Playing Catch Up

There are many things I want to include in the post, that are extremely important as it relates to Panther football. I need to cover projected order of finish for the ODAC, Brian Mann's Senior year, where I see the potential strengths and weaknesses for Ferrum, and of course this weekend's up coming game. All of these will be covered, but I would be remiss if I did not start off with the biggest news from the off season. On Saturday, December 1st, the news spread of the passing of Coach Sam Webb. The father of Ferrum football, Coach Webb was the first football coach at Ferrum College. He coached for two seasons, and started the program with literally nothing but the support and good wishes of the President and athletic director.
I had the opportunity to interview Coach Webb for an article in 2009. You can read the article at the link below:

Kicking Off Ferrum Football




Since that article, I spoke on the phone with Coach Webb on several occasions, and met him at the groundbreaking of the Norton Center. This man was as polite as anyone you could ever meet, and seemed so humble and appreciative of those around him. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to make his acquaintance. Please read the article, he was an amazing man.

This news was followed in about 45 days with word of the death of Ferrum's all time winningest coach, Hank Norton. To say that Coach Norton was a fixture at Ferrum is an understatement. In his 34 seasons at the helm of the football program, Coach Norton was 244-77-11 with four National Championships. The numbers do not do justice to the man as to his impact on the college and his players. There have been many articles written about "Big Daddy" since his passing, so I will not try to re-write what is already available on the web. I will say that there are very few that that will know the success that he enjoyed as a football coach, and there are few football players that will be fortunate enough to play for a man like Hank Norton.  Below are some links to stories about Coach Norton:


Norton Story

Norton Story



ODAC Coaches Poll:

For the first time since writing this blog, I did not post my projected order of finish. This was the result of computer issues, and to rectify this, I will comment briefly on the ODAC Coaches Poll, and how I think Ferrum will finish.

The Coaches Poll (below) has Randolph Macon finishing first, and Ferrum fourth. I think this is a plausible outcome, but I, of course would like to see Ferrum finish higher......and they just might.

Of the top three teams, Ferrum beat two of them last year. Ferrum was the only team to beat the defending conference champions, Randolph Macon.

If Ferrum is to contend, they have to be strong, right out of the gate. While I expect Ferrum to cruise in their first game, they will need to keep the momentum going as the difficulty of opponents, ramps up quickly. I see Ferrum finishing a strong third, but will have to be nearly perfect to do that.

2019 ODAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes
1. Randolph-Macon College (8)	64 pts.
2. Bridgewater College (1)	51 pts.
3. Hampden-Sydney College	46 pts.
4. Ferrum College	44 pts.
5. Washington and Lee University	38 pts.
6. Emory & Henry College	33 pts.
7. Shenandoah University	21 pts.
8. Guilford College	19 pts.
9. Southern Virginia University	8 pts.

 Mann's Senior Season

Running back Brian Mann enters his Senior season with very few Ferrum records that are not already his. Mann has proven to be the coal in the belly of the offensive stove over his first three years, and I look for his numbers to just keep piling up. Some milestone he may reach are: 

5000 yards rushing ( He needs 380 yards) 
6000 yards rushing......very attainable

There are many goals he can shoot for, but Brian is not looking for personal records or recognition, I am sure his main focus is as many team wins as he can help gain. Look for Brian to have another stellar season.

Ferrum's Strengths and Areas For Concern


From my perspective, there are two main areas of concern:

The defensive backfield, and the wide receiver position. 

After loosing Johnny White and Nick Pearce from last years squad, Ferrum must determine who will replace them. There is no shortage of available players. The current roster lists 18 Wide Receivers. I would look for Quentin Wallace, and Daniel Lamb to see lots of action. As for the other 16 receivers, its hard to tell but I am sure there will be many seeing playing time as Ferrum looks to expand the role of Zach Clifford and the passing game.

The defensive back field suffered a lot of attrition after graduation. Defensive backs have three returning Seniors, and five Juniors. This group should develop into a strong unit as the season progresses. 

Overall, Ferrum will be a strong team, and will steadily improve as the season progresses.

Ferrum @ Greensboro


It all starts today as Ferrum opens on the road at Greensboro College. The Greensboro program has not seen a lot of success lately, especially when it comes to playing Ferrum. After last years 81-0 drubbing, look for Greensboro to be fired up and wanting to exact revenge...…..Not gonna happen.  Ferrum will dominate again and I expect starters to be pulled in the second half so that others can get some field time.

Mann and Clifford will have a field day, and I expect the score to again be, extremely lopsided.

Ferrum 71

Greensboro 10


Go Panthers!