Top Flight D 2 / D 3 Football Programs

Yeah, if he's in the Northeast, and he has the grades, he should look into Williams or Amherst or any of the NESCAC schools.

 

Incidentally, Ship's offensive coordinator moved up in the food chain a month or two ago -- Mike Gundy hired him for the same position at Oklahoma State. That's a pretty rare leap in the profession.

Fortunately for Shippensburg, I think the head coach, Mark Macjewski, was just as responsible for the rise in profile.

Another D-II school that puts up ridiculous offensive numbers -- West Liberty down in the WVIAC.

 

He could also try the non-scholarship FCS route. When all comes out in the wash, I'd put the better non-scholarship FCS schools in the same company as the solid D-IIs.

 

He plays DE and OT . Good fit for a spread O as his HS runs very sophisticated Tony Franklin System Spread O. The kids who have gone on to colleges from program have done well in spreads because they know system.

Family has a good sense of Northeast programs but want to keep an open mind on solid programs around the country.
One thing that seems true in D3 programs is that the better ones seem to have long term stability in coaches. A lot of programs with younger coaches looking at smaller schools as springboard are inconsistent in results.

 

I missed that news, that is a big jump, but the past two quarterbacks he worked with one is playing in the CFL and the other won the Harlon Hill. That's pretty damn good for D-II. Macjewski is young, sharp and seems like a decent guy. He'll keep doing well and the defense, which was good, but overshadowed by the huge offensive numbers was his baby.

 

Agree that FCS has some really solid programs like Delaware, Maine, Drake. You still get the big school without the pressure of D1A programs.

This kid has another year and lives in the weight room. I told his dad that if nothing strikes their fancy at D3 then a PG year might be a good route to a better school. With average grades he is going to have to use football as his calling card.

 

If he would spend a good year at Fork Union or someplace like that, you might be surprised how his stock rises.

 

I have covered D2 football since 1998 and am a voter for the D2football.com poll, so I've seem my fair share of games. The big question is where does he live/want to go? There is a pretty big gulf in the D2 programs between the haves and have nots. If he wants big time D2, you need to look for a school that has the name of a state or the word state in its name. Those schools are many times as big and as well funded as FCS schools. I cover a school in the South Atlantic Conference. About a decade ago we traveled to North Dakota State (which has since moved up). The night before, some fans asked what a school the size of the one I was with was doing playing D2. I said, "No, what's a school NDS's size doing playing D2?"

People have mentioned Carson-Newman and Catawba. The problem with the South Atlantic Conference is it self limits itself to 25 scholarships, so that's why its teams run into a brick wall against the Gulf South in the playoffs. Carson-Newman still plays great football running the veer. It's not the power it was when it was winning NAIA championships because the Eagles can't rely on players that have been kicked off SEC teams. In the SAC, Wingate plays good football, and their coach - Joe Reich - is one of the truly good coaches who does things the right way. Lenoir-Rhyne is a much improved team with a good game plan running the ball. Mars Hill running back Jonas Randolph won the Harlon Hill a couple of years ago. As for the spread, nowhere better you can look than Tusculum. Their quarterback Bo Cordell will most likely become the all-time D2 passing leader this season. He was a Harlon Hill finalist as a sophomore. They sling it all over the place.

 

The kid should go D-III or NAIA and get a picture of him signing a fake Letter of Intent in the paper.

 

good luck getting into those d-iiis with average grades ... because if they are average in a public forum, you know they are below average behind closed doors. and we all know how d-iiis love below average kids.

 

NAIA letters are real, D-III ones aren't. And won't get in my paper.