Carlisle forfeits its wins in 2015

nuttinbuthogs · February 23, 2016, 08:35:56 pm

i-6 in conference isn't a big turnaround. You are right he has a mountain still to climb.

arkansasprepfootball · February 23, 2016, 08:41:50 pm

Quote from: nuttinbuthogs on February 23, 2016, 08:35:56 pm
i-6 in conference isn't a big turnaround. You are right he has a mountain still to climb.

It is when you consider what he inherited. Marion had less than 30 kids in the off-season program when Uhiren "resigned".

In all, very productive career at Marion for Mark. Last two years exposed some big flaws in program. Change was needed and judging by his hire at Carlisle, good for everyone.

nuttinbuthogs · February 23, 2016, 08:46:25 pm

Wait, this is confusing. big flaws in program at Marion, but productive at Marion? I'm confused. Marion has been struggling for a long time, like forever. Now those program flaws moving over to Carlisle?

arkansasprepfootball · February 23, 2016, 08:54:37 pm

Quote from: nuttinbuthogs on February 23, 2016, 08:46:25 pm
Wait, this is confusing. big flaws in program at Marion, but productive at Marion? I'm confused. Marion has been struggling for a long time, like forever. Now those program flaws moving over to Carlisle?

As I said in initial post - last two years were disasters. Kids were fleeing program. Prior to that, he had Marion playing well. There were issues at the end that had kids filing for the door. Change needed to happen. In all, he was good for Marion. It went south and ended poorly. Big flaws being kids didn't want to play for him or in Diamond T anymore, they had trouble retaining athletes, etc.

Carlisle hopes whatever issues there were don't carry over. He'll be given all the time in the world to get things back going, he's from Carlisle, has kin on the school board, etc. He certainly won't leave in a year or two as Barbaree did and they won't force him out like they did Keith.

AEKDB132 · February 23, 2016, 09:22:57 pm

Quote from: nuttinbuthogs on February 23, 2016, 08:46:25 pm
Wait, this is confusing. big flaws in program at Marion, but productive at Marion? I'm confused. Marion has been struggling for a long time, like forever. Now those program flaws moving over to Carlisle?

I was in one of the first classes to play under Coach U at Marion. He inherited a program that was absolutely dreadful. I think our three year win total prior to his arrival was something like 3 games. He took over in 2002 (I believe) and really changed the culture. Won 3 games the first year, 4 the next, 5 or 6 his third year, and then the next several years had really good success, all while moving up in classifications. I believe in 2006 or 2007 they went all the way to the class 6A semifinals and was one win away from the championship game. He also had several players go play D1 ball (Jerry Franklin-Arkansas/Detroit Lions) and several other good, quality players at Arkansas State.

His last few years were tough, but I think it was a combination of several things. It was unfortunate for him to go out that way, but he really did take Marion Football to a new level. It also didn't help that his last two years he was playing the likes of Cabot, NLR, LR Central, WM, etc.

Coach is hard-nosed, no nonsense and is a stickler for discipline. Sometimes that rubs kids and their parents the wrong way. I was on the receiving end of many of his "butt-chewings", but it made me tough, resilient and hard-nosed and that was reflected on the field. I, for one, am happy for coach and think he will do well, especially at a small, tradition-rich program like Carlisle.

Sonofasonofasailor · February 23, 2016, 09:56:01 pm

Quote from: AEKDB132 on February 23, 2016, 09:22:57 pm
I was in one of the first classes to play under Coach U at Marion. He inherited a program that was absolutely dreadful. I think our three year win total prior to his arrival was something like 3 games. He took over in 2002 (I believe) and really changed the culture. Won 3 games the first year, 4 the next, 5 or 6 his third year, and then the next several years had really good success, all while moving up in classifications. I believe in 2006 or 2007 they went all the way to the class 6A semifinals and was one win away from the championship game. He also had several players go play D1 ball (Jerry Franklin-Arkansas/Detroit Lions) and several other good, quality players at Arkansas State.

His last few years were tough, but I think it was a combination of several things. It was unfortunate for him to go out that way, but he really did take Marion Football to a new level. It also didn't help that his last two years he was playing the likes of Cabot, NLR, LR Central, WM, etc.

Coach is hard-nosed, no nonsense and is a stickler for discipline. Sometimes that rubs kids and their parents the wrong way. I was on the receiving end of many of his "butt-chewings", but it made me tough, resilient and hard-nosed and that was reflected on the field. I, for one, am happy for coach and think he will do well, especially at a small, tradition-rich program like Carlisle.

That's the guy I know. His personality can be a little prickly at times but sounds like they need the discipline he will bring.

AEKDB132 · February 23, 2016, 10:28:09 pm

Quote from: Sonofasonofasailor on February 23, 2016, 09:56:01 pm
That's the guy I know. His personality can be a little prickly at times but sounds like they need the discipline he will bring.

Yea, I can see how he might come across that way. That's just the way he operates...he's not the type to pat you on the back and praise you constantly. He expects his players to do right and when they don't he lets them know. Like I said, it's an old-school mentality that today's generation doesn't take to kindly to. We never had high numbers at Marion while I was there (and that always seemed to rub people the wrong way), but the ones that were out there earned it. I often looked at it like the Marines...you earned the privilege to wear that jersey. Now days kids want to miss practice, miss off season, goof off in class and still get the start on Fridays. He doesn't work that way, it's all about accountability.

I know his offseason program is no joke. It is extremely tough (or it was when I was playing), but he gets results. We had guys 170-200 pounds who were benching right at 300 or better by the time they were seniors. One of our best running backs, Deopolis Smith, weighed 160 pounds soak and wet, and dead-lifted right at 600 pounds if I remember correctly. Very rarely were we naturally bigger than our opponents but we were stronger and tougher, and beat many teams that were more athletic, faster, etc.

One thing I always admired about his system was that he could consistently win with guys that were not that "athletic." And when we did have athletes, he utilized them and adapted his system. I know when Franklin was around he and a kid named Taylor Williams were both excellent receivers. We also had a decent QB that year so coach threw the ball a lot more frequently than with my class. So he will throw the ball if he has the players to do it, but the run game is definitely his bread and butter.