birds in the trap

[Taurus]

Award Winners

Heisman: HB Treveyon Henderson, Sophomore, Ohio State: 251 rushes, 1603 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdown, 28 receptions, 486 receiving yards
Maxwell: QB Payton Thorne, Junior (RS), Michigan St.: 243 of 364, 3686 passing yards, 47 total touchdowns
Walter Camp: HB Kobe Lewis, Senior (RS), Central Michigan: 339 rushes, 1837 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns
Bednarik: MLB K.J. Cloyd, Senior, Louisville: 79 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions
Nagurski: CB Trey Franklin, Junior (RS), Louisville: 56 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 2 defensive touchdowns
O'Brien: QB Payton Thorne, Junior (RS), Michigan St.: 243 of 364, 3686 passing yards, 47 total touchdowns
Walker: HB Kobe Lewis, Senior (RS), Central Michigan: 339 rushes, 1837 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns
Biletnikoff: WR Elijah Cooks, Senior (RS), Nevada: 125 receptions, 1747 receiving yards, 20 receiving touchdowns
Mackey: TE Anthony Torres, Senior (RS), Western Michigan: 76 receptions, 1052 receiving yards, 13 receiving touchdowns
Outland: C Grant Gibson, Senior (RS), NC State: 29 pancakes
Rimington: C Grant Gibson, Senior (RS), NC State: 29 pancakes
Lombardi: RE Savion Jackson, Junior, NC State: 27 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries
Butkus: ROLB Drake Thomas, Junior, NC State: 39 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 37 assisted tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions
Thorpe: CB Trey Franklin, Junior (RS), Louisville: 56 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 2 defensive touchdowns
Groza: K Will Reichard, Senior, Alabama: 18-20 field goal, 49 longest FG, 100% extra point
Guy: P James Burnip, Sophomore, Alabama: 84 yd longest punt, 26 inside the 20
Jet: WR Ja'Marks Weston, Junior (RS), Florida: 733 kick return yards, 383 punt return yards

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First Team All-Americans
QB Payton Thorne, Junior (RS), Michigan St.
HB Kobe Lewis, Senior (RS), Central Michigan
HB Treveyon Henderson, Sophomore, Ohio State
WR Elijah Cooks, Senior (RS), Nevada
WR Josh Downs, Junior, North Carolina
TE Anthony Torres, Senior (RS), Western Michigan
LT Ikem Ekwonu, Junior, NC Statee
LT Evan Neal, Senior, Alabama
RG Eli Cox, Junior, Kentucky
C Grant Gibson, Senior (RS), NC State
RG Emil Ekiyor Jr., Senior (RS), Alabama
LE Michael Fairbanks II, Senior (RS), UAB
RE Tuli Letuligasenoa, Junior (RS), Washington
DT Keenan Stewart, Junior (RS), UTEP
DT K.D. Hill, Senior (RS), Ole Miss
MLB K.J. Cloyd, Senior, Louisville
ROLB Drake Thomas, Junior, NC State
ROLB David Gbenda, Junior (RS), Texas
CB Trey Franklin, Junior (RS), Louisville
CB Kyler McMichael, Senior (RS), North Carolina
FS KeJuan Markham, Senior, Arizona State
SS Hasaan Hypolite, Junior (RS), Houston
K Will Reichard, Senior, Alabama
P James Burnip, Sophomore, Alabama:
Returner CB Al Blades Jr., Senior, Miami

[Taurus]

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been looking into some rule/slider changes to get a more realistic experience and spice things up. I have decided to adopt a lot of ViatorLion10's slider and gameplay settings, along with their progression system. I will update the main post with information, but pretty much everything mentioned here in regards to gameplay settings, sliders, injury ratings, and progression/regression will be implemented this off-season.

[Taurus]

Louisville terminates OC Gunter Brewer
Courier-Journal

Louisville, KY -- As was expected if the Cardinals continued to perform poorly this season, the Louisville Cardinals are making changes to their coaching staff in an attempt to become more competitive in the stacked Atlantic Coast Conference.

A Board of Directors meetings was held at the University of Louisville this morning to vote on paying Gunter Brewer's million dollar buyout. The vote passed unanimously, effectively terminating Brewer's contract with the University of Louisville.

Brewer was Scott Satterfield's original selection for Offensive Coordinator when he took the job at Louisville in 2012. At the time, it was rumored that Satterfield's original candidate and target for the position was Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Lance Taylor. Brewer's alma mater is Wake Forest, where he excelled as a Wide Receivers coach. Brewer has coached NFL wide-receivers such as Dez Fitzpatrick and Tutu Atwell. Brewer played a big role in recruiting players like true freshman WR Ryan Miller and incoming freshman QB Jamal Fenton.

Offensively the Cardinals put up strong numbers in the air. Throughout the season they were neck and neck with their opponents when it came to passing yards, however, Cardinal fans were left feeling as if there was more to be desired in the run game. The Cardinals failed to execute on third down all season and were even worse in the red-zone. What undoubtedly played the biggest role in Brewer's termination was the lack of discipline of the offensive players. The Cardinal offense turned the ball over more than any other offense in the FBS, recording 28 interceptions and 16 fumbles for a combined 40 turnovers.

Since things started to turn sour this season with Brewer at the helm, the Cardinal fanbase has echoed the name of Louisville legend Brian Brohm to fill the new job opening in Louisville. Brohm is currently the offensive coordinator for the Purdue Boilermakers underneath Head Coach and brother, Jeff Brohm.

[Taurus]

Brian Brohm shows no interest in Louisville OC position: "The time just isn't right."
Courier-Journal

Louisville, KY -- As the coaching carousel has swung into full motion with the firing of OC Gunter Brewer, it is expected that the Louisville Cardinals are doing everything they can to add former QB and Louisville native Brian Brohm to their coaching staff.

Brian Brohm crushed all those hopes with a response to the media today regarding the job. "It's not going to be me." said Brohm, "The time just isn't right, my brother and I are building something great here in West Lafayette."

Sources close to the Boilermakers' staff have claimed that Brian Brohm has expressed a disinterest in taking another offensive coordinator job unless his brother Jeff is to take a head coaching job elsewhere, and that Brohm maintained throughout the season that he had no interest in a coordinator position in Louisville at the moment.

Brohm has served as QB coach and offensive coordinator on his brother Jeff's staff at both Western Kentucky and Purdue.

Louisville will have to go back to the drawing board to find a new coach to replace Gunter Brewer.

[Taurus]

Cardinals' TE Marshon Ford and HB Jalen Mitchell selected in the 5th round of NFL Draft
Courier-Journal

Louisville, KY -- Two outgoing Cardinals were selected in last night's NFL draft. TE Marshon Ford graduated after spending two seasons as the main target in Gunter Brewer's offense. He earned all-ACC honors in his Junior year. Ford's production went down with the addition of WR Ryan Miller to the Cardinal offense, but Ford was still selected in the fifth round after graduating.

HB Jalen Mitchell declared early, forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL. Mitchell performed well throughout the last two seasons for Louisville and create a unexpected need for a strong player at the halfback role for the Cardinals with his selection in the fifth round.

All-American FS Kenderick Duncan also graduates and was not selected in the NFL draft. Duncan lead the Cardinals in tackles the last two seasons, recording over 150 tackles across both seasons.

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Players Leaving
CB Kei'trel Clark, SR, Graduation, 94 OVR
HB Jalen Mitchell, JR(RS), NFL Draft, 91 OVR
TE Marshon Ford, SR(RS), NFL Draft, 90 OVR
FS Kenderick Duncan, SR(RS), Graduation, 86 OVR
WR Tyler Harrell, SR(RS), Graduation, 81 OVR
WR Braden Smith, SR, Graduation, 81 OVR
MLB K.J. Cloyd, MLB, Graduation, 80 OVR
WR Jaelin Carter, WR, Graduation, 75 OVR

[Taurus]

University of Louisville hire former WVU/Ball State HC Mike Neu as OC
Courier-Journal

Last season, one of the more shocking coaching moves was Mike Neu leaving his alma mater, Ball State, for the head coaching job at West Virginia. Last season, Ball State flirted with the top-25 all season and was one of the more underrated teams that season. After building up a strong foundation in Muncie, Mike Neu took a head coaching position with the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Even more shocking, the Mountaineers fired Mike Neu after failing to earn a win in his first season, finishing 0-12. West Virginia were dominated all season and Neu was left without a job when it was all said and done.

When the news broke that Neu would be looking for a new position, Satterfield reached out almost immediately, knowing that his Cardinals needed a strong coach to pick up the pieces left by Gunter Brewer.

Neu was signed to a four year contract through 2025, making 500k a year. Neu will take over the offensive playcalling, which will likely require the Cardinal offensive to transition to a Pro scheme from the Pistol. Neu has previously served as the head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers and Ball State Cardinals. Neu also spent a stint as a head coach for various arena football teams, and served as a quarterbacks coach for Tulane in 2009 and the New Orleans Saints in 2014. He had a short stint as a scout for the New Orleans Saints.

The Cardinals retained Defensive Coordinator Bryan Brown.

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Notable Head Coaching Changes
HC Georgia Tech: Bill Clark (UAB HC, A+) replaces Geoff Collins (B-), fired
HC Iowa: Mike Tressell (Ball State HC, B) replaces Kirk Ferentz (C+), retired
HC LSU: Gus Malzahn (UCF HC, A+) replaces Ed Orgeron (C+), retirement
HC Missouri: Dan Lanning (Georgia DC, B) replaces Eliah Drinkwitz (C), fired
HC North Carolina: Kevin Wilson (Ohio State OC, B+) replaces Mack Brown (A+), retirement
HC Rutgers: Phil Longo (North Carolina, B-) replaces Greg Schiano (C), fired
HC South Carolina: Spencer Danielson (Coastal Carolina HC, A) replaces Shane Beamer (C), fired
HC UAB: Landon Edwards (UAB OC, C+) replaces Bill Clark (A+), new job
HC UCF: Tim Beck (Florida OC, B) replaces Gus Malzahn (A+), new job
HC Virginia Tech: Todd Grantham (Florida DC, B) replaces Justin Fuente (C+), fired
HC Washington State: Ketih Heckendorf (Arkansas State OC, B-) replaces Nick Rolovich (C-), retired
HC West Virginia: Butch Jones (Arkansas State, A+) replaces Mike Neu (C), fired

OC Arkansas State: Gunter Brewer (Louisville, C) replaces Keith Heckendorf (Arkansas State OC, B-), new job
OC Louisville: Mike Neu (West Virginia, C) replaces Gunter Brewer (C), fired

[Taurus]

QB Jamal Fenton becomes highest rated player to sign with Cardinals, Cardinals sign 10 on NSD
Courier-Journal

With the firing of Gunter Brewer, there were rumblings that QB Jamal Fenton may flip to another school on National Signing Day, however, he stuck with the Cardinals and will enroll this summer.

Outside of the signing of Fenton, the Cardinals had another down recruiting year. The Cardinals lost recruiting battles for several of Kentucky and Indiana's top recruits, several of these recruits will be playing for Louisville's bitter rivals, the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Cardinals still managed to gain commitments from some strong prospects. OLB Leo Ratliff will likely compete for starting time with current OLB Barrett Odom. Players like WR Richard Andrews, FS Lonnie Wade, CB Vincent Davis, and DT Darrell Brown may all play a significant amount of snaps this upcoming season.

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Class of 2026 Commitments

QB Jamal Fenton (#2 QB, #10 OVR), 6'1", 201lbs, 5-star, Indianola, Iowa, Pocket Passer
WR Richard Andrews (#21 WR, #105 OVR), 6'1", 209lbs, 4-star, Exetre, New Hampshire, Possession
OLB Leo Ratliff (#29 OLB, #353 OVR), 6'3", 231lbs, 3-star, Donna, Texas, Balanced
FS Lonnie Wade (#10 FS, #411 OVR), 6'3", 207lbs, 3-star, Cedar Lake, Indiana, Balanced
CB Vincent Davis (#19 CB, #459 OVR), 5'11", 204lbs, 3-star, Avon Lake, Ohio, Coverage
DT Darrell Brown (#47 DT, #590 OVR), 6'5", 272lbs, 3-star, Covington, Kentucky, Pass Rusher
T Aaron Dunn (#55 T, #1041 OVR), 6'5", 304lbs, 3-star, Fairdale, Kentucky, Pass Block
DT Marcus Jennings (#102 DT, #1155 OVR), 6'5", 249lbs, 3-star, Lehigh Acres, Florida, Run Stopper
T Brad Moore (#84 T, #1392 OVR), 6'3", 309lbs, 3-star, Marietta, Ohio, Pass Block
G Marcus Dixon (#118 G, #1961 OVR), 6'4", 327lbs, 2-star, Baltimore, Maryland, Run Block

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TOP-25 Recruiting Classes

1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Ole Miss
4. Alabama
5. Miami
6. LSU
7. Oregon
8. Notre Dame
9. Florida
10. Michigan
11. Stanford
12. Penn State
13. USC
14. Texas A&M
15. Wisconsin
16. Ohio State
17. North Carolina
18. UCLA
19. Tennessee
20. Georgia Tech
21. Arkansas
22. Clemson
23. Arizona
24. Kentucky
25. Iowa
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34. Boston College
58. NC State
76. Syracuse
83. Florida State
86. Louisville
123. Wake Forest

[Captain Canada]

Just caught up with this. I'm liking your simplistic formatting. Big fan. Keep it going.

[Taurus]

Just caught up with this. I'm liking your simplistic formatting. Big fan. Keep it going.

Thanks homie, I consider everybody that replies a part of this, I'm looking forward to the new format, new season, and all the changes in store.

[Taurus]

Rule Changes

True Freshmen Weight Adjustments

► Show Spoiler

To replicate a S&C program for all incoming freshmen, they are given +15lbs and +5 strength at the start of their freshmen seasons.

Progression/Regression system

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All players that are not true-freshman will take part in this system heavily based on "ViatorLion10"'s and "kawkeye"'s systems.

Each player is assigned a randomly generated number between 0-49.

• 0-9: Regression
• 10-19: Slight Regression (all stats get -1)
• 20-29: Maintain (no editing needed)
• 30-39: Slight progression (all stats get +1)
• 40-49: Progression

If the player is in regression or progression, you take the second digit of their assigned number (N) and enter it into this equation: (N/3)*2 = X

X = the amount of points deducted from each attribute. For example, if I rolled a 9, my player would lose 6 points to each attribute, on the contrary, if I rolled a 49, my player would gain 6 points to each attribute.

These attribute changes are made after the games normal progression system, not as a substitution.

Math Cheat Sheet

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(4)0 (for progression purposes, 0=1) = ((1)/3)*2 = 2
(4)1 = ((1)/3)*2 = 2
(4)2 = ((2)/3)*2 = 2
(4)3 = ((3)/3)*2 = 2
(4)4 = ((4)/3)*2 = 3
(4)5 = ((5)/3)*2 = 4
(4)6 = ((6)/3)*2 = 4
(4)7 = ((7)/3)*2 = 5
(4)8 = ((8)/3)*2 = 6
(4)9 = ((9)/3)*2 = 6

Work Ethic

Each player is assigned a "work-ethic" value. This value is determined by randomly generating a number between 1-3.
1 - Low Work Ethic: No chance as progression boost (reroll until I get anything below 30)
2 - Average: standard progression.
3 - High Work Ethic: Chance to reroll, pick the better option.

The results of this system will be posted as an update each off-season after the games normal team training sessions.

True Freshman QBs

► Show Spoiler

After reading up on OS about some changes that are good to implement in dynasty, this seems to be one that everyone recommends.

"kawkeye" makes a really good point in his method that freshman QBs tend to have awful AWR ratings and this can affect how QBs play over time. To mitigate that, find all true freshman QBs in the NCAA and generate a random number between 1 and 3 for each player. 1 and 2 do nothing, but if you get 3, add 15 to the QB's AWR attribute. This also helps to differentiate QBs from the same recruiting class if one of them happens to get the AWR bump and the other one doesn't.

Blue Chip Boom/Bust

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Boom: I will randomly select a number between 1-10. Whatever number I select, that ranked INCOMING TRUE FRESHMAN recruit will receive a +15 boost to all attributees
Bust: I will randomly select a number between 1-10. Whatever number I select, that ranked INCOMING TRUE FRESHMAN recruit will receive a -15 drop to all attributes

Gameplay and Slider Changes
TBA