in 2019 we score more points and there is a trickle down effect to all other aspects of the team. Need some serious shopwreckers on the defensive side of the ball. Losing a ton of LB to graduation, and need Schultz back and about 3 more guys like him. Most of all we need some leaders to step up and take charge of a very undisciplined team. The what-ifs also work the other way. What if UNC when they got to within 6 points of USD 7:58 to play in the 4th quarter had been able to hold USD out of the end zone and then their athletic QB and WR tandem scored for the win? What if at SIU USD didn't score 21 of their 31 total points in the 3rd quarter. The team didn't show much offensively except for that quarter. What if the shifty MO St QB completed another first down to extend the drive and go on to score another TD? What if WIU's WRs had not dropped several key passes that hit their hands and instead scored. The margin of victory/defeat is extremely slim. USD finished where they deserved - they had some breaks go their way and some that went against them. Season could have ended up much better, but it was also pretty close to being even worse. USD's wins were by 15 points over a 2-9 UNC team, by 7 points over a 2-9 SIU team (this was the only road win for USD this year), by 7 points over a 4-7 MO St team, and a 5 point win over a 5-6 WIU team. |
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obc
Senior Member
Posts: 784
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Post by obc on Nov 18, 2018 12:01:07 GMT -6
Here is what I think about the 2018 season:
* Leadership and discipline improvements are needed ASAP - It was glaring this year that there was a leadership void left over from last year. Stupid penalties and players jacking around on the sidelines should never be allowed. That is on leaders on the team and coaches. Get control of your team.
* Weak-minded players need to be eliminated no matter how skilled they are. Looking like Tarzan but playing like Jane isn't going to win games. Kick the posers off the team and put in the high-effort FB Players that want to compete.
* OL has to commit to turning themselves around. That group represents 5/11th of the offense and it was the worst OL in the MVFC this season I saw. This group was the biggest disappointment to me as a fan and close observer of the team for decades. Consistent good technique and desire were not there from my perspective. They played with too high of a pad level and were frequently driven into the backfield when the defender did not just run around them. As a program we will not be able to compete with the top 4 teams in the MVFC without a top OL. Nielson has brought more skill players to the roster, but our OL looks worse than in Joe Glenn's final year. Sick of hearing about how young we are in this unit (and other positions on the team). Glenn said it six years ago and we are still hearing it. Recruit well and develop to make those players stronger and better. We had starters this year on the OL that played better last year. That is unacceptable. They should be stronger and more skilled starting for a second year. How does that happen?!
* QB - Simmons will be in year two and I would expect him to continue to develop. Having an experienced QB is usually a very good thing for a team. Do we have a legitimate backup? We haven't seen enough to know. Simmons is highly skilled but there is plenty for him to look at in the film to improve next year. Would be nice to know how he would look with even an average OL protecting him.
* RBs - hopefully they can have two backs selected with a third that is ready to go when needed. Splitting carries the way they did this year didn't seem to work. Of course the OL blocking makes it harder to assess that group.
* WR - Good skill and depth here, but injuries really added up hurting the team. Guess you can never be deep enough at a position group. Again, it sure would help if the OL could hold their blocks a little longer allowing for routes that take a little longer. If the OL could do that it would change how defenses go about covering our WRs.
* DL - the unit is better than our OL, but did not perform at a level that is needed. Greenfield played with great effort all year but it was easy for teams to focus on him. #92 was dismissed from the team and that did not help the depth or strength of the unit. It perhaps helped remove a player that was obviously not meeting expectations off the field. Got some pressure on opposing QBs at times, but not near enough sacks by this unit. Need Schultz back healthy wreaking havoc in backfields and firing up his peers. Need to recruit more like him.
* Corners - improved steadily throughout the year. Still reeling from losing two starters that would have been here had they not been kicked off the team. Injuries also hurt a group that was not particularly deep anyway. Big recruiting need for the team. This can be recruited quickly.
* LBers - building depth here, but need the young guys to step up next year. Cochrane is the only returning starter. He steadily improved this year. Still don't feel as strong and deep as it needs to be. Take a look at SDSU's, NDSU's, and UNI's LBers most years - USD needs that.
* Safeties - Good young players at the position. Will see how they do replacing Andrew Gray - he was playing at an All MVFC level prior to breaking his hand.
* Kick and Punt coverage - not near good enough resulting in opponents getting superior field position too frequently. This is discipline and want-to.
* FG kicking - much better as the year went on - was a huge worry early on in the season, but give the kickers credit - they did get better.
* Punting - good punting but gave up a crucial punt block and allowed too much pressure other times
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Post by azsod73 on Nov 18, 2018 14:23:23 GMT -6
Thanks obc for the excellent recap. Speaking for many I believe, your posts are always something to look forward to and very much appreciated.
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Post by sdyotefan on Nov 18, 2018 16:26:40 GMT -6
I believe the main difference now between us and the Xdsus are OL and DL. This didn't just happen but has been a concern for years and needs to greatly improve! Overall we tend to be solid or above at skill levels but not near athletic and dominate enough in the trenches! Obvious examples-- our inability to convert 1 to 2 yd downs offensively and consistently stop the run or get enough pressure on QBs.
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Post by elcoyote on Nov 18, 2018 20:14:09 GMT -6
Here is what I think about the 2018 season: * Leadership and discipline improvements are needed ASAP - It was glaring this year that there was a leadership void left over from last year. Stupid penalties and players jacking around on the sidelines should never be allowed. That is on leaders on the team and coaches. Get control of your team. * Weak-minded players need to be eliminated no matter how skilled they are. Looking like Tarzan but playing like Jane isn't going to win games. Kick the posers off the team and put in the high-effort FB Players that want to compete. * OL has to commit to turning themselves around. That group represents 5/11th of the offense and it was the worst OL in the MVFC this season I saw. This group was the biggest disappointment to me as a fan and close observer of the team for decades. Consistent good technique and desire were not there from my perspective. They played with too high of a pad level and were frequently driven into the backfield when the defender did not just run around them. As a program we will not be able to compete with the top 4 teams in the MVFC without a top OL. Nielson has brought more skill players to the roster, but our OL looks worse than in Joe Glenn's final year. Sick of hearing about how young we are in this unit (and other positions on the team). Glenn said it six years ago and we are still hearing it. Recruit well and develop to make those players stronger and better. We had starters this year on the OL that played better last year. That is unacceptable. They should be stronger and more skilled starting for a second year. How does that happen?! * QB - Simmons will be in year two and I would expect him to continue to develop. Having an experienced QB is usually a very good thing for a team. Do we have a legitimate backup? We haven't seen enough to know. Simmons is highly skilled but there is plenty for him to look at in the film to improve next year. Would be nice to know how he would look with even an average OL protecting him. * RBs - hopefully they can have two backs selected with a third that is ready to go when needed. Splitting carries the way they did this year didn't seem to work. Of course the OL blocking makes it harder to assess that group. * WR - Good skill and depth here, but injuries really added up hurting the team. Guess you can never be deep enough at a position group. Again, it sure would help if the OL could hold their blocks a little longer allowing for routes that take a little longer. If the OL could do that it would change how defenses go about covering our WRs. * DL - the unit is better than our OL, but did not perform at a level that is needed. Greenfield played with great effort all year but it was easy for teams to focus on him. #92 was dismissed from the team and that did not help the depth or strength of the unit. It perhaps helped remove a player that was obviously not meeting expectations off the field. Got some pressure on opposing QBs at times, but not near enough sacks by this unit. Need Schultz back healthy wreaking havoc in backfields and firing up his peers. Need to recruit more like him. * Corners - improved steadily throughout the year. Still reeling from losing two starters that would have been here had they not been kicked off the team. Injuries also hurt a group that was not particularly deep anyway. Big recruiting need for the team. This can be recruited quickly. * LBers - building depth here, but need the young guys to step up next year. Cochrane is the only returning starter. He steadily improved this year. Still don't feel as strong and deep as it needs to be. Take a look at SDSU's, NDSU's, and UNI's LBers most years - USD needs that. * Safeties - Good young players at the position. Will see how they do replacing Andrew Gray - he was playing at an All MVFC level prior to breaking his hand. * Kick and Punt coverage - not near good enough resulting in opponents getting superior field position too frequently. This is discipline and want-to. * FG kicking - much better as the year went on - was a huge worry early on in the season, but give the kickers credit - they did get better. * Punting - good punting but gave up a crucial punt block and allowed too much pressure other times As usual obc hits several nails on the head. I think the first two points are especially salient. I know many here have complete faith in Coach Nielson and I have no reason to doubt you, but, I must admit, after this season I'm on the fence as we took a major step back this season. I appreciate the way he's dealt with the off the field issues, I really don't think they could have been handled any better, but it's now time to take control of the program with both the assistant coaches and the players. I do think that there are some excellent assistants but in my opinion there needs to be at least one major change on the staff and I'll jut leave it at that. I will be sorely disappointed if nothing is done here. As for the players there needs to be a complete buy in. Either you're in or you're out and right now I wonder if some of the players meet this criteria, talent levels, accolades coming out of high school or recruiting ratings be damned. Full confession: after the 'Yotes my favorite team is Nebraska and I see a lot of similarities between the two schools over the past few seasons. Like them or loathe them, what Scott Frost has done there this year has been remarkable regardless of win/loss record. He started a player purge last spring, continued it into the summer and then into the fall as players were leaving the program even after the season started. Leading the way in this were seniors who were the true believers and total buy-ins to what Frost was trying to accomplish, going so far as to identify players who didn't meet the work ethic or dedication to the team they believed was necessary for them to be successful and basically encouraging them to leave. Seems to be a lot of addition by subtraction has taken place in Lincoln. That might need to be done here and it's quite possible Coach Nielson knows this. Some of you have a lot more insight into what's going on than I do. All of this is probably just a very windy way of saying that culture is developed from the top down and I really hope that we all see a much improved Coyote team next season. With all the time, money and effort that has been allocated for facility improvements, salaries and the like, it's time to see a return on that investment. I'll get off my soapbox now. |
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Post by yotefbfan on Nov 19, 2018 12:36:05 GMT -6
Thanks OBC you always do a great job! I thought that I would take a crack at some of what I see moving forward as well.
First and foremost we need to address the lack of leadership and discipline that we observed this year. With the graduation of the Senior class, there remains only 7 players left not recruited or brought in by Coach Nielson and his staff, and only 4 of those saw significant playing time. Simply put, we can now start evaluating Coach Nielson based on the players he has brought to the table. My assumption is there might be some new or additional captains next year that are his players. I would also assume the off-season conditioning and spring practices will be amped up to help increase the competition and help find these new leaders. I also assume the staff will take care of the lack of discipline in the off-season as well. Only time will tell, but looking and coach's past he knows what needs to be done to fix these issues.
As far as the coaching staff, Nielson will need to review the success or failure of each coach and make decisions on their future with us sooner rather than later as recruiting moves into full swing after the Thanksgiving Holidays. There is always a chance a coach may move on themselves, but based on the season we had, I am not sure those doors of opportunity are as wide open this year. The two areas I feel need to be addressed from a coaching stand point are the O-line and special teams.
Recruiting and transfers should be the next priority for the staff. Last year our success may have helped us but this year we can't entice players with that, so we must rely on our new facilities and the prospect of immediately playing if you can win the spot to entice players to come to USD. Transfers can make a huge difference (see Indiana St as the example) and I think we need to take a flyer on a few transfers to help infuse some instant talent and experience we need. I would love to see us go get a LB or two and some CB depth on defense. On offence, we should go get the two best tackles we can find and maybe one can help us immediately. I would also go get an RB and a QB if for no other reason than to create competition. As far as recruiting for the class of 2019, we can never have enough O and D lineman and always more LB's and DB's.
As far as a review of the past year, on offense everything starts and ends with the O-line. While we had a lot of passing yards, better blocking would have made us even more effective. A healthy Cody Case is a game changer next year and what happened to Crawford?? I thought after last Spring he was due to break out, but instead he disappeared. Overall, I am very excited with what we have at both the WR and TE positions going into next year. How do you evaluate our RBs when they have no space to work, we showed flashes at times but no consistency. I would assume we may have seen the last of Thull, and that is too bad. All of the others needed more carries and better blocking. To me Cannan Brooks losing his redshirt was a waste as he look overwhelmed at times. Henry had some decent games but lacks discipline and that is concerning. Klett also showed flashes and is a big back that needs to show more consistency and maybe more carries in short yardage. Is there ever any thought to using him as a fullback? This might help our running game as he can open some holes with lead blocking. Simmons continues to show a strong arm and some questionable decision making. No clue on the back ups as they saw practically no action. Any competition we can get here can only make us better as a team.
Honestly, I am excited to see our defense next year. With Schultz returning and more experience and competition on the line, we can only be better. It is a shame to see Cline gone, but Kramer was consistent and effective, he just needs a blow every once in a while to keep him fresh and hopefully Webb fills that bill. Greeny coming back for one more year only makes us that much better. Clearly we need to find some LBs, I really feel one spot should be filled by a transfer and the other will need to come from our roster. This is a TBD till spring. Cochrane had a good year and he can anchor the middle for a few years. With all the experience our DBs got this year this is the other area where I feel confident. Powell, Reed and Johnson anchor the safety positions, while Collins Jr. and Tisdale anchor the CB slots. Incoming players via transfer recruiting or redshirts should provide depth.
On special teams we have an outstanding long snapper and punter and a solid kicker. We need to find someone who can find the end zone consistently with kickoffs. Our coverage teams were a mess all year! We need to do a better job of getting hungry young guys in there to fly around and make plays.
I am confident we turn this back around next year! Go Yotes!
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