Dreamweaver Marketing Associates News and Views: CollegeFootball

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Monday, March 3, 2014

Marlon Tyree Commits to SRU

Rock sign all-state performer/Big 33 Challenge participant

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University Head Football Coach George Mihalik announced Monday former Erie Cathedral Prep High School standout Marlon Tyree has signed a letter of intent with The Rock.

A 6-foot-2, 180-pound defensive back, Tyree was named last week to the Pennsylvania roster for the 57th annual Big 33 Classic all-star game.

Tyree is the third Cathedral Prep product to join The Rock's 2014 recruiting class. He joined fellow DB Will Monono and linebacker J.T. Joint on the Green and White roster.

That trio helped Cathedral Prep win the 2012 Class AAA state championship and advance to the state semifinals last fall.

Tyree verbally accepted a scholarship offer from reigning Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green State University, a Football Bowl Subdivision program, and then-head coach Dave Clawson last July.

In the wake of Clawson's departure for Wake Forest and the hiring of former Eastern Illinois coach Dino Babers as BGSU's head coach, the non-binding offer to Tyree was withdrawn.

[http://www.rockathletics.com/images/2014/2/24/Marlon%20tyree%20action.jpg]
Before deciding upon Bowling Green and ultimately The Rock, Tyree reportedly received scholarship offers from Buffalo, Kent State, Massachusetts, Robert Morris and Temple.

Tyree was named to the Pennsylvania Football Writers' All-State first team and Pennsylvania Football News second-team all-state team as well as first-team All-District 10 honors in his senior season.

Tyree recorded 61 total tackles (33 solo), one interception, which he returned 66 yards, two tackles for loss and one pass breakup in his final scholastic season. He also caught a 17-yard TD pass on offense and averaged 14.5 yards on 11 punt returns.

With the addition of Tyree, The Rock have added 16 recruits to their roster for the 2014 season. The Green and White announced the addition of 15 recruits on National Signing Day (Feb. 5).

The Big 33 Football Classic, which pits the best high school players from Pennsylvania against Maryland's top players, will be played June 14 at HersheyPark Stadium and broadcast live on the NFL Network.

Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
Slippery Rock University
1 Morrow Way - Room 201 Old Main
Slippery Rock, Pa. 16057
Office: 724.738.2777
Fax: 724.738.4761
Cell: 724.421.5658
Email: robert.mccomas@sru.edu
www.sru.edu

A ROCK SOLID Education

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates. Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping. Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business. www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

McCombie Racks 4th Honor

Rock's McCombie collects fourth All-America honor

LIBERTY, Mo. – Slippery Rock University senior punter James McCombie was named Thursday to D2Football.com honorable mention All-America honors.

The All-America honor was the fourth received by McCombie, who the Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America Team committee named last week to first-team honors.

Earlier, McCombie was named to second-team All-America honors by Daktronics and third-team honors by Beyond Sports Network.

In addition, McCombie previously received first-team all-region honors from the Hansen committee and Daktronics and first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division status in voting by the division's head football coaches.

A native of Nicktown, Pa., and graduate of Bishop Carroll High School in Ebensburg, McCombie ranked first in the PSAC and fifth among NCAA Division II punters last fall with a per-punt average of 43.2 yards.

McCombie had 12 punts that traveled 50 or more yards last fall, headlined by a career-best-tying 74-yarder in the season opener at Northwood. McCombie also had 13 of his 53 punts land inside the opponents' 20-yard line this fall and only nine result in touchbacks.

A park and resource management major at SRU, McCombie finished his four-year career as The Rock's first-team punter with a 40.5 yards per punt average. McCombie had six punts that traveled 60 or more yards, 34 punts that traveled 50 or more yards and 67 that landed inside the opponent's 20-yard line during his 208-punt college career.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Phil Longo Named OC at Sam Houston State U

Phil Longo named as OC at Sam Houston State

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Phil Longo, Slippery Rock University’s football offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons, was named Monday as offensive coordinator at Sam Houston State University.

Longo, who served one season as The Rock’s wide receivers coach before being named as offensive coordinator in 2012, joined a Sam Houston State coaching staff led by K.C. Keeler, under whom Longo played as running back from 1988-91 at Rowan University.

As The Rock’s offensive coordinator, Longo installed an “Air Raid,” no-huddle attack that fueled SRU’s run last fall to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II national playoffs.

Longo’s offensive unit led the 16-team PSAC in scoring (43.3 points per game), passing offense (354.3 yards per game) and total offense (536.5 yards per game).

The Rock attack also ranked fourth nationally in total offense, sixth in passing offense and eighth in scoring offense.

In Longo’s first season as coordinator (2012), The Rock offense averaged 34.8 points (#6 in PSAC) and 407.3 yards (#8 in PSAC) per game.

Prior to joining The Rock coaching staff, Longo served as an assistant coach at Youngstown State, Southern Illinois, Minnesota-Duluth, LaSalle and William Paterson University and as head coach at La Salle College.
Longo and his wife, Tanya, SRU’s head women’s basketball coach, are the parents of daughters Gianna and Macaria.

Tanya Longo is currently in her fourth season as The Rock’s head coach and will return for the 2014-15 season, according to Paul Lueken, SRU’s director of athletics.

Plans for filling Phil Longo’s spot on the coaching staff are being formulated, according to Lueken and Rock Head Football Coach George Mihalik, and will be announced once a decision has been made.

Sam Houston State is a member of the Southland Conference and the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision. The Bearkats won back-to-back conference championships in 2011 and 2012, have earned berths in each of the last three FCS playoffs and played in the 2011 and 2012 national championship games under former head coach Willie Fritz.

Keeler led Delaware to the 2003 FCS national championship as well as berths in the 2007 and 2010 national championship games.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

SRU's Dean, Papley Earn Spots in All Star Game

SRU's Dean, Papley earn spots in USA Football Bowl all-star game

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Former Slippery Rock University football standouts Quindell Dean and Tony Papley were included on a list of players recently announced by Dennis Wilson, president of the USA Football Network and the Metropolitan New York Football Writers Association, as participants in Monday’s USA Football Bowl all-star game.

The game will be played Monday at Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.

The all-star game invitations were the latest additions to a treasure chest of honors received by Dean and Papley.

Dean earned a second-team All-America citation from Beyond Sports Network as well as second-team Daktronics All-Super Region 1, third-team Don Hansen Football Gazette all-region and first-team Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division honors.

A 6-foot-1, 235-pound strongside linebacker from Uniontown, Dean was the No. 2 tackler on last fall’s Rock squad with 76 total takedowns (43 solo, 33 assisted). Dean ranked ninth in the PSAC in tackles for loss with a team-high 14.5 for -47 yards.

Dean also intercepted two passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown in the NCAA Division II first-round national playoff game at Winston-Salem State, batted down six passes and recorded two quarterback hurries.

Dean ended the regular season ranked 24th on SRU's career tackles list with 239, 18th in career solo tackles with 125 and 14th in career tackles for loss with 32 for -155 yards.

A fourth-year member of The Rock program after being redshirted as a true freshman at Division I Toledo, Dean recorded nine career quarterback sacks, one shy of being included in the school's top 25 in that category.

Like Dean, Papley earned first-team All-PSAC-West honors last fall. Papley also garnered a third-team Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Super Region 1 citation.

A 6-foot-1, 260-pound nose tackle and native of Slippery Rock, Papley recorded 65 total tackles (25 solo, 40 assisted), including 12 tackles for loss (-29 yards) and two quarterback sacks (-11 yards).

Papley also intercepted one pass, broke up two others, recorded three quarterback hurries and recovered a fumble in his final collegiate campaign.

Dean and Papley were key components of a Rock defense that finished the 2013 season ranked fourth nationally in pass defense efficiency, fifth in third-down conversion and 25th in rushing defense.

The all-star game participants were part of an 18-man senior class that led The Rock to a 9-3 final record, the PSAC West championship, a conference runner-up finish and SRU’s first NCAA Division II national playoff berth since 1999.

As sophomores in 2011, Dean and Papley helped The Rock record an 8-3 record, win the PSAC West title for the first time since 2000 and claim conference runner-up honors. The duo was part of a defensive unit that ranked third nationally in rushing defense, fourth in total defense, ninth in pass defense efficiency, 10th in interceptions and 11th in third-down conversion.

In 2012, The Rock defense ranked 10th nationally in third-down conversion and 25th in pass defense efficiency.

About the USA Football Bowl:

The USA Football Bowl started in 1995 as the Division III Senior All-Star Classic and later became known as the Aztec Bowl for 10 years and was played in Mexico, Wilson said. In 2010, the event absorbed the Division II Cactus Bowl. NAIA, NCCAA and USCAA senior All-Americans were awarded to the game’s talent pool in 2011, followed in 2012 by the addition of FCS seniors. FBS seniors joined the talent pool for the first time in 2014.

With the announcements in November 2013 of the demise of the Texas vs. The Nation, Casino del Sol and Raycomm Bowl all-star games, the USA Football Bowl, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is one of four remaining post-season senior all-star games recognized by the national broadcast and print media, football writers' associations and professional football franchises, according to Wilson.

The other universally recognized senior all-star games are the East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla., which will be held for the 89th time; the third annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, Calif. and the 46th Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

The USA Football Bowl will draw top players from all four levels of NCAA competition (Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II and Division III), as well as players from NAIA, National Christian College Athletic Association and United States Collegiate Athletic Association programs, according to Wilson.

The game will be included in five days of activities that will also feature an awards banquet Sunday and a USA Professional Football Leagues Testing Combine that will be conducted Tuesday by NFL, CFL and AFL coaches and scouts, Wilson said.

The USA Football Bowl will have a live online radio broadcast on the National Gridiron Network and a tape-delayed national television broadcast, Wilson said. Typically, the game is aired two days later on ESPNU and/or the NFL Channel, according to Wilson.

Each of the teams in this year’s USA Football Bowl game will have 66 players, according to Wilson.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

SRU Ranked 23rd in National Poll

SRU earns No. 23 ranking in final D2Football.com national poll

LIBERTY, Mo. – Slippery Rock University was ranked 23rd in the final D2Football.com national poll released Monday.

The Rock, who finished the season with a 9-3 win-loss record, had the fifth-highest ranking among the 49 teams that competed for the Super Region 1 championship. Region champion West Chester (13-2) led the pack with a No. 8 ranking, followed by Shepherd (11-1) at No. 13, Winston-Salem State (10-2) at No. 15, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion Bloomsburg (10-2) at No. 16 and The Rock.

SRU was ranked 20th in D2Football.com’s final regular-season poll before losing its final two games. The Rock wound up at the No. 21 team in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

The final two Rock losses came at the hands of teams ranked above them in both the D2Football.com and AFCA final poll. SRU dropped a 42-38 decision in the PSAC championship game at Bloomsburg (No. 16 in AFCA final poll) and fell by a 27-20 score at Winston-Salem State (No. 14 in AFCA poll) in first-round action of the NCAA Division II national playoffs.

The NCAA postseason appearance was The Rock’s first since 1999. The Green and White won the PSAC-Western Division championship for the second time in the last three seasons before coming up short in the conference championship game.

The Rock’s 2013 squad featured 18 seniors, headlined by second-team All-America performers Quindell Dean (linebacker) and James McCombie (punter) and PSAC-West Offensive Athlete of the Year Nigel Barksdale (quarterback).

Rock head coach George Mihalik will welcome back eight offensive starters and five defensive starters for the 2014 season. Included in that list are all-region offensive tackle Cory Tucker, first-team All-PSAC-West safety Austin Miele and second-team all-conference performers Teddy Blakeman (running back), Jaimire Dutrieuille (wide receiver), Shamar Greene (running back), Julian Harrell (tight end) and Matt Peacock (defensive end).

The Rock’s 2014 schedule features an Oct. 18 date with Mercyhurst at “The Big House,” Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Rock Quartet Earns Honors

Rock football quartet earns first-team Hansen all-region honors

BROOKFIELD, Ill. — Nine members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference runner-up Slippery Rock University football team were named Monday afternoon as members of the Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Region Committee’s 2013 NCAA Division II All-Super Region One squad.

The Rock had the second-highest number of first-team selections and tied for the second-highest total number of student-athletes honored among the 49 Super Region 1 teams.

Region champion West Chester placed five players on the first team, while The Rock had four and regional runner-up Shepherd and PSAC champion Bloomsburg had three each.

Shepherd led the overall squad with 10 selections, Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock had nine each, New Haven posted seven and West Chester, Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg each had six players honored.

Senior quarterback Nigel Barksdale,

senior punter James McCombie, senior wide receiver John Schademan and redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Cory Tucker each earned first-team status to headline the list of Rock student-athletes honored.

Senior cornerback Anthony Saunders earned second-team all-region honors from the Hansen committee,

while senior linebacker Quindell Dean, junior safety Austin Miele, senior nose guard Tony Papley and senior defensive tackle Derek Walker were named to the Hansen committee’s third team.

The first-team and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2013 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be named later this month.

The Hansen committee all-region honors were the latest in a long list of postseason awards presented to Rock football student-athletes.

All nine Hansen first-team all-region selections earned first-team All-PSAC-West honors, as did senior linebacker Gary Allen.

The Rock also placed five players on the All-PSAC-West second team. That group included juniors Teddy Blakeman (running back), Julian Harrell (tight end) and Matt Peacock (defensive line), sophomore wide receiver Jaimire Dutrieuille and redshirt freshman running back Shamar Greene.

All four of The Rock’s first-team Hansen committee all-region performers had previously received Daktronics first-team all-region honors in voting by sports information directors. McCombie subsequently earned second-team All-America honors in that competition.

Dean had earned second-team All-America honors from BSN and was also a second-team Daktronics all-region selection.

Barksdale, McCombie and Schademan also earned third-team All-America honors from Beyond Sports Network, while Tucker was named to the BSN’s honorable-mention list.

Rock head coach George Mihalik was named by his peers as both the American Football Coaches Association Division II Super Region 1 and PSAC-West Coach of the Year award recipient.

The Rock finished the 2013 season with a 9-3 win-loss record, claimed their second PSAC-West championship in the last three seasons and earned their first NCAA Division II playoff berth since 1999. The Green and White were also ranked 21st in the final AFCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 national poll and 23rd in the final D2Football.com national poll.

Bloomsburg senior running back Franklyn Quiteh, the 2013 recipient of the Harlon Hill Trophy awarded to the top Division II football player in the nation, was named as the Hansen committee’s Super Region 1 Offensive Player of the Year, while Shippensburg defensive end Jake Metz was selected as the region’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Shepherd freshman return specialist C.J. Davis garnered the Special Teams Player of the Year honor, New Haven cornerback Najae Brown was named Freshman of the Year and West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan received the Super Region 1 Coach of the Year honor.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen started and published Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988. Don Hansen’s Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.

Super Region 1 is compiled of 49 football-playing universities from four conferences including the PSAC, Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Mountain East Conference and Northeast-10 Conference. A total of 40 teams and 130 players were represented on this year’s Hansen all-region teams.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

SRU's Mihalik Coach of the Year

Rock's Mihalik named as AFCA regional Coach of the Year

WACO, Texas – Slippery Rock University Head Football Coach George Mihalik was named Tuesday as
the American Football Coaches Association's Division II Region 1 Coach of the Year.

Mihalik received the honor in voting by his head and assistant coaching peers in the region, which includes 30 teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic, Mountain East and Northeast-10 conferences.

The AFCA regional Coach of the Year honor was the third earned by Mihalik, who was previously honored in 1997 and 1998.

Mihalik earned his latest honor by leading The Rock to a 9-3 overall record, the outright Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division championship and their first berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs since 1999.

The Rock's all-time leader in career wins with a 176-106-4 record in 26 seasons, Mihalik currently ranks second among active PSAC head coaches and fourth among active Division II coaches, as well as fifth on the PSAC's all-time wins list.

Mihalik-coached Rock teams have won or shared six PSAC-West titles since 1997, earned two conference runner-up finishes and competed in four NCAA playoffs.

In recognition of his leadership abilities, Mihalik, in addition to the three regional honors, has received five PSAC-West Coach of the Year honors and two awards from officiating organizations.

The coaching awards are but a few of the prestigious honors that have been bestowed on Mihalik.

Mihalik has been inducted into five different halls of fame: SRU Athletic (1997), Butler Area Sports (2001), Cambria County Sports (2006), Pennsylvania Sports Western Chapter (2012) and Bishop Carroll High School (2012).

Mihalik was a charter member of the Ebensburg high school's Hall of Fame.

In typical Mihalik fashion, The Rock head coach shared the credit and honors.

"I have always maintained the coaching awards I have been fortunate enough to receive should be cut up and presented to the assistant coaches and players," Mihalik said. "Throughout the years, I have had the good fortune of having excellent assistant coaches and players. They deserve the credit."

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions:
Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA.

The winners were selected by active members of the AFCA, who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

The 2013 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized Jan. 14 at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2014 AFCA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind.

McCombie Earns All America Honor

SRU's McCombie earns second-team Daktronics All America honor

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Slippery Rock University senior punter James McCombie was named Wednesday as a second-team member of the Daktronics, Inc., All America Football Team.

The All America honor, voted upon by sports information directors at the 168 football-playing NCAA Division II institutions in the nation, came on the heels of McCombie being named earlier this month as a first-team All Super Region 1 performer.

McCombie also earned first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division honors in voting by the division’s head football coaches.

A native of Nicktown, Pa., and graduate of Bishop Carroll High School in Ebensburg, McCombie ranked first in the PSAC and fifth among NCAA Division II punters last fall with a per-punt average of 43.2 yards.

McCombie had 12 punts that traveled 50 or more yards last fall, headlined by a career-best-tying 74-yarder in the season opener at Northwood. McCombie also had 13 of his 53 punts land inside the opponents' 20-yard line this fall and only nine result in touchbacks.

A park and resource management major at SRU, McCombie finished his four-year career as The Rock’s first-team punter with a 40.5 yards per punt average.

McCombie had six punts that traveled 60 or more yards, 34 punts that traveled 50 or more yards and 67 that landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line during his 208-punt college career.

McCombie was the second member of The Rock’s PSAC-West champion, conference runner-up and NCAA playoff-qualifying team to earn a second-team All America honor. Senior linebacker Quindell Dean earned that status earlier this month from Beyond Sports Network.

The two All America performers were included in a group of 18 seniors on this year’s Rock squad, which compiled a 9-3 overall record and earned an NCAA playoff berth for the first time since 1999.